Saturday is a Special Day!

We had a great adventurous day yesterday! We hiked the most famous volcanic crater in the world called Diamond Head, located on the South-east Coast of O'ahu at the end of Waikiki overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was originally named Laeahi by the ancient Hawaiians. The name meant "brow of the tuna", cool, I guess?

Just some history about Diamond Head:

When the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898, harbor defense became a main responsibility. One of the major defense forts, Fort Ruger, occupied the Diamond Head Crater. A battery of canons was located within the crater providing complete concealment and protection from invading enemies. An observation deck was constructed at the summit in 1910 to provide target sighting and a four level underground complex was built within the walls of the crater as a command post. A 580-foot tunnel was dug through the crater wall to provide easier access to the Fort.The observation deck and underground complex is now abandoned with the advent of radar but evidence of the command post is still present along Diamond Head Trail. The trail is paved the entire way but can be steep in spots. There are two set of stairs, one with 99 steps and the other, 76 steps. There is also a 225-foot unlit tunnel. The hike is classified as easy to moderate in exertion but is certainly worth the breathtaking, unparalleled view of the entire west side of the island, from Waikiki to Koko Head. We had such a fun hike and now I can cross another thing off of my bucket list of things to do before we leave Hawaii. We had some friends join us, Becky and Tyler Waldron. We had such a great time with them. We made it to the top together! The view was for sure breathtaking. I love the color of the water here.And not that we didnt already know this but there are a lot of homes and buildings in Wakiki.On the way down the trail we listened to this gentleman that was probably in his late 40's, try and spit his game on these younger Asian girls. He had two boys with him and was telling this story about some bunny named Floppy and how he found him dead because Floppy ate rat poisoning.haha.it was so funny to listen to him tell this story and then the boys came back over to him and he was like, "Im telling the girls about Floppy, kids you remember Floppy right?" It was so funny..Then he goes on to tell this joke: "What did the river say to the ocean" and the young boy says,"Im a river Im bigger than you ocean." Then the Dad or whoever he was, asks the joke again and the kid says, "I just said it!" Then the Dad said no Im asking these two(meaning the girls). Anyways it was pretty good entertainment.

My cute hubby!

Becky being illegal::She climbed over the railing to check out the other bunker.

Then theres me!

After the hike we headed to Waikiki beach to go Surfing. Now I mentioned Becky and Tyler previously, but I would like to give them an intro.They are recently married,like 1 month, they moved from California so that Tyler could attend BYU-Hawaii. Tyler is actually one of my companions, Kimber (aka Sister Stevens) bro-in-law, so while talking to her one day she mentioned that they were out here. It didnt take long and we got connected and we have had a blast. Tyler and Becky like to surf and since we were going to be in town they brought their surf boards and it was nice to do something new. I have gone surfing (riding on the whitewash with a surfboard::hehe) while in California and Hawaii, but Ev and I dont own boards and we arent very good at it. So it was nice for me to practice something and maybe get better at it. I caught a few waves stood up then fell, but I had so much fun. I stole all the time and Ev didnt get a chance to go since it was nearly dark by the time I came back into shore(such a mean wife, but he wasnt mad he was just happy I had a great time). But theres always next time! All in all we had a blast and we look forward to more fun times with Becky and Tyler.

Becky and Tyler, the cool surfers.

me,paddling in after a good time in the water.

It was neat to be in the water and just chillin on shore as the sun was setting! Ev captured these amazing photos. Way to go!