Okay, obviously I really enjoy taking pictures underwater. But I did manage to snap a few shots of the family as well. Mostly Keira and Dyson of course. (I am a father after all…)
Since Keira and Kelleigh arrived a day before Dyson and I, they were able to greet us at the airport (with help from Heidi) in the typical fashion:
After Dyson and I arrived, we all went to Eric’s ship (the USS Chung-Hoon) for pizza in the officers’ mess, followed by a nice tour. I didn’t bring my camera with me, so….
The next day we went up to the North Shore to see the BIG waves. At Sunset Beach, swimming was prohibited (but surfing was okay, I guess). A few of us got a bit wet in the waves…
Initially, Dyson was terrified of the waves. Dad & I held his hands and tried to walk him slowly to the edge of the water. He kept dropping to his butt and trying to scoot backwards. After a bit, the allure of the waves started to overcome his fear. I finally had to stop his forward progress when I my shorts were soaked to the point of shrinkage…
Heidi & Luis live in Ko Olina, next to the J.W. Marriott. Apparently their group of condos has rights to use the J.W. Marriott’s protected beach (no waves) which gave the kids a chance to do some swimming.
That’s our group in the middle (well, a bit to the left - between the thatch umbrella and the water)…
Because of frequent flier mile seat availability, my parents had a flight back to Kansas at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. To reduce stress, we had Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday.
Here we all are (excepting me, of course) together for our feast on Eric & Sherri’s back patio.
Afterward, the kids played for a bit.
Uncle Eric showed Dyson how to fly the mini-helicopter (follow their eyes - it is hovering in front of Eric’s shirt).
The rest of us chilled with good company, good beer, good wine, and some nuts (and I don’t mean Dad, Sherri and Luis)…
On Thanksgiving proper, we headed out to a beach for a bonfire and some hotdogs and marshmallows.
Keira, Mom & I explored the tidal pools along the beach, and Dad and Eric dug a pit in the sand for the fire…
…while Dyson and Blake played in the waves. Of course, they were both told, very clearly, that they didn’t have any dry clothes so they weren’t to get wet. Right…
Blake tries to rescue Dyson from the waves…
…while Keira tries to convince Dyson to get in trouble by going further in…
Keira contemplates the waves, overcome with satisfaction at a job well done…
Just as we were getting ready to get the fire up and roaring, a park ranger (I guess) came along and shut us down. Apparently, they just started enforcing a ban on beach fires…
…so we mostly sat around and watched the boys get soaked.
Well, Eric & I took pictures. Lots of pictures.
The boys didn’t stay dry for long…
I don’t see any repentance in their countenances…
The "director" back at work…
Dyson runs boldly toward the retreating wave… (And runs just as boldly away from the oncoming wave…)
On Friday, the rest of us (sans my folks) went to the beach at the Hale Koa military hotel on Waikiki Beach.
After we hung out at the beach for awhile, Kel, Keira, Sherri, Eric, Blake, Heidi & Luis wandered off while Dyson and I were swimming around. We waited and waited and waited. Of course, we managed to entertain ourselves while waiting…
Dyson enjoyed letting the (bitty, gentle) waves wash over him. Again and again…
Kel and Keira finally came back and Kel ‘fessed up to the fact that they had gone to the nearby pool (where they could see us through the bushes) and gotten lunch (and drinks - without ME!).
I collected all of the belongings and tracked them down.
With a stop on the way for some shaved ice, of course… (Note the color coordination…)
No-one seemed terribly concerned with my plight, though…
Have you ever seen a nature documentary when the alligator, lying still as a log, suddenly bursts straight up out of the water and catches a low flying bird?
Just asking…
Kel & Luis shared my lack of interest in getting in the pool with the kids…
Later that evening, Heidi & Luis took us to the local lu’au at Paradise Cove (also part of Ko Olina). Plenty touristy and pretty pricey, but what the heck…
Keira got a headband woven from some palm fronds…
…while Dyson and Kelleigh paddled an outrigger canoe (with some help) around the cove.
In addition to getting her picture taken with some parrots (and I wish I knew what she did with that picture that we paid $20 to have taken), Keira wanted a Polynesian "tattoo"…
Dyson seemed to enjoy the desert…
Keira got up on stage to shake her moneymaker…
Saturday, after Keira and Kel left, Eric, Blake, Dyson and I went for a drive around the east shore. We stopped at the "punch bowl" (the National Memorial Cemetery).
Later that night, Blake & Dyson watched a bunch of Sponge-Bob Square-Pants. Well, Blake, Dyson and the pineapple that Dyson liberated from the Heidi & Luis’ table…
The next day, the week’s toll on Blake was clear…
Next post: scenery & flowers.
And then, maybe, I can start to post some pictures from the past three months…
