May Hawaiian Vacay: Day Eleven

"Let's swim out to the break wall, " she said...it I'll be fun! I damn near ended my stay on Waikiki by drowning, poor Paul. It was any easy swim for us out to the break wall, fairly deep, but we watch KIDS do it for the past two weeks! Just as I reached the wall, gripped the top of it to pull myself up, a giant wave hit me square in the face, salt water down my throat, up my nose, in my eyes ...knocked me under, I'm choking, can't breathe, can't swim, can't find bottom. Paul got knocked under too, I can't even find breath to scream...well, since I'm writing this I obviously survived. In all my ocean/water adventures over the world I've never had such a near drowning experience. 

Paul was finished w his job yesterday, so today was a touring day. The hike up Diamond Head is .7 miles of fairly rugged terrain, but it is an easy switchback trail...until you get to the final ascent. We encountered an energetic hiker w a Go Pro camera on his helmet; he seemed to be the trail motivational guru. Stopping several times to take photos for hikers and offer words of encouragement. I stopped to take a pix w him and chat; he is retired, he hikes up Diamond Head ( after paddle boarding) every Mon We'd Fri....and he has non Hodgkins Lymphoma...he reminded me that life is short, grab it by the ass and take all it will give.

The summit of Diamond Head is crowded, even at 830a. I jockey for position on the lookout plat form trying to get a decent photo; I've been taking photos all along w my Canon 5d, but I don't transfer those until I return home. Really don't think I have captured a 'wall hanger' yet.

We worked up quite a sweat getting to the top, spent a few moments to catch our breath and enjoy the spectacular view. The descent wasn't so tough....all downhill.

 

Headed away fro Diamond Head to drive up the west side of the Island. It is a cloudy, rainy morning..not fit for the beach as we had planned. The drive along the coast is stunning, emerald green mountains on one side, the turquoise Pacific on the other. We stop at Kuolua Ranch, but decide not to tour, we head across the way to see Chinamens Hat...a lttle hat like island just off the coast.

We have lunch as Kona Brewing Company, not much to write about there....

After my near-drowning episode....we cool our heels - and I catch my breath - by the pool. All week, I've been observant of the number of people who sit and stare down at this phones all day. Totally oblivious to the beauty around them. Walking back from dinner last night, I saw a young kid walking toward me, looking down at his phone, I stopped, he proceeded to run head on into me....did his parent notice?! Uh, no...they were staring down at their phone as well. I watched a young couple yesterday who may have been on their honeymoon...settled into lounge chairs by the pool, slathered on the sunscreen and promptly pulled out their phones and stared at them all afternoon...did not see them talk to each other the entire time. Shameful.

Paul and I are packed, grateful for the opportunity to visit Hawaii, anxious to return home, not looking forward to the 20 hours of travel to get there. Ironically, Paul goes on vacation next week and we are leaving for our summer bike trip to Nova Scotia on Wednesday!