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Published: June 12th 2009
Sunrise View
The view towards the north? from my morning hike towards Diamond Head ***blog down all day yesterday...you have no idea how happy it made me to see it up and working again today and with 9 comments!!!! Thank you! Here's yesterday's blog. I'll have a new one tonight too.
What a good day. Sitting down at 9:30 pm, I realize that I did so much today. No wonder I’m tired. Christine says I need to be the “yes girl” like the movie. Say yes to everything. I do kind of feel like that.
5:30am I woke up and decided to hike Diamond Head Crater; what better time of day than sunrise. I walked to the bathroom and there, just outside the bathroom on the tile was…a roach - on his back. Ugh!!! Already! It’s only my third day here! It was still kicking, so I contemplated what I would do. I began running through possibilities in my mind. At home, I would jump onto the counter and try to work up the nerve to put some type of glass or bowl over it until a brave soul could come over to pick it up. Here, I don’t think that type of behavior would get me anywhere. Next, I
considered calling roommate #2, Bill, on his cell and offering him $1 or a beer for each time he took care of a cockroach for me over the next 2 months. Again, probably not going to get me very far. Seriously, I had no idea what to do. So I left it. When I got back home tonight it was still there. Maybe when roommate #4, Tiffany, comes back from her vacation she’ll be cool enough to get it.
Anyways, enough cockroach talk.
So, I walked over to Diamond Head, and hiked up. I was warned about the stairs beforehand; that was tiring, but it’s not nearly as tough as Camelback. It was a really cool hike with great views from the top. I took some beautiful pics from the tiny enclosed platform at the very top that was crowded with an entire bus full of Japanese tourists. An hour or so later as I began making my way back home to change into my bathing suit and finally make it to the beach, I thought again about the cockroach and decided it would be a great time to take the bus to Walmart to buy my necessities.
As
I approached the bus stop, I asked a girl sitting there if this bus would get me close to Walmart. She told me it would and we struck up a conversation. I’m beginning to like this. I didn’t have the correct change for bus fare with me, so Anika, the girl, gave me a dollar. I really don’t like accepting handouts, but if there were ever a time that I was in need - why not now? We talked the whole way and exchanged phone #’s and email too. Maybe I’ll figure out how to make friends after all.
My Walmart experience was quite funny, I just wish I had a picture of me and all my bags as I made my way back onto the bus for the ride home. I bought a pillow, shower towels, a beach towel, crackers, laundry detergent, toilet paper, a boogie board (is that what they’re called?, and snorkel gear. I guess I’m beginning to settle in now.
So, I changed into my suit, grabbed my new board, and headed towards the beach. It’s probably a 20 minute walk - not too bad. But it was so hot today. I tried to
lay out, but the sun was too hot. I tried to ride my board, but I really suck. I didn’t catch a wave and the reef below hurt my feet. By 1:30 I was ready to head home, but I got a call from Greg here in Hawaii. He had a friend that said I should call him and he’d take me out surfing. Why not?
I called him, and he came to pick me up at 3:30. We went down to a surf stand outside of the Outrigger hotel on Waikiki Beach. I guess he does promotion/marketing work for them, so he can use all of their equipment anytime. We took out long boards and giant oar/paddles…I’m not sure what it’s called, but you see people standing out on surfboards using the giant paddle to steer, then the goal is to try and catch a wave in, just like surfing. Okay, it looks a lot easier than it actually is. At first, I kinda liked it…but I didn’t stand up much. I just sat on the board and paddled. However, when the giant waves began crashing, things really got bad. I was blindsided, probably 4 times in a
row! Literally thrown off of my board and trapped underwater each time I climbed back onto the board. I must’ve swallowed at least a bottle worth of sea water. It was unnerving…in fact, I really just wanted to go in and sit on the beach, but we stayed out for probably an hour. One time I surfed a wave without the paddle; I stood up and rode it for a while. It was awesome! But, pretty soon, the nausea and fear set in and I was happy to make my way to the shore. How lucky am I? A free day out on the water…and a new activity…so cool.
From there, we drove a little down the main Waikiki St of shops to the International Market to grab dinner. This was finally my first glimpse of the incredible shopping and tourist area that I’d been missing. I was wondering where it was, and had finally found it! In fact, I’d been walking right by the street for the past two days without knowing it….all I had to do was take a right turn and there it was. Now I know what I’m doing tomorrow.
7pm, I am back
at Starbucks, drinking a Chai Tea Latte and using the internet. I can see that they’re beginning to recognize me here. The blog is down and has been all day. I’m really sad about that, but hopefully it will be working in the morning.
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Jen B.
non-member comment
Hello "Yes Girl"
I don't know who Christine is, but I like her. It is way more fun to be the yes girl, than the no girl. You will have more interesting experiences to share. No girls are very boring if you ask me. Great pictures. I have some very similar. I agree, Camelback if tougher. Oddly, I have never made it to the top of Camelback I just don't know where it ends. I have been up really far, but it seems never-ending. I am a cautious hiker, which Jay translates to I am chicken sh** and don't want to fall or sprain or break anything. One of these days I am going to get to the top of that mountain, wherever it is. Can't wait to read the next blog entry. Happy running tonight!