July 10/11

Hi folks,

Didn't write yesterday as there wasn't much to tell. We did see a really nice Buddhist temple, had a couple of scenic drives overlooking Honolulu and the ocean, but gave up on a hike to the Falls because of rain. Went to the Pali lookout which had great views of the mountains, which have trees right up to the top. Saw a small part of a botanical garden but couldn't find most of it, and a Maritime museum that Michael wanted to see was closed indefinitely. By then it was too late to see anything else, so did some shopping in a marketplace close by.

Today we drove to the north shore and back down along the eastern coast, as this area is well known for nice beaches and snorkeling. On the way we stopped at the Wahiawa botanical gardens. We are finding that gardens here have very few flowers - mostly trees and green plants. This garden has very few native trees, mostly from Asia, Panama, Australia, Africa, Jamaica, Central America, Madagascar and Japan. It has cinnamon, allspice and gum trees, as well as a rainbow tree (with a multicolored trunk) and a beautiful grove of bamboo. Down a few steps from this is an amazing jungle-like part.

At Shark's Cove we tried snorkeling for the first time - what a cool experience - I can't wait to go again!! (thanks Margaret for telling us to try it early in the trip, so that hopefully we will get lots more opportunities). Michael had a friendly encounter with a sea turtle and took lots of photos. I tried to follow a big fish, but alas he was faster and skinnier than me! We think we saw a fish with the longest Hawaiian name I've seen so far - Humuhumunukunukuapua'a! Reminds me of Alex's song "let's talk dirty in Hawaiian!" That song's even funnier now that I've been more exposed to the language. Anyway, I could feel my blood sugar going low while in the water, and felt shaky trying to climb over the rocks to get some sugar, but other than that it was great! On the way home we got to try some fresh shrimp from a roadside wagon where they farm shrimp and cook it right there - yum!