A Trip To The Zoo

Last week, Jayme checked the weather forecast and it called for sunshine, so he suggested we head up to the zoo. Jackie had an appointment, so I took the 2 smaller K's and headed for the zoo. Typical Oregon weather started out sunny but with a COLD breeze blowing, then it rained, hailed and finally some sunshine, but not very warm. But we had so much fun. Katarina has been patiently waiting for me to get some of my pictures up, so here we go!

I wish you could hear Kyler in this picture. I merely told him that I wanted to take his picture. He said "Deeeezzz"! That is 1 year old speak for "cheese"!!!
Kayden climbed on the big lion statue!

Katarina and daddy riding the wood horses in the barn! She LOVES her daddy!

The tigers were up, out of doors AND moving around! They were very big!

The giraffe was inside today. Maybe because it was so cold!

The zebra is bright with

all it's stripes!!

That is one BIG hippo!

Elyssa crashed part way through, but mom kept her warm zipped up inside her jacket.

While we waited to ride the train since it was raining - again, we went inside the place where they have the Lorakeets. You could purchase a cup of nectar and the birds would come and perch on your arm or hand and drink from the cup. The kids were FASCINATED with the brightly colored birds. They were not allowed to touch them, but they were very close to them.

The train ride was so much fun. We rode right by the elephants and saw the new baby. We could see the wolves and eagles. We heard the whistle blow and went over and under bridges. We had such a fun day at the zoo!!!

This is the definition of Aloha.

This is the definition of the Big Kahuna. I've never seen such a BIG SURFER.

The surf at Makaha was beautiful, but the area north of the beach was a homeless camp. The west shore of Oahu is pretty rough territory, but the ocean is fantastic.

Cruisin' Hawaii

Reed and I spent the last week on a cruise around the Hawaiian islands. It was so much fun. Here a few pictures of the trip!

As we sailed away from Honolulu we were blessed by a beautiful rainbow to send us on our way.

The lights of Honolulu as we sailed away!
The first day found us on Maui. We spent part of the day at the beach, kayaking and snorkeling, before we headed up the volcano to watch the sun set from the top of the world at 10,500 feet. It was the only time I was cold!
The next day we were on the big island of Hawaii. On the Hilo side we visited the volcano and hiked across Kileae iki (the little crater). Reed was right at home being the geologist. A couple from Texas attached themselves to Reed and asked tons of questions. Reed was in 7th heaven explaining things.
From there we visited the falls.
On the Kona side we kayaked and snorkeled. We also saw some of the damage from the tsunami. On Kauai, we kayaked up a river and saw where they filmed the opening credits to MASH, Neverland from Hook, and Indiana Jones. We also hiked through the jungle to some remote waterfalls.

As we left Kauai, we sailed along the Na Pali coastline, where we were entertained by whales spouting and slapping their tails as well as the dramatic coastline.
It was a wonderful week. I will post later about the pictures from our visit to Pearl Harbor and time on Oahu!

Pearl

After leaving Kailua we headed over to Pearl Harbor to spend time rendering thanks to all those who sacrificed so much to preserve our freedoms during WWII. We toured the USS Missouri, then went out to the memorial over the USS Arizona. Quite a day, to remember the events of December 7, 1941 and the days that followed. Then we found out hotel on the beach at Waikiki and strolled the beach road with 10,000 other people, watching the crowds surfing. Enjoyed a great dinner watching the sun set over Waikiki. Pretty neat.

What is a trip to the beach without a few early morning sunrise pictures? All those years of getting up early to check the surf conditions as a kid make it hard for me to sleep in at the beach. Our final morning in Kailua, rain showers on the horizon, trade winds blowing, not much surf, but a beautiful sunrise for those up early - mainly joggers and people walking their dogs - just like Sussex Shores! Only with palm trees and volcanic mountains, 78 degree water, ....