Now, if you hadn't seen enough yet (of our Hawaii trip), then take a look at the following page to see the rest of our photos:
http://www.philmarder.com/marderhomepage/photogallery/Oahu_2008/Marders_in_Oahu.htm
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Rest of our Hawaii Photos
Now, if you hadn't seen enough yet (of our Hawaii trip), then take a look at the following page to see the rest of our photos:
http://www.philmarder.com/marderhomepage/photogallery/Oahu_2008/Marders_in_Oahu.htm
Friday, May 23, 2008
Oahu Musical Slide Show
Marders in Oahu
Oahu Musical Slide Show
(Adobe Flash Player required)
Turn on your speakers and maximize your browser window then click below:
http://philmarder.com/marderhomepage/photogallery/Oahu_2008/OMSS/index.html
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Marders in Oahu: Day 10
Marders in Oahu: Day 10
Pearl Harbor and dinner with the cousins
This was our last full day in Hawaii. We make the long flight back to Indy tomorrow. We decided to spend our last day here viewing an important place in US history: Pearl Harbor. We made the half hour drive to Pearl Harbor and parked in a very crowed lot. Seems that most of the tourists here make this visit. Although it's still an active US military installation, there are several areas here that tourists can visit. We decided to concentrate on two areas: the USS Arizona Memorial and the great battleship, Missouri. For the Arizona, we had to wait a good 1.5 hours before viewing the historical film about the attack by the Japanese on December 7th, 1941. Following viewing this excellent account, we boarded a small boat and made the short sail to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial itself is built directly over the sunken hull of the Arizona where 1177 crewman met sudden death on that fateful morning. It's still a grim reminder seeing that hull underwater beneath us on how horrible war can be. From the memorial, we could see our next spot to visit, the USS Missouri. After taking the boat back to shore, we boarded a bus for a short ride to Ford Island where we enjoyed a 1 hr personalized tour by our guide, Ron. Interestingly, Ron is a transplanted Hoosier who served in the military in Hawaii and just decided to stay here for the past 30 or so years. Ron described to us the enormity of this last active battleship for the US Navy. He showed us the 16 inch guns and explained their fire power and range of 23 miles. He told us how it became the favorite ship of President Truman, how it served during the Korean and first Persian Gulf war and perhaps most importantly, how it served as the site for the formal surrender of the Japanese at the end or WWII. We spent most of the day in Pearl Harbor and then drove back to Waikiki. We enjoyed our last visit and dinner with Alyssa and Nathan at Ryan's Grill. Joining us for this special night was our niece, Stephanie Rohde who was also visiting Oahu at this time.
That's it for our blog of Hawaii. I'll be posting more photos of our trip when we get back to "the mainland".
Plaque marks the spot of Pearl Harbor
Phil at Pearl Harbor
Approaching the USS Arizona Memorial by boat
Patty viewing the sunken hull underneath the memorial
Marble wall of memorial at the far end
USS Missouri seen from Arizona Memorial
16 inch guns of the USS Missouri
Plaque marks the spot of the Japanese surrender
Pearl Harbor and dinner with the cousins
This was our last full day in Hawaii. We make the long flight back to Indy tomorrow. We decided to spend our last day here viewing an important place in US history: Pearl Harbor. We made the half hour drive to Pearl Harbor and parked in a very crowed lot. Seems that most of the tourists here make this visit. Although it's still an active US military installation, there are several areas here that tourists can visit. We decided to concentrate on two areas: the USS Arizona Memorial and the great battleship, Missouri. For the Arizona, we had to wait a good 1.5 hours before viewing the historical film about the attack by the Japanese on December 7th, 1941. Following viewing this excellent account, we boarded a small boat and made the short sail to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial itself is built directly over the sunken hull of the Arizona where 1177 crewman met sudden death on that fateful morning. It's still a grim reminder seeing that hull underwater beneath us on how horrible war can be. From the memorial, we could see our next spot to visit, the USS Missouri. After taking the boat back to shore, we boarded a bus for a short ride to Ford Island where we enjoyed a 1 hr personalized tour by our guide, Ron. Interestingly, Ron is a transplanted Hoosier who served in the military in Hawaii and just decided to stay here for the past 30 or so years. Ron described to us the enormity of this last active battleship for the US Navy. He showed us the 16 inch guns and explained their fire power and range of 23 miles. He told us how it became the favorite ship of President Truman, how it served during the Korean and first Persian Gulf war and perhaps most importantly, how it served as the site for the formal surrender of the Japanese at the end or WWII. We spent most of the day in Pearl Harbor and then drove back to Waikiki. We enjoyed our last visit and dinner with Alyssa and Nathan at Ryan's Grill. Joining us for this special night was our niece, Stephanie Rohde who was also visiting Oahu at this time.
That's it for our blog of Hawaii. I'll be posting more photos of our trip when we get back to "the mainland".
Plaque marks the spot of Pearl Harbor
Phil at Pearl Harbor
Approaching the USS Arizona Memorial by boat
Patty viewing the sunken hull underneath the memorial
Marble wall of memorial at the far end 
USS Missouri seen from Arizona Memorial
16 inch guns of the USS Missouri
Plaque marks the spot of the Japanese surrender
Monday, May 12, 2008
Marders in Oahu: Day 9
Marders in Oahu: Day 9
Patty enjoys Mother's Day
If Patty could chose her favorite Mother's Day of all time, this would have to have ranked up there with the best. Today, along with Nathan and Phil, Patty went on a boat trip in order to snorkel with dolphins and sea turtles. The three of them set out on the Wild Side Specialty Tours "Best of the West" trip. This special trip was highly recommended by Alyssa who had accompanied her brother on the same tour in February. Unfortunately for Alyssa, she got sea sick during her trip which led to a not very pleasant experience for her. Fortunately (this time ), the three of us did not have any motion sickness problems. We headed out from Waianae Boat Harbor at 8:30, Sunday morning on a 34 foot catamaran cruiser. Our first stop was on the north-western-most point of Oahu where we spotted some Spinner dolphins. We all jumped in the water with our snorkel equipment and swam as close as 48" from them. These beautiful creatures were swimming in small and large packs that allowed us multiple up-close encounters. For Patty, the biggest thrill was seeing a mother and baby dolphin swimming together. Now that's a real Mother's Day! From there, we headed south a bit until we approached a special submerged rock off Makaha Beach. Again, we jumped off the back of the boat and this time, we were greeted by huge, Green Hawaiian sea turtles. It seems that they hang out around this big rock so that small fish will eat the algae off their shells. We got quite show here as well. One time, I turned around (under water) to find Patty, and there, within a foot of me was a big sea turtle looking at me directly in my face! This cared the pajabers out of me. We stayed with the turtles for more than a half an hour before getting back in the boat and having a sandwich. This trip was worth the premium as there were only 6 participants escorted by the 2 crew. After our snorkel trip, we went back to Waikiki and spent some time on a nearby, Kapiolani Beach. Alyssa met up with us there and brought "Layla" a dog that they were watching for a friend. We topped the day off with a dinner at Roy's Restaurant. This is Alyssa's special favorite and suggested it for us. Alyssa & Nate presented Patty with some presents and we all had a wonderful dinner together.
Patty & Phil depart for the Wild Side dolphin & turtle trip
Nathan chillin' with a Pepsi on way to see the sea creatures
Phil thinking about whats ahead on Oahu's west shore
Patty relaxing on beach in Waikiki with Nate, Alyssa & Layla
Nate takes Layla for a shower at the beach
Patty enjoys Mother's Day
If Patty could chose her favorite Mother's Day of all time, this would have to have ranked up there with the best. Today, along with Nathan and Phil, Patty went on a boat trip in order to snorkel with dolphins and sea turtles. The three of them set out on the Wild Side Specialty Tours "Best of the West" trip. This special trip was highly recommended by Alyssa who had accompanied her brother on the same tour in February. Unfortunately for Alyssa, she got sea sick during her trip which led to a not very pleasant experience for her. Fortunately (this time ), the three of us did not have any motion sickness problems. We headed out from Waianae Boat Harbor at 8:30, Sunday morning on a 34 foot catamaran cruiser. Our first stop was on the north-western-most point of Oahu where we spotted some Spinner dolphins. We all jumped in the water with our snorkel equipment and swam as close as 48" from them. These beautiful creatures were swimming in small and large packs that allowed us multiple up-close encounters. For Patty, the biggest thrill was seeing a mother and baby dolphin swimming together. Now that's a real Mother's Day! From there, we headed south a bit until we approached a special submerged rock off Makaha Beach. Again, we jumped off the back of the boat and this time, we were greeted by huge, Green Hawaiian sea turtles. It seems that they hang out around this big rock so that small fish will eat the algae off their shells. We got quite show here as well. One time, I turned around (under water) to find Patty, and there, within a foot of me was a big sea turtle looking at me directly in my face! This cared the pajabers out of me. We stayed with the turtles for more than a half an hour before getting back in the boat and having a sandwich. This trip was worth the premium as there were only 6 participants escorted by the 2 crew. After our snorkel trip, we went back to Waikiki and spent some time on a nearby, Kapiolani Beach. Alyssa met up with us there and brought "Layla" a dog that they were watching for a friend. We topped the day off with a dinner at Roy's Restaurant. This is Alyssa's special favorite and suggested it for us. Alyssa & Nate presented Patty with some presents and we all had a wonderful dinner together.
Patty & Phil depart for the Wild Side dolphin & turtle trip 
Nathan chillin' with a Pepsi on way to see the sea creatures
Phil thinking about whats ahead on Oahu's west shore
Patty relaxing on beach in Waikiki with Nate, Alyssa & Layla
Nate takes Layla for a shower at the beach
Patty showing the picture and lei she received from Nate & Alyssa on Mother's Day
Phil's dinner at Roy's (salmon, ahi, butterfish)
Nate & Alyssa at Roy's Restaurant
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Marders in Oahu: Day 8
Marders in Oahu: Day 8
Nathan & Patty go ocean kayaking
Today was a day for mother and son to spend some quality time together. Since Phil & Patty have had such bad luck anytime that they've tried to canoe or kayak together, Nathan took over and spent the morning with his mom showing her the ropes of ocean kayaking. Nate picked up Patty at our hotel and together (with Alyssa as photo-journalist) went to Kailua Beach park and rented ocean kayaks for a few hours. After their initial try-out, Nathan led their journey out, away from the beach to visit "Flat Island", a nature preserve for birds. Once arrived on the island, they walked around and saw several birds that even Patty wasn't sure about. What a great time they had together today! They then brought back the kayak and met Phil at Hawaii Kai golf course. They handed Nathan off to Phil for one final round of golf and Alyssa went back to Waikiki to spend the rest of the afternoon with Patty doing some light shopping and visiting the aquarium on Waikiki.
Nathan gives some light instruction
Wave "hi" to the photo journalist
Here they come, paddling in unison
Nate and Patty row into shore
Great day of ocean kayaking
Patty & Aly getting matching cell phone charms
a look at the fish at the acquarium
Nathan & Patty go ocean kayaking
Today was a day for mother and son to spend some quality time together. Since Phil & Patty have had such bad luck anytime that they've tried to canoe or kayak together, Nathan took over and spent the morning with his mom showing her the ropes of ocean kayaking. Nate picked up Patty at our hotel and together (with Alyssa as photo-journalist) went to Kailua Beach park and rented ocean kayaks for a few hours. After their initial try-out, Nathan led their journey out, away from the beach to visit "Flat Island", a nature preserve for birds. Once arrived on the island, they walked around and saw several birds that even Patty wasn't sure about. What a great time they had together today! They then brought back the kayak and met Phil at Hawaii Kai golf course. They handed Nathan off to Phil for one final round of golf and Alyssa went back to Waikiki to spend the rest of the afternoon with Patty doing some light shopping and visiting the aquarium on Waikiki.
Nathan gives some light instruction
Wave "hi" to the photo journalist
Here they come, paddling in unison
Nate and Patty row into shore
Great day of ocean kayaking
Patty & Aly getting matching cell phone charms
a look at the fish at the acquarium
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Marders in Hawaii: Day 7
Marders in Hawaii Day 7
Visiting Diamond Head & Hanauma Bay
Perhaps the most famous geography in all of Hawaii is the Diamond Head crater. Hawaii, itself was formed through volcanic eruptions followed by erosion. This crater was said to have been created after a single eruption 300,000 years ago. Diamond Head is now considered both a state monument and a National Natural Landmark. You can see Diamond Head from the beaches of Waikiki. Today was our day to move out of our rented apartment and check into a hotel on Waikiki beach. This is the real "touristy" section of the island. That's OK for us as we wanted to experience this as well. We made the short drive down through the Pali Highway and drove into the very urban area of Waikiki at around 11 AM. We were cordially greeted by the Hotel Renew's staff, checked into our room and then set out to see a couple of sites on this end of the island. We first stopped for lunch at the Diamond Head grill and had some teriyaki sandwiches at this walk-up location. Then, we made the short drive to the crater, parked our car, and started the hike up the crater wall. It's actually not an easy hike. It was a hot (as it usually is here) and steep climb up to the 761 foot summit. Along the way were rocky trails, steep staircases, beautiful lookouts, and tunnels. When we finally reached the summit, the view to the east and west (Waikiki) was outstanding. After a brief stop, we hiked back down, completing this 1 hour journey in the parking lot where we met up with Alyssa. Alyssa led us by car to our second point of interest for this day, Hanauma Bay. Not just your run of the mill snorkel spot, Hanauma Bay is both a nature preserve and a marine life conservation district. It's another one of those volcanic crater formations that this time runs right into the ocean. It forms this beautifully protected bay where lots of coral and fish coexist in a natural habitat. As first time visitors, Patty & I had to view an educational video about Hanauma Bay. We then changed into our swim suits and did a little snorkeling in the park. Once we got used to what we were doing, we saw roughly 8 different kinds of tropical fish in the water. We left Hanauma Bay, went back to our hotel and showered before sharing very good dinner with Alyssa and Nate at the Hee Hing Chinese Restaurant.
View of Diamond Head from below
Diamond Head Grill
Patty at the park entry
Look up at the people climbing the crater
Phil at one of the scenic overlooks
Patty at the summit overlooking Waikiki
Entering Hanauma Bay
A view of the cove and beach from above
Another view of this beautiful spot
Visiting Diamond Head & Hanauma Bay
Perhaps the most famous geography in all of Hawaii is the Diamond Head crater. Hawaii, itself was formed through volcanic eruptions followed by erosion. This crater was said to have been created after a single eruption 300,000 years ago. Diamond Head is now considered both a state monument and a National Natural Landmark. You can see Diamond Head from the beaches of Waikiki. Today was our day to move out of our rented apartment and check into a hotel on Waikiki beach. This is the real "touristy" section of the island. That's OK for us as we wanted to experience this as well. We made the short drive down through the Pali Highway and drove into the very urban area of Waikiki at around 11 AM. We were cordially greeted by the Hotel Renew's staff, checked into our room and then set out to see a couple of sites on this end of the island. We first stopped for lunch at the Diamond Head grill and had some teriyaki sandwiches at this walk-up location. Then, we made the short drive to the crater, parked our car, and started the hike up the crater wall. It's actually not an easy hike. It was a hot (as it usually is here) and steep climb up to the 761 foot summit. Along the way were rocky trails, steep staircases, beautiful lookouts, and tunnels. When we finally reached the summit, the view to the east and west (Waikiki) was outstanding. After a brief stop, we hiked back down, completing this 1 hour journey in the parking lot where we met up with Alyssa. Alyssa led us by car to our second point of interest for this day, Hanauma Bay. Not just your run of the mill snorkel spot, Hanauma Bay is both a nature preserve and a marine life conservation district. It's another one of those volcanic crater formations that this time runs right into the ocean. It forms this beautifully protected bay where lots of coral and fish coexist in a natural habitat. As first time visitors, Patty & I had to view an educational video about Hanauma Bay. We then changed into our swim suits and did a little snorkeling in the park. Once we got used to what we were doing, we saw roughly 8 different kinds of tropical fish in the water. We left Hanauma Bay, went back to our hotel and showered before sharing very good dinner with Alyssa and Nate at the Hee Hing Chinese Restaurant.
View of Diamond Head from below
Diamond Head Grill
Patty at the park entry
Look up at the people climbing the crater
Phil at one of the scenic overlooks
Patty at the summit overlooking Waikiki
Entering Hanauma Bay
A view of the cove and beach from above
Another view of this beautiful spotFriday, May 9, 2008
Marders in Hawaii Day 6
Marders in Hawaii Day 6
Nathan & Phil's golf tour continues......
Today, Nathan and Phil traveled to the northern part of Oahu to play golf at the famous Turtle Bay Resort. Although it's only about 30 miles north, it still takes an hour to drive there due to the winding, coastal road route that must be taken. We arrived at about 11 AM and had a fish (Ahi tuna) lunch on the patio of the club house overlooking the practice green. There are two 18 hole layouts at Turtle Bay: the Fazio and the Palmer courses. We played the easier of the two (Fazio). A PGA tour event is played every year on the Palmer course. This was a more relaxing, enjoyable day of golf than the previous at Ko'olau. Wide fairways and aprons allowed us to approach each hole from multiple angles. Phil even had a birdie on hole number nine. The toughest part of playing on this course was dealing with the howling trade winds that knock down all of your shots. Oh yes, the greens were the fastest that we'd yet experienced on this island.
Welcome to Turtle Bay Golf Resort
Tee box on hole #7
Used the camera self-timer here
Phil birdied this hole
Nathan holds flag on hole #11
Two holes play along the ocean on each course
Nathan & Phil's golf tour continues......
Today, Nathan and Phil traveled to the northern part of Oahu to play golf at the famous Turtle Bay Resort. Although it's only about 30 miles north, it still takes an hour to drive there due to the winding, coastal road route that must be taken. We arrived at about 11 AM and had a fish (Ahi tuna) lunch on the patio of the club house overlooking the practice green. There are two 18 hole layouts at Turtle Bay: the Fazio and the Palmer courses. We played the easier of the two (Fazio). A PGA tour event is played every year on the Palmer course. This was a more relaxing, enjoyable day of golf than the previous at Ko'olau. Wide fairways and aprons allowed us to approach each hole from multiple angles. Phil even had a birdie on hole number nine. The toughest part of playing on this course was dealing with the howling trade winds that knock down all of your shots. Oh yes, the greens were the fastest that we'd yet experienced on this island.
Welcome to Turtle Bay Golf Resort
Tee box on hole #7
Used the camera self-timer here
Phil birdied this hole
Nathan holds flag on hole #11
Two holes play along the ocean on each courseWednesday, May 7, 2008
Marders in Oahu: Day 5
Today was another golf day. This time Phil played golf with Nathan and used Nathan's suggestion to play Ko'olau Golf Course. This course is advertised as "The world's most challenging golf course". It did not disappoint. Built on the side of the Ko'olau mountains and in the midst of a rain forest/jungle, the course played long and narrow. They suggest bringing as many balls as your handicap and to top it off, it was "cart path only" meaning lots of walking on steep grades. The views were breathtaking and the golf was indeed challenging. Add a little light rain and you have one difficult round of golf. We actually had a great time playing and were one of the few people playing today at this course.
Marders in Oahu: Day 4
Marders in Oahu: Day 4
Touring Oahu's Northern coast.
Nate & Alyssa suggested that we tour the north coast of Oahu. We followed their suggestions and visited several nice spots along the way. We headed northeast out of Lanikai and traveled through Kaneohe to our first stop, Kualoa beach park. Here we were able to see the famous "Chinaman's Hat" island just off the coast. Patty also spotted a small crab in the tidal pool that we got a photo of. We continue to head north and briefly stopped at the Polynesian Cultural center. But just like Wally World, it was closed. So, we pushed on our auto tour and continued to head northwest now. So far, all we saw here was actually on the so-called windward coast. Now as we turned northwest, we entered the area called the North Shore. Here the climate is a little different. It's a little drier and hotter up here. We passed through Turtle Bay and kept driving west now. We stopped for lunch (using Nate & Alyssa's suggestion) at the shrimp trucks in Haleiwa. Yum, yum delicious. At these places you get a plateful of garlic-steamed shrimp and some white rice. After chow-ing down, we headed back east and stopped at another of their suggestions: the beach at Jocko point. Just as predicted, here we saw several Hawaiian green sea turtles basking on the beach. They were magnificent! We also spotted some surfers enjoying the best surfing spot in Oahu (North Shore). Our next stop was just down the road at Waimea Falls park. Here we saw beautiful botanical garden and a water fall. We also enjoyed some of the Hawaiian shaved ice treats. We got back in the car and headed back south, making a counter-clockwise loop home. Our last stop was at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We didn't have time to see their attractions (train ride or labyrinth) but did manage to purchase some souvenir snack foods (macadamia nuts and pineapple treats).
Patty at "Chinaman's Hat" Kualoa beach park
Small crab found in tidal pool in Kualoa beach park
Shrimp truck lunch eaten near Haleiwa
Giant Hawaiian green sea turtle near Jocko's beach
Phil posing near Waimea Falls
Bird of Paradise (flower) in Waimea park botanical gardens
Enter the Dole Pineapple Plantation souvenir store
Touring Oahu's Northern coast.
Nate & Alyssa suggested that we tour the north coast of Oahu. We followed their suggestions and visited several nice spots along the way. We headed northeast out of Lanikai and traveled through Kaneohe to our first stop, Kualoa beach park. Here we were able to see the famous "Chinaman's Hat" island just off the coast. Patty also spotted a small crab in the tidal pool that we got a photo of. We continue to head north and briefly stopped at the Polynesian Cultural center. But just like Wally World, it was closed. So, we pushed on our auto tour and continued to head northwest now. So far, all we saw here was actually on the so-called windward coast. Now as we turned northwest, we entered the area called the North Shore. Here the climate is a little different. It's a little drier and hotter up here. We passed through Turtle Bay and kept driving west now. We stopped for lunch (using Nate & Alyssa's suggestion) at the shrimp trucks in Haleiwa. Yum, yum delicious. At these places you get a plateful of garlic-steamed shrimp and some white rice. After chow-ing down, we headed back east and stopped at another of their suggestions: the beach at Jocko point. Just as predicted, here we saw several Hawaiian green sea turtles basking on the beach. They were magnificent! We also spotted some surfers enjoying the best surfing spot in Oahu (North Shore). Our next stop was just down the road at Waimea Falls park. Here we saw beautiful botanical garden and a water fall. We also enjoyed some of the Hawaiian shaved ice treats. We got back in the car and headed back south, making a counter-clockwise loop home. Our last stop was at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We didn't have time to see their attractions (train ride or labyrinth) but did manage to purchase some souvenir snack foods (macadamia nuts and pineapple treats).
Patty at "Chinaman's Hat" Kualoa beach park
Small crab found in tidal pool in Kualoa beach park
Shrimp truck lunch eaten near Haleiwa
Giant Hawaiian green sea turtle near Jocko's beach
Phil posing near Waimea Falls
Bird of Paradise (flower) in Waimea park botanical gardens
Enter the Dole Pineapple Plantation souvenir store
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