Dole Poneapple Plantation Nov. 21. 2009

Every time I use this handy-dandy tool to slice and core a pineapple it reminds me of our visit to the Dole Pineapple Plantation in the middle of Oahu, HI. We purchased the tool in the store there at the plantation. a lady demonstrated how to use it and we were sold on it right away. It is not fussy - it will slice and core any pineapple whether it is a "Dole" or a "Delmonte" grown in Hi or some where in central America.













These are pictures from the plantation. There was a little train which took us around the whole plantation with information all along the way about the cultivation of the pineapple.

We were impressed with the very colorful tree that I am standing next to. According to a book we have it might be the Bagras eucalyptus.

There are various types of pineapples but only one type is grown for market in HI. We had the opportunity to sample some and then we bought one right there and took it along to eat during the week that we were there. Bringing one back to Canada was not allowed.

The soil is so red because it is very rich in iron which is very good for the pineapple cultivation.

Touring the Windward Coast 0f O'ahu

As we continue on along the windward coast Top picture is Halona Blowhole in the area where you see the spray. The video shows much better but I'm not waiting all night for the video to upload - you'll just have to come visit us or go to HI yourselves to see it.

Second picture is Mokoli'i island probably seen from some beach along the Kaneohe Bay or possibly from the Kualoa beach park area.

I think the mountains in the back ground of the next three pictures are the Koolau Range.

The coral was seen along the same beach in front of the mountains.

I am not sure where the kite-sail boarders were.

The last two pictures were from close to the north tip of the windward coast.

More Hawaii - Excursion on the windward side of O'ahu

Friday Nov. 20, 2009 Jim and Myrna took us sightseeing on the windward coast of O'ahu. the first point of interest was the beautiful Hanauma Bay on the south east tip of the island. There is a lovely park overview of the bay. Many folks were snorkeling in the bay - they say it is one of the best places to do so - but they charge quite a bit and since this day was for sightseeing none of us went snorkeling. The little animal was one of the few fur-bearing wildlife that we saw on the whole trip. He and some friends were scavenging the garbage bags.

Fri. Nov. 20 Sunrise at Waikiki

Early Friday morning about 6:30 we were ready for some exercise so both Helmut and I went for a walk along the beach park in Waikiki. The sun rose while we were out walking. The east is behind the sky scrapers of Waikiki and Honolulu so you don't see too much. Pretty good shot of the reflection across the bay off of another high-rise.

A fellow was sitting on a pier side and feeding the birds that would just come and sit on his hand and eat out of his palm. Helmut also noticed many colorful fish in the ocean at this place but the pictures didn't turn out so good.




This s a very nice looking Banyan tree in the park.













A nice man-made water fall.

Day 1 continued

After visiting Pearl Harbor we went to the by shuttle to the Aviation Museum that is not far away and located on a military base. We were told not to take pictures on our way into the museum and for some reason I guess we just got so busy reading the history and looking at the displays that we forgot to take pictures inside.

Then we drove our rental car up to the Nuuanu Pali look out - it is north of Honolulu and higer up in the mountains. This picture of the plaque was taken by Jim on the day that they were there after we came home. The afternoon when we visited the place the wind was blowing in a gale - I feared my skirt might not stay in its proper position so I just had to grab it and hold it down. It was also much cooler up there and I wished for a sweatshirt that I didn't have with me. ( Learned right then that one should always go prepared with a sweatshirt.)

On Nov. 18, 2009 we arrived in HI in the afternoon. Jim & Myrna met us at the airport, guided us to the shuttle that would take us to the car rental place and then guided us to our hotel in Waikiki.

The next day Helmut and I struck out on our own to visit the most important historical spot in HI - PEARL HARBOR. With the map and the good road signs we were able to find it without trouble.

The Common Myna bird is very frequently seen all around the place.

















The park area of Pearl Harbor has many items used during the II WW on display. So we used our waiting time before viewing the Arizona Memorial to inspect all of the out door displays.

Before being taken to the Arizona memorial by a cruise boat we were able to view a video and hear some one tell a little of the history of the attack.

It is time for a new post - I see the last one is really old. The picture uploader doesn't seem to want to function so I may not get any thing to post.

We had a very enjoyable trip to HI and if or when this thingy will work I'll post some details of our travels along with the pictures.