island
how to enjoy the island of oahu all while encouraging a future church planting family:
say goodbye to routine as you know it.
say aloha to an island and culture where being laid back isn't viewed as negative,
rather viewed as a value.
see the island from a local's point of view, rather than a tourist's point of view.
henry's place has been moved around as commercialism has taken over waikiki. yet he still makes homemade fresh fruit ice cream served in styrofoam cups in the back room of his small store tucked in the shadow of donald trump's hotel.
stay on your time zone and wake up long before the rest of the island. this gives you the beaches and the roads to your exploring.
rent a jeep online before you go. it's the same rate as a midsize car, but way more fun. we both were happy. ben got to tour the island with the top off and i got my sun that way instead of laying dormant on the beach.
we were told to hike diamondhead but it was closed the week we were there. so we drove along the windward side of the island.
walk along sandy beach park where the waves crash against the mighty rock.
drive to the north shore where the surfers hang and wait for the perfect wave. they say they're much higher in january.
collect sea glass. that's the only treasure from the beach you can legally bring home.
every few minutes, stand still wherever you find yourself on the island and take in His creation. every mountain, every wave, every coral reef is alive and under His submission.
search out the tv show, lost, sites on the island.
we discovered the place where they filmed "the other's camp."
prepare for an eeriness to take over as you walk
where ben linus walked.
discover the waialua sugar mill (also a lost site) and taste hawaiian coffee and snow cones. farmer's market also on site.
proof that we were on the island to encourage a future church planter and no, we didn't just randomly pick two white guys and a girl on the beach.
aaron davis (far left, church planter) vince blubaugh (missions pastor in mo) and ben.
below: me and samantha davis (church planter's wife)
take the drive on hwy 99. rows of coffee bean plants.
pineapples growing up through the red earth.
the pass where the japanese planes surprised us on december 7, 1941.
snorkel at hanauma bay. this is definitely a top tourist attraction. $7.50 gets you into this national park, also known as an underwater park. $12 gets you the snorkel gear for rent for the day.
go early to beat the crowds and secure your equipment
and spot on the beach.
this is one of those places to be still on land and underwater and be amazed at His creation again.
a local favorite, yet also featured on the food network: rainbow drive-in. it's buzzing with locals and totally laid back.
their specialty? loco moco. fries topped with hamburger, topped with egg, topped with brown gravy.
we couldn't get enough of the north shore. or the jeep for that matter. or snow cones!
matsumoto's shaved ice in haleiwa.
rainbow with cream. oh. my.
meet the sea turtles at the mokuleia bay beach park.
also where the lost plane crash was filmed.
stay at the wyndham royal garden for $99 a night in waikiki.
and get this...also a film site on lost as the seoul gateway hotel!
spot a rainbow.
eat a dole whip at the dole plantation. it's fresh pineapple among pineapple ice cream. plus, it's free to walk around.
would you pronounce it "like-like" highway?
or "leek-e-leek-e"?
grab an inexpensive and good bite to eat at koa pancake house on the leeward side of the island.
experience pearl harbor.
ben by one of the anchors of the USS Arizona.
appreciate your country and armed forces all the more.
meet herb weatherwax, staff sergeant, united states army, survivor of pearl harbor. (95 years old)
meet sterling r. cale, sgm, united states army,
survivor of pearl harbor. (91 years old)
not many survivors living today.
what an honor to meet these two men.
admire the hawaiian flower.
mahalo, hawaii. (that's thank you.)
we received our time on the island as a gift.
an undeserved, yet greatly appreciated one.
we will return again.
with our children.
and to work alongside aaron and samantha davis,
church planters to oahu.