DAY 4, Dec 9th: Today was a day mixed with many memories. We began again with Kona Coffee and ham & cheese croissants on our balcony in the warm sun. We finally gathered up and headed for Honolulu. We visited the statue of King Kamehameha in front of the State Supreme Court Building (Ali’iolani Hale). Inside the court was stunning Koa wood walls and marble floors – this building was originally Kamehamaha’s palace. It should be noted that nothing would be stolen from here under the watchful eye of “Deputy Barney”! (Insert sarcasm... we wanted to ask him a question but had to wake him up first!) From there we tried to navigate the parking and travel nightmare of the big city and finally gave up and headed for Hilo Hattie for some shopping.

After wards we came back to the resort, changed into swimsuits, and headed back for the North Shore. After a quick stop at the North Shore Tattoo shop to allow the artist there to look at John’s arm and begin designing a custom Hawaiian Panel for his arm (more on that later), we headed to Waimea Bay.

Holy Crushing Waves Batman!!! John braved the surf first and then Christy actually dived in as well. Mistake one: it was rougher than we thought and the waves kicked our butt’s! Mistake two; Christy wore the wrong suit and after being slammed by one particularly large wave that crashed over and nearly drowned us, she broke the surface and it seems “something” was trying to break free from her swimsuit as well (think “Wardrobe Malfunction”!) After giving up and visiting another beach for pictures, we headed back to North Shore Tattoo for John’s Polynesian work of art. It took 2 & ½ hours, $300 and some intestinal fortitude equal to the size of cantaloupes! It’s a traditional style design that will always remind us of our vacation. Our night ended with a few beers, scrubbing off of dried blood and snacks before bed.


http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z...emanvx/HAWAII/