One month since we left California - Hawaii update

Surfing in Waikiki and trying to get some video of it - a GoPro HD video camera is strapped to my head. Trying to time the videos was hard and the camera is a very wide angle, so when they did catch waves, they didn't show up well in the video. I swam while John and Michael surfed - talk about tiring! I would tread water while they made runs in and back out. It was a long way out to the break and a LONG way back in. (Joey)
I look weird in this picture. (Michael)

Can you tell I am super fatigued? (Joey)
I was relaxing on the beach and taking pictures. (Shelli)

John honing his balancing skills. (Joey)
Surfing was fun and it feels really cool to stand up. This wasn't my best ride, but it was the only picture we got. (John)

Michael at the end of a wave. (Joey)
Surfing wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I thought it would be worse. (Michael) 

Hawaiian shaved ice is good! (Michael)

We are eating Hawaiian shaved ice and it was really good. My flavor was raspberry and cherry. (John)

Getting close to the top of Diamond Head. (Joey)

A good view of most of the inside of Diamond Head. (Joey)
We had to climb about 300 stairs worth to get here, but it was worth it. (John)
This was a strenuous hike, but rewarding to get the top. (Shelli)

At the top looking down towards Waikiki and Honolulu. (Joey)
You can see where we surfed from here. (Michael)

At the USS Arizona memorial. Homeschooling this week included WWII history. (Joey)
Oil is still coming up from the ship. (Michael)
We could see the outline of the ship and you could tell where some of the damage was. (John)

The top of Diamond Head is behind us. The very top is where we climbed the day before. (Michael)

We walked around for a different view of the sunset and there was a part of a rainbow in the sky to the left. (Joey)

I had been wanting to get a picture made with birds for a long time. (John)

Can you spot the two turkeys in this picture? (Joey)

Hey look there's a bird on me! (Michael)

Hope he don't poop! (John)

Second day of surfing. Twice the boards. (Joey)

At the Duke Kahanamoku statue in Waikiki. Duke was an Olympic medalist swimmer and is the father of modern surfing. (Joey)

Click here for a video of our surfing outings 

It has been one month since we pulled out of California in the RV! With no house payment and all our stuff in storage, we have a lot of freedom. We have been minimizing costs and are on track to have spent the same or less than we would have if we were still living back in California. With the free Space-A flight and discounted rooms through the military discounts, getting to and staying at Oahu was not bad at all. We are using points I had built up from work trips for the Kauai room and we found very good deals on rental cars for each island. The inter-island flights have been the biggest expense so far. Our condo on the Big Island is under $300 for the week. Maui is up in the air right now. I'm looking for a good deal for the six nights we plan there.

We've been in Hawaii for a week, but it feels like it has been much longer. Each day has been filled with activities and sights. On Oahu we stayed two nights in a cottage on the beach on MCAS Kaneohe and five nights at the Hale Koa hotel on the beach in Waikiki. We drove around most of the island and hit all the major stops. We left Oahu and flew to the island of Kauai on May 3rd. We are in a Courtyard by Marriott on the beach in Kapaa for four nights and and then we head to the Big Island for a week. It is hard to to make timely updates because we have been staying very busy. We really haven't had a single day of rest and relaxation just sitting on the beach.

Our Kauai adventures will be uploaded later.