Second Day in Paradise - Still in Oahu

Woke up early at 5:00 am (7:00 am Calif time) - I was exhausted last night so I'm surprised I couldn't sleep in! The sunrise over Diamond head was beautful with the sun's orange streams of light only broken up by intermittent clouds. We had breakfast at Denny's as I wanted something quick and on the way to the beach! Afterall, Waikiki was waiting! We made it to the beach as did hundreds of other people. Didn't take too long to test the water which was so crystal clear you could see the schools of smaller fish. I did, however, have a hard time with my footing. The portion of beach we chose wasn't really protected from the waves, so every time I got hit by a wave I got disoriented and the memories of me almost being drown by the Hawaiian ocean undertoe that I experienced in my 3rd trip started to haunt me once again. I was determined that it wasn't going to beat me - especially after seeing a lot of people in their 70's out there - lol. So I just focussed on the older folks and before I knew it, I was out there swimming through the waves along side them. It was wonderful! But once again, the fear overtook me as I attempted to come to shore when the waves took me one way and the sand underfoot took me another. And what does my loving husband do? He grabs the camera and starts documenting my struggles - lol. And no, I don't think I'm going to post those!

After a nice "relaxing" day at the beach, we rested a while at the condo then took in a couple of stores I'd heard about where local crafters sold their wares. After visiting three stores (and making purchases in three stores), we were ready for dinner. Nathan, Laura Mae and Jaycee met us for dinner at a local hamburger joint that claims to have the best cheeseburgers and Mai Tais in Waikiki. And I have to admit, I think they actually do! Jaycee was real cute sitting in her high chair eating her chicken strips and ff, wearing the hooded Cinderella towel we brought her :)

Nathan and Laura stayed the night at the Hale Koa Military Hotel which is about a block from our condo, so after dinner we walked over there to see their room. The view was gorgeous from the 6th floor overlooking the ocean. It's nice to see they have such a beautiful facility for our military personnel!