Hawaii ~ 2010

While working on "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," my boyfriend is spending 6 months working in O'ahu. I was lucky enough to get to visit him on 3 different occasions. Here are a few of the highlights from my trips:

Trip 1 = March 24th - May 4th
(yes, I was there for 6 weeks)

"From Here to Eternity" Beach



Hiking Diamond Head









Paradise Cove Luau
Right down the street from Sherman's hotel in Ko Olina, was home of the Paradise Cove Luau. One of the best luau's in O'ahu, I was told. Our friend Nancy joined Sherman and I for our Hawaiian Luau Adventure!


As soon as we got to the Luau, we were handed Mai Tai's & lei'ed. A girl wearing a coconut bra & grass skirt told us that we had 90 minutes of "play time" before dinner. Time flew by as we made leis, threw spears, got fake tattoos and watched Sherman dance in a grass skirt on the beach. A few Mai Tai's later, we sat down to a fantastic dinner & Polynesian show!


Alli Kai Dinner Cruise
My awesome PA (Rahim) from "Love Don't Let Me Down" gave Sherman & I tickets for the Alli Kai Dinner Cruise. We had a blast! We sailed for about 2 hours on a Catamaran (going down the coastline, towards Diamond Head). After eating some awesome food, the staff of Alli Kai put on a fun show for us.











Bishop Museum
Sherman & I never would have known about the Bishop Museum, if it were not for the "1000 Places" book. We were slightly hesitant heading to the museum but what a pleasant surprise!

Pearl Harbor We split Pearl Harbor into 2 trips. Trip #1 was USS Bowfin.











Trip #2 was USS Missouri & USS Arizona.


Pearl Harbor was an amazing experience. I loved exploring the USS Bowfin (a Submarine that was launched on 7 December 1942, exactly one year to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor) through an interactive audio tour.

The USS Arizona Memorial is dedicated to the men & women who lost their lives in the attack of Pearl Harbor. I don't know what was more moving to see ~ the remains of this sunken battleship or the marble wall with the names of every single person who died aboard the USS Arizona (all 1,177 of them). One astonishing fact about the USS Arizona is that it still leaks about a quart of oil each day into the harbor. Survivors from the crew believe that it will continue to leak until the the last survivor has passed away.

The USS Missouri was the last battleship built by the US. Boarding the ship, we were met by a tour guide who showed us some of the highlights of the boat. The most impressive thing to see was the plaque marking the spot where the Japanese surrendered, therefore ending WWII.



Sunset Booze Cruise









To celebrate Sherman's 30th Birthday, Hampton (Sherman's sister), Jim (Hampton's boyfriend), Dawn (Sherman's co-worker) and I went on a Booze Cruise. 2 hours on a sailboat, sipping on Mai Tais and watching the sun set...


Trip 2 = May 28th - May 31st (Memorial Day Weekend)

Submarine Ride
Hands down, this was one of the coolest experiences of my life. We boarded a boat out of Waikiki and 10 minutes off the coast we saw our submarine emerge from the ocean. We went down over 100 feet into the Pacific. Our tour guide pointed out the various colorful fish we encountered (not to mention the 7 sharks that surrounded us at one point), the 2 sunken ships and many different reefs. One of coolest things I learned on the sub ride is that the color red disappears when you go 15 feet under water. Who knew!?!

Trip 3 = July 2nd - July 5th (4th of July Weekend)
Sushi @ Mr. Ojisan's
Sherman's boss, Zach, introduced him to Mr. Ojisan's (where Sherman has become a bit of a regular). He was greeted with big smiles the moment we got there. Great food, great service! If you like sushi, I definitely recommend a trip to Mr. Ojisan's if you ever find yourself in O'ahu!



4th of July Dinner @ Michel's
Hanauma Bay
All beaches in Hawaii are open to the public, but Hanauma Bay is not a normal beach. After paying $1 for parking, we waited in line for about 20 minutes to pay $7.50/each to get entrance to the beach. Before being admitted to the beach though, all visitors are required to listen to an educational video about the bay and marine life. Sadly, the video wasn't working and Sherman and I were deprieved of our lesson for the day!

The beach was beautiful, I would have loved to have gone snorkeling but my broken foot and the fact that I had a plane to catch put a kink in our plans.