The Tuten Adventure

A little fun at the beach

Waimea Bay....this is the same location the Eddie Aikau big wave competition is held in the winter if the waves are at a minimum of 50ft!! The summer is usually like a pool, but we had some fun size waves today!

Oh how they love the ocean!

Priceless!

Not the best picture, but after almost 19 years of being married, it was great proof that we still love eachother and have fun together

A familiar and well loved sight while snorkeling

a little honu enjoying that Hawaii sun

take a kid to the beach, no matter what age, and they will eventually play in the sand...lol.

Yes, the boys ventured out for some spear fishing...after a month of Hunter spearing fish and THEN asking "is this one I'm allowed to kill" I was glad that part of our Hawaii experience was over..he had a great time hunting fish and throwing them back and I finally had to just look at it that he was feeding some poor little disabled sea critter that wouldn' t have had a meal otherwise.

Doris Duke Shangri La

The Doris Duke Shangri La is one of Hawaii's most architecturally significant buildings. You can take a tour of her estate, but it is expensive and there is a waiting list! We never took the tour of the building, but had a blast in the old boat harbor. This is definitely not an easy place to find, but a local favorite.

We started left the sandy beach near diamond head to follow the dilapidated rock wall around Black Point..a little slippery, but worth the trip

Once around the rocky wall, we found the oasis! This is the old private harbor used by Doris Duke to reach her estate. You can see the sea washed stairs that led right out of the water to the property...one of the houses is on top of this cliff. There is an gated entrance at the base of the rock wall to enter the home.

Jason and I on the steps leading to the gated entry...how cool it would have been to see these used in their prime!

We are enjoying those steps to the harbor...a boat docking here would have been amazing!

The view of Diamond Head Crater from the Shangri La harbor.

Woohooo...so neat...and a little slippery!

The view down the coast from Shangri La

we feel a little like being in the Jungle Book!

Mowgli and Baloo

The real reason we came...to jump off the wall!! Go Ashley!!

If you take the plunge, you have to climb the wall to get out..not too bad

Even Michelle and I joined in the fun!

Woooo...talk about your suit trying to come off!

Bombs away!!

I love these two!!

Last S'mores in Hawaii

Only a few days left in Hawaii...we had to have one last fire and roast s'mores. We headed to the beach with our friends, The Parkers, for a fire, some treats, and fun!

The boys did a good job getting the fire set up before the sun set...oh how they love a good campfire!

I'm not sure who started this...but somehow they always end up wrestling in the sand..lol.

Tutens at sunset on the North Shore

Our little princess is growing up so fast!

Two pals enjoying life!

Always amazing!

Fire's lit...bring on those marshmallows!!

What happens when you give kids glow sticks at night and a camera is available??? you get to capture their neat ideas! This is Ashley...what a fun evening

Hot Dogs and Exploring

We headed to the south shore looking for a lava tube...we never found the tube, but did find a really neat area. This small cove was a big adventure! It had all the elements we love...a beautiful view, neat rock formations, strange sea life, and a little danger!

It was very steep and a little slippery climbing down

the area looked like something from another planet

hmmm....how do we get down there? Hunter slid part way down the trail on his bottom. He came out with a few scratches, but made it down alright.

We made it!

Lava rock is SO cool!

Ok mom...enough pictures..when can we explore??

That's better...a helmet sea urchin...this one was tough to get off the rock.

Here it is with a little friend..these don't sting you. Their outer middle is very hard like a tiny helmet. They stick to the rocks and suck off the growing algae.

This was a great spot to check out, but a few rogue waves rushed in and tried to suck us out...yikes!!

We loaded up with energy from the famous Hank's Haute Dogs...boy were we hungry!

More July Fun!

Great view of the Dole pineapples being harvested. It takes 18 months to grow a pineapple..we have seen these little pineapples from their planting to their picking..how cool!!

Go Hunter!!

A great day of snorkeling and getting thrashed by the waves at Electric Beach..this is one of our favorite dive spots...too bad all the scuba gear was already on its way to Colorado...we saved the boogy boards out for some fun in the waves!

Hunter's plan to ride this wave on a noodle didn't quite pan out...he ended up with sand in every open hole of his body..including his mouth!

We saw this interesting crab while snorkeling..I thought he looked like one of the characters on Lilo and Stitch....he looked to be almost a foot wide.

This is Hunter staring into the tubes out at "the box"..the fish love the warm water that is shot out of the tubes from the electric plant on land...the ocean water is used to cool the turbines and then shot out into the ocean. Jason was carried away by the surface current and had to swim all the way back..poor guy.

Our last time out at Ka'ena Point. We walked out along the beautiful rocky coast, picked up sea glass and enjoyed one of my favorite places on Oahu

Ashley went to swim practice while we were enjoying the point..given a choice of hiking or swimming with friends, we should have know which she would choose

Aaaaah, Chinatown! We had never been to this very cultural area in downtown Honolulu. Several blocks that are full of markets, shops and interesting finds. Hunter was amazed by the types of food for sale, to include this pig's head and feet. Look closely, the shop owner is waving the pig's ear at Hunter. Ashley found this to be a little too much and ran outside to fresh air and no animal parts in cases..I'm not sure that she'll ever venture into another area like this again.

The kids were amazed by all the abalone attached to the glass. They were not interested in tasting one at all!

Does this building look familiar? It's the opening scene for the old Hawaii Five-O show. This is the Ilikai hotel where McGarrett stands on the balcony overlooking Honolulu.