Lava, Sweat, and Other Things that Flow

This morning we hiked up Diamond Head, a dormant volcano, Honolulu's most famous landmark and an historic military defense site. It's a .8 mile climb in the glaring sun, 560 feet to the top of the crater, part paved trail, part dirt switchbacks, and ends with over 280 steep stairs. From the top are panoramic views of Waikiki.



The kids did great, got all the way up and down without any whining or complaining, and both only falling once. At the top, we looked down on the bunkers located inside the crater, and Sophie asked, "What happens if the volcano interrupts?"

As we were leaving, completely sweaty and red-faced, I told the kids to lick their lips and see what they tasted. Sophie asked, "Why do I taste salty?" I asked her what she thought. She said, "I don't know. Boogers?"

Our brochure says that Diamond Head is an "excellent example of a tuff cone." I think this means that the cone is made of rock formed from volcanic ash. Either that or it's some hip hop term I haven't heard yet.


We ditched the expensive shave ice at the Diamond Head concession stand and instead went to Waioloa Shave Ice for the best shave ice this side of the island. Shave ice is better than any snow cone

you have ever eaten;
instead of being ground up into chunks, the ice is literally shaved off in fine particles, heaped into a paper cone, and doused with syrup. It's like eating flavored snowflakes. Ryan and I split a POG (passion, orange, guava) shave ice, and Sophie and Daniel opted for vanilla ice cream.


Since we weren't tired enough for the day, Daniel and Sophie decided they wanted to go swimming. We just got back from the Makiki pool, where Sophie hitched rides on Ryan's back and Daniel peed on the kiddie pool deck. He was dripping and shivering so much anyway that no one noticed.

As soon as we got home, Sophie and Daddy washed the TB. Sophie earned a dollar.

Everyone is going to sleep well tonight.