Yesterday, we took the public bus all the way up the north shore, swam, played, got sun burned, flew a kite, missed seeing the Dole Plantation because they were closing, and came back late but in time for a barbecue at the hostel where we watched Tom Cruise go crazy in the Minority Report.
Today we saw the Arizona Memorial and Dole plantation in the morning and then went back to the North Shore to go rock jumping. The Dole Plantation is home to the world's largest labyrinth hedge maze. We tried finding all of the secret locations in the maze to win a prize, but no luck. We would have had to do it in less than eleven minutes to win. After going through the maze, I think that would only be possible if you knew where they were and you ran the whole way. So we bought lots of stuff instead. That is where we discovered li hing powder. At a pineapple cutting demonstration, the lady sprinkled a rust colored powder all over the pineapple slices before serving. The taste is hard to describe. It is sweet/salty pulverized dried plum and is a very popular topping for many things in Hawaii, including shaved ice. We liked it too.
One beach at the North Shore has a huge rock sticking out into the sea and is perfect for jumping. It was a beautiful spot and the locals were cool. At about 20 plus feet, Eric was hesitant to jump at first. I think the cute local girls jumping near us helped motivate him to finally make the leap.
This photo is of Eric. We did some snorkeling and Eric accidentally left his non-water proof camera in his pocket. Oops. It was really a fun time and beyond beautiful.
