Helicopter, helicopter over my head...

This is where we had to wait for our van for our adventure today: We are giving you sign language clues as to what we are doing(sign for helicopter):
And we wait....And wait...Finally!Look who we saw at the helicopter place, another cousin!
Aloha, ready to board!Our hotel, the Sheraton Waikiki standing proud:Breath taking scenery:
Flying over the volcano crater:
Amazing...
Pearl Harbor ahead:




Natural agricultural maze:
Love these trees, look like umbrellas from the ground:

Our night out on the town:

The inside of the waiting area of the theater above

Of course, we HAD to have some entertainment before the show and here he is(dedicated to Jeff and Jennie):

Sorry no pictures of the actual show, no cameras were allowed. The performance was good and some of the performers made me want to cover my eyes and hold my breath. We all enjoyed the show. We did manage to escape the line for the picture purchase at the end of the show...yes another way to get us to pay more money!

We have been to the island of Maui and we have come to the conclusion that Maui is so much more relaxed than Oahu. Not that we are regretting coming here. It's just a whole different experience. I am amazed at the amount of tourists here. I feel like I'm walking the streets of Seoul. And once again, I am not the minority, Skip is. There are a lot of Japanese and Chinese tourists here. I still get people thinking I am a local. Like yesterday, when I was waiting with Kora at the hair braid stand, an old gentleman said to me, 'You can't make money if you don't open up your stand'. I told him it wasn't mine. Apparently he didn't hear me and asked me, 'Do you work for wages or do you get a salary'. I told him, again, that this wasn't my stand, I was a tourist! He looked at me so surprised and said, 'Oh' and walked away. Amy, the girl that braided Kora's hair took about 45 minutes to do it. I don't think I could ever braid like that, way too small of braids for me. But good luck doing Em's hair and please take a picture for me. Kora wanted her whole head done, but I only had cash for half, darn it! And it is pricey here, like everything else, her whole head with longer hair would have been $90.

The shopping is unbelievable, the amount of stores everywhere, including inside all of the big hotels. It can get a wee bit overwhelming, yes I said that. It's just not what I would want to live near. I love more of what we experienced in Maui. The next island I would like to visit is Kauai. The locals here say that island is more laid back and more of the true Hawaiin culture.

I'm glad we came to Oahu, I got to see my friends Ken and Diane that I met when I went on the Vietnam/Cambodia trip last April. I went to their house today to meet their children, one daughter is adopted from Korea. Ken and Diane had invited two other couples that had adopted children from Korea to hear my own adoption journey. It was great to be able to share my story, as if I don't tell it, I won't be honoring the Holt's and David Kim for their hard work in givng me a chance at life.

To experience Waikiki though, it's been a great ride so far. We have sure done most of the touristy things. Tomorrow morning, we will be going to Pearl Harbor at 6:00am to avoid the lines, we actually signed up for hte VIP tour to avoid waiting, let's hope that plan works! Papa, Erika said she would write her report on her blog, I will have Taylor write his report on my blog.

Lynlee, Tara says hello and of course, so does your future hubby!

We will be celebrating New Year's Eve with dinner at PF Chang's then there are to be HUGE fireworks displays here. Ken and his family told me that the fireworks are so big that we will feel like we are being attacked...that should be quite the show and experience!

We wish we could be with family and all of our friends to celebrate and ring in the New Year, but know that you are in our hearts and minds as we say goodbye to 2007 and live 2008 the way God intended. Aloha!