Palaces, Luaus, and volcanos

 I love to take tours with anything to do with history.  This was one of my favorite days in Hawaii.  Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. where you can find a palace.  Before Hawaii became a state, it was controlled by kings and queens.  The "Summer Palace" was more like a home, but the Iolani Palace was very beautiful.  I loved the woodwork in the palace and it was just a neat tour to take. 

How can you go to Hawaii and not attend a Luau?  They had lots of activities before dinner.  You could get tattoos, make leis and headbands, learn to hula dance, and even watch a Samoan climb a coconut tree.  The food wasn't bad and I did enjoy the seaweed more then I thought I would.  The show was great and like the Polynesian Cultural Center, I really enjoyed the fire dancers. 

Ahh, Diamond Head!  This was a beautiful day.  Diamond Head had been closed all week and finally opened the day before we had to fly home.  It was crowded, but it was a great hike.  Nothing too bad, but very enjoyable until you got to the cave.  Normally I guess it only takes a few minutes to get through the cave, but because there were so many people, we were stuck in the cave for about 30 minutes.  Now I have never felt clausterphobic, but I did in this cave.  It was so small for the amount of people that were in it, it felt like a sauna, and I had serious doubts about going on.  I decided I had gone this far, I needed to go the rest.  I stuck it out and it was way worth it.  The view was amazing.  Definitely a great experience.