2008 and WEB arrive at the same time!

We sat on Waikiki beach to watch the fireworks and cheer in the NEW YEAR before heading over to the hotel where Willem, Erwin and Brenda (WEB) would be staying. We heard the famous Heuck whistle and sure enough WEB found us there in the lobby. What a way to start 2008!

The picture below signifies FAMILY to us. Why? You ask?
Well here's the story..... When Dieter was just a wee lad he spent some time with his Aunties. Linden, Karen, and Diane told the wee one he could be WHATEVER he wanted to be when he grows up. "ANYTHING at all" they said. So they were told he wanted to be AN OSTRICH! Since that time, we always include a visit to Uncle Ostrich at the Honolulu Zoo.



The recent weeks have passed very quickly for us here in Hawaii. We've been to the Zoo a few times. The Honoulu Zoo is home to 1230 mammals, birds and reptiles (By the way - that number increased by four when Erik, Dieter, Alexander and Katherine went).



We're big fans of the Waikiki Aquarium and because it is so close to where we're staying we go quite frequently. Each time we seem to learn something new too so it's always worth a visit. It's the third oldest Aquarium in the US! There are plenty of tropical fish in this small but first-class aquarium, located on a live coral reef. The Hawaiian reef habitat features sharks, eels, black corals, and habitats of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and pelagic mahimahi. The kids enjoy the interactive displays especially the one where volunteers teach them how to hold a hermit crab, touch a sea urchin and make a sea anemone move.

Waikiki never seems to sleep, and in addition to the sunset ceremonies on the beach there are always many Hula shows to watch. Yesterday Erik was selected as a participant to perform the Hula at the Sheraton Waikiki poolside show. NOTE: video clips will be available upon request from Tante Brenda.

A few days ago Greg and Alexander invited Georg and Dieter to join them on a Captain's tour of the Battleship Missouri Memorial. WOW! On the deck of the battleship Missouri, World War II came to an end with the signing of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The Missouri was part of the force that carried out bombing raids over Tokyo and provided firepower in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It was the last battleship of its kind that the Navy built. In 1955, the Navy decommissioned the ship, but in 1986, the Missouri was modernized and called back into action, eventually being deployed in the Persian Gulf War, before retiring once again in 1992. In 1998, Hawaii was honoured with the rights to keep the Missouri and she was brought to Pearl Harbour. Their tour took them into the bowels of the ship giving them an appreciation of what life would have been like onboard.

Because Georg's father was in the German Navy he has his story (history) to share and we continue to want to know and understand more about life during war times. When Georg and Erik visited the Missouri with Papa (Opa) a few years ago they were very touched by the response he received from members of the Navy who had also "served" in the War, but of course on different sides. The mutual friendship, courtesy and understanding between the old sailors was touching.

We are unable to add pictures from the tour, as our new camera is no longer functioning. We'll try to collect a few from Barb and Greg to share on our blog.

Today we had planned to rent a car and go experience the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park with our friends from Regina. Unfortunately we had to change our plans when we couldn't secure a large enough vehicle for the seven of us.

Because we've visited this Island many times, we won't be doing all the tourist-type activities. We are still planning to hike Diamond Head, snorkel at Hanauma Bay, and the PADI divers will go scuba diving but otherwise we'll just hang out or "hang loose" as they say in Hawaii. (Note here: The older we get, the easier it is for us to do this "hangin loose stuff" as our entire bodies seem to get in on the mood and just droop- er- I mean Hang Loose quite naturally, SANS EFFORT).

We continue to meet so many amazing people and we still fervently believe that it's not what we do, but who we meet that makes a place dear to us. A special thank you to our new friends from San Francisco: Deborah, Dan and their amazing son Brandon for sharing their time with us here until their departure on December 30.