Daddy had a long weekend for President's Day, so we decided to do more exploring. Our initial plans to go snorkeling had to be postponed--the girls woke up with nasty colds, and the weather was bit chilly for snorkeling (in the 60s! People are pulling out their winter coats! I had to laugh.) We did some other land-based things instead.

Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery
This national cemetery commemorates the dead and missing from WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In addition to the graves and the memorial walls, it also featured a wall of mosaic maps illustrating U.S. naval operations in the Pacific. The cemetery's use of the Gettysburg Address and another Lincoln quote meant we also ended up discussing the Civil War.

Overlooking the 112 acre cemetery, we talked about how freedom isn't free
and our responsibility to use that freedom wisely.

Ka'ena Point Hike
This was a fantastic 6-mile hike for a relatively cool day. It's a coastal trail, so there's barely a scrap of shade, but the views are fantastic for the entire length. For better or worse, it had rained quite a bit this weekend and massive puddles had overtaken the trail in many areas, which meant we did a lot of rock scrambling and side stepping in our attempts not to get too muddy (Monkey and Lion were thrilled with this added layer of challenge; Bug, however, was not pleased to be in constant imminent danger of getting muddy.) The real payoff was the wildlife sightings and she was definitely the most excited about those! We saw numerous humpback whales spouting off the coast, three monk seals lounging on a rocky beach, and a bunch of nesting Laysan albatrosses (such amazing birds--up to 10-foot wingspans!) We even got to see two albatross chicks! So cute!

This rock formation made the perfect bench for three little hikers!

Standing on the westernmost point of Oahu! (They didn't stand
there long--turns out we were within yards of a seal and hadn't noticed him!)