04 | February | 2018 | Mary Anna Reyes

Clear skies, a bright spectrum of blue ocean, and lush greenery show themselves off on the hike up to the pillboxes.

Hello again, all! A couple weeks ago I was blessed with sunny Hawaii and Guam layovers which means currently as I type this I am in snowy Germany avoiding the freezing cold outside. With this job you have to accept all types of destinations- often in the same month or even week! It definitely makes packing a suitcase quite interesting! Swimsuit? Check. Snow-boots? Check! What I try my best to never forget is my camera and I’m thankful I didn’t in Hawaii!

This day was eventful from early morning to late in the evening. From breakfast we took an Uber to Pearl Harbor where we spent the early afternoon re-learning everything high school was supposed to teach us. I have to admit, I learned more in the course of a 20 minute documentary they showed us than I did in my courses at school…and that, unfortunately, is saying something. Still, it was a fascinating experience to visit Pearl Harbor. It gave me chills to learn that oil still continues to leak out from the USS Arizona. You just have to watch the water sway back and forth underneath to see the rainbow of oil that sits on top of the ocean.

From Pearl Harbor we made our way to the Lanikai Pillbox Hike in Kailua. The first few minutes of the hike may be daunting to anyone unaccustomed to rocky terrain. It required large steps and careful footing up till the first view point. There are ropes on this part to assist with the descent, which I was very thankful for after already falling on my butt once.

Still, once you get to the first view point…you just want to continue going. You will witness a full panorama of Lanikai with its bright blue waters full of kayaks that are making their way to the nearby islands.

The slippery terrain resulted in a humorous afternoon spent with the four horsemen (Sam, Lauren, Dustin, and myself.) Excellent company certainly makes any hike even more impressive.

Eventually you make it to the old military bunkers- the pillboxes. Vibrantly embroidered in vivid colors with signatures and markings of their past visitors.

It was the mixture of the ocean that appeared as if hand painted by God himself while the wind whistled through the long green grass along the mountain cliffs that left me mesmerized.

That is until I fell on my butt on the way down.

Hawaii continued to shine as the sun did its final bow before night set in. We ended our evening with the biggest slice of pizza and happy hearts after a brilliant day in beautiful Hawaii.