When I made plans to leave New Zealand, I had a few options. First, my bike was going by boat to Vancouver, so I was in no rush to get there, which allowed me to fly back home and spend a few weeks visiting some family and friends in Iowa, Minnesota, and Colorado. The next thing I had to decide was if I wanted to fly directly from Christchurch to Minnesota, or if I should head somewhere else first. When I started looking, a few days in Hawaii seemed to be an option that didn’t cost any more than flying directly to Minnesota. As I messed around with the dates a bit, I found that I could fly to Maui, stay six nights, then fly to Minnesota for $60 less (including 6 nights accommodation) than a direct flight from Christchurch to Minneapolis…pretty easy decision.


I flew into Honolulu, and had the day there before catching a flight to Maui, so I spent the day at the Pearl Harbor Memorial.



 
The USS Arizona continues to leak oil, up to 9 quarts a day…referred to as the “Tears of the Arizona”

The memorial around the USS Arizona is probably the most well know part of Pearl Harbor, but the USS Bowfin shouldn’t be missed.

The USS Bowfin was an attack submarine that fought in the Pacific during WWII. And for any mechanical engineer-type nerds out there, you gotta see it.

After the day at the memorial, I flew to Maui, where I spent 5 days checking out the island, surfing, and drinking beer. Oh, and I also rented a Harley for a day inbetween the beer drinking.
 

 






 

 

 
 
There were some hug swells in Maui while I was there. For those wondering, these pictures are definitely not of me…some friends and I went to watch how the locals do it on the big waves.


 

Alright, time for what seemed like an endless summer to come to an end…next up, winter in the midwest!