The middle - Day 5

My dad had to ship a package at FedEx by the airport, his car battery was dead, and I wanted to hike Diamond Head - a triumvirate of reasons to throw the kids in the car and drive to Honolulu.

"But Diamond Head is really hot. Why don't we hike the Aiea Loop Trail instead" my Dad said.

With no objections, we dropped the dry-ice encased salivettes at FedEx and drove to Keaiwa Heiau State Recreation Area. Courtney, Mikey, and Minami met us in the parking lot closest to the bathrooms - a necessity for kids who've been in the car for an hour.

We hiked up the steep road to the trail head, passing more than one parking area on the way. That was at 4:30pm. 3 hours, 5 miles, and 6 cooperative kids later we emerged from the forest in near darkness.

Don't be fooled by the general happiness of the people in this picture. We were only 20 minutes into the hike when the photo was taken.

This one was taken only a couple minutes later. And you know how kids are - pleasant one minute, monsters the next 127.

It was still light out when we reached the stretch looking over Interstate H-3. Yes - Hawaii has interstates, even though they are technically intrastates, or more specifically, intraislands.

See the city lights in the background? It was DARK by the time we made it off the trail. If it weren't for the full moon we'd probably still be wandering out there.

To say we underestimated the scope of hiking 5 mountainous miles with 6 kids is an understatement.

All are alive, exhausted, and some are questioning their personal intelligence.