The heart of the islands of Hawaii, Oahu has been blessed with beautiful weather, a fantastic port, mountains and almost everything else the other islands are known for (except the active volcano!). There are rainbows in Manoa almost every day; there are the cliffs of the Pali where a long ago battle took place to give King Kamehameha control of the Hawaiian islands; there are miles of beaches where you might see one set of footprints along the surf line and then there is the glitter and energy of Waikiki. There is downtown Honolulu with it's charming restored brick buildings, fascinating Chinatown with open air markets where locals go to buy their fresh vegetables and fruits and the historical area with the only Palace in the U.S., Missionary houses and a Hawaiian church.

There are bamboo forests, rain forests, Eucalyptus forests, guava, mango, avocado and delicious juicy mountain apple trees, growing wild along many hiking trails. Then there are the tropical plants: Antheriums, orchids, ginger, bougainvillea and other exotic flora that can be found growing wild among the ridges of the Ko'olaus that flow down to the land and slightly more tamed in most backyards. There are beaches with many people; there are beaches with hardly a soul. There are spots to swim with dolphins, spots to watch for whales and spots to simply watch the sun set into the Pacific. There are mountains to climb, reefs to explore, fish to snorkel with and weather that hardly changes from season to season.

There is food of every ethnic variety, from elegant dining at award-winning restaurants to walk-up noodle shops; a great assortment of community theatre and state of the art movie theatres; University of Hawaii sports, like the Rainbow Warrior Men’s and Women’s volleyball teams, both nationally ranked, with the men holding the National Title of 2002. There are beautiful parks with tennis courts, baseball, rugby, cricket and soccer fields. And always, picnics and barbeques for that most popular Hawaiian pastime, picnics in the park.

There are small towns like Haleiwa, where the best shave ice is at Matsumoto, towns hard to pronounce like Ka’a’awa and most of all there are the people of Oahu. They have come from every corner of the globe and they represent almost every ethnic group, religion or culture. Oahu is called the Gathering Place but perhaps it should be called the Melting Pot - a small place in our world where different cultures live together, work together and play together. And it all works out quite nicely.