They Make Vans Hiking Shoes, Right?

We decided to do a bit of hiking in Oahu last week and this climb to the 1200 ft summit of Koko Head was as bit of a challenge for everyone including JJ -- shown here just a few steps from reaching the top. We started at the baseball field (middle right of photo) and this climb is particularly difficult because you can always see where you're going and it's straight up.  Once there, the views are worth it.  Hanauma Bay Preserve is shown in the photo as well (middle left).

The second hike in as many days was to Manoa Falls, just a couple miles from the University of Hawaii in Manoa.  The challenge was not steepness but humidity and mud.  It was literally a hike through a rainforest and we sweated a lot even though it did not even feel hot.  This photo of a tree root is typical of this hike.

And in both hikes, JJ wore his trusty old Vans skateboarding shoes.  As I was washing it, I was extremely careful to make sure it doesn't fall apart completely.  JJ has this tendency to wear his favorite shoes (and clothes) until they are completely unrecognizable from their original forms.  This was no exception.  Of course, he wore it to the music festival LA Rising last night and he tripped as we were trying to beat the crowds out of the coliseum.  I'm getting him a new pair as soon as humanly possible.