I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, I never really thought about which island, I just wanted to go.
So for our 35th anniversary, we went. It was awesome. We don't vacation like most people, if you know Steve, you know he likes to shop. I really should write a book with all the best thrift stores in every town, or maybe list them all with a review of each. But that's another post. lol We usually drive, but this time we flew. We rented a car and the only thing I booked ahead of time besides the car, flight and hotel was the Luau. I booked it on our actual anniversary, Monday September 5th. Now we don't drink and with my allergies, it can get kind of stressfull. I made sure to call ahead and request a grain free meal. The food was good, a little too salty for me, but then I have been on a salt free diet for a while now. The entertainment was awesome. They asked if people were there celebrating anything specific like birthdays or anniversarys. We weren't alone, there were 2 couples that were celebrating 67 and 68 years. I hope we can last that long. I say that now, but only a couple weeks ago we were fighting over the color of his pool room.
Tuesday was not so much fun. I woke up several times in the early morning from swelling from the salt and who knows what else. I didn't do much walking. Steve took me to the Arizona and spent most of the day pushing me around in the wheel chair. Not the most fun for either of us, but we didn't let it get us down either.
Every once in a while, the road would wind around an have an overlook where you could get a glimps of the city below.
So for our 35th anniversary, we went. It was awesome. We don't vacation like most people, if you know Steve, you know he likes to shop. I really should write a book with all the best thrift stores in every town, or maybe list them all with a review of each. But that's another post. lol We usually drive, but this time we flew. We rented a car and the only thing I booked ahead of time besides the car, flight and hotel was the Luau. I booked it on our actual anniversary, Monday September 5th. Now we don't drink and with my allergies, it can get kind of stressfull. I made sure to call ahead and request a grain free meal. The food was good, a little too salty for me, but then I have been on a salt free diet for a while now. The entertainment was awesome. They asked if people were there celebrating anything specific like birthdays or anniversarys. We weren't alone, there were 2 couples that were celebrating 67 and 68 years. I hope we can last that long. I say that now, but only a couple weeks ago we were fighting over the color of his pool room.
Back to our trip lol We stayed at the Hale Koa hotel on Wikiki beach.
This is a Banyon tree in the courtyard.
At night this is what we saw.
It was like you were in the Avatar movie.
On Saturday after we had been to the pharmacy to get a refil on my inhaler,
because I forgot mine at home, we had a late lunch at the Hard Rock cafe.
Their guitar collection was amazing.
Sunday we walked down to the Wikiki Beach
Monday we drove out to the North Shore
We passed by the Dole Pineapple Plantation and stopped.
We took the Liberty Train tour through the plantation.
We say Cocoa plants among lots of others and learned
a lot about the Pineapple and the Plantation.
After the Plantation tour we headed back to the Hale Koa
and waited for the Luau to start.
Here they are uncovering the pig that has been cooking for a few hours,
all covered in banana leaves.
The entertainment was awesome.
Tuesday was not so much fun. I woke up several times in the early morning from swelling from the salt and who knows what else. I didn't do much walking. Steve took me to the Arizona and spent most of the day pushing me around in the wheel chair. Not the most fun for either of us, but we didn't let it get us down either.
Red Ginger plant
The nice Park Ranger wanted to make sure
we got a picture of us on the Arizona.
On Wednesday we went to the Flea Market at the stadium, walked all the way around it.
On our way back, we ran across the Bishop Museum so we went in and checked it out.
This place is huge and has some amazing items on display.
I thought this was interesting.
This display shows what has been found inside Tiger sharks.
Rumor has it, they will eat anything.
Yes, that is an unopened can of Spam setting in the jawbone of a Tiger shark, a whole tire,
a pair of boots, a turtle shell, a bottle of Ketchup and half a surf board.
Can you see the double rainbow?
On Thursday, we went on a dinner cruise.
Dinner was nice, and the sunset was amazing.
That mountain in the back is Diamond Head.
Honalulu from the ship.
On Friday we went to the Punch Bowl.
We decided to explore a little and took a road we thought might take us to the top
so we could see the whole area. It was incredible.
The lush green jungle like hillside overlooking Honalulu.
If you look closely you can see Diamond Head off to the left in the distance.
The trees hung over the roadway and was covered in vines that hung very low.
I know Jurasic Park was filmed on this island, but I'm not sure where.
It looks like it could have been here.
The Philodendrons were growing all over the trees.
We found a sign that said we were in the Honalulu Water Shed Forest Reserve.
Sometimes you had to peer through the trees to see it too.
Amongst the dense forest area, we found some familiar sites too.
Isn't he a handsome fella.
There's Diamond Head again.
From the overlook, you could see most of the south side of the island.
Here we can see the area we had been on the dinner cruise the night before.
The State park was near and we stopped for a small break.
Here we saw more Roosters and a couple hens.
I caught them fighting in mid air.
They saw us and came running just like mine at home do.
Of course, we had to go shopping in between all these amazing places we went. I think we went to the NEX almost everyday. It's the Naval Exchange, or Navy Store. They have their own mall, complete with food court. I found that Charlie's Subs were my friend, meaning I didn't have any noticeable issues after eating there. lol Due to having everything we own packed, I found myself needing a purse or bag of some kind to hold my inhaler, sunglasses and phone. So we went to the NEX and got a mini backpack type bag. After we went to the Flea Market on Wednesday, we needed another suite case to help lug the goodies home. lol
In the 8 days we were gone, I logged 60,713 steps and remember 2 of the days we spent a good portion on the plane and one day I only took 544 steps, due to the swelling.
And of corse, I want to go back and see all the things we didn't have time to see and do.
It was nice to get away from the house issues and do some exploring.
Now I have to get things ready for the Crop 4 Vets.
Happy Scrappin',
Janice
