Far, far away, in the middle of the Pacific ocean, there is a place so isolated that one would naturally call it paradise.  A set of islands like stones casually tossed into a lake, Hawaii is breathtaking from the air, land, and sea.

The beautiful coast

Hawaii was the first leg of a much longer journey.  Departing the contiguous states and heading out over the vast Pacific Ocean was pretty cool.  There was a whole lot of nothing for quite some time until finally the islands appeared.  Since I always do my research before going somewhere new, I understood what the islands would look like, but seeing them in person was a whole different story.  They were bigger than I thought they would be and the lush mountains were more vibrant than I expected.

My cousin Jon had been stationed on Oahu, so I got to spend almost a week with him and his wife Holly.  And, they were great tour guides…we went everywhere!

One of the first things we got to do was drive along the popular vacation spots in between huge hotels that are directly opposite beautiful Waikiki beach.  I understand why some people go to Hawaii just for that beach…it was awesome to watch the surfers and the boats and a sunset that was larger than life.  Especially with ominous Diamond Head watching over everything in the distance.

I was fortunate enough to get a personal tour of the Pearl Harbor memorial, as well as a great seaside view of many other boats in the area.  Also, a stop at “turtle beach” allowed me to get closer to a few sea turtles than I have ever been!  It was so cool to see how laborious their land movements were, considering how well they glide under water 🙂

Pearl Harbor Memorial

Turtle!!!

One day we all went to the “swap meet.”  It was held in the parking lot of the big football stadium and it consisted of hundreds of vendors selling all kinds of Hawaiian stuff galore.  I got two beautiful Hawaiian dresses for my nieces, a pretty photo album (I love wooden crafts) and some awesome fabrics to make pillow cases with.  Everything was so cheap! I’m glad I had an in with some locals, hehe.

The day we went to Manoa Falls was particularly special.  We had to drive through a residential area in the mountains, which reminded me of North Carolina.  (so many things do).  After we got to the park entrance, we had to do a little hiking over some slick rocks to get to the 100 foot waterfall.  Lots of people were out and about to take part in the adventure to see the waterfall, and it was enjoyed by all.

Manoa Falls

One of the last days I was there we explored downtown Honolulu.  It was a pretty city with well manicured grounds.  The capitol building was the most modern one I’ve seen, complete with an open ceiling and a moat!  The Iolani Palace was the next building over, and although we decided not to go in (because it was too expensive, even though I read that it was supposed to be free….) it was still nice to admire the architecture from the outside and take some great pictures.

I felt that I accomplished so much in that week.  My hosts showed me all that was wonderful about the island.  I saw beaches, turtles, waterfalls, went hiking on high hills and through dense forests, passed coffee and pineapple plantations, saw another state capitol, felt the wind in my hair on the windward side of the island, got to spend time with my cousin whom I haven’t seen in years, and his wife who I met for the first time.  I was very fortunate indeed 🙂