Hawaii Part 1

We have now been here in Hawaii for two and a half days. Of course, I am missing my kids like crazy! But they are in good hands with my parents. We have talked and emailed pictures (Sarah Ann, my five-year-old, said "If you send me pictures mommy, then I won't miss you so much!").

But - we are having a great time. Hawaii is amazing! The weather is sunny and perfect. The beach and mountains are gorgeous. We are staying on Waikiki beach - which actually probably wouldn't be my first choice, but that's where my husband's meetings are. Waikiki is beautiful, I just usually prefer to stay in a little less touristy places. My husband is at his meetings right now so I decided to share a couple of photos.

We flew in on Monday evening and didn't do much but roll into bed. We still haven't completely adjusted to the five hour time change. I have woken up by 6 a.m. every morning (so much for sleeping in - it's impossible....)

Wednesday morning, we drove to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial. I have included a picture below. The entire place is very nice and tastefully done. We watched a short video and then took a little boat over to the memorial that is right over the actual sunken ship where around 1000 people lost their lives on December 7, 1941.



Next, we drove up around the north shore to see the famous waves of the "surfing capital of the world."



Finally, we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center where we spent the rest of the day visiting recreated villages from all across Polynesia, and enjoying a luau, and show. The villages and shows featured college students from the various areas of Polynesia showcasing the song and dance of their island. The night finished with a spectacular fire dance where several young men twirled and tossed sticks burning from both ends. (I could hardly watch!)Below are some of the dancers during the canoe pageant.




Yesterday, we began the day early with a visit to Hanauma Bay, about 30 minutes east of Waikiki. The bay itself is breathtaking. We rented snorkel equipment (we had never been snorkeling before) and headed out into the water. We soon found ourselves swimming directly above a coral reef among fish and even a giant sea turtle. Here's a picture from the top of the walkway looking down into the bay.



We concluded the day on Waikiki beach. We took a quick swim, watched the sunset (below), saw a hula show, and had a nice dinner at Duke's Canoe Club.



We have more fun plans on Oahu today before catching a flight in the morning to Kauai.