Hawaii  2008
  Kauai, Maui, Big Island
Oahu

We arrived in Honolulu on April 30th from Seattle. The flight takes 5.5 hours and the time change is 3 hours, so you’ve traveled a full day and it’s basically noon when you arrive. The first day we walked along the beach at Waikiki. The most striking feature is that everything is basically room temperature, so many businesses don’t have windows. The airport is open to the elements. At the Sheraton Princess Kahalani, you arrive at the front desk and you are still outside – the front desk faces the outdoor swimming pool and has no walls or doors. It’s a wonderful effect.

That evening we wandered the international market and the main drag in Waikiki. Everything is open late, like Robson St in Vancouver. We heard some fabulous music which turned out to be live from Coconut Willy’s. We had dinner while we watched people dance and we looked out over the open second floor stage down on to the shops covered by giant Banyan trees. It was a magical atmosphere.

In the morning of May 1st, we were up before 5 with the time change and we went to McDonalds and Starbucks. McDonalds had spam and rice as one of the meals on the menu. The beach was very busy by 6 am and some surfers were already finishing up and heading off to work. That morning we went on a tour to Hanauma Bay. In future, I’d just take transportation there, as they rent snorkel gear at the site and it’s a very safe location. The wind was driving on shore, so the water wasn’t very clear and the tide was wrong for seeing any turtles. I did get a few pictures with my underwater camera, but as it was my first time, I had trouble with the focus and also made a mistake by not washing the lens when I took the camera out of the water for 5 minutes – the salt crystallized and spoiled the next set of photos.  In the afternoon, we walked from our hotel to the Waikiki Aquarium. This was a great display, but my main camera battery ran out and I had to walk back to Waikiki for a replacement. Viki couldn’t handle the heat and went back to the hotel, while I took a second round of pictures.

On May 2nd we took a rental car around the island of Oahu. The first stop was the best – Diamond Head. It was just after sunrise and we hiked up through the switch backs, stone steps, tunnels, spiral metal stair cases and a bunker to reach the top. It was always just on the edge of my limits for claustrophobia and fear of heights.

The drive around the island had some lovely spots, including Sandy Beach, Lanikai Beach, Turtle Bay and Sunset Beach. Ironically the famous North Shore was as calm as a lake at that time of year. We also stopped at the Dole Pineapple plantation to see a few pineapples. The site was over run with tourists buying pineapple ice cream. We returned to Honolulu and then boarded the Carnival Spirit.

May 3rd allowed us to head to Waikiki as the ship didn’t set sail until that evening. We took a free shuttle to the Maui Divers factory and got to see how they produce black and gold coral jewelry. From there, we took their free shuttle to Waikiki and I signed up for a surfing lesson while Viki sat under the shade of the palm trees. Surfing was a highlight of the trip for me. My 46 year old instructor Kevin looked like a much younger Hawaiian. He took 3 of us out, including an 8 year old. My first attempt, I stood up too straight and didn’t last long. I also cut my toe a little on the coral when I fell. Kevin scolded me about keeping my knees bent low. I was surprised how much effort was involved in paddling out, having waves pour over my head and having the salt sting my eyes. It’s hard to keep your head up to look where you’re going and the board was coarse against my chest.

 On my second run, I kept low to the board and was surfing! I began to fall to the left, but corrected my weight. I could feel the power of the wave when I leaned left, so I continued to do so – and I took off down the wave. I kept going and going on one of the longest runs anyone could do out there. When I finally splashed into the water, I immediately looked to shore and Viki was waving proudly at me. Kevin was very excited about my run and gave me a high 5. I tried about 3 more times after this and got up every time, but never had such long runs. After 5 times, I was exhausted and headed back to shore. Afterward Viki was ready to head back to the ship, but I kept wandering up and down the beach in an excited state of joy over my experiences in Waikiki.