Our Hawaii Vacation, Part one

Our trip was great. In fact, it was really a vacation. Have you had that discussion before? What constitutes a trip to you and what constitutes a vacation? A trip has a list of things to do and see and if you don't get there the 'trip' is ruined. A vacation has a list of things we would like to see but if we don't get there, it is alright and we don't get out of joint about it. A trip you come back more tired than when you left.Travelling for business is usually a trip, travelling for relaxation is usually a vacation. A vacation finds you relaxed and rejuvenated at the end. Hawaii was beautiful. I saw Larry relax in a way that I have never seen him relax on any other trip while in Maui. But I must say I will probably not return unless it is again paid for by the business. At least , not to Oahu and Honolulu. It was much too crowded and much too commercial. Even the Polynesian Cultural Center was too commercial for us. Wait, am I becoming jaded to my travel experiences? I think not, because I would love to continue to travel with Larry as much as possible. In fact, he is now talking in terms of 'our next trip to Europe will be Eastern Europe' for just the two of us.But let's start at the beginning...

Our first full day there was a Sunday. Our first stop was the Punchbowl National Cemetery. It is a cemetery honoring all those who died in the Pacific Corridor during WWII. However, it was unusual as it had no headstones, but plaques flat in the ground. It is a beautiful setting in the crater of a dead volcano. A very peaceful and respectful place with a great spirit and wonderful place to contemplate our freedoms.
After this nice stop, we went to Sacrament meeting in a chapel in eastern Honolulu. We were sitting in that meeting when we got a call from Heather saying that Camille's body had been found. We immediately left the meeting so we could call Sarah and give her all our love and support as she dealt with the news. She called just as we were leaving the church and was devastated. We talked to her for a few minutes and then I called Denise so that she could tell Jessica and then lend support to Sarah as we were so far away. Thanks Denise and Dave for your love and support!

As Larry and I were both too devastated to continue in our meetings, we decided to drive around the island as far as we could for the day. We saw some wonderful things. the scenery was beautiful, but the traffic was bumper to bumper.

We saw some great shore line and lots of people on the beaches. I also tried, unsuccessfully, to do the 'snap ourselves in the picture' at a place where the waves of a tsunami had broken through the only sandstone formation on the island. Thanks to the other tourists who were there and willing to take a shot for us. The waves were awesome and were breaking behind us as we hiked down to the beach. We just couldn't get a shot of that.

This is a rock where everyone jumps into the ocean( I hope the tide is in!)

We also went to Turtle beach where we saw people swimming with the turtles. We just took pictures of them.

On our way back through the center of the island, we stopped at another cemetery. This one had a Buddhist temple shrine in it that was just beautiful. There were many other shrines in the cemetery also. However we got there just 30 minutes before they closed and so had the opportunity to visit only the largest one at the back of the cemetery. It was very quiet as we got there when no one else was visible and the last of the artists and vendors were walking out as we were walking in.

From there we took the Pali Highway back through the center of the island. We stopped at the overlook to take pictures back the way we had come.

The next day was spent also on the North shore at the Laie Hawaii temple and the Polynesian Cultural Center. The temple was a beautiful site, one that I will always remember. The classical shots of the temple are all taken this way. We also took one from the other view, a straight shot to the ocean. The church maintains the street all the way up to the temple and I wouldn't be surprised if they also care for the small park that leads to the beach.

We then went to the PCC, which we wished we had more time to see. We were told that things really didn't get started until 1:30 so we didn't go until then. We ran out of time before we saw all that we wanted to see. We were really discouraged by the commercialization of it. Upsell when you get your tickets " Oh it is much cheaper to buy a meal now than to just buy snacks inside" If you buy a meal, please go all out and don't be cheap. The cheap meal was awful. As you walk in, cheap shell leis and take your picture( which you can pick up later for $18.00) with the young Hawaiian man and woman. If we sound disillusioned it's because we were. All that aside, the entertainment was awesome! And they supposedly put on the best luau on the island. Some day we will learn that it is worth the money when it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Of course we had to take a picture of DUM-DUM and his siblings for Easton and Taylor(fans of "Night at the Museum").

And we saw our "Hawaii Duck" while we were there. Everywhere we stopped in Europe this summer we saw ducks. The tradition continues. Perhaps Jeff and family will see one at Disneyland this week(besides Donald, of course).

Our last day was spent at the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor- a very moving experience. Before you go out to the memorial( you are shuttled out by small boat 250 people at a time), you see a short film put together with footage from both the American and Japanese governments. It is very moving. They ask you to be respectful of the site as it is the burial grounds for over 2000 men(around 2500, I believe). There were very few words uttered as we contemplated the sight of the gun turrets sticking up out of the sea and the plaque with the names of all those who died there that day. There are also the names of those who have chosen to be interred there after their deaths with their fellow shipmates. These are done as more of the survivors die and elect that option.

It was very interesting to see oil blobs coming up from the engines of the ship after all these years. It tells you just how massive this ship was and what a devastating blow this was to our country and especially to our Navy. I wondered how many more years it would continue as the blobs appeared quite often and were very large. It has been almost 56 years. It is a very sacred place.

Our last evening in Oahu, we had a beautiful sunset. Larry took some great pictures of it. This is one of my favorites. How could we possibly have timed that sailboat better?What a wonderful way to end the first part of our Hawaii vacation. It rally was a vacation, not just a trip!