Finally, time for the big trip.  We have been thinking, thinking, thinking about what we would need to bring and the best way to pack.  We had made arrangements for Boo to stay with new friends and neighbors, Jo-Anne Gendrin and Fern Ethier.  Connie and Keith Williams also helped watch her.  Thank you!!!!  We took her to their place in the evening on January 29.  January 30 found us in the truck at 4:15 AM, heading to Orlando where we parked the truck in a paid parking lot and were given a shuttle ride to the airport. Our flight to Seattle took us through the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.  We had booked a one-night stay near the airport at a Days Inn.  It was in Tukwila and was probably the seediest place I’ve ever stayed but we only needed it to sleep for a few hours.  The closest restaurant was at a golf course about 3/4 mile away, Bill Baroo’s where we had a supper of nachos.  The meal was good but we hurried through it so we could walk back to our motel before dark.

Sunday, January 30 found us back at SeaTac airport, ready to board our flight.  We were wearing the Spam shirts Teresa had given us for Christmas because Spam is almost revered in Hawaii.  And, since it was Sunday and we had time, we stopped for a Bloody Mary before boarding the plane.

 

Our shirts got a lot of comments from passengers, crew and other people in the airport!

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First looks at Honolulu.

For our first afternoon and evening in Honolulu, we had nothing scheduled to do so we walked around the area, checking it out. We had asked a guy at our hotel for a good place to eat. He recommended a little carryout only sushi place where we could get a Spam sushi. That was supper!

Prior to supper, we stopped for a drink and snack. Dave had a Mai Tai but it was made with some kind of nut and neither of us cared for it much. We also tried poke (pronounced pok aa), a raw fish dish. I guess it was okay but not my favorite. However, it is fun to try new dishes.

After breakfast on the first morning, we had to check out Waikiki beach. Most of our meals, breakfast and dinner, were at two different Duke restaurants where we learned about The Duke, an Olympic swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. His nickname was The Great Kahuna.

The pigeons liked to visit.

International Market

Our first excursion was a barefoot catamaran sail. We had a little difficulty finding where we were to meet our catamaran but finally found it. We relaxed on the sand waiting to depart. What a fun way to start Hawaii.

On our second day, we took a whale watching cruise. The humpback whales spend half of the year in Alaska and half in Hawaii. This was supposed to be prime time and location to see them, but we were disappointed to see NONE!. It was also supposed to include a complimentary breakfast which was cancelled due to Covid. However, they were able to sell food and beverages. Hmmmm We also had to wear masks the entire time, even though we were on deck with a strong breeze. Strange…

It may sound like we didn’t enjoy this cruise but we did. The weather was great and the views were fantastic.

We went to a luau in the evening. It was about an hour away by bus but transportation was part of the excursion. The beach at this location had some wild waves. The photos do not do them justice.

we were given shell leis to start. This will last forever, unlike the beautiful flower leis. Then, we found a seat where we started with salads. There was a funny looking purple vegetable. It was delicious and tasted like sweet potato. I found out later it is an Okinawan potato.

Shortly after, we got to watch the pig being removed from the pit. Then back to our table to eat the rest of the meal.

Entertainment followed and it was awesome. The dancers performed dances from many Pacific islands. They were all a little different. The ladies have the tiniest waists I have ever seen, due to all that movement! The finale was a fire dance.

The next day, we went on a glass-bottomed boat cruise. We saw some neat fish. I can’t remember what they were called. The most interesting part was the flying fish.

For our last full day on Oahu, we had a tour of old Honolulu, Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial. Below are pictures of the Punch Bowl where many Pearl Harbor victims are buried. The road in is lined with 48 Banyon trees, one for each state at the time. These were a gift from China, for the US helping remove the Japanese threat.

We watched a video after getting back to the Visitor Center from the Arizona. It explained a lot that I had not known, about the cause of the Japanese attack. The US had imposed oil sanctions against Japan. I have always believed diplomatic measures are better than war, but in this case, it backfired on us.

I am so glad I got to see this memorial. It was one of the most moving places I have ever visited.

It is our last evening in Honolulu so we walked to Waikiki beach again. The beach is a block from our hotel, so an easy “hike”. I love this beach and imagine all of the movies that took place here.

Some of the other things we saw during our stay on Oahu were the hotel where Jack Lord stood at the opening scene of the original Hawaii Five-O and the slip where Gilligan, the Skipper and guests departed for their 5 hour tour.

Our last dinner on Oahu was at a Japanese restaurant, right next to our hotel. Delicious meal.

Following dinner, we walked Waikiki in the dark. The waves were really neat as they were illuminated.

On to Maui. This was listed as a 40 minute trip but that included taxi time on take off and landing. The flight was actually only about 20 minutes.

We got one last look at Diamond Head, from the air.

The crew had the cabin door open so we could look in and were explaining things to a young passenger. We had a 45 minute drive in our rental car, to get to our resort, the Royal Lahaina Resort. It was a beautiful drive.

Below are a couple more pictures of our room. We were in a water front cottage. Our patio was a few feet from the pool and the beach was just beyond the pool.

Our first dinner on Maui was at Cheeseburger in Paradise. When I first found out where we were scheduled to be, I thought it was “cheesy” and not really fitting for Hawaii. However, this was a really fun little “dive” with delicious food and great decor.

First morning on Maui was a pineapple farm tour. This was fun and educational. Maui Gold was developed for this region. It is only grown here and is only distributed here. It is a very sweet, delicious pineapple. We were given 3 to bring home.

We also were told how to grow our own pineapple. We are going to try it. The first one takes 18 months after planting and the second generation pineapple takes another 16 months so stay tuned!

After the farm tour, we had a distillary tour which included a tasting. Everything was made with pineapple. Although the vodka did not taste like pineapple, each bottle includes one full pineapple.

We wanted to finalize the day at MauiWine but they are very busy and we needed reservations for a tasting. We had not known that and didn’t have reservations. However, we were able to go into the gift shop where we allowed a sample of a couple of the pineapple and passion fruit wines which we purchased as gifts.

Instead, we found the Maui Brewery where we each had a flight to sample local brews.

First morning on Maui and the breakfast is fantastic. We were looking over the Pacific. We found ourselves whale watching while eating.

We had a delicious late evening dinner at another great Duke restaurant.

Our last evening on Maui was a sunset dinner cruise. The meal was great, the weather was awesome and the views were fantastic.

Earlier in our Lahaina stay, we had seen a woman, a lookalike to our friend Melva but we didn’t get a picture. On this cruise, we found Melva’s husband Steve’s lookalike.

It is our last day in Hawaii. After breakfast, that of course included a Bloody Mary, we checked out of the resort and headed out to tour Maui in our rental car. We took a long way around, a different route, to reach The Road to Hana. This is the Lahaina Road and is very curvy and narrow.

At our first stop, the Blow Hole, we saw a search and rescue mission. I’m sure it lasted a long time and sadly, probably didn’t end well.

We saw awesome scenery and water falls along the way. We were not able to see the Seven Sisters Pools because the park was closing just as we got there.

These pictures are a little out of order but you can still see the beautiful things we saw, even if photos do not do them justice.

We had been told the Road to Hana was beautiful but difficult to drive. I think most people drive to Hana and then turn around. Instead, we continued, to complete a circle. The second half was much narrower, winding and sometimes dirt road.

Our lunch stop was sitting by the beach, watching some huge waves as we finished off some fruit from one of our earlier meals.

We found a small Mexican restaurant to eat supper before heading back to the airport. We had to return our car, then board a red eye flight back to Seattle. This has been an awesome trip. Thank you so much Dave!!

After reaching SeaTac and claiming our luggage, we headed to the light rail for our trip into Seattle. We got to the Sheraton about 9:30, way to early to check in but the clerk let us! The room is nice but I was anxious for the main reason we took this entire trip, seeing Nate and Kate. They met us at a Bagle shop for lunch. Two years is way to long without seeing my son and daughter-in-law.

Most of our stay in Seattle was relaxing and lazy. We hung out or walked about each day, then met Nate and Kate for conversation and dinner.

On my birthday, Dave took me to a diner Nate had recommended for breakfast. We were going to have a mimosa but the bartender talked us into a “bucket of mimosas”.

For our last day, we decided to walk to the Seattle Sculpture Garden, which we had been unable to see the last time we were in Seattle. Most of the art is very modernistic, not really our favorite but it is admirable.

Supper with Nate and Kate at Five Point Cafe. I have been to Five Point on all of my Seattle visits.

Again, thank you Dave, for the awesome birthday trip!

We had to take light rail to the airport at 5 AM to catch our plane and finally got to our trailer about 10 PM. It was another long day but it was good to be home and pick up our girl.

Friends Jo and Fern had been taking care of Boo and sent us some photos during the time we were gone.