Aloha!

Welcome to our little Hawaiian Vacation web site. In case you didn't know it, Hawaii is pronounced "Ha-vai-i" by the natives.

Our four days on the island of O´ahu and 1 day on the Big Island of Hawaii were too short but we had a load of fun!

Wish we could have stayed longer, but that will make for another trip. We broke up the events to add some variety and also to keep us from getting too sun burned all at once, spread it out a bit and enjoyed the many facets of the island culture.

Here are the highlights of the seven day adventure:

Click on each daily link below to dive in-depth!

Day 1:
Mon., May 19, 2008
Travel day in airports (RDU, ATL, HON) and planes.

Day 2:
Tues., May 20, 2008 Drive to Kailua and settle on Kailua Beach for first of sun bathing fun.

Day 3:
Wed. May 21, 2008 Pearl Harbor and Arizona Memorial, Dole Pineapple Plantation tour, and drive to north shore to view sites of famous surfing towns. Ate fresh boiled shrimp on roadside stands and drove down the coast.

Day 4:
Thurs. May 22, 2008 Hanauma Bay snorkeling and sun bathing.

Day 5:
Fri. May 23, 2008 Fly to Big Island of Hawaii and tour Volcano National Park, fly Blue Hawaiian Helicopters over water falls and volcano's

Day 6:
Sat. May 24, 2008 Shopping in Honolulu and visit Waikiki Beach area, then drive to Polynesian Cultural Center for the day visit.

Day 7:
Sun. & Mon. May 25-26, 2008 Travel day from Honolulu to Phoenix then to RDU airport.

O´ahu

During our 9 hour flight from Atlanta to Honolulu we met some folks on the plane who live on O´ahu near Kailua, two sisters in fact that moved to the Kailua area and told us that it has some of the better beach front on O´ahu. With powder sand and off the beaten path from Waikiki Beach, which is the major tourist area. On the drive to find a beach in Kailua we were in awe of the pure beauty of the landscape, beaches, and water fronts.

Makapu´u Beach

View from Kalanianaole Highway, East O'ahu and Rabbit Island sits just offshore and makes this beach very picturesque.

Makapu'u Beach

Kailua Beach

Bryan working hard on getting some sun burn time in!

Bryan sunning on Kailua Beach

Arizona Memorial

View of the memorial from the Navy vessel tour to the site.

Arizona Memorial

The Shrine Room displays the names of the 1,177 service members that perished on the USS Arizona. It also honors the USS Arizona survivors who have been interred on the ship in recent years.

Shrine Room

Hanauma Bay

Only a 5 minute drive from the Bed and Breakfast that we lived in for 6 nights and located in Hawaii´Kai, or about 30 minutes north of Honolulu. We got there early around 8:30 am and stayed until 4:00 pm to enjoy the beach and snorkeling.

Hanauma Bay

View of the bay and the beautiful reef system, we saw many fish and corals on our snorkeling ventures.

Hanauma Bay

Hawaii - The Big Island

Volcano National Park

Ben peering through one of those pay-per-view binoculars to see a close up of the steam and fume vent from Kilauea crater.

Kilauea Crater

The lava flowing into the Pacific from a lava tube leading from the Mauna Loa, the earth's largest volcano. As seen from the helicopter vantage point.

Mauna Loa Lava Flow

Exposed lava flow from the tube and steam fumes venting

Lava Tube Fume Vent

Akaka Falls State Park and the crew enjoying the view!

Akaka Falls State Park

Click the daily links above to dive in for more!