O'ahu

Oh my!  We actually went to Hawaii!  We'd been thinking we needed a honeymoon and decided to go where neither of us had been before.  Plus, Gil has family on Oahu, so that was a bit of a pull.

We flew from Sacramento to Los Angeles.  We had a long lay-over and wandered through the airport.  That place is massive.  We ended up eating the lunch we brought in the international lounge area.  Watching the arrivals and departures screens for some far-flung parts of the world may have made our Hawaii trip seem rather duel by comparison, but once we were on the plane... I was too excited to sleep or focus on my book.

We landed in Honolulu and spent the night at an airbnb in what I felt was a rather seedy neighborhood but our rental's tires didn't get slashed.  Our first adventure was to Pearl Harbor and WW II Valor in the Pacific.  It was a very moving experience to read and listen to events leading up to Dec. 7, 1941.

 There is maintenance being performed on the landing platform so we weren't able to dock and actually walk onto the memorial but it was moving just the same. (You'll notice my puffy eyes in non-sunglasses pictures; I was rather ill for most of the trip but managed to enjoy myself as best I could.)

 Pearl Harbor is lovely.

 Next we were off to Waikiki for some beach time.  The sand was course and didn't stick too bad, the water was the perfect temperature, there was no seaweed (my nemesis), and the water clear enough to see to the bottom.  The water and weather could not have been more perfect.  We decided the Waikiki scene is not for us with the crowds of tourists and commercialization of the area.  Beautiful just the same.

 Next, we hiked to the top of Diamond Head.  It was fun looking down into the crater and there were some excellent views of the coastline and Honolulu.

 Finally, we headed up the eastern shore towards the northern side of the island and Laie.  It was a beautiful drive.

And what were we driving... the desk agent at the rental place offered us a free upgrade to a Chevy Camaro.  Not wanting something to big and low and muscle-y, I asked if there was something a bit more conservative and small.  Our only other option was a two door Jeep Wrangler.  We took the Jeep.  It was a fun little outfit to drive around the island.

We arrived safety at Uncle Randy and Aunt Ann's home.  It was wonderful seeing them.