Mister and Lady: Hawaii - Travel and Day One

I asked Mister where he would like to go for his birthday and after a brief panic attack when he told me Nepal, he agreed to Hawaii. There are only two states he hasn't visited and this is one of them, so we started planning a trip to explore two of the islands. Come along with us and enjoy.

We leave Dallas at 6:00 a.m. via US Airways en route to Phoenix where we are hoping to connect to Honolulu on the island of Oahu. When we arrive in Phoenix, we are unable to make the first flight and upon checking with the counter, know the second flight is a sure thing so set about waiting for that flight, wandering around taking pictures of soon-to-be-gone US Airways logos on tails, and visiting with other passengers who are waiting. Suddenly, it is posted that the flight is cancelled. Wonderful. So we quickly book a flight for Kona and figure we will make the changes when we get there since it is the wrong island -- ha ha, great start here.

While we wait for the flight to Kona, Cass calls with an option to go to Los Angeles and hop a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Honolulu. We manage to get double booked on both the Kona and LA flights and as soon as the Kona one fills up, we are off and running to the LA gate. Yay! We make the flight and then check in with Hawaiian Airlines in Los Angeles and are able to make that flight as well. Watching all those episodes of The Amazing Race pays off every now and then in strategy.

We receive two beautiful leis at the end of the jet bridge and take our seats. Cool -- relaxation starts to set in. Oops, wait a minute.

There is a problem with the toilet and the plane has to return to the gate. Oh fun. While this is going on, a young child next to us gets sick and the seat cushion has to be changed out. Love these interesting beginnings. Soon (or I guess later) we are on our way to Honolulu.

As soon as we are at altitude, we are served dinner and learn that Hawaiian Airlines is the only airline from the US that still offers a full complimentary meal on long distance flights. It is actually quite good but since we are starving by now perhaps our judgement is clouded.

Satiated for awhile, we settle in and try to sleep off and on for the remaining 5 hours. I am lucky enough to find 3 empty seats in a row at the back and stretch out leaving Mister our two seats to himself. It works.

We arrive in Honolulu, pick up the car and drive down to Waikiki Beach where our hotel is located. It is around midnight when we arrive and check into our room at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel. It is a small room and the view out our window is that of the rooftop pool below.

We remove the leis and decide that even if it is late, we want to walk on Waikiki Beach and relax for a wee bit before sleep.

It is a beautiful night and so we wander down the main walk and out onto the beach.

The beach is empty except for a few couples here and there doing the same thing. Oh, and the bums sleeping on the streets and in the picnic areas.

It is after 1:00 a.m. by the time we get back to the room and fall into a heap in the bed. Silly us, the alarm goes off 4 hours later and we are up and running. It is about a 30-45 minute drive to the eastern point of the island and we want to see the sunrise. It is definitely worth losing sleep over.

Is this not just beautiful? I love the reflection of the sunrise in the lava pool. It is raining off and on while we are trying to enjoy the sunrise, but between showers we both get out of the car and let the impact of "we are in Hawaii" set in.

The water is the most beautiful ice blue as the waves turn. It is crystal clear and we cannot wait to get into it.

From the pullout that we stopped at, we continue east to Makapuu Beach Park and walk up to the lookout. The views are intense.

In the water below, you can see a few brave locals out surfing, but it is easy to be thrown onto the rocks.

Notice the lighthouse on the hill.

We retrace our route and stop at Hanauma Bay State Underwater Park, one of the premier snorkeling spots on Oahu. It is early and so only a few people are here so far. We change clothes and prepare to rent equipment down on the beach only to find out that the power is out on the beach and they are considering closing it because the restroom facilities are not available without power. Dang.

We check our plans for the day to move on to the next idea and decide to go back into Honolulu and the Kapiolani Park which has an art show on the fence of the Honolulu Zoo on Sunday mornings. The artists are all local and this is a tradition which has been ongoing for several years. We find a couple of prints that we like and I fall in love with the Banyan Trees. They stop me in my tracks and I stand in awe. The root systems are simply incredible.

We drive up to Diamond Head, enjoy the view, and realize that without any sustenance so far today, perhaps the hike up to the summit is not the best idea. Grabbing a quick brunch, we are soon on our way again.

We have a walking map of Chinatown and so aim in that direction. What a wise choice. This is by far the best Chinatown we have ever been to. I love it.

The walking tour takes us to The Lum Sai Ho Tong Temple. Oh what a treasure this little Taoist temple is. It is above a store and is for members of the Lum clan to worship in. The history of this little temple is awesome and this shrine dates back over 100 years. The incense spirals emit a calming aroma and everyone is so welcoming and eager to share information with us. While we are admiring the temple, various people come in, deliver offerings, and worship.

A gentleman and several teen boys arrive in a bright colored uniforms making offerings of fruit and lighting incense sticks. We are told that they are members of a local Dragon Dance Club and if we stay for awhile we will be able to watch the dance. It is being done for the Chinese New Year celebrations and is part of renewing their faith. While we wait outside, one of the local members shares with Mister some of their beliefs and his take on life in general.

The teams that will be dancing start to arrive with the costume and I am absolutely fascinated. Everything is so bright and colorful. Two teams play drums for the dragons and after dancing on the street for awhile, they enter the temple to offer their respects. Awesome. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. We are so lucky.

When the dance is completed, we cross the river over to the Izumo Taisha Shrine. It was built by Japanese immigrants in 1923 and during WWII the city of Honolulu confiscated it and held it for 20 years before returning it to the congregation. The entire shrine is made without nails and the ringing of the bell at the entrance is an act of purification for those who come to pray. While are there, we watch an older woman being helped to the shrine and then up the stairs to ring the bell. It is truly spiritual to watch.

Two marble lions mark the entrance to Chinatown and were donated by a city in Taiwan in honor of the 200th anniversary of Chinese settlement in Hawaii.

As we are leaving the area, we walk through the open air markets and past the Hawaii Theater, a beautiful building which has been renovated and is still being used today.

The drive back takes us along the harbor and we locate the Aloha Tower Marketplace, park, and walk along the piers. The elevator to the top of the tower delivers us to great views. I love all the tug boats lined up and we also spot a submarine cruising past. Very cool. Isn't this the cleanest harbor you have ever seen?

It has been a long day with very little sleep so we locate Aloha Beer down on the docks and give the sampler a try before going next door to Sam Choy's for a quick dinner. Mister decides to order the poke, one of the items on our "must try" list.