Hawaii 5-0

If you read our blog, you know Norm surprised me with a trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 50th birthdays. My brother Sheldon is the one who called it the Hawaii 5-0 trip - he's always clever like that :) Anyway, Norm and I had a blast. We headquatered in Waikiki at the Ohana East Hotel on the 15th floor on the ocean side - nice! Waikiki is a crowded city so everyday we went somewhere, using Norm's iphone as our guide :) We snorkeled in Haunamo Bay the first day. The second day, we toured Pearl Harbor - looking down at the ship and watching the blips of fuel still rising is a moving experience. Then we did a circle tour of the island, stopping at several beaches and spotting whales! The weather was a little cool and rainy the third day so we went to the Mission Houses Museum and learned how the Lord prepared the Hawaiians to receive the Gospel of Christ before the first missionaries arrived in 1820. It's a great story. That night we went to a luau on the beach and yes, poi is as bad tasting as I remembered from childhood. We did drive to Kailua and hunt down my childhood home. The green yard I remember has been cemented in as a carport. Who would live where you can grow such beautiful things and plant concrete?!
Norm wanted to tour the National cemetery, the Punchbowl, which is a striking place. The trees were formed in wreaths and there were huge mosaics of the major battles of WWII. The view of Diamondhead from there reveals that it's a large crater which postcard pics don't portray.
We golfed the next two days at Turtle Bay which gave us the excuse to drive up to the north shore again and eat more fresh shrimp. We also visited with family friends, Valerie and James Moore with their cutie pie little ones, Joseph and Kendra.
Our last day was finally a sunny, warm day so we went to the beach, walked and shopped in the International Market again and then went back to the beach for the sunset and fireworks.
What a wonderful, relaxing time we had! If you've never been, I highly recommend going!
Thanks Norm!