For our 25th anniversary, Mo and I began laying the groundwork for a vacation in Hawaii — finding flights to use up our American miles (they were TWA miles when I got them, and I fly Southwest now) and hotels for our Hilton points, plus identifying different sites our tours we wanted to take in while there. When all was said and done, we ended up with ten nights on two different islands.
We arrived at the Waikiki Embassy Suites after our long day’s worth of flying there (via Dallas), with warm, sometimes misty weather greeting us. Mo hadn’t been to Hawaii for ~30 years, and while she knew the area around Ft. DeRussy pretty well, she was quick to point out how much things had changed.
There’s a rainbow on the Hawaii license plate, and on the drive to our hotel it was easy to see why — we saw plenty. The winner was the double rainbow outside our hotel room that went all the way to the ground.
the end of the rainbow? Ft. DeRussy Armed Forces Recreation Center
We had reserved a time on our first day for seeing the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, and we packed up a small picnic and took the bus over, eating our meal and walking the grounds there. We wandered through a few of the exhibits there before watching the tour movie and catching the boat ride to the Arizona. I was sure to snap a few photos of our state’s namesake, the U.S.S. Missouri as well.
the Might Mo
the U.S.S. Arizona memorial
We definitely learned a few things while there, and had a couple lively discussions with friendly passengers on the bus ride home regarding conspiracy theories and Mizzou football.
If there was a favorite meal on this trip, it was our supper at Roy’s restaurant. My onaga dish was out-stand-ing.
a wonderful supper at Roy’s
Big things coming up when we continue the next day in O’ahu: pt 2
