Memories of Hawai’i

From early April of 2019 to March 11, 2020, John and I were engaged in a continuous trip around the world, starting in Europe, then moving through Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Our last top was Hawai’i. My plan was to blog about our two weeks in Hawai’i on our return to the Mainland, but, at the time, I simply could not make myself sit down and write about our interlude in paradise as death tolls skyrocketed and frustration of shutdowns grew. It just seemed like the vibe wasn’t right. The blog post I wrote instead was this one that I called “The Day Everything Changed.” https://youandmeodyssey.com/2020/05/26/the-day-everything-changed/

Fast forward five years. With the lockdown days of the pandemic in the rearview, it seems time to gather pictures, recall memories, and document experiences. Thus begins this walk down memory lane. Some memories have faded a bit, of course, but in Hawai’i, the pictures tell so much of the story.

We started out on O’ahu, a large island which features the capital city of Honolulu, Diamondhead, Waikiki Beach, Pearl Harbor, and many more famous sites.

Hike up to Diamondhead: Our habit while travelling is always to rise early to beat the crowds and the heat. This was especially important to make the 1.6 mile hike to the summit of the iconic Diamondhead to enjoy the sweeping vistas of the island, the sea, and the Honolulu skyline from the top of of Diamondhead. It’s a must-do for all who are physically able. Since 2022, it’s necessary to make an advance reservation for this trek.

USS Arizona tour and boat ride to the battleship: The USS Arizona is another don’t-miss experience in Honolulu. My father was stationed in Honolulu near the end of World War II in the submarine corps, and I’d always been curious about his time there. While we didn’t actually see the base where he served, it was interesting to tour the Pearl Harbor visitor center, which includes a film about the attack and the Pacific theatre of WWII. We took a naval boat out to the Memorial, which is built over the sunken battleship, USS Arizona, getting soaked on the way due to a little rain shower, but it was totally worth it.

Hawaiian entertainment: Our travel is generally heavy on hiking and physical activity, instigated by me, and also heavy on culture and history, John’s main interest. So, I sheepishly asked John if we could possibly do something different while we were staying on Waikiki Beach. Something that was an all-on tourist experience with Hawaiian music, hula dancers, and drinks garnished with tropical flowers. He was perfectly agreeable, so, late one beautiful afternoon, we made our way to a posh waterfront hotel, and settled in with festive drinks in hand and an excellent view of Diamondhead. Anticipation rose as the band of local performers, decked out in leis, performed sound checks and tuned up instruments while the hula girls arrived. And then, just as the fun was about to start, a rogue cloud passed right over us and dropped a downpour, drenching us and our drinks, and shutting down the entertainment. First the USS Arizona, now at our touristy interlude. Were the gods speaking to us?

Next, we island hopped to the Big Island (Hawai’i), where we stayed at a lovely resort. While there, we enjoyed so many things: museums in Hilo, Volcanoes National Park, plus a state park with waterfalls and a historic park, a morning of snorkeling, a black sand beach with sea turtles, and a tour of a coffee plantation, in addition to just relaxing before the end of our year abroad.

Volcanoes National Park: We’ve all seen it on the news: reports and footage of Kilauea and Mauna Loa erupting, dramatic bursts and the bright red and yellow lava flowing like a viscous river down the mountain. Although it would have been fun to see an actual lava flow, there was no volcanic activity during our visit. Nevertheless, I was unprepared for the beauty of the black lava rock in its lovely forms, draping the landscape, covering roads, and showing no respect for anything manmade, showing us, once again, that Mother Nature is always the boss. We resisted the urge to slip a piece of volcanic rock in our pocket, lest we suffer the curse of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. This would have brought on months, or even years, of bad luck. But seriously, it’s illegal, and just plain bad manners to remove rocks or minerals from any national park.

Lyman Museum and Tsunami Museum, Hilo: The Lyman House Museum was originally the home of missionaries, Reverend David Belden Lyman and his wife, Sarah Joiner Lyman, built in 1838. The most fascinating part of the Lyman’s story was that of Sarah, whose extensive and detailed daily journal of the area weather has been an excellent resource and historic reference for meteorologists. The Tsunami Museum in another must-see in Hilo. It includes models and exhibits on the science and history of Tsunamis on the islands.

Akaka Waterfalls: This state park is known for it’s accessible trails and beautiful walks through a lush rainforest to view the the stunning, 442-foot Akaka Falls. It’s considered one of the best places to see falls on the island.

Watching a turtle at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach: Of all of our adventures in Hawai’i, seeing a turtle crawl onto a black sand beach was a real standout. Black sand beaches exist in other parts of the world, but this one, with its rocky shore, framed by the sapphire blue water is absolutely stunning. Getting to see a sea turtle emerge from the water and make its laborious way up the sand was the icing on the cake.

Whale watching: Who isn’t up for a whale watching adventure? Anyone who suffers from motion sickness, that’s who – and this includes John. So, he put me on a whale watching excursion that he would have struggled to enjoy, since the boat continuously lurched from one about face to another to position us tourists with better viewing of whales surfacing and breaching. What fun it was!

Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau Historical Park: This park dates back to 1650 and was originally the burial site for a ruling monarch of Hawai’i. The statues dotting the landscape were erected as protectors of the site.

By now, we were now into the second week of March and it was impossible to avoid the drumbeat of news regarding the pandemic. Three days before our set departure back to the Mainland, we considered changing our flight plans and leaving early, but ultimately decided not to, asking ourselves, “how much difference could three days could make?” As it turned out, it could have made a big difference, but luck was on our side and we returned to the home without incident.

Aloha, y’all!