Monday, April 22, 2013

Aloha


Exactly one year ago today the hubs and I were in paradise...I can't believe it's already been a year!!  Last year was our five year wedding anniversary and we figured to celebrate it, why not go somewhere we've never been to (which could be a lot of places since going up north is trip enough for us).  We labeled this trip a "belated honeymoon/early five year anniversary".

We had some help coordinating the trip for two reasons it was our first time there and we had no idea what to even look at and well frankly those travel sites can be a little overwhelming.  Which airline, what time to leave, what time to arrive, direct, not direct, which hotel, a rental car, transportation to and from the airport, restaurants, activities....  My brain felt like mush, so my dad told us about his travel agent and she hooked us up with everything we would need!  The only thing I told her is that we wanted to stay at the Moana Surf Rider.  I wasn't expecting a primo room or anything, but wow.  The hotel was absolutely bea-U-TI-FUL and was filled with such history....





and the view from the balcony was too!! 





I had only flown once before and it was only a two hour fight, so needless to say I was a little nervous, but we made it there without any problems!

The very first thing I noticed when we got off the plane was the smell.  It was absolutely the most amazing, beautiful, floral smell, mixed with the warm breeze made for a great start to our week long journey.  Words cannot even do justice.  Anyone that's been there knows what I'm talking about.  The smell is so addicting.

We hopped a ride over to our hotel, checked in and went up to our room to get our stuff in order and find something to eat and do some sight seeing. 

We spent the majority of our trip laying on the beach, seeing the sites, enjoying great food and ice cold drinks.











We did also take part in a tour of the city, as well as all of the historical monuments!







Our favorite part about the trip was the Pearl Harbor Tour....so much history...It's hard to explain the feeling you get when you're there, it's very real and surreal at the same time... 

We could have spent ALL day there, but due to being on the city tour we were limited to how much time we could spend there.  We took about 1,000 pictures just at Pearl Harbor, but here are a few of our favorites!





Pearl Harbor Memorial, Oahu Vacation

Pearl Harbor, Memorial, Oahu Vacation

Pearl Harbor Memorial, Oahu Vacation
Pearl Harbor, Oahu Vacation
Pearl Harbor, Oahu Vacation

We also got to see the USS Missouri:

USS Missouri, Oahu vacation trip

USS Missouri, Oahu vacation trip

USS Missouri, Oahu Vacation Trip

The next two pictures go hand in hand:





One of our last days there we did some snorkeling with Eo Waianae Tours.  Definitely worth EVERY penny and highly recommend it to anyone who is going to Oahu.  The family that runs it treats you like one of their own.









We had the hardest time trying to find decent, (non chain) restaurants within walking distance (since we didn't rent a car while we were there).  We found a winner, Dukes was awesome!  It's one of those restaurants that is formal, but isn't.  Our meals were delicious, not ridiculously priced and the drinks were great and cheaper then other places we tried around the area and it was two hotels away from ours!  We wish we would have known about this place earlier on in our trip because we would have spent a LOT more time there!





We loved our trip....we were able to meet some great people there!

 From Eddie, who was doing a little flame juggling,who was part of the Great American Walkabout... his story is so interesting!



To "bucket man" aka Matthew who was able to rock out with a few buckets, some duct tape and a wine bottle...one of the most interesting live shows I've ever seen!



To the crazy old guy on the corner preaching that we were all going to hell....



To the silver people that were everywhere...and were so awesome!





My favorite "Silver people" were Mr and Mrs Silver who had just hit their one year anniversary when the hubs and I were there!



We loved being there...and are hoping to go back for our 10 year anniversary!!!!

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