I'm back from Hawaii

and wow.... It would have been a good time except for the friend I went with. There are plenty of explicit words I could use to describe her I'm sure. We went to Oahu and I tried really, really hard to have a good time. That was easier said than done.
Anyway, here I am arriving at the Honolulu airport. We got some beautiful real flower lei's that smelled great. :)


So we went to the international marketplace and got some goodies the day after we arrived. I got stuff of my kids and family. Actually I got a TON of stuff. The I experienced my first sunset in Hawaii:

And my first Mai Tai:


We went to the Beach and I actually got into the Ocean, which is big for me since I have a big fear of the ocean.



We took a tour of the island, including Pearl Harbor, which was humbling to say the least. I thought the most amazing thing was the "Tears of the Arizona", the oil that still leaks out of the ship.


We also saw Downtown Honolulu on this tour. Afterwards, I had a cheeseburger .... In Paradise! :)


The next day we took a tour of the backside of the island. We stopped at a coconut plantation, Sunset Beach, the Dole plantation, and the Pali Lookout, where King Kamehameha forced opposing troops off the cliffs during battle.




On Tuesday, we went on a lunch cruise and to a Luau. Both were better than I expected, but were basically ruined by my supposed friend and her antics.



And our last day we went snorkeling. Well, I didn't. My fears got the best of me. But the view of Hanauma Bay were beautiful.



Anyway, that's the jist of my Hawaiian vacation. I'm sunburned and tired, but I survived. And I'll go back, only this time with someone who isn't crazy. *sigh*