Aloha!

It is about 8:30 p.m. in Honolulu but it feels more like 10:30 p.m., but that really feels like I have been up for 24 hours straight. We woke up this morning around 4 a.m. got dressed and rushed out the door to head to the airport for our 6:30 a.m. flight.

We are excited to be traveling again. We both admit it feels a little bittersweet. Previous journeys would have required a lot of coordination and planning before we left to make sure our bestest cat Oscar was well taken care of. We miss him so much and it was weird not having to work out his cat sitting schedule this time.

So, we are in Hawaii! How did this happen!? I wore Jacob down insisting that we should go somewhere warm and sunny for winter break. I was expecting California or Arizona, but when Jacob suggested Hawaii – I said YES! I’ve always wanted to come here.

One interesting thing I’ve noticed is when I have mentioned that we were coming here, so many people I told first asked “What Island!?” then they often shared memories of their travels to Hawaii. This created great opportunities to hear from our friends and families about their favorite spots, and use some of their advice and suggestions for our trip.

For this journey, we are in Honolulu through the new year and then we will be in Maui for the rest of our time. One person described Honolulu as Disneyland and I definitely can see the comparison. The streets are full of tourists, lots of shops and activity. There is a giant Santa on the top of the mall entrance, but I haven’t seen Mickey Mouse yet.

This was our first time flying out of the Everett airport and it was a breeze. Because we have our Nexus cards, we also have TSA Pre-Check which makes the whole airport security portion pretty easy.

As is tradition being the smallest person, I got stuck in the middle seat and spent the entire time feeling very squished. The flight flew by (hahaha pun intended) (I am so tired!) and we arrived in Honolulu just after 11 a.m. local time. As soon as we exited the airport I saw a giant beautiful tree in the culture gardens and exclaimed, “Oh, look at that tree!” and basically you can picture how the rest of the day went from there.

I may have been running off few hours of sleep but exiting the airport to warm weather and this beautiful tropical landscape revitalized me!

Tourists kept coming in and taking pictures with the signs or at the window so I decided this place was famous and asked Jacob to take my photo too.

After our bellies were full and our spirits high, we wandered about reminding ourselves that we do not need to rush! We are in Hawaii to relax, to meander and eat delicious food. So after our burgers we got some ice cream and checked out the beach.

We then decided to head back to our hotel to see if our room was ready. Unfortunately it was not, but we were able to sit outside in a nice shady spot and soak up some warmth. Being that we booked this trip a little last minute, we were scrambling to find somewhere to stay. We ended up at the Club Wyndham Royal Garden and its been a great stay so far. The staff are friendly and we have a fantastic view from our room. I’ll share more photos tomorrow. I can barely keep my eyes open right now. (Photos added!)

Let’s see, where were we?

Oh yes! We checked into our room, dropped off our things, freshened up and then were back out the door. We booked a sunset boat cruise. What we (or maybe just I) didn’t realize was that the dock was a 2 mile walk from our hotel. And along the way we both were getting distracted with me with taking photos and looking at the chickens, and Jacob with trying to befriend stray cats. Then once we got to the dock we went the wrong direction and had to backtrack.

However, despite that – we made it on time!

The boat ride was fantastic (Hawaii Glass Bottom Boats). The boat had four viewing spots where you could see underwater. At one point, the boat stops and people are able to feed the fish and the fish jump out of the water. Great group of people on board, fun vibe and fantastic views. I loved being out on the water and the feel of the boat crashing over the waves. It was so much fun and a great experience to get to see what was under the water while staying dry. (Feature photo today is from the boat tour).

We saw lots of fish. No turtle sightings yet but I am hopeful they are in my future.

After the cruise we picked up some snacks for dinner and for breakfast tomorrow. By the time we returned to the hotel we were clocking about 10 miles walked. Oops. We will try for less mileage tomorrow, and more beach time and relaxing.

For Tuesday we are going to visit Pearl Harbor, the Iolani Palace and get in some beach time.

Until then!