Our Trip To Hawaii

On Oct 24, 2001, we flew to Honolulu to begin our Hawaiian vacation in celebration of  our 30th Wedding Anniversary.  On arriving in Honolulu, we immediately took an inter island flight to the Big Island of "Hawaii" where we officially began our journey.  We spent the first couple of days in the Volcano area near the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and loved it.  This part of the Big Island receives almost 100 inches of rain each year, and it seems as though every plant imaginable grows in the area.  Upon leaving the Volcano area, we drove around the entire island, well over 200 miles, stopping to see many interesting sights along the way.  As we drove, we noticed many changes in the terrain, including desert and cactus in some places.  We wondered if we were back in Arizona.  On the 27th of Oct., we flew back to Honolulu, and after a few short stops, drove up to Laie where we stayed several nights.  Laie is a small town of 5000, a gathering place for the Mormons in earlier days.  Today, the town is still largely comprised of Mormons.  We enjoyed visiting the Temple, BYU Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center as well as taking a few dips in the ocean (much warmer and calmer than Northern Ca waters).  The best thing about our visit to Laie, though, was going to sleep each night to the sounds of the ocean and to the swaying of the palm trees.  After leaving Laie, we drove down to Honolulu, where we spent the last day and a half.  We were excited to meet up with some friends from Santa Rosa who were also visiting the area.   Our last morning in Hawaii we visited Pearl Harbor where on Dec 7, 1941, the USS Arizona, along with a number of other ships, was hit in a surprise attack by Japanese bombers, killing 2,388 of our young men.  An interesting parallel  to Sept 11, among many, is that neither the Japanese nor the Afghans realized that these attacks would bring the USA closer together as a nation.

 As we flew out of Honolulu the afternoon of Oct 31, there was a tinge of sadness to leave such a beautiful place.  But, hopefully, one day we will return! 

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Places of Interest on the Big Island of Hawaii
The Polynesian Cultural Center
Sights in and around Laie
The Honolulu and Waikiki Areas
Pearl Harbor

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