Hawaii

Yes, we've just been there. It was very nice - we made some great memories and had a real break.

I didn't say anything about our trip here before we left because I didn't think it was wise to advertise our absence from our home on this open forum on the internet.

A vacation to Hawaii is not something that we would have done on our own, but some very gracious people made it happen for us (it was a pastoral care network - I don't know if they want the publicity for this, so I'll leave the identification at that). We are very thankful. When we first heard about the trip, it didn't seem real or possible, but we've been there and back, so I guess we can stop pinching ourselves.

We certainly did feel Emily's absence on this trip, but we were able to enjoy ourselves nevertheless. I must admit that it was nice that no one recognized us there and we didn't have to answer the phone at all.

We went to Oahu and stayed right near the beach in Waikiki. We rented a car for the week and we did a lot of travelling to see the sights. It is a beautiful place. The natural beauty of birds, fish, plants, mountains and ocean was delightful.

Twin highlights for the family were a catamaran snorkeling adventure (it included a sail out past Diamond Head) and a trip to Hanauma Bay for more snokeling. We had the bonus of sailing along with a pod of dolphins during our catamaran trip.

There is a lot to see on Oahu, let alone all the Hawaiian Islands, so our "to do list" wasn't finished, but, given the time available, we had a nice balance of busyness and relaxation.

Dolphins off Waikiki

Waikiki from the top of Diamond Head (an old volcanic crater)



Hanauma Bay

(Sorry about the sloppy formatting - I gave up fighting with Blogger to get this post to look right)