kapuahi | Be Afraid,..be very Afraid a recap is coming

So I promised you some posting about my recent trip to Hawaii. It's taken me a while to actually put my memories into written words because every minute I spend on those islands is so special to me, so if I'm rambly and blathery forgive me? This is going to be a huge post, so feel free to scroll on by if you wish, but some parts, particularly the last week will be of interest to some of you.

So without further rambling, I give you three weeks in Hawaii.

This started out a bit sadly, this was the trip that our mother had organised before she passed so it was a bit bittersweet. We left late afternoon and by the time our connecting flight got to Sydney is was night time, and we watched them load the plane from the windows of the AirNZ Koru Club. My friends know me and know what I'm about to say, but I cannot say enough good things about Hawaiian Airlines. If you can fly with them to Honolulu, do it, you will not regret it.

We spent the first six days in the Tapa Tower of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I love the HHV, but this time was a little bit hit and miss for me, they are under construction and our tower's pool was out of commission so I was a bit pissed because I was determined that I was swimming whilst on this trip. For those of you who don't know I haven't been actively in the ocean since 1975, yes I am that afeared of things with big teeth. Also the construction noise made sunbathing on the balcony a little disconcerting.

Also disconcerting? Your sister taking random pictures of you. I grew quite accustomed to seeing my sister's 'swear' finger this trip.

This first week came to be known as the 'Day Late, Dollar Short Tour'. Why I hear you ask? We just missed filming everywhere we went. We weren't stalking them by design, it just happened that way. The day we arrived there was a big eye sign on the edge of the Tapa Tower reception desk. This is how tired we were - Jo asked what that was and I said that is one of the signs that CBS is on site, and neither of us thought another thing about it. I know, Crazy right? After a short nap we went exploring, both having worked out 'Hang on, CBS, they are here!' this however is the only 'star' we could find.

For those of you who don't know the HHV has birds and animals on display around the grounds. Last time we were there they had Flamingos and Ibis, this time it was Macaws and parrots, and these little guys that seem to live there permanently.

So we rented a car....familiar to anyone?

Took a drive over to Kailua, Lanikai, Kualoa, and Kahala. My sister thoroughly recommends the breakfast cereal Leaping Lemurs from Whole foods at Kahala. Peanut Butter and chocolate flavoured, me? I prefer to stick to the Granola, but i digress, instead of rambling let me take you on a visual journey.

Mokili'i, aka Chinaman's Hat.

Kualoa Ranch

Pineapple Ice Cream at Dole Plantation

This guy was nuts, he was sitting atop garden rubbish and truck tyres, and was so cool about it that he pulled his bag off his back, got out what we swear was a pakalolo cigarette and calmly started smoking, while the truck was travelling at 50mph down the highway.

The next day we spent the full day at Pearl Harbor, which while we were there we found that AOL and SC were there as well, and when we returned to the HHV found that Michelle Borth had been at the Lagoon Pool. Told you, Day Late, Dollar Short.

The Mighty Mo

This was a display outside the Pacific Aviation Museum that put into storage on 9/12. That is one service boot each from servicemen and women that have been killed in the current conflict. It was very sobering and incredibly sad and moving.

During the week we managed to feast on Malasadas and Cocoa Puffs, we had dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen at Kahala. Can highly recomend that as well.