| | I’m back. Paradise Lost.
It is no wonder so many people dream of Hawai’i and of spending honeymoons and anniversaries and all manner of special events there. I had a wonderful time. It was the best graduation present I could ever dream of, and I still can hardly believe I was actually there for an entire week. New England, Mexico, England…all those trips have been pretty awesome but believable. I guess when you want something so badly for so long it is almost unbelievable when it happens. I know pictures are worth thousands of words, and it is my full intention to get pix up for you all as soon as I can. Today it wasn’t working for me, so you’ll have to wait. I’ll give it to you in words first, and I’ll try to be brief. How can you skim over a lifetime dream though, and one that took place in America’s Paradise at that?
Saturday: We arrived in Honolulu to beautiful warmth and humidity, and as we were waiting for the shuttle to the rental car place, my mom started laughing and waving at somebody in another shuttle that was just pulling out. It was her doctor who delivered me when I was born! They were laughing and waving at each other through the glass as the bus pulled out, and we never saw them again while were there. But geez is it a small world or what?! (Interesting side note: he is still her Dr. and he’s a Christian who donates time every year to help medical needs in Africa). So our trip started out on a hilarious note. Then we ended up getting this sweet convertible at the rental place b/c they were out of the cheaper car we had paid for. I had been joking to my mom about getting a convertible (like Ned had rented in The Mystery of the Golden Pavilion) and we actually got one! But Mom was all freaked out and wouldn’t put the top down on the way to the hotel b/c she wanted “to learn how to drive it first.” After getting unpacked at the hotel, we wandered around Waikiki Beach, (2 blocks from our hotel—we had a great room view) and stopped at different resort terraces and got bloated on tropical smoothies and ice teas while enjoying awesome live Hawaiian bands and hula dancing. The evening ended late with live Hawaiian music from the “Golden Age ‘20s-‘50s” and Maui chips at the Hala Kulani—where Ned Nickerson and his pals stayed!  It was a great first evening.
Sunday: Had an amazing breakfast buffet at Duke’s on the beach: named after the Hawaiian surfer/swimmer hero who won Olympic medals in the ‘30s. I love that place! We spent the rest of the day in the haze/sunlight on Waikiki, and ended the day with a 4 hour long cultural parade in the evening where there were lots of great little old ladies hula dancing. My mom and I could so picture my grandma doing that. There are TONS of Japanese tourists in Hawai’i, and most of them are very rude to Americans. Not to be racist or anything, but it was slightly odd. There are 500 hula schools in Japan, and only 100 in all the Hawaiian Islands.
Monday: Visited Pearl Harbor, the one particular thing I really wanted to do. It was sad, but awesome. I have lots of pix from that. The USS Arizona still releases 2 quarts of oil a day from the depths. I stood for and watched drops float up, one at a time. It was a sad moment. And yes, there were tons of rude Japanese tourists here, too! One has to wonder why. After P.H. we drove up to the North Shore and had the best snow cones I’ve ever tasted! And spent time on the beach. I had developed a cold though, and there was wind and no sun, which problems together made me cold, so we left after an hour or so and did more driving. That night we went to the mall and had dinner with the best waitresses ever at The Islands in the Ala Moana, and I got a second piercing in my left ear (lobe). Hot stuff 
Tuesday: Spent the morning on the beach, then went to a luau! The highway system in Hawai’i is so messed up and we had issues getting everywhere we wanted to. But the luau was great—we saw the pig taken out of its underground oven, and there was great hula dancing while we ate. I ate purple colored rolls, no joke! They were good. Afterwards there was an amazing show of Polynesian islands culture and a man who ate fire! It was amazing. We got leis, too. And I saw giant ferns like in The Mystery of the Golden Pavilion! I had mom take my picture with them, of course. haha.
Wednesday: more Waikiki beach, then shopping in the afternoon. We took the bus back to the Ala Moana mall, and mom had her hair cut at Macy’s. She was so freaked out, but the hairdressers were so nice and we had a great time. Her hair looks great. Got a lot of shopping done, too.  When we got back to Waikiki around 9:20 p.m., we got in line for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory which was excellent, despite the awful LOUD band that was playing. *gags* We had the best popcorn shrimp and mahi-mahi, and when the band left, nice Hawaiian music was playing in the background and the tiki torches were lit and everything was just about perfect. We were back on the street walking home at 11:20, and the sidewalks were still teaming. The shops were still open and doing booming business, too. The City That Never Sleeps, my mum and I call it. Conclusion: I was made for Paradise.
Thursday: We got up early and drove to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling. It was amazing! The water was so clear and about 3 feet from shore the tropical fish swim right by your hand! My mom had brought a disposable underwater camera and I took tons of snaps, so I hope they come out. I got scraped on the coral too, which I was quite proud of :-p After a bit of rain, the sun was out in full force and it was gorgeous. I hated to leave, but mom had some surprise appointment for me at 1:30 so we didn’t stay long. But the surprise was awesome! I got to swim with a dolphin! His name was Liho, and he was adoreable! In posing for a picture, the instructor told me to kiss him and I did, long and hard. Then another girl had to do it, and I ended up being voted as best kisser. The picture was smashing (if it hadn’t cost 50 bucks I’d have bought it). Then in the late afternoon we climbed Diamond Head (the ancient volcano). What a piece of work! The trail winds on forever and then there are 300 killer stairs at the top! But the sun was shining, the views were amazing, and we met some great people on the way up. On the way back to the hotel (in our flashy gold convertible, top down) we drove through the Kapiolani Community College campus which is absolutely gorgeous. Mom is totally agreeable to letting me go if I can find someone to go and room with. Takers, anyone? I’m dead serious!
After we showered, we set out down the beach again for our last full night in Hawai’i. We found live Hawaiian music at the Pink Palace, and had the best smoothies and coconut battered shrimp etc appetizers. The two-man band was great, and we were about the only ones clapping, so they took notice of us and dedicated the first hula-dancer song to us! Then for the rest of the evening they visited our table on their breaks, and talked to us from on stage. The one man was so proud of my graduation, and he was just so cool. He was about my mom’s age, and they talked a lot about bands and music from their day and stuff like that. He played “Lovely Hula Hands” at my request, too. It was such a great evening!
Friday: I sucked it in and took a surf lesson! It was awesome but so much work to paddle out there. I got up on my very first wave, failed the next few with a mouth full of saltwater, and rode the last little wave to shore. What a great time! We spent the rest of the day on the beach at Waikiki (we had thought about going back to Hanauma but never did) and in the evening went for one last meal at the Cheesecake Factory, where our waitress had lived in Glen Elyn! (where my parents were married—40 minutes from where I live now). Btw, Out of the three slices we shared the entire week, our favorite was the White Chocolate Rasberry Truffle. Try it sometime!
I was so sorry to leave. I loved Hawai'i, and I want to go back ASAP. It inspired me to go to a community college and save my money too, because it ain’t cheap. But it was the best present ever. I don’t know if it is major let down or what but this week has not been good, but every time I’ve written about my trip in a letter to a friend, or catching up in my vacation journal, or right now for xanga, I smile and sigh and think about what a great trip it is and how everyone needs to go there. Even if you don’t look good in a bathing suit. (Hey, I made it!)
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Anywho, great post. 
