Judy and I took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii, thank to the generosity of Faith Baptist Church. Several have asked what we did. So, I thought I would share with you my favorites. Before we went, we read what others liked. It helped us choose what to do. Though there are several islands, we chose to visit 3: Hawaii (Big Island), Oahu, and Maui. These are my five favorite activities.
1. Road to Hana.
This was a crazy drive. 65 miles with sheer cliffs of 100+ foot drops, 617 hairpin curves, 59 one-lane bridges, 25 mph speed limit, several miles with no guard rails. We had a Mustang convertible. If you go, take some snacks, and plan to spend the whole day. This was ‘my’ favorite. I think we said ‘Wow!’ and ‘This is crazy’ hundreds of times. We saw many waterfalls, a church made of corral, black sand beach, and had a great pineapple smoothie.
2. Polynesian Cultural Center.
Run by Mormons, this is a simulated journey to 7 different islands: Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, Marquesas, and Aotearoa (New Zealand). We saw fire dancers, a guy climbing a coconut tree, a Tahitian wedding, and a colorful canoe parade down the main canal. We enjoyed a luau and watched a musical play called ‘Breath of Life.’ It was fantastic!
3. Pearl Harbor.
Though the USS Arizona & Memorial was closed due to repairs, we were able to experience much of what is at Pearl Harbor Memorial. We toured a submarine and walked through a visual of many of the events that surrounded December 7, 1941. It left me with a greater appreciation for our military.
4. The Beach.
We spent some time on famed and crowded Waikiki Beach. We stopped at a Black Sand Beach and saw a sea turtle. But our favorite was the beach on Maui. We were there 4 days. The sunsets were beautiful. We were fortunate to watch the first “Oceanfest”, a lifeguard-style ocean events competition.
5. Shaved Ice & Other Food.
We tried shaved ice once. It was good! Tried it the second time with macadamia ice cream. It was great! We had it twice more! Shaved ice is not a snow cone. It’s so smooth! We had such good food while in Hawaii. Our first meal was at “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” I had swordfish for the first time (twice in one day). And the Kona coffee is fantastic!
Well, those are a few of the fun things we did in Hawaii. We also visited a volcano, saw several waterfalls, stopped by the Dole Plantation, and listened and watched a lot of hula dancers (No, we didn’t try it).
I hope this helps some who are planning a visit to Hawaii. If you’ve ever been, let me know what you did and liked.