It was day 4 of our Hawaiian vacation, and this one was a little tough for me. I wasn’t ready to go home just yet…

We had the day free to hang out and run around the beach. I liked watching the large barge ships slowly make their way to the shore bringing  supplies to the island.

The clouds looked amazing from the balcony… The fluffy clouds completely covered the mountain tops.

I tried to gather all of our belongings for the long flight home, but it just bummed me out. We decided to grab some breakfast and go for a walk on the beach.

We passed the pink flamingos that were residents of the hotel. It was a little too early for them to be social.

The penguins were wide awake and playing though… They stay at the hotel too, and they were super-cute.

We visited one of our favorite spots to grab breakfast… It was a Honolulu hot spot called the Tropics. If you were a bit patient you could get a table outside with an amazing view of the ocean. There were little birds and lizards that would run around too, and try to get you to feed them. The food was amazing too.

After breakfast we wandered further down the beach and found a cool park to visit. We made a plan that when lunch time rolled around, we would head back to the park for a picnic.

The afternoon was passing too quickly, and it was time to do some serious packing for the next day…

The vacation isn’t over just yet… Stay tuned for more.

We woke up early, and it was day two in Honolulu.

I had become attached to my early morning routine spent sitting on the balcony, and watching the waves roll in. It was fun to look down below and watch tiny people walk around on the sandy shore. We had a breakfast to attend in the morning, but the rest of the afternoon was free.

We wandered down the beach, and found a beautiful park to visit. Then we spotted something fun in the ocean, and I was lucky enough to talk James into going along. I had read about submarine tours in a brochure in the room, and we decided that it looked like a great way to spend the morning.

So we bought our tickets, and a short sail out into the ocean, we climbed into the Atlantis submarine.

We dove down 100 feet into the Ocean, and saw an entire new world. There were man-made coral reefs filled with tiny tropical fish, sea urchin, and sting rays. There were sunken ships and airplanes with large sea turtles resting on their docks. It was peaceful and beautiful. The clear blue water was calming, and it was fascinating to see the Ocean life.  Taking the Atlantis submarine cruise was something that I will never forget.

We took it easy in the afternoon, the next day would bring sailing and snorkeling, and an entire day spent on the Ocean.

As the day carried on, we wandered down to the beach, and I snapped a few pictures of curious birds visiting the koi ponds.

It was a quiet, lazy afternoon, but my nerves were already getting the better of me… I was getting a little worried about the snorkeling adventure.

Stay tuned, there are a few more Hawaii posts to come.

The flight was long, and we were already feeling the effects of jet-lag kicking in, but that wasn’t keeping us from running around the Hotel and beach like little  kids.

The Pacific Ocean was amazing, powerful, and humbling all in one. Being that I live in landlocked Kansas, it was surreal to look out and see nothing but blue skies, and bright blue water. This was our very first time to even see an Ocean, and on that first day we were out walking on the beach and enjoying the cool water as much as we could.

I loved the palm trees with their soft, swishing palms chilling in the cool ocean breeze.

There were cloudy, stormy skies, but we didn’t care one bit. It was absolutely beautiful in Honolulu.

Our Hotel was right on the beach, with a great view. We were on the 22nd floor, and our room had a balcony that overlooked the harbor, and the Pacific Ocean.

It was a beautiful combination of downtown Honolulu with amazing urban sprawl, and laid back beach culture. Made even more complete with Surfers that greeted the morning sun, and cute little birds that would perch on the balcony railing.

It was just day one of the vacation and I was already in love with Honolulu.

Stay tuned for even more Hawaii posts to come.

A few months ago when James told me about the trip to Hawaii, I was instantly excited, and then a bit worried. You see, I don’t fly, hardly ever, at all. When the tickets arrived we saw all of the stops ahead, and then my nerves really kicked in. There would be three airports to visit, in one day, and about 12 hours in the air. Did I mention that the longest flight that I have ever been on was about 2 hours, and yeah it totally freaked me out.

We started off in Kansas City, and we decided that it would be best to find a hotel close to the airport.

I was hoping that the stay near the airport would steady my nerves, and it was also good practice for the kiddos. All three were staying home with Nana. We were a little over an hour away from home, and not up in the air just yet,  so that made me feel a bit better.

But there it was, just a mere 5 minutes away…

We woke up extra early on Sunday, bags in hand we caught the shuttle over to the airport, and started on the first flight of the day. A short 1 & 1/2 hour flight to Dallas. The weather was a little questionable and storms were on the horizon. I kept it together, and we landed safely in Dallas.

Our stay in Dallas was so short, that I didn’t even have time to dig out my camera to grab a picture. A little side note…. I love airports, but not airplanes, I’m strange like that.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat, and some snacks for the plane, and then we boarded the biggest plane I had ever seen to Honolulu. What was ahead of us was an eight hour-full of turbulence-crazy-LONG-flight.

It was cool to see almost the entire country in a day, and I read 10 chapters in a book that I brought along. But let me tell you, those last few hours were so long. We gazed out the window at an endless sea and sky of blue, and I was starting to get a little worried. We were 3,777 miles from home, and there was no land to be seen. I kept my mind clear and focused on landing in paradise, and finally after 8 hours, you could see the beautiful island of Hawaii.

The landing wasn’t so great… We hit a lot of stormy skies in the air, and that made for a bumpy landing. But we made it, and we couldn’t wait to get out and play in the Ocean.

The air was perfumed and sweet, and the sand was warm to the touch on bare toes. It was the first time that James and I had ever seen the Ocean, and we couldn’t wait to enjoy every minute of the vacation.

Stay tuned for more…