H is for Hawaii

The first Christmas after my husband died (1992) was very sad, to say the least. So I decided that I would take my two daughters to Hawaii (Oahu) after Christmas was over and celebrate New Year's there. It would be a sort of new beginning for us and give us time away from all the grief and spend some quality time together in the sun. It was our first trip there and subsequently, a few years later, I took D2 to Mauii for Spring Break. This picture is one of my all-time favourites - the girls were so excited to hold these parrots in the International whatever center near our hotel. Here is a bird's eye view of the pool at our hotel - right below our room. After spending some time at the beach, I decided that I didn't want some oiled-up sweaty stranger lying right beside me and my towel. Those of you who have been to Waikiki, will know what I mean. So after only one day there, we spent the rest of our non-touring and non-shopping days at this lovely pool.

Here are the girls sunbathing on Waikiki but it wasn't long after I took this photo that people were literally towel by towel and we left!

The day we went on a day trip to the Polynesian Cultural Centre was a bit cloudy and windy, but we had a great day anyway.

Can you find me and D1 on the boat? D2 was looking over the side of the boat at everything! (Click to enlarge)

Here are the dancers entering into the area where they entertained us all.

D2 gets a hula lesson. I don't remember where D1 was.

And here is D2 again posing at the Cultural Centre.

Aha! D1 was posing in the gynormous tree roots!

Not to be outdone, D2 got right into the roots and sat down in the cool shade!

As you can see, we had a wonderful time in Hawaii and it was hard to return to reality. As I mentioned, D2 and I went to Mauii a few years later while D1 was studying at university. And I wouldn't mind returning to see Pearl Harbour some day and then go to one of the other islands for rest and relaxation. Everyone should take in Hawaii, if they can, but be prepared for the humidity!
Please forgive the quality of the photos, but they're almost 20 years old! Wow, where did the years go?

ABC Wednesday is the brainchild of Denise Nesbitt and if you'd like, pop over to the ABCW site to check out participants' ideas for each week.