Waikiki Sand Villa Honolulu

Today was the day to go snorkelling in Hanauma Bay - the "nature preserve" known as the best snorkelling location on Oahu which used to actually be a sunken crater. This was one of the activities that I was most looking forward to, to see all kinds of sea creatures in their natural habitats up close! According to all of my lengthy internet research, it is highly recommended to get there first thing in the morning - like at 7am - so that you arrive before the barrage of tour buses arrive at 8:...

Well, we actually made it to Hawaii, due to months of planning on my part to make Ben's dream come true of spending some time away from home on the island of paradise known as Oahu, which means The Gathering Place. This trip to Hawaii is Ben's birthday present from me for his 39th year and was a total surprise to him when I presented him with it last week on his special day. The week went by quickly and before we knew it, we were driving to Seattle yesterday to catch the plane from there to ...

Today we started off our day by going to the Saturday Farmers' Market at Kapiolani Community College, which runs every Saturday from 7:30am-11:00am. It's supposed to be the best farmers' market in the area and I wanted to go to stock up on fresh fruit, specifically, for the remainder of our stay. I especially thought that it would be a lot cheaper to buy fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmers' market rather than from the grocery stores, which were fairly expensive. We got a bit of a lat...

Today we were supposed to go kayaking, but Ben wasn't feeling well so we stayed in the hotel all morning while he rested, and then in the early afternoon he felt better and we decided to go down to the beach here in Waikiki and then go window shopping. The weather was the same as the previous few days and we made sure to thoroughly coat ourselves with the 45 SPF sunscreen before leaving. It was sunny with clouds dotting the sky above and around the forecasted 28 degrees. We walked the 2 block...

Today we got up early for kayaking in Kailua, which is a 30 minute drive across the island to the south east side, and home of supposedly the "best" beach in the United States, as described in all the brochures.  This seems to be the spot where all the kayaking on Oahu takes place and it looked like a fun excursion to be had.  Instead of going on a guided tour, I figured that it would be better to just go off on our own to explore the area.  There were nearby islands that we could paddle to w...

This morning we had to be up very early to be at the Waianae Boat Harbour in Waianae, a community on the north west side of the island, by 8am so we could go swimming with dolphins! I had booked a "dolphin excursion" with a company (aptly named) Dolphin Excursions, after reading a lot of reviews about how fantastic an experience this was, and, also, to make one of Ben's dreams come true - to swim with dolphins! I thought it would be much better for him to do it out in the open ocean in their ...

Today's entry is an amalgamation of 2 days, since both yesterday and today were all "one day" for us, being that we got no sleep as one day blended into the next on our journey home. Yesterday was our last day in paradise, but our plane didn't leave until 9:15pm in the evening, so we still had nearly a full day to take in before it was time to go. Because Ben had been ill the night before and still was yesterday, we got up late and I was able to get us a somewhat late check-out, at noon inste...

Well, I am finally on my way! Got up at 05.00 and I am absolutely shattered. After a lot of last minute packing and rushing around, we finally got underway. The journey to Manchester was long due to heavy traffic and I couldn't sleep. It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone, one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. At the moment it seems like a bad idea and a mistake to have come travelling, especially on my own. Ah well, too late to change my mind now! I'm sure I will get over ...

We are just leaving Waikiki after three days here. We have just had a generally relaxing week. I think Hattie's legs have finally stopped aching after the horse ride in Kahuku. We have returned the rental car (which I am quite relieved about in reality) and now have to rely on public transport and walking. It feels (strangely) like our legs have been cut off because of the feeling of a lack of freedom. Hattie and I went to the Honolulu Zoo, because for once the weather is nice. It also made u...

In a coup of organizing, I've transported my daughter Emma's entire nuclear family to Hawaii for the week; Emma, her birth mom, Tusa, and her step dad, Rich, stay at the friendly Waikiki Sand Villa for a last week together before Emma comes along with us across the equator. Sunday I chauffeur them to Chinatown, stopping enroute at the Goodwill, which has a 50% Off Everything sale. We leave some time later with bags of kitschy stuff. The sun cranks it up a notch in Chinatown, so we duck into t...