1 May 2004
Subject: Hawaiian Vacation
Dear Ones,
In a 1983 movie entitled Vacation, actor Chevy Chase wanting to spend time with his loving family took them on a little trip from Chicago to California to visit a Wally World amusement park. What started out to be your typical American family going on a nice, quiet vacation trip turned out to be much more arduous then they ever anticipated. As the trip progressed, Chase, the sweet caring family man, ended up losing more and more of his mind.
After watching this movie, any sane person would undoubtedly think twice about taking one's family on vacation... but since I do not consider myself to be wholly sane, I had no problem taking my family on a recent vacation to Hawaii. In fact, the entire vacation "episode" went so well, I believe the trip may have helped to restore some of my long-lost sanity.
The whole family (Christian, Melanie, Madison, Lundyn, Leavon and I) had a wonderful time on this trip. We flew from New Orleans to Dallas and then non-stop on to Honolulu. Our accommodations were at the Hale Koa Hotel on the beach at Waikiki and with our vacation limited to a week, we decided to spend all our time on the island of Oahu. Even a week on Oahu was not enough time to go everywhere and do everything we wanted to do.
Having lived in Hawaii some 25 years ago, we could not believe how much the place had changed since we left. The traffic is much heavier and the high-rise buildings in the downtown area much more numerous. Also, the number of tourists appears to have increased exponentially.
Our activities for the week included a fabulous Easter Sunday Brunch and an outstanding Thursday evening Luau at the Hale Koa Hotel. Among our day trips were visits to the Dole Plantation, the North Shore of Oahu, the Pali Highway scenic overlook, Blowhole, Diamond Head, the waterfalls at Waimea Valley, Fort Shafter's famous Palm Circle, the USS Arizona Memorial and Punchbowl National Cemetery. Also, "boogie boarding" at Bellows Beach and snorkeling at Hanauma Bay were two "must-see, must-do" activities since these were two places Christian loved to visit when he was a young boy. The week ended with a Sunset Dinner Cruise on the Pacific.
During our entire stay, the weather was fabulous... day-time highs in the 77-80 degree range with the prevailing trade winds blowing at 15-25 miles per hour. I could have spent my entire vacation lying in a hammock strung between two trees in the palm grove next to the beach... all the while sipping on a Hawaiian Mai Tai or Pina Colada. (Maybe later when I get a bit older.) When our week of vacation was up, the girls had "fallen in love" with Hawaii and didn't want to leave this tropical paradise.
Bottom line: For yours truly, this family vacation to Hawaii was the best vacation ever!
Have a GREAT day and may all your Saturdays be special.
Don
