Oahu, Hawaii

Well, we've officially arrived in Hawaii!! The flight was a grueling 10 hours long, but Hawaiian airlines did serve us three meals, so that helped. They even serve a complimentary glass of wine with the hot meal!

We stayed the first night in Honolulu, at the Hilton Waikiki Village, thanks to Adam's many Hilton points. We even got upgraded to a fancy oceanview suite, with not one, but TWO balconies! We watched the sunset the first night from one of our balconies. The time change killed us and we had to fight to stay awake long enough to eat dinner before bed at 9pm local time. But the bright side was that we were up nice and early the next morning- it's amazing how much you can do before checkout if you get up at 6am! The hotel was situated right on the beach and near a beautiful lagoon, so we explored a bit in the morning, and Hawaii greeted us with multiple rainbows! The other big highlight was the penguin display at the Hilton!

We rented a car for the next few days to be able to see more of the island, and had the pleasure of being the first couchsurfers for a woman who had fascinating travel stories to share with us. From her house, we went to Pearl Harbor, from which vantage point we could see the X-band radar that Janine had worked on when she interned at Raytheon. We also rented snorkel equipment and headed to the northern shore of the island to Turtle Bay, and we had incredible luck- we saw a huge variety of fish and coral. But the highlight of the snorkeling was the namesake of the bay- we saw a sea turtle!!

We snorkeled the next day in Kailua, on the windward (east) side of Oahu, where we saw a few more fish, including the yellow tang, but the highlight here was the Blue Angels! No, not a fish- the airplanes! They are doing an airshow on Oahu on Saturday, and were practicing the day we were snorkeling in Kailua. How often do you get to watch the Blue Angels zoom overhead while swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Pacific?

The scenery in Oahu is breathtaking, especially the H3 highway, recommended by our host. The former volcano leaves jagged cliffs that have since been covered with lush greenery thanks to the constant rains. The northern side of the island is like a different world, with exotic flowers and a jungle-like feel. Other areas feel like a desert, or are covered in volcanic rock being battered by the sea. The fickle weather and constantly moving clouds mean daily rainbows. And the birds all over the island are unlike most that we've seen. Overall, it was a beautiful place to visit!

More pictures coming soon!