Hawaii trip
My manager had been bugging me to take a few days off, and as Neal is back to his Hawaii-every-month-for-work schedule - well, it seemed a simple enough plan to just buy an inexpensive Hawaiian Airlines ticket and go with him.
It's certainly the budget-conscious way to travel. The only downsides were that we flew on separate flights (he uses United for business), and I had to kill some time on Thursday and Friday while he worked. But the weather was beautiful, and the trip much appreciated.
(Neal goes to both Maui and Oahu for work; we went to Maui the last two times we turned his work trip into a vacation, so this time we did Oahu.)
I arrived in the afternoon and checked in. Neal gets the corporate rate at the Doubletree for a very swank top-floor room indeed. I chilled out and rested until he was done working, then we had dinner and enjoyed the warm evening.
The view from the hotel balcony the next morning:
Neal had to work in the morning, so I grabbed a bamboo mat and went to the beach.
Warm sun, warm sand.
I trotted back after I was nicely toasted. The Hilton Hawaiian Village has a fair number of birds:
Including the Tropical Penguins.
And a few non-birds.
I rejoined Neal; we had some lunch and went for some walks, noting some interesting local features.
We confirmed our SCUBA trip for the next morning, and headed out to the beach again for the sunset and Friday night fireworks.
The next day - SCUBA! A two-tank dive. The first dive was a wreck dive - it was my second wreck, and the deepest Neal and I have ever been. I had a chance to try out the strobe I bought. The pictures are better, but I still need to work on aiming and intensity.
My lovely Neal:
The second dive was a reef with just massive numbers of turtles.
I got to hold a small octopus, which attached its suckers to my arm. The sensation is absolutely indescribable.
Neal took some awesome shots with his more conventional flash:
For the last day, I were determined to catch a rainbow, and we did.
We also rode the waves on an outrigger canoe. Great fun!
Shots from inside:
We took a bit of a drive around the island.
We also booked a sunset cruise on a catamaran. Very inexpensive, very fun. This was the boat:
They served a drink onboard that had a lot of guava juice; it was very tasty, and gave me just the nicest buzz.
Captain Mike. I will let the stereotypes speak for themselves.
Fog rolling in from the windward side:
Hawaii Prince. A former hospital turned skinny hotel with only ocean views. Very cool place.
Much more expensive cruise. I think I preferred being closer to the water.
Gorgeous sunset.
Back on shore.
Farewell morning:
A lovely time with my lovely husband. Everything we do together is fun!
It's certainly the budget-conscious way to travel. The only downsides were that we flew on separate flights (he uses United for business), and I had to kill some time on Thursday and Friday while he worked. But the weather was beautiful, and the trip much appreciated.
(Neal goes to both Maui and Oahu for work; we went to Maui the last two times we turned his work trip into a vacation, so this time we did Oahu.)
I arrived in the afternoon and checked in. Neal gets the corporate rate at the Doubletree for a very swank top-floor room indeed. I chilled out and rested until he was done working, then we had dinner and enjoyed the warm evening.
The view from the hotel balcony the next morning:
Neal had to work in the morning, so I grabbed a bamboo mat and went to the beach.
Warm sun, warm sand.
I trotted back after I was nicely toasted. The Hilton Hawaiian Village has a fair number of birds:
Including the Tropical Penguins.
And a few non-birds.
I rejoined Neal; we had some lunch and went for some walks, noting some interesting local features.
We confirmed our SCUBA trip for the next morning, and headed out to the beach again for the sunset and Friday night fireworks.
The next day - SCUBA! A two-tank dive. The first dive was a wreck dive - it was my second wreck, and the deepest Neal and I have ever been. I had a chance to try out the strobe I bought. The pictures are better, but I still need to work on aiming and intensity.
My lovely Neal:
The second dive was a reef with just massive numbers of turtles.
I got to hold a small octopus, which attached its suckers to my arm. The sensation is absolutely indescribable.
Neal took some awesome shots with his more conventional flash:
For the last day, I were determined to catch a rainbow, and we did.
We also rode the waves on an outrigger canoe. Great fun!
Shots from inside:
We took a bit of a drive around the island.
We also booked a sunset cruise on a catamaran. Very inexpensive, very fun. This was the boat:
They served a drink onboard that had a lot of guava juice; it was very tasty, and gave me just the nicest buzz.
Captain Mike. I will let the stereotypes speak for themselves.
Fog rolling in from the windward side:
Hawaii Prince. A former hospital turned skinny hotel with only ocean views. Very cool place.
Much more expensive cruise. I think I preferred being closer to the water.
Gorgeous sunset.
Back on shore.
Farewell morning:
A lovely time with my lovely husband. Everything we do together is fun!