As if I didn’t see my share of beautiful sunsets while in Hawaii, I was treated to this spectacular show while driving home in a thunderstorm on Tuesday evening:
I wish I could have captured the image in all its glory as the lightning streaking through the storm clouds was incredible!
It has been a crazy week. Our five day Hawaiian rendezvous was fantastic but Phil and I both returned home to busy times at work as both of our departments are short-staffed. The jet lag made things interesting on Tuesday and it was difficult to go from vacation mode back to full fledged work mode in such short order. But the trip was worth it. It was so great to see mom and dad. Read on for a summary of our journey…
April 7th: By far the longest day I have ever had. We departed Parkes at 10:30am, spent the better part of 7 hours in the Sydney airport and finally departed Australia at 7pm. Our flight was 10 hours long. We traveled with JetStar which, despite the pain of our flight from Honolulu to Sydney in December 2007, was fantastic. We were fed, got to watch a couple movies and even managed to sleep for a few hours. We arrived in Honolulu on the morning of April 7th which was a very strange sensation. A bit like Groundhog Day but worse. We made our way to the apartment my parents had booked for the week, unpacked, enjoyed some good ol’ American television (including a hockey game!) for a while and then ventured out. We did a bit of snorkeling at Ala Moana beach, wandered down to Waikiki, picked up some Canadian beer and food for dinner, watched a beautiful sunset from our balcony and then called it a night. I have never had a more restful sleep.
Waikiki Beach
Sunset from the Balcony
April 8th: After wandering down to the Ala Moana shopping centre, we caught a bus to the airport to meet mom and dad. We nearly missed them as we were waiting at customs not knowing they had been cleared in Vancouver. We spent the day wandering around Waikiki enjoying eachother’s company and planning our week as the rain started to fall.
April 9th: The rain and cool weather settled in. We took a drive to the Dole Plantation where we got to see where pineapples come from and then headed to the Polynesian Cultural Centre. We had a great time checking out information on the various islands and even got to see a Luau and evening performance! The Polynesian culture is certainly incredible.
Dole Plantation
Pinapples!
Polynesian Cultural Centre
Polynesian Cultural Centre
Polynesian Cultural Centre
April 10th: The rain continued. Undeterred, we headed along the southern shore to Hanauma Bay to attempt some snorkeling on the famed beach. The weather was a bit dreary and I didn’t last long due to the cold, wind and crashing waves. But Phil and dad plugged along the reef for ages. The fish were incredible. We continued driving, checking out the sights along the way and then headed back to Honolulu. We decided to check out a place called the Yard House for dinner which boasted 130 types of beer on tap. Little did we know that a pint glass was the smallest size of glass you could get! Dad and Phil braved the half yard. Mom and I were much more sensible.
Hanauma Bay
Sailboats on Waikiki
Yard House
April 11th: Far and away the busiest of our five days. Phil and I hoped to do a surfing lesson first thing in the morning but didn’t realize low tide was at 10am and opted for an afternoon lesson after all sorts of running around. Instead we drove into the mountains and hiked into Manoa Falls which was an incredible sight. It rained all the way in but the rain forest was lush, green and alive unlike anything I have seen before. For the first time in ages I was incredibly inspired to take photos. After a quick lunch, we drove to Diamond Head in Honolulu and punished ourselves with an intense hour long uphill hike to the top of the hill. The view was spectacular and totally worth the effort. Next on the agenda was surfing lessons. Phil and I had a blast on Waikiki trying out the sport. Our instructors were great, the sun was finally shining and the waves were incredibly fun. I had a blast and wish we lived closer to the ocean and could spend more time surfing! Exhausted, we retired to the apartment where we had a quiet dinner in, enjoyed a classic Hawaiian sunset and packed our things in preparation for heading back to the land of Oz.
Manoa Falls
Bamboo!
Manoa Falls
Manoa Falls
Manoa Falls
Manoa Falls
Manoa Falls
Manoa Falls
George of the Jungle is not impressed with the strength of his vine…
Manoa Falls
Diamond Head
Diamond Head
Sunset
April 12th: Up bright and early and back to the airport. It was a teary good-bye as four days just wasn’t long enough with mom and dad after being away for so long. Another 10 hours on a plane, this time with Qantas. The plane was old, the seats small and we were stuck at the very back. I also was in the middle of Phil and a very large man. I couldn’t sleep and watched every movie they showed. When we got close to Sydney the plane started circling around due to poor weather and we got worried that our landing would be a repeat of our move to Australia. Fortunately we only wasted 20 minutes in the air (not 45!) and got through customs with plenty of time to spare as our REX flight to Parkes was delayed. As usual. We made it home by 10pm and after unpacking quickly were back to the reality of the work week.
This weekend has been a quiet one as we catch up on sleep and housework. Hawaii was amazing and I can’t wait to see the family again soon. I am more homesick than ever now and have spent the whole day watching curling games sent to me by aunt Lorie via mom! Thanks guys!
In a few hours we board a plane for Hawaii. I can’t wait!!
