Honolulu ---->next stop Maui

Honolulu is absolutely beautiful! There are tons of stores all around us. The weather is perfect. The mountains are green, and the water is blue. Picture with sound We arrived in Honolulu at 11:15 (2:15 California time). We rented a car from National and drove to our hotel: The Sheraton Princess Kaiulani right across from Waikiki beach. There was a bottle of champaign awaiting us along with fresh fruit and a box of chocolate macadamia nuts. We stayed in a suite on the top floor. The view from our balcony was absolutely gorgeous. After "oohing" and "ahing" Tuesday night, we passed out. Beautiful Hanauma Bay We woke up early Wednesday morning. This was our only full day in Honolulu, so we wanted to get an early start. We headed down to Hanauma Bay. The drive was incredible. We found a cute little breakfast spot on the way. When Michael ordered coffee and found out that they didn't have skim milk or soy milk, he said, "This is the start of my problems!" It was so funny! I guess that Michael is going to have to try and get by without having quite a healthy diet. We arrived at the bay at 9:30 A.M. and waited in a long line to get it. The admission price was $3 a person. Michael and I put on our masks, fins, and snorkels and swam out into the water. Wow! The bay is the home of hundreds of reef fish that literally swim right up to you. We stayed in the water for about 40 minutes.

On the Beach at Hanauma Bay

After our experience at Hanauma Bay, we decided to visit the USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor). What a touching experience. We watched a short documentary about the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan. We learned that on December 7, 1941, 1,177 American men died on the USS Arizona, and over 2,400 American military men died in all. We took a short boat ride to the exact location of where the USS Arizona sunk. There is a memorial set up with all the names of the America people that were killed. At Hanauma Bay Next, we decided to go to Waikiki beach. It is right across from our hotel. The beach was packed considering that it was a Wednesday. Michael and I went into the water for a while. Then, Michael rented a surfboard for one hour for $5. The waves weren't the best, and he only caught four waves. It was still fun for him. At about 5:00 we headed back to our hotel. We jumped in the pool and relaxed for a while. After showering, we walked along the beach and ate at the "Shorebird" hotel. It was a great restaurant. Michael ordered chicken, and I got a filet. We actually got to cook the meat ourselves at the bbq. What an awesome dinner! Mike on beach at Hanauma Bay Thursday morning, Michael went surfing again. The waves were much better and Michael caught 11 waves in only one hour. We walked around and then headed to the airport to catch our flight to Maui. Hopefully we will have as much fun in Maui as we had in Honolulu. We will write again when we have a chance!

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