DAY 03: Hiking, flying, getting Lost.

What a crazy day! We spent the morning hiking Diamond Head. The views at the top were pretty amazing. The water below us looked crystal clear and super blue. Beautiful!

Later in the afternoon, we decided to try parasailing. It was fun to jet off the Waikiki shore on a speed boat. That was worth the price of admission alone. Once up in the parasail, Shawn and I were surprised at how peaceful the experience was. Not scary at all. As we descended back to the boat, the driver dipped us gently in the water. Bah!

After quickly cleaning up, we headed down to the beach to check out the Lost premier. After nabbing the last table down there, Shawn made a beeline for the red carpet. He quickly saw Henry Gale. By the time he and I were done going back and forth, we had seen nearly every actor in person. Before the new episode aired, the entire cast came onto stage--even Locke! It was a really cool experience and the weather couldn't have been better.

DAY 02: My 32nd.

How we spent my 32nd birthday in Hawaii:

-- Snorkeling Hanauma Bay first thing


-- Checking out the beach featured in "From Here to Eternity"


-- Fighting off Portuguese Men-of-War at Waimanalo Beach


-- Drawing fun pics in the sand


-- Talking to my mom while sitting on Kailua Beach


-- Totally loving Lanikai Beach

So much sun is exhausting, but strangely exfoliating. S came back to the hotel wearing a pair of "sand pants", as we dubbed them. After a good scrub down, we ate a nice meal at the Hula Grill. Walked around afterwards and saw at least ten more ABC Stores within a few blocks from one another. What the heck?

Tomorrow's agenda: We're going to watch the premiere of Lost right on Waikiki Beach. Sweet!

DAY 01: First impressions.

Aloha Oahu.

So, we took off early and arrived in Honolulu right around lunch time. First thing we noticed? Yep, it's pretty darn hot in Hawaii. Almost Indiana-in-summer warm. I also quickly noted that several fellow travelers dug out their Hawaiian-print suitcases for this trip. Who knew those even existed?

After picking up our rental car, we headed straight to Pearl Harbor to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. It was interesting, insightful, and respectful. The architecture is very thought provoking and it rests just above the sunken battleship. I took quite a few pics and plan to post some soon. We both really enjoyed it.

Since it was such a hot and sunny afternoon, we checked into our hotel and took a little siesta (wait, where am I?). Afterwards, we hit an ABC Store (which seems to be more prevalent than Starbucks) before heading out to the beach. Caught an awesome sunset before dining at a lovely little Italian restaurant, Arancino.

My first impression of Oahu is a good one. Shawn and I both seem to think that Waikiki is a bit like Vegas with an awesome beach. The weather feels about the same, there are mountains in the distance, and some cheesy hotels and souvenir stands. We, however, like Vegas, so this should work out just fine! ;)

Up for tomorrow: Snorkeling, boogie boarding, trying not to be eaten alive by a shark. Ha ha.