Hawaii

July 30th–August 7th, 1999

After our tour of the East Coast and the Midwest, we returned to Seattle for a few days to rest up and get ready for our next trip, a week in Hawaii with Angela's parents. They belong to an association of Taiwanese people, and the group holds an annual gathering in a different place each year. This year, the group met in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. Angela's dad flew straight from D.C. to Hawaii, but Angela's mom stopped by our place in Seattle before the trip. We were also joined by two friends of the Chen family, Mr. and Mrs. Tsai, who had been at our wedding.

We both love to come to Hawaii on vacation. It's a first-world tropical paradise: lots of sun, yummy seafood, fruity drinks, casual attire (unbelievably, even more casual than Seattle!), and all the sandy beaches you want -- and you get clean drinking water, western sanitation standards, reliable telephones, English-speaking service, and well-regulated taxicab fleets. It just doesn't get much better than Hawaii.

Around Waikiki and Oahu

On Friday, July 30th, the five of us flew together from Seattle to Honolulu, where we met up with Angela's dad and several uncles, aunts, and cousins. The first night a group of us went out for a huge seafood banquet at a Chinese restaurant in Waikiki, where we got a chance to practice speaking Japanese (many older Taiwanese speak at least a little Japanese, since Japan occupied Taiwan before and during World War II).

We all stayed in the Hawaiian Regent in Waikiki, overlooking the crowded but nice Waikiki beach. One of the days, the two of us spent the afternoon with two of Angela's cousins, Jeanette and Jennifer. Jeanette and Jan rented boogie boards, but couldn't catch a wave to save their lives. Angela bought a $3.50 bright blue plastic inner tube that gave her nice, long rides on the waves.

The Taiwanese group had arranged for several tours, and although we generally don't like going on tours, we did go on one to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the northern side of Oahu. This turned out to be a good choice: a luau there was actually pretty good, and the Center put on a captivating show of dances from Hawaii and other Polynesian islands.

Visit to the USS Arizona Memorial

The Taiwanese gathering in Honolulu was over in a few days, after which most of the group left for a speed tour of the Hawaii: four islands in five days. This wasn't our idea of a relaxing time, so we stayed in Waikiki for one more day, taking the opportunity to visit USS Arizona Memorial that commemorates those killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor and in the Pacific during World War II.

The USS Arizona Memorial, seen from the boat ride that takes you from the visitor's center to the memorial

We were really impressed by the U.S. Park Service's organization of the memorial and the associated visitor's center. Before taking everyone out to see the Arizona, they show a short video that presents a good summary of the events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The trip to the memorial itself is interesting, and neither rushed nor overly long.

The sunken hull of the battleship USS Arizona

After spending most of a week in Honolulu, we flew to the island of Kauai. (Where are all the different islands, anyway?)

[ Next: Kauai ]