Wood family vacation 2013
To celebrate my graduating from high school, my parents and I arranged a trip to travel to Honolulu, Hawaii for 7 days during the summer of 2013. There was such a large variety of activities to do and places to see in Hawaii, so it was the perfect destination for a family. I love the beach and warm weather, and my parents love history and sight seeing. We departed from Cincinnati, Ohio on June 25 and had a layover in Chicago. We arrived in
called the Outrigger Reef, which had its own private section of
Honolulu that night, and it was nearly impossible to sleep with all
beach on Waikiki. The sunrise of the next morning shed light on
of the excitement of actually being there. We stayed at a hotel
all that we couldn’t see the night before — we could now see the Diamond head volcano in the distance, the long beaches that stretched down the island, and the blue-green water that splashed up against the beach. That first morning, a luau class was being taught on the hotel beach next to us, and it was fascinating to watch. Everything was so natural and beautiful — even in downtown Honolulu. The crashing of the waves and the smell of the salt water was intoxicating.
Our stay at the Outrigger Reef was nothing short of incredible. It had two restaurants (one where you could cook your own seafood), its own private beach, and it even had a few of its own parrots who squawked “Aloha� whenever people walked by! Although the food was outrageously expensive, as one would expect on an island in
fruit for breakfast many mornings while we were there. The coffee
the middle of the Pacific ocean, it was delicious at the restaurants
was also wonderful, considering Hawaii is famous for their coffee,
and everywhere we went. There was tropical fruit galore, and I had
among other things. Even though there were lots of commercial Starbucks restaurants, even they sold their own Hawaiian grown coffee in their collections of roasts. Along with the 2 restaurants, there were 2 shops in our hotel: a Christmas shop and a ukulele shop. While the Christmas shop sounds odd, the workers said they got lots of business throughout the year. The ukulele shop seemed appropriate, and looking back now, I wish I had bought one there!
One of the first places we were able to see on our trip was the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Being able to see parts of the Arizona in person was an experience that I’ll never forget. The memorial was literally built on top of the ship, and visitors have to take a boat out to the sight. There was a small museum with information about the Pearl Harbor attack that we first stopped at, and then
open with large windows on the sides and
we ventured out onto the boat that took
on the top of the structure that allowed
us to the memorial. The memorial was very
for lots of light to shine in. The light shone on plaques that included the names of over 1,000 men who died during the Pearl Harbor attack. Some people had laid out leis on the rails next to the plaques, and that was beautiful to see. Out of the many windows, we could look down at parts of the ship that were sticking out of the water. One of the most moving parts for me was how we could still see oil leaking from the ship into the water below us. It was a nice symbolism that the ship, even though below the water, is still alive and pulsing. The men who died on that day may have died a perishable death, but their memory, like the ship, is still continuing to live on.
Right after we toured the USS Arizona Memorial, we headed not too far over to take a tour of the USS Battleship Missouri. All of the memorials and even some ships still in commission were docked at Pearl Harbor. The ship was gigantic — I wasn’t expecting anything
1992 and they kept much of the same furniture and appliances in
like it! Not only did we take a tour of the top deck, but we were
the ship for tours. There were even old Apple computers with the
able to take a tour inside as well. The ship was decommissioned in
rainbow logo! Although, the most interesting part of the Missouri was seeing the exact place where the Japanese signed the formal surrender to the Allied forces in 1945. It was incredible to see just a simple plaque where such a monumental moment in history took place.
My family and I bought tickets ahead of time to climb Hawaii’s Diamond head volcano. We were dropped off by a bus at the base of the volcano and we walked through many tunnels to get to the ticket center. I didn’t realize it at first, but the ticket sales, parking and food trucks were
worries though, this volcano is dormant.
all sitting in the crater of the volcano. No
As you might be able to tell by this photo, the trail to the top was along the side of the inside crater. The hike was less than a mile up to the top, but the incredible turns and steepness made it seem like a lot more than that. Climbing to the top and seeing the island was something I’ll never forget.
One of the activities that my family and I planned was a bus tour around the entire island of Oahu. We didn’t have a car and we didn’t know all of the local spots, so a tour around the island with a local tour guide was a perfect solution. The drive around the entire island with multiple stops and lunch took just a whole day. We were able to see beautiful overlooks, famous buildings, and
peaceful views of the clear ocean, and there were also stops at
local wildlife. The wonderful thing about the island of Oahu is
historic buildings, including a stop at the non-practicing Buddhist
that there’s such a variety of sights to see. There were beautiful,
Byodo-In Temple. The temple was so scenically located against rolling hills. Our tour guide was wonderful; he knew so much history about the islands and he was very laid back — the epitome of a Hawaiian local. He taught us about the ‘hang loose’ gesture that surfers are known for using. According to him, you have to hang loose, but not too loose. He also taught us a few Hawaiian phrases, none of which I can remember now. However, the essence of his laid back, calming teachings was something that really made the made the trip special.
Towards the end of our trip, we took a tour of the Dole Pineapple plantation. It was fascinating to see the fields were the pineapples were grown as we drove by. Fun fact: the pineapple fields make up the world’s largest maze! My family and I didn’t attempt the maze,
and the varieties of pineapple products they sell. We watched a
but it was interesting to learn about. Once we got to the welcome
demonstration of the proper way to select and cut a pineapple. It
center, we learned all about the process of pineapple growing
was hard to imagine that this whole place was dedicated to one simple fruit! The plantation had a huge gift shop in the middle of the welcome center with pineapple products galore. They had pineapple gummy bears, pineapple gum, dried pineapple, fresh pineapple, and an ice cream store with pineapple ice cream.
At the end of our vacation, I was able to meet a woman named Patrice Federspiel who was painting watercolors of the wildlife near our hotel. She was incredibly talented — I would never have the skill or patience to paint watercolor like she does. All of the colors she painted swirled together, yet there was so much detail in each of her paintings she had on display. We struck up a
inspiring — she travels Oahu painting and teaching classes on
conversation about art, since I had done so many paintings in high
watercolor. One of her pieces that really caught my eye was a
school, and she told me about her process. She was incredibly
piece called Talk Story that featured a beautiful mermaid talking to a fish. I’ve always loved the idea of mermaids, and this mermaid was exquisitely painted. Of course I had to buy it, and it’s been a prized possession of mine ever since. The artist Patrice even signed it! I’ve taken it with me everywhere that I’ve moved since starting college. It is a peaceful and beautiful reminder of my unforgettable experience in Hawaii.
Grid analysis: 6 columns, 13 pt gutter
Titles: handwritten Body text: Avenir book, 8pt. Photos: taken by yours truly (on an iPhone 5!)
November 2015