Aloha!

So enough with all the mystery already. My big shopping expedition from my last blog post was for a trip to … Hawaii!

DH2U was sent to Honolulu on business, and we made a vacation out of it. Neither of us had been there before, and it was so exciting.

The view from our hotel in Waikiki

We started on Oahu, so DH2U could work. I spent the days walking around, and I even went into the ocean one day (a very non-Tammy thing – there are critters in there).

Keeping business and personal separate, we changed hotels after the work component was over. That left me homeless between check out and check in time. Oh no, homeless in Waikiki. With me being me, I spent some time in the local library working on my new book.

Throughout the trip I got some really good work done on the newest book. I like the way it is taking shape.

We did most of the touristy things on Oahu: Diamond Head, North Shore, Nuuanu Pali Lookout. laBasically, Oahu is a big city with an island view.

Next we flew to the big island. It was beautiful. We drove across the lava fields to get from Hilo to Kona, where we toured a hobby coffee plantation. We took the southern route back and saw the beautiful coastline and tropical forests.

Our B&B in Hilo was delightful. We had our own separate entrance, and not other guests during our visit. W were a block and a hlaf from the only surfing beach on that side of the island – a big deal for DH2U – and there were beautiful coves and waterfalls just a short walk away.

The Big Island was a much calmer atmosphere, more beautiful landscapes, so much more to see and do, and it was infested with mosquitoes. I saved DH2U from getting bitten. Of course I’m allergic to mosquito bites. They swell up to quarter size and are terribly painful. Then I started having a reaction to the bug repellent.

These were fresh bites before they started to swell.

Fortunately, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was bug free. Is it a coincidence that that was my favorite part of the trip?

I got to say that the floor was lava as I stood on a 39 year old flow site.

After sunset we were able to see proof that it was definitely still an active volcano.

We flew back to Honolulu, saw the incredibly moving Arizona Memorial, and then flew home on the 4th.

I’m still suffering jet lag, which is weird since I’ve never had an issue going east before. Hopefully that works itself out soon.

It was a fabulous trip. We plan to go back, hopefully in winter next time. I hear the mosquitoes are calmer then!