Hookie-Lau: Part 1

So, in celebration of our first year together, John and I have been planning....for quite some time...a trip to the Hookie-Lau (aka Hawaii).  Technically our anniversary was December 15th but considering the bustle of the holidays, we ventured out Jan 2nd.

Day 1:  Consisted of John and I waking up super EARLY and heading to the Arky airport to fly out.  We were anxious to get outta the cold and into the sun.  Granted, we didn't quite realize just how long that would take.  We flew into DFW on a rather pleasant flight, only to cram ourselves into a bigger plane with more people as we headed to Oahu on an 8 1/2 hour flight.  Yes folks....a whole work day!!  I was amazed that we were sitting on a cramped plane for as long as most people work each day - but WE didn't get a lunch break! :(  And I find it interesting how you don't get any extra leg room regardless of how long your flight actually is.  So....after self soothing through the majority of the flight by watching movies, mentally calming down/conversing with our aching, cramped muscles, and eating sugary snacks we FINALLY touched down in the Hookie-Lau.  So, on our flight I actually finally learned where Hawaii is located....embarassing...yes.  Okay, I DID already know it wasn't in a little tiny square at the bottom of the map (like in the paper map versions) but I didn't quite realize that we were smack dab in between Australia and Japan and the California coast.  Makes sense that it took so long to get us there after realizing that.  Kinda exciting knowing that I almost got to visit Australia too.  

Once we located our rental car, and hotel, we ventured out to Waikiki beach to observe the natives doing their thing.  There were TONS of barefooted surfers walking around.  We took a sunset stroll on the beach, did some light shopping, and went to bed at 8:00 pm due to the jet-lag of a 4 hour time difference.  

Day 2:  We set off for the coast of Hanauma Bay to do some swimming and snorkeling.  Sidenote: A special shout-out to Rhonda (our WONDERFUL GPS unit) to guarantee us a safe and direct arrival to every destination on our list.  Hanauma Bay was GORGEOUS.  Just like we had stepped into a postcard.  Many years ago it used to be a volcano that erupted and the land eventually dropped/parted and formed a nice bay area with TONS of coral.  I must say, even after all the places I've been, this was the best snorkeling adventure I've ever been on.  No seaweed, no jellyfish, and TONS of cool fish to look at.  It did prove interesting to maneuver ourselves around/on top of coral as the waves crashed around us.  We had a blast and quickly put it on our list to visit again before we headed back home.  

Day 3:  Was a nice relaxing day.  We lounged around our hotel room.  Enjoyed our beach side view from the 30th floor, ate some lunch at the Hard Rock cafe, and walked the beach again.  Yes, we again fell asleep at 7:00 that night.  Even after spending a week in the Hookie-lau we never quite adjusted to the time difference.  It could be due to the fact that we never tried to.  We were quite content with sleeping up to 10 hours each night.