We were up before 5:00 am, to drive to Logan for our five-hour flight to San Francisco, the first leg of our trip. Whew. In S.F. we took a brisk, quick walk around the airport to regain circulation. Then onto another plane ... for our second (and longer!) leg to Honolulu. The reality of how far in time and distance Hawaii was from the west coast was sinking in ... After 3000+ miles of nothing but ocean, there it was! Oahu below us. It was an unexpected thrill to see land — such beautiful land — suddenly out there in the vast sea. I had been wondering if the ocean would ever end (like the day) ...

It was still a bright, beautiful late afternoon as we got a rental car and headed to our hotel in Waikiki. It was a high-rise along the Ala Wai canal. As excited as we were to be in Hawaii(!) finally(!), we were fading fast. After a light meal, bed was the priority.

Ready and anxious to go the next morning, our first stop would be the most important and necessary of the trip: Pearl Harbor. At the visitor center we boarded a boat that took us across the Harbor to the U.S.S Arizona Memorial. It's a simple, elegant structure that straddles the sunken hull of the Arizona. Inside is a wall inscribed with the names of 1177 crewmen of the Arizona who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. Peering out the windows of the Memorial we could see portions of the hull beneath us ... one turrett protrudes above the surface. Most affecting though, were the oil bubbles. These still rise from the rusted fuel tanks, and glisten on the surface ... kind of a lasting, living tribute.

Our next destination was the Punchbowl. We wound our way up the dormant volcano crater that was the beautiful setting for the National Cemetery of the Pacific. Here were over 30,000 graves of the war dead from World War 1 through the present. This aerial view from a postcard shows the splendor of the area.

Honolulu is a beautiful city, with a rich history — everywhere we turned there were wonderful, interesting buildings, and spectacular, unique trees. In fact, there are around a hundred designated "exceptional trees" on Oahu; they can't be touched without official permission. And after driving around the island ... it seemed there were thousands of them — natural works of art.

The next morning was a bright and sunny one. We walked over to the massive International Marketplace — a tourist's and shopper's paradise (check and check). All kinds of things from the typical t-shirts, to great books, to unusual gifts and crafts, in an open-air, very tropical atmosphere. Then we strolled along Waikiki beach, taking in all the luxury resorts — the first of which, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, was built in 1927 (pictured). Diamond Head provided a beautiful and dramatic backdrop to this area.

After admiring this downtown 1927 neat-o Dole pineapple water tower, it was time to get a move on and see the real thing ...

Gallery...Oahu