Hawaii

Hawaii . Arrival in Honolulu ....As we got off the plane the sweet warm air of Hawaii greeted us. Then the huge Banyan tree in the courtyard with the ever arching reach of it's canopy embraced us in a welcome as we deplaned .
That's one thing I felt the whole time in Hawaii, a feeling of being looked after and nurtured.No wonder Elvis Presley enjoyed the islands so much. The first morning we awoke early uncharacteristically for us but thanks to jetlag and headed down to the beach a couple of blocks from the apartment. Waikiki Beach is quite different early in the day compared to the wall to wall sunbathers of late morning. The kids were eager to snorkel and see fish and immediately plunged into the warm seawater.

Coral rocks,tropical fish and playful currents next to the sea wall provided entertainment.For the remainder of our stay we routinely went to the beach for a few hours and then back to the apartment and then back to the beach. The children graduated from sand castle building to boogie boarding though were frustrated by the paucity of suitable waves. Once we discovered the groin all that changed and that's where we headed to get our thrills. There was this little dog who surfed like a pro who was hilarious. One day we hired a car and drove to The North Shore, famous for those gigantic waves that Hawaii 5-0 showed us. Erin and Andrew got a free ride on a board and experienced the thrill of surfing and were hooked. Then do you know what? We went to this Turtle beach and saw so many turtles. The water was knee deep and they were all around us...Awesome!!!

The shrimp (aka prawns) served out of the back of an old bus were delicious. The Honolulu Zoo was excellent and the Aquarium small and very personal. I found it most charming and very informative. Here is the link to our video

http://vimeo.com/29274929