The first big trip we took after hubby started working for American was to Oahu. The furthest we’d ever been from home up to this point was California, so to say that I was a bit nervous for the flight was an understatement. We had some excitement getting out of Charlotte, since our flight was cancelled just as we got to the gate. Thinking quickly, we rerouted ourselves through DFW and headed for the new gate. We barely made it before the doors closed and the rest of the passengers rebooked. Score! But, not so fast…after a delay with our connection and a late arrival, we realized that we made it to Hawaii, but our luggage did not. (Last time we check a bag! Lesson learned.). Thankfully, there was a Marhsall’s two blocks from our hotel so we could shed our jeans and sweaters for shorts and t shirts. We looked ridiculous.
We woke before dawn on our first morning since we were still on eastern standard time, so we walked to the beach to see the sunrise. Waikiki was nothing like I’d imagined. It was pretty small, but still beautiful. We could see whales breaching off in the distance while the sun was coming up.
We were happy to ride every day with the top down, pulling over every time I spotted a whale traveling along the coastline. Dozens of times a day we’d pull over and watch them from the side of the road, it was amazing! We did do a proper whale watch and were lucky enough to watch them play from our boat. A couple of kayakers got a huge surprise when they paddled almost on top of a giant mama.
One morning, we participated in a double hulled canoe tour. It took a few minutes to get the hang of everyone paddling in sync. If the lady in front of me had kept her mouth quiet long enough to keep her oar in the water, I may not have been soaked when it was over. We paddled out of the lagoon into the open ocean and paused while our guide described how the islands were formed. Suddenly, we heard a strange siren and I realized that it wasn’t an ambulance. The guide said “Um…ladies and gentlemen, that is our tsunami warning.” My heart sank and I started scanning the shoreline to see if I thought the waves were getting harder, the water was being sucked out to sea, or if I thought I could make it if I swam for it. After about 10 seconds of panic, the guide let us know that he was joking and they test the siren every week at the same time. NOT FUNNY, “DUDE”.