First time in Hawaii (written by a Ukrainian woman)

My trip to Hawaii

     One  lovely October evening my daughter  called me:

- "Mom, we haven't seen each other in such a long time. Would you like to come to visit me? I miss you so much."

- "My darling, I miss you too. But it's too cold in Kiev right now and we will not have a lot of time together because you're working every day. Well, I have  a better idea! What if you come to Washington DC to see me? We can go to the ocean for one week."

   I did not want to go to Miami because we have been there many times. I'd like to surprise my daughter and take her somewhere special? The answer came immediately - Hawaii. I called to my travel agent and everything was ready for this trip in three hours.

   Two weeks later, on October 22, Alla and I met in NYC. The weather was crappy but it does not bother us at all. We were very happy to see each other. The whole day we were walking on the streets of Manhattan,  shopping, enjoying a "Peking Duck" for dinner and of course we went to the theater for a Broadway show: the Musical "Kinky Boots" left an unforgettable impressions. The next day we flew  to Hawaii. We were very excited and looking forward to new adventures.

  The flight from NYC to Honolulu took 11 hours. We had fun the whole  time. We chatted, read books, played games, and told jokes. Our  guide met us at the Honolulu airport and drove us to the Hyatt hotel . The view from our room was breathtaking. To the right  was the lovely Waikiki beach, to the left we had view of the city and right in front of us was Diamond Head.  The main inconvenience was the time difference.  And we had to fight it. The time difference between Kiev and Honolulu is 13 hours. So we went to bed at 2pm and woke at 2 am the first two days on Oahu.

     - "I did not promise you dinner with the sunset. But I guaranteed breakfasts with sunrise," I joked.

Breakfast started at 5:00am . Before that we took a yoga class  on the beach.  We admired the kindness and hospitality of the locals and especially the staff of the hotel. We were very pleased with the beauty of nature, mild and humid climate, smiling and happy people, great food and exotic fruits. 

        We had a new adventures every day: Surfed with a personal trainer, took a trip around the island, hiked in the jungle to a waterfall, visited the Dole pineapple plantation and macadamia outlet. We tasted the best pineapple ice cream in the word and the best Kona coffee and Mai Tai cocktail I've ever had.  During a helicopter ride, with the doors off, we got to enjoy a full circle double rainbow.  I've never seen such beauty., Later on a catamaran tour took us around to see  wild dolphins and gave us a chance to snorkel and view colorful fish. Finally a visit to Pearl Harbor and a walk on the most famous beach in Oahu completed our day.  

      Visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center was an unforgettable experience. We learned how to dance a hula dance, play games, and we became  familiar with the culture and traditions of different  tribes.  We enjoyed a boat trip on the river where we got to watch a different  shows, including a movie about the history of Hawaii and we watched a demonstration on how to split open a coconut and make a fire by using only two pieces of wood. 

    I was surprised by the number of Japanese in Honolulu, as they made up at least 40% of the total tourist population. We were happy with how friendly they were.

    Every day, we enjoyed our stay on Oahu. My skin became golden-bronze and very silky, my hair had more volume and was very beautiful. I noticed a change in my behavior.  I became calm, unhurried, patient, understanding and happy. We did not want to leave at all. We were in a drunk resting state the merging with the flow of life. I knew that I would be a completely different person when I got back to Washington D.C.

    On the plane we looked over our photos and remembered some interesting moments from our trip. It is not possible not to fall in love with Hawaii. I believe that we will be back there again. It was the best trip in my life (so far :)