Aloha, Paradise!

I’m so sorry to have been MIA for a while…but it’s because WE’VE BEEN IN HAWAII!! John has done some business with a few credit unions in Hawaii, so his work sent him and a coworker there to visit and also sponsor a convention. And of course, the wives had to tag along! Our parents *VERY* graciously kept Helen Grace for six nights, and we enjoyed a week of grown up conversation, (some) sleep, and lots of pina coladas. We spent a day and a half in Honolulu and then flew to Kona on the Big Island for the rest of our trip. They are such vastly different places (Honolulu is a metropolitan area and the Mecca of beaches, and Kona is remote, barren, and rocky), but both are paradise on earth!

OMG, will we ever get off this plane?! 9.5 hours and 4,449 miles into our flight from Atlanta to Honolulu; only 30 minutes to go.  View from our Embassy Suites Beachwalk room in Honolulu Dinner and cocktails on Waikiki Beach View from our dinner table at Duke’s Beautiful sunset John took a walk at sunrise the next morning and captured this peaceful moment More of Waikiki Beach View from our table for lunch at Tiki’sSince Pearl Harbor requires an extremely early wake up call (which I was not up for after jet lag), Hayley and I spent our first morning in Honolulu walking along the beach and shopping for gifts before stopping for lunch. Just a little submarine fun off of Waikiki Beach…we took a big boat out into the harbor, then climbed out onto the top of the sub, down a ladder, and into the sub. Unreal. View from the top of the sub We are literally standing on top of the thing- WILD! Deep! We saw three sea turtles, a reef shark, lots of spotted eagle rays, and tons of colorful fish. Spiffed up for a client dinner At the Top of Waikiki, a rotating restaurantPre-tty (said like Helen Grace says it) Even the bathroom signs have a Hawaiian touch 

Next stop: the Big Island!