Hawaii
			June 2, 1999 Chris and Suzanne went with us on a nine day vacation in Hawaii. We had a great time. It rained every day but for only a few minutes, always followed by a cool sunshine. Beautiful weather and beautiful green landscapes. Following is a day by day summary of our time in Hawaii. Don't forget to see the pictures!
		June 2 Oahu The day got off to a great start when they cancelled our flight! We got on the next one out, but guess what - its going to Denver first. When we got to Denver, we found out that there were weather problems in San Francisco so we had to wait an hour at the gate (on board) and another 30 minutes on the ramp. We didnt get to San Francisco in time to make our connecting flight so they put us on the next one about two hours later. We made it to Honolulu around 4 pm Hawaii time. It only took 13 hours to get here. I took a couple of pictures from the hotel balcony but due to some software that was deleted when I was getting ready, I cant post them. Check back later for more details. June 3 Oahu We woke up this morning about 3 or 4 a.m. After breakfast we caught the shuttle to Pearl Harbor. Francis, our tour guide gave us lots of good info. We saw a movie about Pearl Harbor and it was quite touching. Afterwards we took a boat to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. I didnt realize it, but the battleship still rests in the place it was sunk on Dec. 7, 1941. The memorial is built above it and you can see the Arizona below it in the water. Sharlette and I walked around the beach later in the evening. There are a few beautiful hotels with trees you wouldnt believe. June 4 Oahu It's 6a.m. and there are already surfers out on the waves. We rented a car (a Mustang convertible - the things a guy will do for love) and headed out for the north shore. We stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation (whoop-de-doo) and then to a beach further up north. Across from the beach was a valley area and park. Next we drove around to the east and visited the Polynesian Cultural Center. A pretty interesting place with live renactments of Samoan, Tahitian, Fijiian, and other Pacific cultures. Yeah, I know it sounds kind of boring but it really was good and such a pretty place too. We stayed for the luau (before dinner was served, we joined hands to pray and sang Praise God from Whom all blessings flow in Hawaiian). It was a long ride back to the southwest corner of the island but we made it. June 5 Oahu We tried to catch up on rest today so we caught the trolley to the shopping mall and did some no stress sightseeing. Back at the Hyatt, we laid out by the pool and then had a nice dinner at the Oceanographic Restaurant. They have a LARGE (280,000 gallons) glass pool inside the restaurant filled with lots of exotic fish. There was a stingray looking beast that was at least 8 ft long. Of course there was a diver in the tank with all the creatures too. An evening walk down Kalakaua Blvd to visit some shops and back to the hotel. (Ask Suzanne about the "Silver Man") June 6 Oahu / Maui Breakfast and packing and we'll be off to Maui in a little while. It took longer to get the rent cars than the flight over. Why did we get two cars? No way the luggage would fit in one. It took about an hour to drive to our hotel due mostly to a 20 mph speed limit on the coastal highway. The hotel wouldnt let us check in until 3 pm, so Chris and I went to the golf course while Suzanne and Sharlette browsed the hotel and shops. We played the south course. Check out hole # 15 on the Makena web page below. It had a great ocean view. June 7 Maui We left a little after 7am for the drive to Hana. About 20 miles later, we stopped at Charlie's Restaurant in Paia for breakfast. Check out those huge pancakes in the picture. At mm2, we stopped at Twin Falls. You have to climb a fence by a signe that says "No Tresspassing", but it said to do it in the tour book, so what the hey. We hiked down the trail until we came onto the first fall tucked back into the woods. We climbed some rocks and took some pictures then went on down the road. The road is a very, very curvy mountain road that is a blast to drive. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous. One thing about these Islands, it rains every day, but you just find some cover for a few minutes, then it stops. The weather is wonderful. At mm10, we stopped at a private commune known as the Garden of Eden. They had the place fixed up real nice with lots of flowers and a scenic drive thru the small park. While hiking a trail in the Garden, we met a hippie named Kaj, who was making beaded necklaces. Cool. There was also a great view of the mountains used in the opening sequence of Jurassic Park, and another waterfall. We continued on the road until mm19, where the road was closed due to construction so we didn't get to Hana. We turned around and drove north to Lahaina and roamed the streets and shops for about three hours. After some sandwiches at the Hard Rock, we headed back to the hotel in Makena. Dinner was fine cuisine from Pizza Hut while we watched The Waterboy in our room. June 8 Maui I crept away early to play golf, while mi three amigos stayed to do the beach and pool. I had the north course to myself and found the round very enjoyable. The greens are really tough and wavy. The ball seemed to break uphill at times as they say everything breaks toward the ocean. It does. Chris went snorkeling and took some underwater pictures. I returned to find the group laying on the beach. Its about 3 or 4 hundred yards long available on to hotel guests. The Maui Prince Hotel has a beautifully landscaped property with more varieties of plants and trees than you can count. There is a large luau area that is manicured like a golf course. Behind that is a putting green and the croquet area is putting green grass also. Near the pool are ping pong tables, a hammock, shuffleboard and exercise stations. The place is really more beautiful than it appears in any of the pictures. It's also nice that there is no crowd, very secluded and private. Later in the day we all went back for snorkeling but the wind was too high, so we played lawn croquet instead. Then we headed to the tennis courts for some smashing backhand and massive overhand shots. June 9 Maui We went snorkeling at 8 this morning. It was a lot of fun and you can actually see many varieties of little (and bigger) fishes in the water. If you've never been snorkeling (this was my first time) it's alot of fun. Go do it! It's about 11:30am now and we're getting ready to go to the airport. It's going to be a long day and nite as we leave Maui for Los Angeles, then Chicago, then DFW. Somewhere over the midwest U.S. I watched a lightning show from above. Wow. June 10 DFW Started the day in Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Layed over for an hour or two. I remember having a wonderful cinnamon roll. Arrived in Dallas around noon. I have never been so tired in my life as I was on our drive home from DFW. My bed felt soooo good!