Honolulu: Day 1 (June 13th)

After traveling for what seemed FOREVER we were thrilled to land in Honolulu to find our luggage already taken off of the belt and waiting for us - I guess that's the kind of service you get when your luggage arrives before you do (since it actually MADE the flight that you were supposed to be on)! Some of my favorite things I saw at the airport were these:

They obviously knew we were coming and got the sign hung just in time!

How could you not want to go into a bathroom that is marked with a man wearing a tropical shirt?! The one for the women's bathroom was wearing a dress and a lei but the men's sign had more of a tropical feel ;)
By the time we made it to our condo (after getting lost on the freeway in our rental car - a convertible ... so fun!) it was almost 3:00 Hawaii time - 6:00 back home. Most of the day seemed to be gone but we certainly weren't going to let that stop us! Mike & Teisha had gone out to explore and made it back just as we were getting our luggage out of the car - how's that for timing? We got things upstairs, took a quick shower (since we were still in the same traveling clothes), and made a game plan. Before that we had to take a quick picture with Flat Tori - you know, like Flat Stanley of kindergarten project fame? Tori didn't get to make the trip to Hawaii with us but that didn't stop us from having her there with us ;) Here we are reunited as friends for the first time in YEARS! I get to see Tori often but she hasn't seen Teisha since they moved over 4 years ago. Both of them are more gorgeous than I ever remember!!
We decided to go out to Pearl Harbor before doing anything else that day. By the time we got there it was too late to take any type of tour so we got to spend some time looking at things from a distance. I remember going there when I was younger and going out on the monument to look down in the ocean at the ship below. It's an image I will never forget. Of course I didn't take my zoom lens with me so the photos are kinda far away but it's what I got :)

After our time at Pearl Harbor we headed back into the downtown area to take a stroll on Waikiki Beach. It's one of those places you just have to go when you find yourself in Honolulu but it can be PACKED with people!! We got lucky and found it cleared out enough to take some pics without other people in them :) It was the perfect time of day to get these gorgeous views of the beach and Diamond Head.

Then it was time to wander the International Marketplace, listen to some local musicians, and head to dinner. We ate at a restaurant at the Sheraton called Rum Fire. It was a beautiful setting overlooking Waikiki and the pool area where they had a music and dance performance going on ... the perfect end to our first day. We got to watch the sun setting over the ocean while sipping Pina Coladas, eating fish tacos & lettuce wraps, listening to the sound of the tropics ... and smelling the plumerias.