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Published: September 9th 2011
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We had planned to celebrate our 25th anniversary in Hawaii, and coincidentally I had a business trip there in August. So we decided to combine the trips.
21 August 1997 Thursday. We departed Dulles Airport on an early flight and after changing planes in St Louis and San Francisco arrived in Honolulu at 3:30 pm. We rented a car and drove to our suite hotel off of Waikiki Beach. That evening we walked to the beach and along Kalakaua Ave to the International Marketplace where we ate supper. We also checked out the hotels and malls along Kalakaua Ave.
22 August 1997 Friday. Early in the morning we drove the Likiliki Highway to Kailua Beach Park on the east side of the island, arriving in time for sunrise. We spent the morning swimming there and the adjacent Lanakai Beach. We had lunch in Kailua and then returned to Honolulu to hike in the Watershed Forest Reserve. We shopped at the ABC store for supper, which we made back at the hotel.
23 August 1997 Saturday. We drove to Hanauma Bay Nature Park at Koko Head, and swam with the fishes. One bit Will, so he had enough of
that beach. So we continued to the beach at Bellows AFS, just north of Waimanalo Bay. This beach was quiet and secluded, and as perfect as the other beaches, without the biting fish. By mid afternoon we were water logged, so we drove to Hilo Hattieās for souvenirs and shopped in the Ala Moana Mall, where we had poi for supper at their food court. I'm not a fan of poi.
24 August 1997 Sunday. We drove to the Bishop Museum to see Polynesian artifacts, to Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona Memorial, and then to the Dole Pineapple Plantation for some pineapple ice cream. We continued north to the North Shore and Waimea Falls Park where we witnessed local handicrafts and cliff diving from the falls. The girls learned to weaver bracelets, while I talked to the ladies about how they maintained the Hawaiian culture in what was now a predominantly Asian society. Even us howlies were a discriminated minority. After a pleasant afternoon with the native Hawaiians, we returned to Waikiki, and shopped at the ABC store for supper which we made back at the hotel.
25 August 1997 Monday. We drove to the Polynesian Cultural
Center, where we spent all day learning about the six distinct cultures of the Pacific. We went into the homes, and watched artisans make things, and then of course there was singing and dancing. We had lunch there, but later that afternoon returned to Waikiki and our hotel for dinner.
26 -28 August 1997 Tuesday through Thursday. I had meetings and a tour of environmental cleanup sites during these three days. In the evenings we strolled along Kalakaua Ave and ate at malls or our hotel room (ABC stores sure save money for food).
29 August 1997 Friday. We returned, stopping briefly at the Pali overlook, to Kailua Beach Park, which was probably our favorite beach on Oahu. At noon we ate at a California Pizza in Kahala. The waitress informed us that President Clinton, Hillary and Chelsea had pizza at our table. After lunch we returned to Waikiki to try out that beach for once. I still preferred Kailua.
30 - 31 August 1997 Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we had until evening before we had to go to the airport. We checked out of our hotel and drove to the Hale Koa Hotel, a military recreation
center on Waikiki beach, where we swam and used their facilities, including having lunch and dinner, and buying macadamia chocolates at the PX.
We departed Honolulu on the evening flight arriving in San Francisco the following morning where we changed flights to St Louis on the way back to Dulles. When we landed in St Louis we heard the horrible news that Princess Diana had been killed in a car accident.
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