HAWAII - OAHU, KONA, AND MAUI

As a little girl growing up, I had a dream to go to Hawaii. This dream stayed with me all through my adult years, until finally, it came true. My husband and I went to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary. We contacted Christian Tours.com and started saving our money. It became a reality on April 17, 2012! We flew out of Charlotte Douglas Airport that morning and arrived in Honolulu, Oahu that afternoon. As most of you know the time goes backward going over there. We traveled over the ocean about four hours. When Honolulu came into view, I thought, “This is really happening!” That was the most magnificent feeling, to be able to experience God’s creation.



Pearl Harbor

Our first trip, while we were there, was to
Pearl Harbor. This was a most humbling experience, to be able to stand over the sunken ship, USS Arizona. Words cannot describe the magnitude of the feelings we felt, knowing that US soldiers lost their lives on December 7, 1941, "The Day of Infamy".

Soldiers still living

When we got off the boat that took us over to the ship, we were able to shake hands with several of the soldiers that are still living today. Their names are Sterling R. Cale, United States Army, Alfred Benjamin Kame’eiamoku Rodrigues, United States Army, and Herb Weatherwax, United States Army.



  





National Cemetery of the Pacific

King Kamelameha Statue

We left Pearl Harbor to take a sightseeing tour of the city. We visited the National Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl. We saw such places as Washington Palace which is called The Governor's Mansion, the State Capitol Building,    Chinatown,Iolani    Palace,

                                                       and the King Kamehameha Statue

                                                                                                                                                   

tree stunt at the PCC

                                                                                     

dancers at the PCC

The next day took us to the famous PolynesianCultural Center where we had a Polynesian feast and took in   the  most spectacular show in the islands, "Hawaii, The Bread of Life".

Day three took us on a bus tour called  “The Circle Island Tour.” We visited such places as
Diamond Head, the Blowhole, where water can spout hundreds of feet in the air, then on to Pali Lookout. This was fun because the wind was so strong you could almost fly. Then to end this day we took a stroll on the most famous beach, Waikiki.

Halemaumau Creator

Day four finds us boarding our plane to take us to the big island, Hawaii. It didn’t take us but about 30 minutes to arrive. Our bus met us at the airport and took us to the Volcanoes National Park, where we visited a live volcano, called the Halemaumau Creator.

 

Ranibow Falls

Thurston Lava Tube

We walked through the Thurston Lava Tube, where lava flowed thousands of years ago. We traveled to Hilo where we visited Rainbow Falls. We then made our way back to Kona, Hawaii for a two night stay.

Day five took us on a tour of Kona where we visited such sites as Ahu’ena Heiau, which was once King Kamehameha’s place of worship and then we stopped at the Mokuaikaua Church, which is the site of the first Christian church in Hawaii.

Lahaina Village

Mt. Haleakala

On day six, we boarded our plane that took us on a 30 minute trip to Maui, where we spent the remainder of our trip. We visited the small village of Lahaina, which was once the capitol of the Hawaiian Kingdom. We took a Maui bus tour  that took us up 10,023 feet to the top of Mt. Haleakala, 
    which is a dormant volcano. We were literally above the clouds. What a magnificent view!

Iao Valley

We then descended into the Iao Valley where we
were amazed by the lush green rain forest. 

The next to the last day of our trip was a free day to enjoy in Maui. That night we feasted on an Authentic Hawaiian Luau. We saw how they prepared the pig and saw the Hawaiian dancers perform.



Maui sunset

We also enjoyed the beautiful sunset on this magnificent island. The sun goes down quickly so you have to be fast to capture this view on your camera. What a way to end the last night of our stay!

These two pictures were taken from the balcony of our motel our last day in Maui before our whale watching trip. We thought we had better get this beautiful view because we might never get to return.



whale watching

On our whale watching excursion the sun was so bright, I didn't know if I got the picture at the right or not. In my camera I saw this tiny black dot, but when I opened the picture in a better light, I was amazed at getting the picture of the tail of this magnificent creature!

When we returned from whale watching, we went back to the mainland where we boarded our plane home. It took us most of the day into the night to get back home because of the time change. We had connecting flights from California to Georgia to Charlotte.

If you ever get an opportunity to visit Hawaii, you will be glad you did. It is like stepping into another paradise.

We have traveled with Burke Christian Tours for about seven years. We have also traveled with Toney Tours. Our preference is Burke Christian Tours because they are a Christian based organization and the have so much more to offer for the money you spend. The other tour agent I talked to was First Travel of Shelby, NC. Their itinerary is set up quite different than the other two tour companies. With them, you plan your travel yourself and they take care of the rest. Burke Christian Tours and Toney Tours sets up the trips, you pay them the money and they take care of the rest, which is what we like.

Works Cited

Our own personal experience

First Travel, Rob Betz, Blue Sky Tours, Hawaii, 2013. Print.

ToneyTours.com

Udean Burke, Christian Tours, 2012. Print.

Photos by Sandra Wright



National Cemetery of