Dianna Goes to Hawaii by Rick Spencer
Frances and I took Mom to Hawaii, 12-22 Oct 2011. She spent lots of time leading up to the trip shopping for the appropriate “paradise” clothing and creating her Hawaiian “Bucket List”. Her bucket list included restaurants, specific beaches and other landmarks. The trip started when Frances and I met Mom at Houston Intercontinental Airport. Michelle’s mission was to get Mom to the gate and she did as she escorted Mom to the gate where we had arrived on an earlier flight. We are thankful Michelle got her there in time (She used an airport cart just to be sure). She stayed busy on the first flight to Honolulu. Mom Bucket List included Hawaiian Food at the Rainbow Inn, Hukilau Cafe and Highway Inn, many beaches and various monuments. We visited Pearl Harbor and the Arizona memorial, a huge Flea Market at Aloha Stadium, The Dole Pineapple Plantation, the north shore of Oahu and especially Waikiki Beach. Mom and Frances spent time on Waikiki Beach, playing at the water’s edge like to little school girls. On 15 Oct, we boarded a flight to Lihue, Kauai for our next stop. There we stayed in a fully furnished Condo and Mom had her own room. We spent time driving all over the island, eating great food, going to a Luau visiting a coffee plantation and many beaches. On 17 Oct, Mom took a scuba lesson at the resort pool. She didn’t go for an actual dive, but she enjoyed the experience. I think the highlight of the trip was the helicopter ride that took us to parts of the island that are inaccessible by car. Mom doesn’t exactly care for heights, but she REALLY enjoyed the helicopter ride. She worked very hard to use Hawaiian terms for hello, goodbye and thank-you, even though she got them mixed up sometimes Our meals consisted of a few restaurants and many trips to the grocery store deli for Poke (Po-kay). Poke is raw marinated seafood, primarily ahi (yellow fin) tuna. The Poke was marinated in different spices and sauces and everyday brought different selection. We started our trip home on 22 Oct at 8:45pm HST, with a plane change at LAX and finally returning to Houston at 11:00am Sunday, Mom did sleep on the way home. The flight was late arriving, so Frances and I gave Mom a quick kiss good-bye and sent her to baggage claim while we hurried to the gate for our next flight. By the time Mom got to baggage claim, Michelle and Kim were waiting for her. She promptly put a lei over their shoulders in the best Hawaiian tradition. When she got home, everyone was waiting for her and she didn’t disappoint. She had souvenirs and fresh pineapple all the way from Hawaii.
Aloha and Mahalo or as Mom would say Maloha!
That's it for me. If someone would like to start doing the newsletter please let me know. I can send you what you need to do it.
Love,
Kim
