Vacation!

I can't go back to school without posting one of my favorite things about summer- VACATION! Luckily, Kelly wants to know about favorite vacations in the Show Us Your Life tour so although I can't pick a favorite vacation, because each is so very special, I can share our most recent trip from which we just got home Thursday.

Tom and I went to Oahu, Hawaii this year. We try to take a vacation every year and we have usually done cruises but this year we decided to do something different and stay at one location. So, Hawaii was our choice. This is the second trip to Hawaii for both of us although not together. Tom went as a child and I went in 2002.

We arrived on Wednesday, August 5 and despite the 5 hour time difference, I wasn't tired at all. We started off on our trip by stopping by Da Kine Bail Bonds. So I know this isn't the usual place for most to begin a trip to paradise but being the reality tv junkies we are, we wanted to see if we could get a glimpse of our friend, Dog the Bounty Hunter! Ha! Unfortunately, no such luck!

We then went on to check in to our hotel. We stayed at the most beautiful resort, Hilton Hawaiian Village. If you ever get a chance to stay there, do it. It's beautiful, relaxing and they have nightly entertainment and a show on Friday night complete with fireworks. It was really nice.

We had tons of good food in Hawaii if you don't count the few trips to McDonald's! We actually ate at a great beach front restaurant called Duke's a few times. It was SO GOOD! I had one of my favorite mainland dishes but I don't think I can ever eat it again and not compare it to Duke's. I would be willing to go eat there every day!!! If I ever have to have a last meal, this would be it! What is it you ask? Hawaiian Pizza! But it's not your ordinary Hawaiian pizza. The sauce was not a tomato sauce but rather a macadamia nut pesto covered with cheese and ham and fresh pineapple chunks. Yummy!

We also couldn't pass up dessert. Hula Pie! Words can not express the delight of this dessert!

We also enjoyed a trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This was so educational and interesting. If I ever taught school in Hawaii, this would be a field trip for sure! I could have spent each day there visiting the different villages and learning the different cultures that make up the Polynesian Islands. Tom even got chosen to play the drums in the island of Tahiti. He was actually pretty good at it.

Fortunately, we had friends that arrived in town on Friday of our trip and we spent lots of time with them touring the island. They went to dinner with us a few times and also went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, Duke's and the Dole Plantation along with us. Jane took lots of pictures and I can't wait to get copies of them- I'll make sure to post some. Of course, no trip would be complete without a trip to ......

We stopped at Walmart to get some snacks to take back on the plane and to stock up in case the hurricane turned tropical storm turned tropical depression turned into more. Luckily we were safe and had no delays in returning to Texas. However, it would have been nice to be stranded in a beautiful hotel in paradise- even with a little rain!