Five on Friday: Hawaii Five Oh!

"A slight breeze cooled the Hawaiian spring autumn air,

swaying the branches of palm trees, which cast black silhouettes

against the purple and orange colors of the twilight sky."

VICTORIA KAHLER

Aloha! We're back from our trip to O'ahu, Hawaii. We shared a lovely few days in the sun with dear friends. The last time I visited Hawaii was thirty years ago with my sister and her two friends. We had a wonderful time back then. We went to the beach every morning -- our bodies were much younger then -- hoping to return to Canada with true Hawaiian tans. And we did. Alas, this time round, yes, we still went to the beach, but we faithfully slathered ourselves with sunscreen SPF 60. There were no deep tans to bring home. No painful sunburns to contend with either. But, we did come away with lots of good memories, a pile of photos, and a big bag of Honolulu Island cookies by which we shall remember our trip with happy thoughts.

What did we do? Well, we walked a lot -- our first day we put in ten kilometers. We booked a day to  tour some sights around the island. Spent time at the beach, dipping in the ocean and sitting on the crowded sand. Spotted some turtles. Visited the beautiful botanical garden, Foster Garden, which was a highlight. After busy days in the sun, we sat by the hotel pool and watched the stars come out, relaxing and nursing sore feet. We shopped. Ate lots of seafood. Sipped on Mai Tais. Slurped down Dole's famous delicious whipped pineapple cones before they melted in the hot sun. And, generally had a very nice holiday.

I'm happy to share a few photos. Since it's Friday, I'll follow the Five on Friday. 1.Ocean & Beach, 2.Flowers & Trees, 3.Foodies, 4.Selfies, 5.Other Stuff, and 6.Bonus, Just For Fun. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking today.

ONE. OCEAN & BEACHES

TWO. FLOWERS & TREES

waiting for the stars to come out

THREE. FOODIES

"Calories don’t count

when you’re on vacation."

Coconut Shrimp from the shrimp truck on our day tour

Pineapple and mango from the Ice Monster shop

Mai Tai
(cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice)

FOUR. SELFIES

FIVE. OTHER STUFF

SIX. BONUS JUST FOR FUN

One silly moment still makes us giggle. Our bus driver and guide for a small group island day tour was a fun, friendly Hawaiian fellow named Dennis. Early in the morning, he stopped at various spots to pick up tour passengers. While we waited at one spot, a young woman came up to him and asked what tour we were, obviously waiting for her own tour to arrive. Quick as a wink, he reached for a sign from a pocket in his sun visor and told her, "This is the tour for the nude beach." The look on her face was priceless -- she couldn't back away fast enough. Those of us on the bus were howling with laughter, and Dennis, still horsing around, added the remark, "And there isn't a tan line among us."

Good-natured hubby agreed to pose, clothes fully fastened, with said sign. It was one of those fun, funny moments we laughed about the rest of the trip.

* * *

“Never stop doing things for the first time."

ANONYMOUS 

So that's our trip in a nutshell. Here's wishing you a beautiful weekend.

Hugs,

Brenda

xox