Friday, September 20, 2019

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, CuraƧao 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

19 comments:

  1. It is good to get away from the usual to see the new and unusual. I would not be suited for a vacation to Hawaii, though you certainly were...embracing all that Hawaii offers. Funny story about the destination of your tour bus. I hope that lady didn’t really belong to your group. šŸ˜

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    1. Vee, I forgot to mention, Dennis our tour guide a moment later did tell the woman he was spoofing and that our true destination was a trip around the island. I guess she was waiting for a different bus. :)

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  2. I loved Oahu, when we went many years ago. You have brought all my memories back! We stayed near Diamond Head in a lovely hotel practically on the beach. Thank you for this post today!

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    1. Oh how lovely to have all your old memories float up from your own visit there. Yes, when my sister and I went years ago, our hotel too was almost on the beach, near Diamond Head. Waikiki is so built out now that we were several blocks away from the ocean and we couldn't see it from our hotel. (A wee bit disappointing.)

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  3. A bit of paradise! Wonderful photos!

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  4. Wow!! What GORGEOUS photos. <3

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  5. Lovely scenes. I wish you could have captured the look on that lady's face when she saw the nude beach sign. Sounds priceless.

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  6. If I get to Hawaii again, I want to do as you did, the walking and looking at flowers, the beach. That's all!! It's heavenly, for sure.

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  7. What lovely scenes from your relaxing vacation. I've never been to Hawaii. Those orchids are such beautiful colours. Laughed at the story of the nude beach and bus driver. Your husband is a good sport!

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  8. Brenda, looks like a lovely and fun trip. Just the way a vacation is supposed to be. The flowers were ever so pretty and the beach photos are beautiful. You can dream about this lovely time when the snow is flying. Memories are the best!

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  9. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos!

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  10. What a great trip! Thanks for sharing your wonderful images. The food pics made my mouth water.

    Last year, we did a "Tea and Travel" session at work, where a colleague showed us some pics from her Hawaii trip while we sipped tea (tropical black tea) and enjoyed pineapple upside down cake!

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  11. Oh my goodness, Brenda. What fabulous photos! And trip! I've never been to Hawaii and probably never will get there so I saw such beauty through your photos. So happy you could do that trip. Thanks so much for all your visits and comment on Writing Straight from the Heart. Susan

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  12. Awesome photos Brenda...the flowers are simply gorgeous...loved the selfies and the one of your hubby with the fun sign. Sounds like a delightful trip. Nothing beats those beach scenes. I loved the one unusual tree. That pineapple mango dessert looks delicious and sounds so refreshing. So glad you shared this beautiful journey with us. Hugs!

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  13. What a delightful "Five on Friday" . . . filled with gorgeous scenes, lovely flowers, tantalizing food and drink, sweet selfies . . . and even a funny story! Thanks for letting us tag along!

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  14. You could smell the fragrances of each flower.
    You could feel the warm, salty, breezes,
    You could hear the waves rolling over your toes.

    What a great vacation! You look so cute in your Hawaiian dresses.

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  15. Such beautiful photos and what a gorgeous coastline! I've never been there so it seems like a paradise to me. Your dresses are so pretty! I bet you appreciated the beauties of this trip even more than you did when you first visited. A whipped pineapple cone? I want to try that!

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  16. I'm late for the party, but wow! what beautiful and fun pictures you posted! Looks like you had a great trip. So happy you could go! And I can't get enough flower pics from you; you always capture flowers so well in your blog posts. :D

    -Merry

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo