S’awaii. That is what Elena
started calling Hawaii just before we left, after previously calling it Hawaii
quite clearly for months!
This trip to Hawaii was a
sentimental one. Long before she got sick my aunt had asked that when she died,
I spread her ashes in the ocean. Last year, she’d planned to spend a couple of
months in Hawaii. We had to cancel her trip once we learned how sick she was.
She had booked her flights with travel points & they were kind enough to
refund all her points & transfer them to me since we knew she would not be
able to use them. Lee then made me promise I would use the points to go to
Hawaii & spread her ashes. And that is what I did on the anniversary of her
passing. It was a wonderful trip & made the anniversary easier.
The flights were long…on the way there we had a
4 hour layover in Vancouver, on the way home, we had a 6 hour layover in
Chicago…layovers are a nightmare for me, just wasted time waiting!! But that’s
what you get when you book with points, you get what you get. I am extremely
lucky that Elena is such a good traveller. I thought the layovers would be
better than if we’d had the option of a direct flight because then Elena
wouldn’t be on the plane for 10-12 hours…but she totally could have managed
that! She really is an awesome little traveller & flyer. Luckily both the
Vancouver & Chicago airports had play areas for kids so Elena was easily
occupied. I was bored stiff!!
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| This is from our 1st trip ever... |
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| She still finds sitting in the newspaper boxes fun! |
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| Vancouver Airport playground |
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| Chicago Airport |
Hawaii is beautiful & stunning…I love the
mountains!! It was nice to have a car & get to drive around the island
& see so much of the island. I rented a condo right on Waikiki Beach &
that was a really great decision. The place was gorgeous & the service was impeccable.
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| The view from our condo |
The first morning we went grocery shopping then we went to Waikiki Beach, right
across the street from the condo! It was nice that it had the break walls so
there weren’t waves & it was only knee-waist deep on Elena so I could let
her wander back & forth in the water on her own without worry or fear. The
downside was that it was SUPER busy with people & it was hard to find a
spot etc & I’m not a fan of crowds.
The 1st night we went to Tiki’s
Grill & that was a fun place for dinner! The music was very good. The highlight
for Elena was the purple dinner rolls!
The next day we drove up the coast to a beach I
had researched, Waimanalo Beach. It had good parking, washrooms & quiet
beach. It was awesome…beautiful big beach, easy parking, and not many people. I
really loved it after the chaos of Waikiki Beach. The only downside was that
the waves & undertow were very strong so Elena couldn’t go in by herself
& it was scary a few times as I really had to hold onto her tight when some
waves would come. But it was fun to experience real waves & that
excitement.
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| Our #1 favourite thing to do at the beach is to dig holes! |
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| And sometimes bury each other in them! |
On the Monday we went to the North Shore to the
Polynesian Cultural Centre for the day. This was a beautiful drive & well
worth the money spent It was the only touristy thing we did & it was a must
see. If you ever go to Oahu, you can’t miss this. It is like your pioneer
village type thing ... but for the Polynesian islands & culture. This is
also were we had the luau & they really did it up amazingly & made it
such an authentic (as far as I’d ever know) experience. Then in the evening,
they have this show sort of like the myth or fable of the birth of the
Polynesian culture & it was STUNNING, AMAZING, BREATHTAKING!! I really
can’t say enough about how good it was!! Even Elena, who was exhausted at this
point after the long day, was enthralled!
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| Elena wouldn't try the coconut water |
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| She wouldn't try the pineapple smoothie drink either |
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| Elena was very excited to have her photo taken with these 3 ladies so was completely taken aback when this warrior photo bombed her!! |
On the anniversary of when Lee
passed & the day I wanted to spread her ashes. I’d been scoping out ideas
all week & we decided to drive to another beach. This one, Ala Moana Beach,
was still on Honolulu but not as busy as Waikiki but still had the benefit of
the break wall so the waves were calm & safe thought the water was deeper.
Elena & I dug a deep hole & poured most of the ashes in then filled the
rest on top with sand…then I took a bucketful into the water & spread them
around there too. I allowed myself a moment to reflect & say good bye, etc.
It was a peaceful, healing experience.
It was a too short trip. I wished I had planned
to stay longer. I would like to go back again with the experience I think I
could do it cheaper. It was nice to get away from the winter & snow. As
with every trip, Elena said we should just stay there & not go home. I told
her she could plan to go to university there & I would move with her!
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| Just chillin' waiting for the plane |
I really am beyond grateful that Elena is such
a great traveller. I love to travel & dream of all the trips we will take
together as she gets older. We already have our next one booked…we’re heading
to Disney World just before school starts in September!!
