Over the Pond

Now that I've written about San Francisco and the wine country a bit, I've built up enough momentum to propel me over the pond to . . . (drumroll, please) Hawaii!

Back when I was at Snyder High and my folks owned the travel agency, they went to Hawaii a couple of times on "familiarization" trips that were paid for by the airlines. As the name implies, the purpose was to familiarize them with various destinations, thereby enabling them to promote and sell it more effectively. There was only one problem with these 'fam' trips: I didn't get to go!!

I finally made my virgin trip a number of years ago, and since then I've gone on another occasion. On both trips, I did my best to make up for lost time! I've got all kinds of insider tips, but I'll start out with the basics.

Presumably you'll fly into the island of Oahu, home of the city of Honolulu. Regardless of your feelings about this tourist mecca, you need to stay a few days because it's an important part of any first trip to Hawaii. If you can, book a hotel on or near famous Waikiki Beach. It costs more to stay on the beach of course, but it's worth it to wake up and see that iconic shoreline with Diamond Head in the distance. My favorite hotel is the Royal Hawaiian, also known as the "Pink Palace." On my last trip, Carol Channing was staying there with us, and we got her autograph as we left! Another popular choice in lodging is the Halekulani, which is near the very top of the luxury hotel food chain.

One of the benefits of staying on near Waikiki is its proximity to attractions that you'll want to see. Because I was born on December 7th, I felt obligated to tour Pearl Harbor, and I was glad I did. But I was also happy that I followed the suggestion of our concierge and went to Hanauma Bay, and I certainly don't regreat seeing Diamond Head. In short, there's tons to do in and around Honolulu besides lolling on the beach (which is, of course, a perfectly acceptable passtime on vacation). To save you some effort, here are some of my favorite attractions in Honolulu.

Thanks to garyhymes and photoluluguy for the photos!