It seems now (seven months later) that I dreamed the entire thing up, but I have the pictures as proof and also a few shirts, a dress, and a hula dancer on my dashboard to serve as a reminder. Travelling with my mom to Hawaii for ten days wasn’t as “OMG DREAM VACATION!” as you would expect; it was more like a journey into my ancestry, discovering who I really am, where I come from. We traveled there to meet family, visit graves, experience a culture that we both crave. We left understanding who we are a little more.

Because of my purpose in going there, I didn’t take NEARLY as many pictures as you would expect of me, if you knew me. I flew home with around 1,300 images and for ten days, it would have normally been closer to at least twice that. I was so busy soaking it all up with my eyes, trying desperately to hold onto it with my memory, experiencing it, that I sometimes even left the camera in the hotel room.

I was entranced by the ocean. Slightly panicked, and completely in awe, I’d never seen so much water in my life. Even from seven miles up, you could still see the whitecaps (though they were too small to photograph; in the picture above, it’s clouds you’re seeing). I can’t even fathom how big those waves really were. It was pretty cloudy the entire flight, but we did get glimpses through smaller, more sparse clouds to the water below. I can imagine that it would be easy to start to think you’re flying upside down; the sky and water match each other so closely in hue that they start to look the same.

There was the cutest baby on the flight there. She smiled and flirted with anyone who would make eye contact with her.

After another short flight to hop islands, we landed in Honolulu and found the shuttle to the rental car. Dad had set up a blue convertible mustang for us and I have to say, it was awesome driving around Honolulu with the top down.

One thing I am kicking myself for now is not taking the time to walk around the hotel to take pictures of it. We stayed at the Hale Koa military hotel and while the word “military” might make you think of sparse and utilitarian, it was anything but. The lobby is open-air and relaxing and every room had a view of the ocean.

Our second day, we met up with my mom’s cousin. She was our chauffeur on Oahu and I loved finally getting to meet someone that had been sending us delicious Japanese treats as kids. That day, she drove us from Waikiki to Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery via H3. If you ever visit Oahu, you have to drive the H3. I’m telling you. Breathtaking.

And then you come out of the tunnel on East Oahu and it’s more breathtaking.

… with a view of the Kaneohe (Ka-ne-oh-hey) Bay

I didn’t think I would be touched by visiting the graveyard, as I have been blessed by not losing many loved ones yet in life, but it changed me. There are loved ones buried here. People still miss them, every day. If I ever make it back to Oahu or the big island, I will stop to honor these graves again. I don’t think I will ever forget where they are. I have tears streaming down my face just remembering.

We visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation, but didn’t tour any farms, like I thought we would. I learned that Dole grows their pineapples elsewhere and ships them in, not necessarily growing them all on Oahu. We did see some pineapple farms later in the week, but here we just enjoyed a little touristy shopping and a pineapple cutting demonstration.

Without a doubt, that was the best pineapple I’d had my entire life. It was at the Dole plantation that Kaiya finally warmed up to me. I’ll never forget her grabbing my hand and dragging me to the line where you buy the sorbet. We shared one and then headed back to the car.

The next morning, mom and I walked down Waikiki beach and took a quick excursion. In all the trips she’d sent me pictures of Diamond Head, but I never understood where it is. The thing about seeing other people’s vacation pictures (as I am sure you can relate) is that there isn’t really a point of reference for where everything *is* in relation to each other. Even on the Islands, I was disoriented. At least here on the mainland, it’s pretty easy to figure out North, South, East, and West but I was completely mixed up in Hawaii. The light definitely seems to come from everywhere there. This is Diamond Head which is on the south end of the island of Oahu.

And the MaiTai.

My mom, right after we boarded.

I stowed the cameras (both of them!) for the entire trip, but my mom took some pictures (and a video!) with the waterproof camera. I might have to do another blog post with just her pictures. :)

We went to a luau. At Paradise Cove, if you couldn’t tell.

(Big sign. Free advertising.)

And for a drive to Haleiwa (Hal-eh-ee-vah).

And a Bon Odori, or Bon Dance.

The Bon Dance is a style of dancing performed during Obon, the Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors. Anyone can dance, and the dancers move in a counter-clockwise rotation with graceful motions and sometimes the use of flags or fans. It isn’t hard, but it is a lot of fun. I borrowed a happi coat and made it around a few times, though you’ll have to visit THIS LINK to see that. You can see my cell phone pics of that [here]. I’m so glad I got to dance. If I’d not done that I think I may have regretted it for a long, long time.

This wraps up the Oahu visit for the most part, at least in pictures I had taken. We watched the fireworks on the beach on the 4th of July, went snorkeling, had some amazing meals, relaxed, visited family, walked, shopped, and picked up plumeria right off the ground to put in our hair. The PX at the Hale Koa had some great prices, especially after walking around the swap meet.

This is getting kinda long so I’ll post about our Hilo half of the trip soon.

30D :: 10-22mm :: 50mm f/1.4 :: VSCO film