Our first stop in our Hawaiian tour was the island of Oahu.  Oahu is probably what many people are familiar with since it is home to the capital city, Honolulu, and Waikiki Beach, and is the most populous of all of the Hawaiian islands (75% of the state’s population).  Interestingly enough, it is not the largest island, but the 3rd largest island.

We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which I would definitely recommend for anyone visiting the island.  There are several shops and restaurants on the property giving you lots to explore.  They also have several pools and a lagoon.  The beach was quite nice and not too crowded.

We arrived late Wednesday afternoon and did not do much besides get situated in our rooms, plan some excursions, get some food and get some sleep.

On Thursday, we had a full day.  We visited the Polynesian Cultural Center.  The Polynesian Center has created mini villages representing the islands of Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and New Zealand.  At each village, you learn about the culture of that island, sample foods, etc.  In Hawaii, we learned a hula dance, and sampled Poi (the staple food in Hawaii made from the taro plant).  In Samoa, we leaned that the men do all of the cooking, watched  a guy make fire from two pieces of wood, saw him crack open a coconut and get coconut milk and also watched a man climb a coconut tree in about 10 seconds.  There was also a canoe parade where each of the islands had canoes and performed traditional dances.  It was very colorful and neat to watch.  Of course we did not leave without taking part in a luau where we feasted on traditional Hawaiian cuisine.  There was also a performance at the end of the night called “Ha, Breath of Life”.  It was a bit hard to follow, but was interesting to watch.

On Friday, we took an island tour and made stops at several touristy attractions like the Dole Plantation where the specialty was Pineapple ice cream (it was actually better than I thought it would be).  We also made stops at several beautiful beaches, including the North Shore where you can typically see surfers attempting 30 foot waves in the months of December and January.  I always had the impression that Maui had the prettiest beaches in Hawaii and they absolutely do have some beautiful beaches, but Oahu has a few beautiful beaches as well.  Hanauma Bay is definitely one of the beaches in Oahu that William and I would like to return to.  The water was a beautiful blue and the sand was fine and sugary. 🙂  One of the most interesting stops was at a place called the Pali Lookout, where we experienced what felt like Hurricane strength winds (it is amazing what the trade winds are like in that area).  You will see several pictures on Flickr where my hair is standing straight up because of the wind!!

On our last day in Oahu before embarking on our cruise, we visited the most popular Hawaiian tourist destination, Pearl Harbor.  It was an awesome experience.  Very humbling.  I learned more about the events of December 7, 1941 and the lives lost on the USS Arizona and many other battleships that day.  We also visited the USS Missouri, which was the last battleship built by the US and is where Japan surrendered to end WWII.  I think that was one of William’s favorite parts.  Guys love battleships.  I actually enjoyed touring the USS Bowfin.  William says that Naval history is one of my new hobbies, but this it NOT the case.  I just enjoyed learned about the capabilities of submarines.

After our visit to Pearl Harbor, we packed up and headed to board the Pride of America on embark on our Hawaiian journey.  Our itinerary is below.

Pictures from Oahu and Pearl Harbor are on Flickr. Click on the links to see them.

More to come….