There was some down-sizing at United in Phoenix, and I went ahead and took the option of leaving without having to quit. One of the great perks of this arrangement is I get to retain my travel benefits for 90 days. Hooray!
Michael and I had been hoping for an opportunity to go to Hawaii at some point during my time at United. This seemed like the perfect time!
We packed the kids up and took off for the airport on Saturday afternoon, and hopped a plane to San Francisco. We didn't have much time between flights, and had everyone's toes and fingers crossed that we could get on the flight to Honolulu that night- and we did!
We got into Honolulu about 10:30 PM- made our way to Hickam AFB to stay in the lodging there. Our room was very comfortable, and we had no problem getting around.
On Sunday morning, we found an LDS building not too far from us, and went to the ward in the morning. The meeting was really nice, and everyone was very friendly.
We weren't too far from the Pearl Harbor Memorial, so we took the kids there to see what we could find. There was a wait for the tour, so we just perused the grounds and enjoyed the beautiful Hawaiian scenery.
We decided to make our way to the North Shore for some big waves. Little did we know that the waves were HUGE! A little too huge for me, in fact. I stayed up on the beach with Blake (who wasn't too sure about the sand) while Colton and Riley outran the tide. Michael decided that the waves weren't that intimidating, so he went down to try and body surf. He basically just got tossed around!
When Michael got tired of getting beat up by the ocean, we decided to continue our drive around the island. We drove past the Honolulu Temple and BYU Hawaii. It was really great to see-- wish I had looked at that for college... :)
About 45 minutes outside of Honolulu, we found a local beach that had calm water and no crowds, so we got out and the boys were able to play in the water. Blake had ZERO interest in the beach and the ocean- and just kept making this whining noise that sounded like an ambulance (the "whambulance" noise...) Poor guy!
After all that fun, we finally made our way back to the hotel so we could be prepared to leave the next night.
Monday was a busy day- not only did we still want to sightsee- but we had to be at the airport looking decent for a redeye flight to San Francisco.
After we had all our stuff together and got some souvenirs on base, we went to Waikiki so Michael could see where the tourists hang out. It was nice, but very crowded. When we go again, that is where we will probably hang out. The beaches were much better suited for families, and there are plenty of restaurants and shops nearby.
We ended up getting caught in a little rainstorm, and decided to drive to a different part of the island that we missed on Sunday.
I think that is where our camera is, sadly. That is why there are no photos of our wonderful little vacation (sniff, sniff).
But- we made our flight that night. And everyone made it home safe. We were even able to get some rest in San Francisco after our long flight back to the mainland.
It was an amazing trip- even if it only lasted 2 days. We have some great memories, and love that we were able to do the whole trip on a shoestring budget!
Michael and I had been hoping for an opportunity to go to Hawaii at some point during my time at United. This seemed like the perfect time!
We packed the kids up and took off for the airport on Saturday afternoon, and hopped a plane to San Francisco. We didn't have much time between flights, and had everyone's toes and fingers crossed that we could get on the flight to Honolulu that night- and we did!
We got into Honolulu about 10:30 PM- made our way to Hickam AFB to stay in the lodging there. Our room was very comfortable, and we had no problem getting around.
On Sunday morning, we found an LDS building not too far from us, and went to the ward in the morning. The meeting was really nice, and everyone was very friendly.
We weren't too far from the Pearl Harbor Memorial, so we took the kids there to see what we could find. There was a wait for the tour, so we just perused the grounds and enjoyed the beautiful Hawaiian scenery.
We decided to make our way to the North Shore for some big waves. Little did we know that the waves were HUGE! A little too huge for me, in fact. I stayed up on the beach with Blake (who wasn't too sure about the sand) while Colton and Riley outran the tide. Michael decided that the waves weren't that intimidating, so he went down to try and body surf. He basically just got tossed around!
When Michael got tired of getting beat up by the ocean, we decided to continue our drive around the island. We drove past the Honolulu Temple and BYU Hawaii. It was really great to see-- wish I had looked at that for college... :)
About 45 minutes outside of Honolulu, we found a local beach that had calm water and no crowds, so we got out and the boys were able to play in the water. Blake had ZERO interest in the beach and the ocean- and just kept making this whining noise that sounded like an ambulance (the "whambulance" noise...) Poor guy!
After all that fun, we finally made our way back to the hotel so we could be prepared to leave the next night.
Monday was a busy day- not only did we still want to sightsee- but we had to be at the airport looking decent for a redeye flight to San Francisco.
After we had all our stuff together and got some souvenirs on base, we went to Waikiki so Michael could see where the tourists hang out. It was nice, but very crowded. When we go again, that is where we will probably hang out. The beaches were much better suited for families, and there are plenty of restaurants and shops nearby.
We ended up getting caught in a little rainstorm, and decided to drive to a different part of the island that we missed on Sunday.
I think that is where our camera is, sadly. That is why there are no photos of our wonderful little vacation (sniff, sniff).
But- we made our flight that night. And everyone made it home safe. We were even able to get some rest in San Francisco after our long flight back to the mainland.
It was an amazing trip- even if it only lasted 2 days. We have some great memories, and love that we were able to do the whole trip on a shoestring budget!
2 comments:
This really weird, but my name is Afton Welker too! I have been mistaken for you at the bank and at the pharmacy! Now that I've found your blog thought I would say hi and put another face to my name!
Congrats on all of the good happening for your family. I check your blog periodically & never saw a change after August 2008 but I must have needed to refresh or something. Anyway very fun to see your activities. Those boys are growing up.
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