Email us at:
pej@pejnron.com
ron@pejnron.com

Click the sun to see the
weather in Buenos Aires!

Hi,

At first I wasn’t even going to do a travelogue for our Hawaii trip, mainly because we did literally nothing. Staying at the Hale Koa was a most relaxing an enjoyable experience. I say we did nothing, but actually we did do two things. We did the Hale Koa Luau one night, and we saw the Magic Show on another night. The Polynesian show at the Luau was excellent, although the acoustics was worse than that of a busy airport. They must have been doing the Luau here since the hotel opened on October 25, 1975. Today it is an 818 room two tower complex on the beach at Waikiki, providing an affordable experience in a 5 star resort hotel accommodation to members of the United States Military and their families and guests. We paid a flat fee of $169 a night for our room with a partial ocean view, and there wasn’t a bunch of hidden taxes and fees added on at check-out like you get on the mainland no matter where you stay. The Mai Tai cocktails were only $9.00 for hotel guests, but $11.00 for civilians who walk in off the street.

The magician was very good, as you would expect. I love magic shows, probably because I am so easily fooled by the tricks. Try as I might, I rarely figure them out when the magician is good. Recently I was watching the America’s Got Talent when they presented the Magic Show Championship matches. I was blown away by the contestants. You can goole it on YouTube.

We had a wonderful time during our two-week stay in Hawaii, very relaxing, and towards the end we even had nice weather. It was so easy to get around with my electric scooter. I love it.

We spent most of our time at our hotel, the Hale Koa, because it is right on the beach at Waikiki, and there was so much to do right there, so why should we go anywhere else? ;o) We’ve done most of the touristy stuff on Oahu many years ago, and once you’ve done them, that’s all you need.

We began our trip with an hour or so in the Admiral’s Club at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires. We always arrive early just in case there is a road block or lots of traffic. We don’t want to miss our flight, plus we enjoy the Admiral’s Club.

After an 11 hour and 12 minute flight from Buenos Aires to Dallas Fort Worth, and then 8 hours and 34 minutes of flight time from Dallas to Honolulu, we finally see the Island of Oahu out our cabin window, and our pilot makes a perfectly smooth landing at Honolulu International Airport.

This is our room at the Hale Koa. Small, but for just the two of us it was perfect.

Pete is checking the advertisements on restaurants for tonight’s dinner. If we stand on the balcony we can see the ocean.

We enjoy our first Mai Tai at Biba’s on the ground floor. It was as delicious as we remembered. I love umbrella drinks. ;o)

At dinner our first night we ordered the crab cakes for an appetizer. I know, it doesn’t look very appetizing, but it wasn't bad.

Happy Hour at the pool bar. No umbrellas, but the orchids will do just fine.

This was an excellent appetizer for our dinner the next night. It was a plate of excellent seafood. The shrimp were to die for.

We had the buffet at the other restaurant in the hotel. Neither of us like buffets much, so this was our only meal there.

We had dinner one night with Sandi (my cousin, and daughter of my Uncle Bill and Aunt Jean, Bill being my mother’s brother) and her husband Dick. We ate at a restaurant that Pete and I had eaten at on our last trip to Hawaii, on Suelyn’s recommendation. It is called the House Without A Key in the Halekulani Hotel. There is outdoor as well as indoor seating, but this was a rainy evening, so the band moved inside and the patio tables were not used. The entertainment is much nicer when it is on the patio. They had hula dancers when were here here before.

This is Waikiki Beach, and the gardens, pools and beach bars of the Hale Koa Hotel face the ocean, with the sands of Waikiki just over the sidewalk.

We spent a wonderful visit with Staci, Rick and Suelyn. They bought this beautiful home with the million dollar views of Coco Head to the left, where the sun rises, and Diamond Head to the right. where the sun sets. What could be more perfect?

Can you believe this view? I could live here, no problem.

In Rick’s previous home which is not far from here, and which he sold to buy this home, he had a koi pond there, and of course he had to have one here too.

There is a Koi for each member of the family, and it carries their name. The two matching Koi for Staci’s parents are very unusual, because they are the only two Koi that kiss each other, and not just a peck now and then, they kiss each other every time they meet it seems, and only each other. That seemed rather unusual to me.

If this were my kitchen, I’d never get any work done. I’d be constantly gazing out the windows at the magnificent view.

L-R: Me, Suelyn (my cousin and Ricks mom), Staci, Rick and Teagan. All I can think about is my next trip to Hawaii. ;o)

I had never heard the name Teagan before, so I asked Staci where it comes from, and she says it is an Irish name. I didn’t ask if Staci was Irish, but I knew Rick has Irish blood in him, from his paternal grandmother, my Aunt Irene, who is my mother’s sister, and with the last name of Riley. How much more Irish can one be? ;o)

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief travelogue.

With warm wishes, Ron & Pete