April 2011

ALOAH SNOWBIRDING

By Joe and Nancy Durrance                  

 

 

 

 

What a magnificent excursion we had this winter.   Ten weeks of Snowbirding in Hawaii with our family and friends coming to visit us in our rented condo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                Our whole family of 10 people arrived in Paradise on December 17^th.  We flew American Airlines and seated together on the same plane.  For our three grandchildren it was especially exciting because it was their first time off the ground.   We have been planning this trip for the better part of two years.   After arriving and  getting settled in we started exploring Hawaii as a family.  From the Giant Green Sea Turtles on the beaches of the North Shore to getting "up close and personal" to the marine life while snorkeling in Hanauma Bay  on the southern tip of the island of Oahu.   We wanted to see everything.   Our whole family fell in love with Hawaii.   Fourteen days passed quickly in paradise.  Unfortunately, everyone had to return home on December 31, for work or school except Nancy and myself.  We stayed another fun packed two months of January and February.  We also invited four different sets of friends to come to Hawaii and stay with us in our condo for a week each.   This made each new week exciting for Nancy and I all over again.   I think, in Hawaii one is limited only by their own capacity to enjoy life.

 

              

  Hawaii offers a wonderfully different feel to life.   A lush, green tropical feeling of warmth.     Life is a little more than laid back on the islands, as if everything is going to be alright after all!   Always warm, with the average temperature during our winter stay in the mid 70s.   We sported shorts and sandals everyday.   We rented a beautiful condo in the Ko Olina Resort area, on the Leeward (west) side of the Island of Oahu within walking distance of sandy beaches. 

                Hawaii never ceases to amaze me, the way gorgeous vegetation grows wild here, the same vegetation we always have trouble growing even inside on the mainland.   I noticed Bird-of-paradise blooming wild along the roadside and philodendron with huge two foot leaves springing up the palm trees in their natural habitat.

                The skies are always busy overhead.   Every time I look at the blue skies I see another airliner approaching overhead bringing anticipating tourist to start their vacation.  It’s a good feeling of holidays.

                I now know why they call it BLUE HAWAII!   The skies are usually blue, the ocean is blue, and there is a slight blue mist surrounding the mountains tops in the distance.   Beauty surrounds us all the time.

 

 

 

 

               

The only bad thing that happened during our trip is when my oldest son, Jason, age 38, broke his back.  He decided to follow the locals with a jump off the famous "Waimea Bay Beach ROCK" on the North Shore.  He must not have 'timed' the jump with the waves correctly and hit something breaking a vertebrate in his lower back.   Now, eight weeks later he is doing well and the doctors are hoping for a full recovery within a few more weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did everything we were old enough to do.     A few highlights include :

 

                A Glider airplane ride from Dillingham Air Field off the North Shore of Oahu.  I took the controls at 5000 feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whale photographing in the Pacific Ocean!

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy and Molly Parasailing over Honolulu Bay at 1000 feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The University of Hawaii, Warriors played the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Golden Hurricanes, at the Hula Bowl in the Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, December 24, 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

We snorkeling at the beautiful Hanauma Bay.  There is such beautiful marine life right below the surface.   It's like snorkeling in an aquarium!! We got videos of green sea turtles, eels, and dozens of colorful schools of fish with an underwater camera.  The lagoon  has large naturally protected rich coral reefs great for snorkeling.   Hanauma Bay is naturally protected from the ocean on three sides.  Created by a crater, this "Curved" bay has been a marine life conservation area and underwater park since 1967.  

 

 

 

 

Watching the red glow of a tropical sunset on our Dinner Cruise as we pass the famous Diamondhead Crater.  Enjoying Luau food and Hawaiian style entertainment.  As well as an unimaginable stunning view of the bay before dark, a spectacular sunset, and the beautiful glow of lights of the city of Honolulu skyline after dark.  Maybe a little too much to 'take in' at one time.

 

 

                As we pack at the end of 10 short weeks we are left with a large amount of food.  My wife, Nancy is the best of the best of southern cooks; she is also a pretty good shopper.    She had accumulated a lot of food.    With nothing to do with the leftover goods she decided to give it to the ‘homeless’ tent people on the Waianae coast, not far from where we live.  Two older gentleman of obvious Hawaiian ancestry had tears in their eyes as we unloaded a full trunk load of food.    This ‘tent city’ is on a 2 or 3 mile trip of beach area between the two lane highway and the ocean.  They have homeless people living in makeshift cardboard houses and tents.

            

 

    Molly, Nancy and I were able to sneak in a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii to view the volcanoes.  We flew Hawaiian Airlines, departing at 5:00am and returning at 9:00pm the following day.  Which gave us a full two days to wonder at the volcanoes.   Pictured is the Halemaumau Crater at Kilauea caldera's summit.    Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth.

 

 

              

 

 

 

 

 

  This is how the family looked when it was time for them to return home to the mainland.

 

Lane, Cason, Molly, Abbey, Julie

              

 

  I think this was a trip of a lifetime for our entire family.   Now my whole family wants to go back to Hawaii.

Joe and Nancy Durrance