Hawai'i is one place that I have to admit as an absolutely fabulous and a
must for all. Though it's not the continental USA, it is the USA. You have
all the comforts of America inside of a non-American culture. We stayed
away from all the touristy spots. So we hiked lots and lots, to water falls,
in
rainforests, and volcanic craters.

We stayed at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki (they have several of them on Oahu),
oceanfront room. Falling asleep to the sound of waves is an experience that
can not be described in words. Hiking in rainforests is another experience
that the English lanugage can not describe well enough to do it justice.

Waikiki beach itself is not as smooth as I expected it to be. Because of
the reef in the water, you get lots and lots of crushed shells, so if you
stay at Waikiki it is important to remember to bring your lake shoes .
Though not as small as most people think the island to be, we rented a
convertible Firebird and covered the island.

The morning and evenings are
chilly, I wore a sweater (but than again, I'm always cold), and long pants,
it gets to the low 70's. From around 10am on and up until around 7pm it was
warm, the highest it got was 85! and about 50% humidity. No clouds in the
sky.

Visited the Dole pineapple fields, Lyon Arboretum, Foster Botanical Gardens,
Senator Fongs Plantation. Hung with the surfers on the North Side where the
waves reach a height of 25feet+ in the winter. I explored much of the
flora that the island had to offer. Spent money at Wilks Orchids, and made
a new friend with Chet, the owner of Wilks. I purchased 4 Bulbyphillums
from him: Bulb.Daisy Chain
[http://www.martysorchids.com/catt/bulbmakoyanum.jpg], Bulb. Vaginatum
[http://www.lost-continent.com/resour...bVaginatum.jpg], Bulb. Makoyanum,
and Bulb. Lasiochillum, with the exception of Daisy Chain, all are species.
I also purchased a species Epidendrum Stomfordianum. At Kawamoto Orchid
nursery, I purchased all the Odontoglossums that I was interested in and all
the Masdevallia that I was curious in.

Visited the USS Arizona memorial which was a very emotional experience for
us. Shopped at the Aloha Stadium at the flea market that's there every Wed,
Sat and Sun. Snorkled and had a too close and way too personal experience
with a big old gray one! And of course, watched amazing sunsets from our
balcony almost daily. They have 4 major Highways the bleed into one
another, H1, H2, H3 and route 72. H1 is always jammed, but on the positive,
you can't really get lost because the roads kind always go in a circle.

We flew into Honolulu and stayed in Waikiki, the southern tip of the island
and where most of the better hotels are. Our favorite beach though was on
the Eastern tip of the island, about a 20 minute ride by a car. The beach
is outstanding there, and that's where we had the encounter with the shark
. But then again, we snorkled to about a mile away from the beach and
were almost between the Mokulua Islands which are about a mile and a half
from Lanaki beach.

The north tip is where the surfers catch waves, and where the
Polynesian cultural center is where many of the tourists go to watch a luau
and eat roasted pig. We didn't .

Oahu IS a military town, there are Naval reservations, Air Force bases,
Airforce Airfields, Marine Corps Bases, and of course the Army is there too.
I suppose it's a great place to protect the western tip of the USA.

Hanauma Bay is terrific for snorkeling, keep in mind if you go. It's an
inlet, a great place to snorkel, what you'll see there you wont see
anywhere, but you can't really swim there, it's very shallow and difficult
to manuver without hitting the coral with your snorkeling equipment. If you
go and rent a car, it is an absolute MUST to drive through Likelike Highway
and to go through the tunnel and to the other side! You will be surrounded
by the greenest and lushest scenery you've ever witnessed on one side, and
the ocean and the rest of Oahu on the other side.

Points of interest:
Diamond Head Crater
Dole Plantation
Lyon Arboretum
Lanikai Beach
Makapuu Lookout
Waimea Falls Park
Queen Emma Summer Place House
Polynesian Cultural Center


Buy the Fromer's Oahu book, it was very helpful if you ever decide to go
there. And if you do go, you should purchase the Entertainment Guide for
Hawaii, which contains an enormous amount of cupons. The book cost us
$30.00, and we saved by using the card and cupons from it, $129.00!

Thank you for those of you that recommended Wilks Orchid Specialists. Chet
was friendly and very easy to work with and the ride to him on Likelike
highway is unbelievable. Now all I need to do is figure out how to make all
these Bulb. orchids feel welcome in my enviorment.

Mariana
6b NYC - where the Tulip and Grape Hycinth bulbs are coming up!

Mariana, What a wonderful description of your vacation etc. You should be an
agent!
Sounds like you had a terrific time & really made the most of it, makes me
want to go there.
Cheers Wendy
"GrlIntrpted" wrote in message
.net...

Hawai'i is one place that I have to admit as an absolutely fabulous and a
must for all. Though it's not the continental USA, it is the USA. You
have
all the comforts of America inside of a non-American culture. We stayed
away from all the touristy spots. So we hiked lots and lots, to water
falls,
in
rainforests, and volcanic craters.

We stayed at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki (they have several of them on
Oahu),
oceanfront room. Falling asleep to the sound of waves is an experience
that
can not be described in words. Hiking in rainforests is another experience
that the English lanugage can not describe well enough to do it justice.

Waikiki beach itself is not as smooth as I expected it to be. Because of
the reef in the water, you get lots and lots of crushed shells, so if you
stay at Waikiki it is important to remember to bring your lake shoes .
Though not as small as most people think the island to be, we rented a
convertible Firebird and covered the island.

The morning and evenings are
chilly, I wore a sweater (but than again, I'm always cold), and long
pants,
it gets to the low 70's. From around 10am on and up until around 7pm it
was
warm, the highest it got was 85! and about 50% humidity. No clouds in
the
sky.

Visited the Dole pineapple fields, Lyon Arboretum, Foster Botanical
Gardens,
Senator Fongs Plantation. Hung with the surfers on the North Side where
the
waves reach a height of 25feet+ in the winter. I explored much of the
flora that the island had to offer. Spent money at Wilks Orchids, and
made
a new friend with Chet, the owner of Wilks. I purchased 4 Bulbyphillums
from him: Bulb.Daisy Chain
[http://www.martysorchids.com/catt/bulbmakoyanum.jpg], Bulb. Vaginatum
[http://www.lost-continent.com/resour...bVaginatum.jpg], Bulb.
Makoyanum,
and Bulb. Lasiochillum, with the exception of Daisy Chain, all are
species.
I also purchased a species Epidendrum Stomfordianum. At Kawamoto Orchid
nursery, I purchased all the Odontoglossums that I was interested in and
all
the Masdevallia that I was curious in.

Visited the USS Arizona memorial which was a very emotional experience for
us. Shopped at the Aloha Stadium at the flea market that's there every
Wed,
Sat and Sun. Snorkled and had a too close and way too personal experience
with a big old gray one! And of course, watched amazing sunsets from our
balcony almost daily. They have 4 major Highways the bleed into one
another, H1, H2, H3 and route 72. H1 is always jammed, but on the
positive,
you can't really get lost because the roads kind always go in a circle.

We flew into Honolulu and stayed in Waikiki, the southern tip of the
island
and where most of the better hotels are. Our favorite beach though was on
the Eastern tip of the island, about a 20 minute ride by a car. The beach
is outstanding there, and that's where we had the encounter with the shark
. But then again, we snorkled to about a mile away from the beach and
were almost between the Mokulua Islands which are about a mile and a half
from Lanaki beach.

The north tip is where the surfers catch waves, and where the
Polynesian cultural center is where many of the tourists go to watch a
luau
and eat roasted pig. We didn't .

Oahu IS a military town, there are Naval reservations, Air Force bases,
Airforce Airfields, Marine Corps Bases, and of course the Army is there
too.
I suppose it's a great place to protect the western tip of the USA.

Hanauma Bay is terrific for snorkeling, keep in mind if you go. It's an
inlet, a great place to snorkel, what you'll see there you wont see
anywhere, but you can't really swim there, it's very shallow and difficult
to manuver without hitting the coral with your snorkeling equipment. If
you
go and rent a car, it is an absolute MUST to drive through Likelike
Highway
and to go through the tunnel and to the other side! You will be surrounded
by the greenest and lushest scenery you've ever witnessed on one side, and
the ocean and the rest of Oahu on the other side.

Points of interest:
Diamond Head Crater
Dole Plantation
Lyon Arboretum
Lanikai Beach
Makapuu Lookout
Waimea Falls Park
Queen Emma Summer Place House
Polynesian Cultural Center


Buy the Fromer's Oahu book, it was very helpful if you ever decide to go
there. And if you do go, you should purchase the Entertainment Guide for
Hawaii, which contains an enormous amount of cupons. The book cost us
$30.00, and we saved by using the card and cupons from it, $129.00!

Thank you for those of you that recommended Wilks Orchid Specialists. Chet
was friendly and very easy to work with and the ride to him on Likelike
highway is unbelievable. Now all I need to do is figure out how to make
all
these Bulb. orchids feel welcome in my enviorment.

Mariana
6b NYC - where the Tulip and Grape Hycinth bulbs are coming up!