Our Do-Over Day, A Bonus

Saying goodbye to Hawaii, parting is such great sorrow....

Alan enjoying some shade at the zoo hut.

Kamoto Dragon

Lions

Termite Mounds

Osterich

Zebra and Giraffe enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

Dama Gazelles

When I saw these doves eating side by side this large

tortoise I thought, "now this is what sharing is

all about, isn't it?

This is what you call a lazy pig...warthog actually.

Elephants enjoying some company. Not many visitors

on a hot Monday afternoon.

These cute critters kept looking at

us as if we were their entertainment for the day.

Can you believe the name of this strange bird

is the Secretary Bird?

The zoo had lots of birds, these were sun conures.

Minagano gum trees grow very tall.

Alan standing looking at a mindano gum tree.

These large bird statues almost look real, don't they?

Entrance to the zoo.

Pigeon nesting. Alan and I watched as she and her

mate worked on the nest until it was just right. We watched it

from the day we first arrived in Hawaii and again on the day we left.

What a beautiful place to say 'I do'

Bride and groom having pictures taken right on the beach.

Local surfers meeting.

Surfing instructor, care to take a lesson?

Surf's up!

Here a father and son are swimming in the protected area by the

sea wall on the beach and see the fish as we toss some food in the water.

We visited this Starbucks which was right across

the street from the beach at Waikiki.

One of many colorful sailboats on a beautiful day in Waikiki.

A protected swimming area where families gathered. This was

located at the end of Waikiki Beach. People on the pier

could enjoy watching small fish swarm around any food tossed to them.


Day Ten-Our ‘Do-Over’ Day

We woke up refreshed and went to the dining room for our breakfast and chose seats opposite the Oceanarian. The buffet was fabulous! There were all kinds of eggs, fruits, pastries, cereals, juices, potatoes, and of course coffee. We took our time eating and enjoyed the morning. Afterwards, we went over to the beach. Alan had his swimsuit still so found a nice place to we relax in the park and I watched as he inched himself into the refreshing coolness of the ocean water. There were lots of want-to-be surfers taking lessons and I was able to get some great shots. Alan finally relaxed in the water and floated on his back, enjoying the sun. This was the only real beach day we’d taken. I chose to not go into the water; after all I was the photographer.

After his dip in the ocean we went to the Honolulu Zoo and enjoyed going around looking for the animals that were trying to keep cool in the shade. My favorite stop was at the tortoise house where I got a kick watching birds feeding right next to a huge tortoise. I made sure to get a picture of it too.

From the zoo we went to the International Market to see if I could find a sticker to replace the one I had bought earlier that was coming off the front of my scooter. We found some and I decorated my scooter with all kinds of Hawaiian stickers. I also found some pressed penny machines and got several pennies for Diana. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find them to mail to her as I put them someplace when I got home. They’re probably with the black pearl I can’t find. While at the International Market Alan asked if I would like something to eat since we wouldn’t get anything on the plane but I declined. Later I wished I would have gotten something to eat as we ended up eating some lousy Chinese food at the airport. We went to the ABC store by the hotel where Alan found a tee shirt to wear on the plane since our luggage had been sent the previous day. I also found some neat gold key rings that had names in both English and Hawaiian. They were really neat key rings so I got one for both of us. I should have gone ahead and gotten ones for Diana, James, Emily, Derek and Michael at the same time. I ended up looking up the phone number of the ABC store in Honolulu and ordering them after we returned. They mailed them to me after checking with other stores, as they didn’t have all of the names I requested at one store. It was kind of exciting getting a package from Hawaii. Alan’s name is Alena and mine is Kalena. Interesting how our names are so much alike.

When we got to our Gate we had to wait for awhile before the doors were opened. We were both hoping we might be able to spend another day in Hawaii but alas we didn’t and had to end our time in Paradise. We boarded our plane and once up in the air were served meals. I went into sleep mode or at least tried to on the way to Houston. There was a crying baby and prayed that it would calm down as it was sitting right next to Alan and me. Now that’s something to remember whenever you’re on a plane. Pray if there’s an annoying person sitting next to you like a child or baby and believe me God will answer your prayer. Be sure to pray in a positive way though. I prayed that God would calm the child and that its ears wouldn’t hurt and that it would be able to fall asleep…it worked! When we got to Houston we got a bite to eat at the airport and once again it was gross. Why does airport food always taste so gross? I got a muffin at Starbucks so that was at least good. We both took short naps and arrived back in Baltimore around 2:30pm. Our luggage had arrived the day before and was safe. Now it was back to reality but we’ll have lots of memories to cherish and will definitely be returning to Hawaii again someday soon.

ALOHA~UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

H TI MEE AGAI H