Nichols Family Maui Vacation!

Nichols Family Maui Vacation

Day 4 (Thursday)

Up early today to catch the first flight to Honolulu out of Kapalua (West Maui). While waiting for our flight, caught a submarine cruising the channel in between the islands. Arrived at Honolulu, rented a pick-up and headed to Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona Memorial. We arrived about 8:30, and it was crowded already. Our "Program" didn't start until 10:45, so we had plenty of time to go through their small museum and look around the harbor guided by displays near the water with descriptions and diagrams showing where various ships were and what happened on Dec 7, 1941. Once our program started, we were welcomed in the theater by Dick Fiske, a Marine stationed on the USS West Virginia which was docked behind the USS Arizona during the attack. His short speech was touching and emotional. After a short film about the attack, we boarded a ferry that took us out to the memorial. On the way, we passed by and got waves from the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from Naval Station Everett in Washington State. It was in Hawaii for a few days to test the Marine's newest version of their F-18 fighter, and was in the Gulf launching attacks against Iraq a couple of months later. The memorial itself is a solemn and emotional place as you contemplate the experiences and fates of those who were there. On one end of the memorial, the names of those who perished are engraved into a large white marble wall.

Afterwards, we headed toward Honolulu and Waikiki through unexpected heavy traffic and it took us about 45 minutes. We parked downtown and strolled along Waikiki beach, which was a bit crowded compared to the Maui beaches. I think it lives up to it's famous billing though, and it has to be the coolest urban beach there is. We walked along until we found the statue of Duke Kahanamoku, a famous surfer, where I knew there was a live webcam of the statue and beach. (For those of you with a broadband connection, or a lot of patience, this webcam is live video of Waikiki beach!) After posing for pictures with Duke, and waving to the World Wide Web, we walked a little further and stopped for lunch under a banyan tree at the beachside cafe of the Sheraton Waikiki. Very nice! Unfortunately, we had to head for the airport soon after lunch since the last flight back to Maui was at 4:50. Surprisingly, from where we were in the photos below, we could not see the famous Diamond Head silhouette back in the other direction because of the high rises. You had to be further down the beach, toward the pink hotel shown below and around the bend, to see it.

After landing back in Maui, we drove west and north away from our resort through the upscale area of Kapalua and the Napili beach neighborhoods (pictures from the water on Day 4 page). Lots of rental properties and some private low-key resorts. Then we drove up a slow and winding road to Honolua Bay where we snorkeled yesterday for another perspective on the bay. Returning to Kapalua, we dined at "Sansei", a sushi and Japanese restaurant and favorite of the locals which was recommended by our driver from Ironwood Ranch. The sushi was awesome! And I guess that other stuff the girls ate was good too. We then returned to the Hyatt for a swim in the pool and a cocktail on a perfect evening.

Go on to Day 5

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