I did it... 50 States... Travel goal met!
We are back from Hawaii... packed so much into our 8 day tour of my final state... and it took almost a week to fully recover. My schedule was brimming with activities, full of a diverse array of activities and some new adventures. I don’t know how we pulled it all off, but I got to see just about everything I thought I could squeeze into this trip. The weather tried to rain on my parade, but we pushed through it... because even wet in the rain was warmer than back home.
All said and done, I visited all the national park sites on Oahu and the isle of Hawaii, visited a few state parks, got misted at a couple waterfalls, walked on beaches of green and black sands, stared at a glowing volcano crater, marveled at petroglyphs, laughed at a comedy/magic show, witnessed humpbacks in a heat run, took amazing pictures of sea turtles in tide pools, learned some Hawaiian history, took in city sites, walked through the zoo and aquarium, honored our country’s veterans, soaked up views of blowholes, vistas and natural wonders, and swam with manta rays.
I stayed at Sheratons on both islands and could not be happier. All of our stays gave us glorious views of the water. My SPG status paid off, big time, with incredible upgrades to beautiful suites that gave us room to stretch out and feel spoiled. It’s rare when a hotel garters so much attention on a trip, but this time the accommodations simply addded to the feel of the whole experience. I wrote thank you notes because the stays were simply that good!
The trip was simply epic. I wasn’t ready to let go of the views but I know i need to plan another visit to see Maui and Kauai. At least I left knowing I left nothing on the table.
I will be breaking the trip down by island. There is too much to write in one post. And I want to savor the memories.
