Back from Hawaii.

Oahu is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. Beyond the ecstasy of being on vacation for a week and a half, I woke up early each morning ready to see more. We left defeated by the sun, our hearts and bellies full. We arrived on Wednesday night, and by Thursday morning we were exploring Hickam Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor, where my sister and her family live (it's fitting that Oahu is known as "the gathering place"). We visited the beach on the base, which was a nice first taste of the beautiful beaches we would see over the following week. My sixteen-year-old nephew complained about how crappy the beach was, but even the crappiest beaches on Oahu beat out the nicest beaches on the east coast. 

Before we left, Mike and I had a loose mental list of the things we wanted to do like drink a pina colada on the beach, jump off a rock into the ocean, hike up a mountain or crater, watch the sun rise and set, eat fresh sushi, to name a few. I can happily say that I feel like I soaked up as much as I could in the time we had there. We're already planning to go back before they're transferred somewhere else.