Tag / Waikiki Beach

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Travelling The 50 States – Hawaii

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 30 states I have visited (60% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we start today with the 50th state to be added to the Union: Hawaii.

State: Hawaii
Joined the Union: 1959
Visits: 2

I’ve made two trips to the Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland, first in 2019 and then again earlier this year.

Way back in 2019, I made my first visit to the island of Oahu, arriving the first Saturday in February.  After a day of checking out my surroundings around the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort and down Waikiki Beach, I took a tour of the island of Oahu on Monday, with stops at Hanauma Bay, Nu’uanu Pali lookout, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and the Dole Plantation.  Tuesday, I took in a whale watching cruise, where we were able to see multiple whales surfacing during the excursion.  After a day of relaxation on Wednesday, I traveled to Pearl Harbor on Thursday to see all of the associated attractions and museums.  I enjoyed another day of relaxation on Friday before heading home on Saturday.

Following a long pandemic, and nearly two years of working from home, I decided to break out in a big way this past January.  Using airline vouchers left over from my cancelled trips of 2020, I booked a two-week trip, returning to the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort for the first week and staying in a lesser hotel for the second.  Not knowing how the pandemic would impact the local tourist offerings, I decided to play it safe and go for ultimate relaxation.  My days were spent reading by the pool, taking the occasional swim, both in the ocean and in the pool, and listening to music and podcasts.  It was heaven.

The second week I was working remotely, meaning my days usually started at 4AM local time.  This let me wrap up the workday around noon, when I would usually head back over to the resort, to enjoy some of the outdoor spaces, or the beach.  All told, I racked up seven books and two week’s worth of 10,000+ step days.

Will I return?  Absolutely, although I would like to check out some of the other islands on future trips.

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2019: The Year In Travel

Once again, I thought it would be nice to look back at the many trips I took this year.  As you may recall from last year‘s wrap-up, the year began in California.

New Year’s Day was spent in Pasadena for the Rose Parade, where Danny and the Lincoln-Way Marching Band were performing.  Lucky for them, they were slotted right after the float that caught on fire and eventually mucked up the entire end of the parade.  However, they were able to march around the disabled float and keep things moving for the time being.  The next day we went to the California ScienCenter, where we were able to see artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and the space shuttle Endeavor, and the beach before heading home.

And home is where I stayed for a whole month before heading out to Hawaii in February.  I arrived that first Saturday in February, checking out my surroundings around the resort and down Waikiki Beach after the long flight.  Monday, I took a tour of the island of Oahu, with stops at Hanauma Bay, Nu’uanu Pali lookout, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and the Dole Plantation.  Tuesday, I took in a whale watching cruise, where we were able to see multiple whales surfacing during the excursion.  Thursday, I traveled over to Pearl Harbor and all of the associated attractions and museums.  Come the following Saturday, it was time to head home on an overnight flight that got me in town very early Sunday morning.

Come June, the whole family headed east to celebrate Michael’s graduation.  We flew into Baltimore, where Dennis, the boys, and I went to breakfast before heading to Camden Yards to see the Orioles take on the Giants.  On the way to the stadium, we stopped at the grave site of Edgar Allen Poe and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum.  After the game, we walked to the local bus depot, where we caught a bus to Washington DC for the remainder of the trip.

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Fitbit V: Week 2

A tremendous week in paradise, as I put up over 100,000 steps in a week for the first time. The week got off to a good start, thanks to a morning walk up and down Waikiki Beach, followed by the day’s activities around the resort. When all was said and done, I finished Sunday with over 14,800 steps.  Monday, I took a tour around the island of Oahu, with numerous stops along the way, which got me over 16,300 steps.  Tuesday combined my beach activity with a whale watching cruise for over 12,500 steps, my lowest total of the week.  Wednesday was a down day, activity-wise, but I did manage to get just over 15,000 steps.  Thursday, I went to Pearl Harbor, which put me over 17,100 steps.  Friday was another relaxing day, despite my 13,900 steps.  Saturday was check out day, so I managed 13,500 steps before heading home.

Total steps: 103,337

Daily average: 14,762.4

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Fitbit V: Week 1

We kick off the 5th year of Fitbit use with a slow week, thanks to the return of the polar vortex, which brought record low temperatures. The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, where I combined snow blowing with a trip out to celebrate mom’s birthday to finish just over 4900 steps.  An overnight snowstorm kept me home from work on Monday, where another round of snow blowing put me up over 5500 steps.  Tuesday was back to work, where I was able to put together over 8500 steps, a full 1000 over my new daily goal of 7500.  The polar vortex returned on Wednesday, keeping me home with a high temperature of -14, resulting in a poor total of just over 2800 steps. Thursday was another day trapped indoors, so again I was just over 2800 steps. Friday was a good bounce back day, both weather-wise and step-wise. Reaching into the low 20s, I was able to go to work and finish just shy of 9900 steps. Most of Saturday was spent in an airplane; but between the airport and an early evening stroll down Waikiki Beach, I managed to just pass my daily goal with over 7600 steps.

Total steps: 42,166

Daily average: 6023,7