O'ahu - Arrival and Pearl Harbor

 Since this is Hubby's first trip to Hawaii (the state), we made time and prioritization visiting O'ahu so we could go to Pearl Harbor.  This was actually a bit more complicated than normal due to Neighbor Island travel restrictions.  Similar to the COVID testing requirements to enter Hawaii yesterday from the mainland, one of our pre-travel swabs was for re-entry today!  

We woke bright and early which was easy due to jet lag and caught a 6:30 flight over to Honolulu. 

Goodbye Hawaii Island! 

Drink Service!  

First Stop: Rental Car Pickup!  While chatting up the Avis Preferred attendant, Wifey mentioned we were only on O'ahu for one day ... as a result, she asked if we'd like a Mustang convertable for the day .... "yes please!".  

Second Stop: Pearl Harbor!  - We pre purchased our tickets and audio tour to visit the memorial.  The audio tour was interesting, however several stations were also within a museum that provided video/audio information as well as text presentations. The conflicting input was alot.  All in all, I think doing the audio tour was a net positive.  We learned alot about both the events leading up to the attack as well as the results of the attack on O'ahu.  

After exploring the exhibits, we took a Navy operated ferry out to the Arizona Memorial.  

A video of our experience: 

Here you can look down into the water and see the USS Arizona where she still rests on the Ocean floor.  Interestingly, survivors of the attack who have later passed away still chose to be interred in the wreckage.  Their remains are given to Navy divers who perform the interment.   

The USS Arizona memorial is the white line on the horizon in the below photo.  

A Failed Alarm, 3 flights, and a blessed middle seat!

Today we had a 6:00 am flight, the first of three total for the day, which required our alarm to be set for 03:30!  In anticipation, Wifey woke up several times between midnight and 3:10.  She checked her clock again at 3:20 desperate for 10 more minutes of sleep.  She checked it again at 3:55 and JUMPED out of bed.  Luckily, we had pre-loaded the car with most of our belongings, and only had a couple items (such as cell phones and chargers) to grab morning of.  We left home about 15 minutes late, but MADE OUR FLIGHT!

Two flights later, we boarded our final airplane of the day and held out hope that our middle-seat companion wouldn't show .....

We were in luck and our next 6 hours were SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE!  Wifey took the spare time as an opportunity to catch up on some work and hubby some sitcoms :)  

Due to COVID, entering Hawaii is a bit more complicated than in previous years.  In anticipation of our trip, Wifey had done extensive research culminating in two COVID tests in the 3 days before departure, a number of completed health screenings and two QR codes.  

Kona airport has the COVID screening down to a beautiful science.  After deplaning, we lined up where multiple folks were waiting to process the incoming flight.  We presented our QR codes, negative COVID results, Photo IDs, and Vaccine Card. The vaccinated among us (Wifey) was then sent along to baggage claim. The unvaccinated went into another building for yet another COVID test.  With Hubby's 3rd negative test result, we were free to enjoy Hawaii!  

All our luggage arrived safely, though our spur of the moment volunteer photographer left something to be desired ... but regardless ... we arrived!  

Our next stop was to pick up our ride for the next couple weeks.  We were offered a free upgrade to a 4-wheel drive Jeep!  Yes, please.  It'll kill Wifey's fuel budget for the week, but is super nice to have the space and power.    

Despite the awesome new ride, we only traveled a quick 3 miles to our first home of the trip.  This AirBNB was perfect for our next few days' itinerary.  

Fosters Kitchen

 Great locally sourced food ... not so Hawaiian.  

Order the stuffed chicken.  

Bridal Veil Falls

Last weekend we enjoyed a mini-adventure hiking with Wifey's parents.  With COVID still an issue, indoors is always stressful so a hike was a perfect way to say "hi" while socially distancing (yes, we did take a quick mask-down selfie though!)

Most of our pictures were taken with Wifey's mom's DSLR - we'll add them to this post when we receive copies. 

Bridal Veil Falls is a city park in Heber Springs, AR.  It is a short, easy, 1/2 mile hike down to a waterfall.  We arrived around 10 am which was ok.  As we were leaving an hour later, the make-shift parking lot was FULL and more and more (unmasked) people were starting to flood the trail.  I'd recommend arriving early to get your hike on here! 

 

St. Louis - John's wedding

On March 20, 2021, one of Hubby's college friends and roommates got married!  We made the trip to St. Louis for the wedding.  We stayed at an AirBNB.  We brought along Ellenor and left Bosco home alone for 48 hours.  This AirBNB was both perfect and annoying.  

Location-Location-Location - The location was great.  The AirBNB was on the second story above several restaurants along a great street full of food and coffee and shopping.  Wifey would have loved to had more time to explore our temporary neighborhood.  The stairs were a bit steep though.  

Furniture - The couch needed replacing.  The bed was comfy.

All in all the AirBNB met our needs.  We were just sleeping in it twice as a base for attending the wedding which was an all-day event!  Hubby was looking GOOD in his suit and tie!  

Congratulations, John and Ellie!  

 

Snow In Arkansas

This February we adventured close to home!  Arkansas received a once-in-a-lifetime snow!!

Roads on day one -

Snowman #1

Snowman #2

Home Sweet Home

The puppers got in on the 'fun' too.  

Many Thank You's to Jessica for this trick.  We laid out cardboard so as the snow fell and accumulated higher, Ellenor had a clean-ish place to go to the restroom!

 

A Weekend in Louisville

 

Wifey recently had the opportunity for a quick solo trip to Louisville, KY.  This was quick both in terms of duration (a weekend) and planning time (about 3 hours).  

With a wonderful friend, Dani (who you may remember from here, here, here, here, here, and here), moving to back Japan the next week, on Friday afternoon Wifey expressed a desire to go visit her and a third friend, Jessica.  Wifey, Dani, and Jessica had all attended Law School together about a decade ago and very rarely had an opportunity to connect live since then.  

Hubby said "do it!" and tickets were booked and a car reserved.  

Wifey watched the sun set from aboard a flight a few hours later.  

DFW apparently has some fancy new signage for their restrooms which tell you how many stalls are open and where the next closest option (with openings) is.  Pretty snazzy! 

By the time she landed in Louisville, it was dark and the city's lights greated her!

Sadly upon disembarking, a rental company staff person did not.  

Thank you to friend Jessica for saving the day and picking Wifey up at the airport around midnight after several unsuccessful calls to Avis trying to locate our vehicle.  Hubby was a hero though and negotiated a dropped off vehicle the next morning and a credit on our bill for the trouble and 'cost of an uber'.  

The next two days were full of food, friends, Godzillas, a farm and so so little sleep!  

Y'all made my visit ever interesting!  Thanks!

 

Emily had the audacity to grow up into a beautiful young lady while we were away!  How did that happen!?  Thank you, though, for taking a picture with me!  

Next visit - Hubby must join!