The Whiskey Widow Adventures - Hawaii  (Part 1)

We found out in December that Band of Blue was sending our family to Hawaii and it was wonderful that my parents, my sister, and my niece were able to join us!

When the day finally came, we sprang out of bed for those 3 a.m. alarm clocks and hopped an early flight to Chicago. From there we had a long flight to Honolulu, but the promise of warm weather and sun kept everyone excited.

It’s been a brutal winter in Minnesota and our trip was bookended by blizzards, but we made it through without any issues.

We got our rental, a giant Expedition, so we could all fit in one vehicle and headed to the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki. We had dinner looking out at the water and the kids didn’t care that we’d had a long day and the sun was setting. They jumped right into the ocean and enjoyed the waves.

Band of Blue and Kara at Looking Glass Travel lined up all kinds of adventures for us in Hawaii. 

Our first stop was a visit to the Honolulu Police Department. We got to hang with the brave folks who serve in the Specialized Services Division (SSD). They gave us a warm welcome, a tour of their PD and museum, and one of their staff made us lunch - a home-cooked Hawaiian meal served on their rooftop patio! The stew was amazing and we left with thoughtful gifts and HPD gear. 

They shared their losses with us as we walked down their hallway of remembrance and it was a beautiful start to our trip and truly the reason we were in Hawaii at all.

Law enforcement is a family and the kindness of Band of Blue and the Honolulu Police Department reminded us that Adam is not forgotten.

Thoughtful officers at HPD made sure we enjoyed a trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center. 

It rained a bit that day, but that didn’t stop us from taking a canoe ride, getting “tattoos” and enjoying an astounding array of food at a buffet dinner before a stunning evening show.

“HĀ: Breath of Life” was jampacked with cultural dances, jaw-dropping fire performers, and everyone was always in sync! 

It was such a beautiful show that took us through six islands: Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa, Aotearoa, Fiji and Hawaii, to share a "Pacific isle saga of birth and death, love and family, tragedy and triumph." We loved it!

Each of the six islands has a "village" at the Center where you learn about its history, people, culture, and uniqueness. We got to stop and watch presentations in the villages and learn about their island life.

Band of Blue also hooked us up with the kindest surf instructor! 

 Milt is actually a pilot who gave up his day off to take us out on the waves. He spent hours in the water patiently guiding us while his friend, Camila, helped from the beach. The kids did awesome. I wiped out a lot and cut my toe on some coral, but hey – I tried!

We enjoyed our time at White Plains Beach and then an awesome lunch at Moneypod Kitchen, where the mai tais and delicious pies stole the show!

Our time at Pearl Harbor was so special it will be covered in another post.

Stay tuned for more tales from Hawaii!