Monday, February 11th.... We are up early again and pack. We have to check out by 11:00 am, but since our plane does not depart Honolulu until 11 pm, we still have all day for fun.

Chris and Eric join us for breakfast at the Hale Koa. Let’s see…. What shall we have this morning??????

A little later, Chris and Eric are doing the submarine tour,

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while Marsha and I will do Diamond Head.
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They say it is a strenuous walk to the top, so we will see if I am up to the task. The trail is somewhat rugged, muddy, rocky, narrow and uneven. We don’t rush and stop for a breather and a swig of water every few hundred feet.
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Then we make it to the top after climbing a hundred steps, walking through a dark, narrow tunnel and climbing out through a WW II bunker.
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Down below is a lighthouse, the crater, and Honolulu. I caught a rainbow over Honolulu.

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Later after getting back to Wakiki, we spend some time there, take a few photos, capture a wedding, relax and wait until we have to depart for the airport.
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Time to go.... We again go through LA, then we arrive in St Louis really exhausted around 2:30 pm on Tuesday. It was a fabulous trip! Everything that State Farm organized and provided was first class, except for the coach airfare. Other than the airfare arrangements, I can’t say enough good about State Farm and what they put together! And, we are not State Farm customers…. Perhaps we should be.
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The Forty-Nine portion will come in a few weeks once I have recovered a bunch of photos I lost during the trip.
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Mahalo and Aloha for now.
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Ben

What a cool trip! The beach looks great at your hotel! When I was in Honolulu, the beach was teeny. In fact, in your photos, the beach still looks very tiny in the section where I stayed. The photos are lovely nonetheless.

The Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial Tour was one of the most moving experiences of my life. If anyone can visit that memorial and NOT cry, they don't have a heart. I highly recommend that tour to anyone visiting Honolulu.

Ok.....enough of my Hawaii review. I'm glad you had a fun trip. ...and thanks for posting photos of Howie. I've always had a little crush on him. ;-)

Susan in Cancun

The pic with the rainbow is especially beautiful!

Ben, thanks so much for taking the time and effort to share your Hawaiian vacation.

Now, start typing your ALASKA report!

Alaska will have to wait a week or two while I try to recover some lost photos.

Thanks again.

Ben

Loved your report! Great photos - especially the one of the rainbow over Honolulu. Looks like a great trip and looks like State Farm put on quite a show for you guys. I would love to meet Howie Long. I'll have to start registering more often for these things. I just registered for a trip to Sweden/Russia from the Travel Channel. Slim chance, but I'll continue to register. Now there's that lottery thing I gotta win....

Thanks, Lisa. Good luck with the Sweden/Russia trip contest.

Ben

Fabulous Pics--Wish I was planning a trip back to the Aloha state. Was there 18 years ago (honeymoon)-stayed at the Outrigger Reef which is right next to the Hilton. Was able to pick it out in some of your pics! Sounds like you had a great time and if your photos are any indication I would have to say you certainly did. I have to add my 2 cents about the Howie Long shots--definitely not hard on the eyes is he ladies? Thanks for posting such a great story and all those amazing pictures!

It was short but we did have a great time. My sons kept telling me that I had to enter more contests. The problem with that is winning is slim to none, and most of those contests are usually for only 2 people.

Ben

Wow, thanks! Your pics brought back wonderful memories for me. Great job!!