Leaving for my trip on September 4, I took the long drive to Atlanta’s famous Hartsfield International Airport. (A local wit said that on the way to hell one now has to pass thru Hartsfield International Airport.) After 8 hours and 40 minutes in the air, this non-stop flight finally landed at Honolulu International Airport!
We retrieved our luggage, hailed a taxi and headed for the White Sands on Wiki Beach where which was hardly as nice as the place in Spain or in the Carolinas but it made up for the difference in being only two blocks from Waikiki sandy beach and miles and miles of restaurants and stores.
We finally got checked in and made our way to the apartment on the second floor, a walk-up—no elevator here! After flying all night, I was tired; it was only about 8 o’clock in the morning there since we gained six hours of time flying westward.
We got into the hotel van, which took us to Diamond Head which overlooks the whole city. I turned my camcorder toward our driver who was also an excellent tour guide as he began his narration. After a short drive, we finally reached the tunnel leading inside the mountain. You see, Diamond Head is an extinct volcano,
There’s a state park and military installation inside. It’s called Diamond Head because the Marines stationed there used to climb up it for recreation and thought the glittering stones they saw on the mountainside were diamonds but later were found to be calcite deposits.

Pearl and her Mom waited patiently for me while I followed the zigzag trail along with all the other tourists. Many Asians were climbing with us.
I had forgotten that the guidebooks had said to bring water! Getting thirsty and thirstier as I inched my way up the cliffs, I finally asked (in jest) a tourist coming down how far was it to the concession stand.
Surprisingly, a beautiful lady behind me overhead my remark and had opened a thermos bottle with cold water to pour into a cup for me. She certainly came prepared! After receiving this bit of fortitude, I made it to the lookout for a splendid panoramic view of the harbor.
One interesting point that our guide brought up was that there was one bird that wasn’t allowed on the island by law—the hummingbird! If the hummingbird was here, it would cross-pollinate the pineapple, causing it to have seeds which they don’t want.
So far, they haven’t seen any hummingbirds on the islands. All luggage arriving or leaving must pass an inspection by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
We passed one stretch of highway where the movie Jurassic Park was made.
After a 30-minute flight we finally landed on the golden island of Maui. We jumped into our rental car and headed up the twisting road by the coast. The views were spectacular—breathtaking to say the least.
We skipped all the shops on Maui and instead took in all the great views by the coast.