Just have to share....

[vjm1639]

wow...GemmySan, those pictures certainly brought back some memories. I too lived in Hawaii (on Oahu) for three years back in the 80s. I have so many wonderful memories of the place. I agree with Wavery about Oahu being so much more than what most "tourists" see. It may not be the most beautiful island, but it's certainly right up there! :> I would love to take my husband there some day.
 
One thing that struck me as odd when we first moved there was the fact that our military quarters had neither airconditioning nor heat.   I'd never lived in a house that didn't have both actually.  LOL  the nice thing was....we never needed it. The hottest it usually was even in the middle of the summer was in the high 80s...maybe a few times (in three years) it hit the low 90s, but that was rare...and there is always a breeze.  So much of a breeze that we actually had to put weights in all the light curtains in our house to keep them from blowing so much. ;>    It's almost perfect weather there.  
 
I wish you the time of your life!  :>

[GeneF]

DW, DD and I went to Oahu a couple of years ago and we did enjoy ourselves.

I will ditto what was said about the Pineapple Plantation, not worth the time.

Main thing we all enjoyed was the easyi access to the beaches.  No such thing as a private beach there.  Plenty of public access points to get on the beach.

We rented a car and went around quite a bit but after a week we had only put on about 250 miles.  Island isn't that big.

We did one tour, that was a snorkeling tour which included lunch.  It was a great experience.  Even saw a sea turtle.

Shopping in downtown can be very interesting and very expensive. Most of the shops were not within our credit card range.

There is an indoor market, sorry I can't remember the name, but it was fun to walk through and the prices are negotiable.  I am sure you will find it in some brochure.

Hilo Hatties is pushed but not worth the shopping trip.

Have a great time and enjoy the beach.  We did eat at Dukes on the beach and enjoyed the dinner.  Prices were reasonable.

[wavery]

Oh ya.......I forgot. Sunday is the Aloha Stadium flea market.
http://www.hawaiiguide.com/freedo~1/fleamkt.htm

If you want to do some shopping in Hawaii, that's the place to do it. They have ALL the souvenir crap and a lot of stuff that you can't find in the stores, including home made arts & crafts, 80 bazillion t-shirts with things you'd never want on your t-shirt and some that you would.

It's HUGE so plan on spending at least 4 hours of your Sunday there. Actually, you really don't need to. After about an hour you start seeing the same stuff over and over. It's open Sat & Wed too but Sunday is THE day when all of the sellers show up.

If all else fails, there's:
http://www.walmart.com/storeLocator/ca_storefinder_results.do?rx_title=com.wm.www.apps.storelocator.page.serviceLink.title.default&rx_dest=%2Findex.gsp&p=s&sfsearch_state=HI&sfsearch_zip=&sfsearch_city=honolulu
That should make you feel at home :p

[cjpoppin]

Funny you should mention weather I just read in the tour book in the Hawaiian language there isn't a word for weather.......I also found out both our hotels have been remodeled and they do have A/C.....Not that I'm very worried when I was there before the only island I had any trouble on was the Big Island.....The humidity was off the chart.....We will be leaving for the Island of Maui Sunday so the swap meet is out....We have booked a Luau for Feb. 14th at the "Feast At Lele" (lay-lay) It's put on by the same group that does the "Old Lahaina Luau" Both are on Maui......We are thinking about going to both.....Is it time yet......?   Well it's Christmas Eve and our grandkids are really wired....All with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads......Plus those gifts under the tree.......Merry Christmas to All and To All A Goodnight.......Most of all may we all have a Truly Great New Year.....carol