Julia's Visit - Day 1

I had been looking forward to seeing Julia for several months. I had even given her a special birthday present back in March for her to choose a couple of activities to do while she was in Hawaii. Over the past few months however, it was uncertain whether I'd be on the island at all because of changes in my contract with the Army. Fortunately, things had finally worked out and she was on her way as we woke up Saturday morning!

Julia arrived at 2:20pm. She looked wonderfully happy and pretty. We enjoyed chatting and getting caught up on some things while we waited for her luggage. She had heeded my advice to pack light and packed a small suitcase - after all, what more do you need in Hawaii but a swimsuit and flip flops?

It has become a tradition to take visitors to Teddy's Burgers, so we grabbed a burger there. While we sat outide, it started to rain and we all got 'dampened', but the rain was not real cold and it didn't last long. Then made a stop by the Oahu Dive Center to get her some snorkeling gear. Finally, we took her to the house to drop off luggage and make some quick changes and then headed down to Kailua Beach to get a look at the ocean!

I think Julia was born to love the ocean... She really enjoyed just walking in the sand and watching the waves. We talked about snorkeling and building a sand castle and body surfing and just had a great time dodging the kite boarders. The forecast for the week was not encouraging and this day was cloudy and windy, but we were confident that things would work out just fine.

As we left the beach, the sun was getting low and clouds were getting heavier as they do in the evening, so we drove over to the Pali Overlook to get a panoramic view of Kailua and the windward side of the island. As usual, the overlook was cool and windy. This picture is one of many, but the only one where Julia's hair wasn't in her face!

Our final destination of the day was Wal-Mart in Honolulu where Jessica had found some good, cheap reef sandals several weeks earlier! We strolled through the souvenir section and then walked over to the Ala Moana Mall to check out the shops before eating dinner at the Macaroni Grill. Julia was wiped out, so we drove home just after sunset and went to bed. The next day was planned to be very busy and active - as you'll see...