For the 5th time on the Islands, our trip to Hawaii was an introduction to my wife and it was often overwhelming. All the things to do and to see on each island and we only visited two of them: Oahu, and Kauai, the Garden Isle.

Our base was in Waikiki most of the time, easy Internet access and central location with the exception of the North Shore. But driving from town to country is an interesting aspect of life on Oahu and we enjoyed the small discoveries between Aiea and Wahiawa.

Waikiki got a facelift recently, the lightposts are renewed and a few small pools have been installed the long of Kalakaua Avenue where it finally meets the beach in front of the Hyatt Regency towers. This is also the place where the statue of Duke Kahanamoku resides, and to give a lei or two will bring good waves!

After two weeks of excellent surf on the North Shore we flew to Kauai for some leisure time on the beach and a hike or two in the mountains. Weather was excellent, the hiking great, and the waves better than expected. Some of the tourist attractions proved to be rather poor, if you want to see impressive waterfalls go see Niagara, in this end of the world there are many places more rewarding for the time spent.