#Travel, Move and Live in Oahu for an Enriching Experience to Add to Life

To travel to Hawaii is an experience in itself and I had visited the island of Oahu about three times and loved it each and every time.  To move to Hawaii is a once in a life time event and it is something that I did.  One really gets to experience so much more when you get to live in place that is different from what you grew up with.  Who from Indiana wouldn't have jumped at an opportunity to reside in a daily paradise?  

What better place to get married as well!  This was from 2006 along the shore of Turtle Bay.  The north end of the island is a must see small drive to experience all the variations that Oahu has to offer.  If you catch it at the right time, you'll get to see amazing huge turtles to include some mean surfing competitions.

When you visit the southeast coast, you get to see one of the most popular tourist destinations on the island, Hanauma Bay.  It's a marine embayment formed within a tuff ring.  The word hana means bay in the Hawaiian language (the usual addition of bay in its name is thus redundant). There are two etymological interpretations of the second part of its name.^[4] One interpretation derives it from the Hawaiian word for curve, referring to either the shape of the feature or to the shape of the indigenous canoes that were launched there. Another stems from the indigenous hand-wrestling game known as "Uma".

No trip is complete without visiting Waikiki from the sandy beaches to the zoo to shopping and you cannot forget Pearl Harbor.  The Ala Moana Center is an open-air shopping experience from the well known brands to the most expensive tastes all the way to the unique boutiques.  Shop, eat and enjoy the wonderful ambiance with a drink at one of the outside bars for that extra island experience.

After you finish eating and you need that little extra oomph of exercise to work off the calories, check out Diamond Head.  It's a a volcanic tuff cone known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ʻahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridge line resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin.  British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook calcite crystals on the adjacent beach for diamonds, named it Diamond Head.  It's only a 0.75 mile hike but it's all uphill and of course, the trip down is much easier.

In 1968, it was declared a National Natural Landmark. In the early 1900's due to its height, was used as a military lookout.  It spans 475 acres.  For those who remember Magnum PI, it was also used in several of the episodes.

No trip to the island is complete without stopping to pay your respects at Pearl Harbor.  We lived near the Harbor and if we walked to the local stores, we could look down and see it along with all the ships.  It was truly an experience to think about that fateful day on December 7, 1941 when for the first time in American history, we were attacked on our own land.  All in all, 188 US aircraft were destroyed and 2,403 Americans were killed with another 1,178 wounded.

Before we left Hawaii for the mainland, we lived temporarily at IHG Army Hotel on Ft. Shafter.  I thought it was a fitting goodbye to such a beautiful experience.

If you visit Oahu, you will want to rent a car because exploring the island is a must.  The more you drive, the more you see!  Also, try to visit at least one other island while you are there!