Hey Easytraveler,
Do you live in the Islands??

1975 and my first impression was "I wonder if Heaven is this fantastic." Been back many times and I still love that first warm breeze with the plumeria smell....and I am still wondering if Heaven is this fantastic. Just nine days to go till my return.

My first memory of Hawaii? Seeing the beautiful lights of Honolulu come into view, at eleven at night, after "floating in outer space" for so many hours. :-) And then the wonderful scent of flowers in the air as we came off the plane ........ and then someone who would become a very good friend draping a plumeria lei around my neck. Sweet memories........ ((r))

My husband and I were both in the Army and were transferred to Hawaii for three years, in 1977. I was sitting in a window seat on the right when we arrived, breaking through the clouds just in front of Diamond Head and then flying along Waikiki Beach. It looked just like a postcard. When we left the plane, the first thing I noticed was the smell of flowers. One hour later we were checking into our hotel on Waikiki Beach (Army temporary lodging!) and walked out onto the beach. The smell, sound, view of Diamond Head - it was just wonderful. We were more than ready to "get off the rock" three years later, but that initial impression was unforgettable.

I've returned several times with my two kids, who were born there, but nothing has compared with that first landing!

Don't know what I was thinking - it was 1981, not 1977!

I was hiking the NaPali Coast and fell off...I made a lasting impression on Kauai.

& the grand canyon of the Pacific was formed ((?))

No...that's when Mrs Kal dropped a penny down a hole while at the top of "Mt Waimea". #-O

Aloha... this might be long... but quite memorable...

My cousin was a supervisor for UA and gifted DH & I with 2 flight coupons anywhere in the continental US, OR HAWAII!! for photographing her wedding... what the heck... Hawaii it was. We purchased one ticket for myself and DH and our son would fly standby. We check in at ORD... all the luggage goes by under my paid ticket, and much to our surprise as they check in on the coupons, cousin has not signed the vouchers. They are stuck, and I am on my way w/ ALL OUR LUGGAGE! DH says, "Honey, make the flight, we'll catch up with you! Uuuuhhhhh! Cousin is in England... her phone line busy, and I must head to the gate to catch the paid flight. I am truly sweating as I race to the gate.

Flight takes off... I am alone. I said a prayer and committed to not worry or be anxious, just trusting God to get my boys to Maui somehow! My one request was for Him to send someone to help me with ALL of the luggage!

That was it. I relaxed the rest of the flight and landed in Maui calm and relaxed. At baggage claim I watched in anticipation of a miracle! :D Sure enough, an attendant came up to me asking if he could help. YES, he could! (little did he know!!!) He watched my bags and fishing poles as I hopped a shuttle to get the jeep we had reserved. I came back w/ the wheels and he helped me load up all of our luggage.

Off I sped to north Kaanapali to the Papakea Resort, all by myself... the sweet smell was intoxicating! I rounded the cliffside curves with the top down and the wind blowing through my hair like a schoolgirl. I was giddy, and thrilled, feeling in some weird way that I was "home"... my boys?... I had no idea, but I was in HAWAII!!! I just knew it would all be alright.

I arrived at the Papakea, standing at the check in desk, and a gal says, "Are you Mrs. Robinson?"

"Yes."

"There's a phone call for you..."

I pick up the phone, and DH says, "Aaaaalohhhhhhaaaaaa!"

I shout, "Where are you?"

He says, "We're in Honolulu, taking off in a few minutes... pick us up in an hour."

Wooo Hooo!!

I dump the luggage, and head back to the airport... winding along that gorgeous strech of road along the ocean to pick up my boys for our first taste of the islands. I'll never forget the energy and praise for them getting there so soon. This was truly a blessing!

Nothing will ever compare to that first time! Honestly, I could smell that sweet sweet smell in the plane, even before we landed... heaven! @};-

41 years old, with wife and two kids plus mother-in-law.American Airlines, 5 hours out of LAX. I spot mountains coming out of the sea. I will never forget.

I had spent a couple of hours when I passed through Hawaii to fly overseas to reach the ship I was assigned to.

But, my real first impression of Hawaii was when the ship returned to Pearl Harbor after a long deployment including many months off the Vietnam coast.

When we got close to Pearl Harbor, we lined up on the railings of the ship. We could see Diamond Head, Waikiki and Honolulu off to the right.

As we entered Pearl Harbor, a tug boat came to meet us and draped a huge lei across the bow of the ship.

As we got farther into the harbor, the Arizona Memorial was off to the left.

There were hundreds of family members and friends waiting to greet the ship. A navy band was playing music and there were several Polynesian girls dancing hula.

Mahalo you guy's! Some of these post's actually bring tear's to my eye's...

Lori

One more time....

My first trip was to Oahu in 1994. My wife, who had been there many times before, always told me how beautiful it was. I was like, nice weather is the same wherever you are. I was so wrong. I couldn't believe the smell or the open air airport when I got off the plane. Later that first day we went to the Ala Moana mall. It was so cool that there was no roof on the place and there was one of those soft sun showers coming down. We've been back 6 times since then and no other place compares. In fact I've become a beach snob. I can't go to the Jersey shore, Outer Banks or anywhere on the east coast without thinking the place looks like a dump compared to Hawaii .

Dusty, thank you for your memories. Having so many military members in the family who also experienced Hawaii I truly appreciate your post. Take good care.

Hi, luvmaui!

I live in California.

Love to visit the islands, but heard too many stories of "island fever" to want to move there. There are only so many times one can drive around an island before it gets to you! :)

Aloha luvmaui,

This is truly one of the best threads I've enjoyed about Hawaii... close to tie is the "Why I love O'ahu too" thread... reading these posts really puts you there... if you close your eyes and breathe deep no matter where you are... you can be there!! ((R)) Many many mahalos to everyone who has shared... for this lovely thread. Aaaalllohhhhhaaaaaa! ((L))

Finally went to Kauai after 50 years of life and 30 years of marriage in 2000. We decided this would be our one and only chance to see Hawaii so we'll splurge. Needless to say we were planning our second trip on the way home.
We had arrived rather late and went straight to Kiahuna Plantation and crashed. I woke up in the morning after it had just finished raining and the sun was out making everything look clean and new. We walked through the most beautiful landscape with the most incredible smells I'd ever experienced and arrived at a beach with colors I've never seen. I live on the Pacific and see beaches routinely but this beach didn't seem to belong to the same ocean.
No matter how many times we return ( it will be our fourth trip this July) it never ceases to amaze me. Mahalo for sharing, Harry

My first Impression:

Some guy grabbing me by my feet,holding me upside down and whacking me on the back.Then he says,"He does'nt look a bit like the milkman!

I had always wanted to go to Hawaii and last August, my husband and I went for our honeymoon. Flying over Oahu and seeing Waikiki was simply amazing...that bright blue water and fun hotels lining the sand! When we got to the Outrigger Waikiki, we were upgraded 2 categories from City View to Full Ocean View for being honeymooners!! This was a great perk for us. The view from the lanai was absoloutely breathtaking...seeing that view was our first glimpse of Waikiki and it was beautiful. We loved our time in Hawaii, after 2 nights in Waikiki, we visited the Big Island and Maui, and loved them both.

We initially looked at this as the trip of a lifetime, a one time deal. My husband started talking about returning for our 20th anniversary, and I just smiled and kept quiet, knowing we couldn't wait 20 years to return! Sure enough, when it came time to decide where to go for our 1st anniversary, we both wanted Hawaii. This summer, it's off to Oahu and Kauai ((r))

FIRST impression was in 1972, passing thru' on the way to Singapore via Tokyo. Had been told to not check baggage all the way ... so there we (colleague & I) were retrieving baggage from an open air carousel at Honolulu (where I thrust postcards and $ into someone's hands and asked them to mail them - she did) after our non-stop from Dallas on Braniff's only 747 and then, due to our connection, being escorted (rushed) across the tarmac itself to our connecting flight by someone very pleasant.
Twenty-eight years later finally got to go as a tourist and have been hooked ever since :)

Thank God, we are so lucky Hawaii is part of the United States of America. That post about the fellow returning from 'Nam to Pearl Harbor brought tears to my eyes.

I've had a lot of Fun with this thread. Thanks to all of you for sharing your memeories with us... I've just got 6 more day's to go, and I will be leaving for my 10th trip to Hawaii. I'll come home with a LONG, and detailed trip report, I promise!
Lori

December 1954, walked off a Pan American flight onto the tarmac in my new dress, high heels, and stockings and into the arms of my young husband whom I hadn't seen for the year he had been stationed in Korea. I do vaguely remember the beautiful scenery, too.

carolyn,
What a Beautiful memory. I'm all teary eyed Again!
Lori

Carolyn - That was nice.

And thank you to those who mentioned my earlier post in this thread 'returning to Pearl Harbor from a long deployment'.

There are thousands uniformed men and women throughout the country that are currently being deployed or returning from a long deployment.

If any of them are your family members or are your friends, give them a good send off and greet them upon their return.

And on this coming Memorial Day remember those Veterans that are no longer with us.

Dusty, that was a good comment. Yes, lets remember all our heros, as they are one way or another, this Memorial Day.

Hawaii is special to our family, from my late BIL and SIL who were at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th, to every other relative who went from and returned to Hawaii during our wars.

Carolyn, your post brought tears to my eyes also. Thank you for sharing your precious memory with us.

Perhaps this is why Hawaii is so special to me, besides the beauty of the islands, the people, the ocean breeezes, the lush greenery etc. And although the island of Hawaii have certainly changed over the year the history is precious.

LoveItaly:
Very nicely said. Thank You, for your thoughts.
Lori

My first impression of Hawaii: Romantic! It was our 25th wedding anniversary dream trip and it did not disappoint! The sight of the blue ocean and the Arizona Memorial from the plane plus the smell of the flowers that hit us in the airport was a great start. But when we got to our room and went out onto the balcony to enjoy the ocean view, I literally cried from joy! I'd never seen anything as beautiful except in pictures. Everyone was SO friendly! We've been back again 2 times and are going for our 4th trip there in June!!

I love this thread!

I was 13 in the early 70's. I thought Hawaii was for only "old people" and "touristy" so when my dad made plans, I wasn't too excited to leave my friends at home.
We flew to Oahu and my first impression was definitely how wonderful it smelled. We stayed at the military barracks on Waikiki where the walls were paper thin and my sister and I had our own room. We were in paradise. The barracks I have heard are gone now, replaced by a luxury hotel, but the little shacks left irreplaceable memories.

Other memories: The taste of the pineapple in Hawaii (unbelievable), driving around the island in our convertable Mustang and making our dad put the top up because our hair was getting messed up (he was so disappointed), the rain showers which lasted only long enough to cool us off while sunbathing (bliss), the sunburns and peeling and buying the grass matts and the lava God in the International Marketplace. I am going back for the first ime since 1971 this October. I hope it hasn't changed too much!

Bump Up!

What a great thread!! It makes you feel like you are there...and some of these have put a lump in my throat.

My first memory was during a family trip in July 2003. I expected swaying palms and lush green areas. We stepped of the plane and i thought, "this is it?". It looked so dry and plain. The airport was a little outdated and there was no green or beach in site. Little did we know what was ahead. After our drive to Kaanapali around those beautiful oceanside curves we knew we were in for a great trip. When you actually see the ocean for the first time it will take your breath away. We had an amazing time. We loved our room, grounds and employees of the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. To me, that place is "hawaii". We were thinking at that time that this would be a "once in a lifetime opportunity". Who were we kidding? It gets in your blood and becomes a part of your every fiber. We went back 18 months later with a different set of family in tow. They too became infected with the Hawaii fever and we are planning our return next March. It is truly an amazing place...

My husband bought me a couple pieces of jewelry and some "maui rain" perfume while there. It is funny how wonderful those make me feel. Anytime i wear the jewelry or perfume it takes me back to that wonderful trip.

First impression on first trip (1990) was less than positive, since we were completely new to Hawaii and had no idea what we were doing. The first thing I remember is deplaning in Honolulu and having the humidity hit me like a brick wall. We got our rental car, waded through terrible traffic, checked into our hotel, went up to the room and were greeted by a 10' x 8' box (I'm not kidding -- there wasn't even enough room to walk around the bed to the "bathroom"). Horrified, we first spoke with the front desk (who was no help whatsoever) and then with our travel agent, who got us transferred to another hotel -- and a room that was 11' x 8'.

The rest of the trip was ok, especially the north and east shores of Oahu which we loved.

Before going back to Hawaii we made sure we did lots of homework.

I'm jst back (yesterday) from my 10th trip to Hawaii, and 7th to Maui. I love it as much as I did on the first experience there. You are so right, it gets in your blood.
We visited Makawao for the first time this trip, and fell in love with it's little town charm. I'm coming to love the Upcountry more, and more...
Enjoy.
Lori

Rainbows!
Beautiful sunsets that sizzle into
Heavenly tropical smells
We took my children and my parents a few years ago before my Dad got sick. He always said he wanted us to leave him there to live out his remaining years. He has since passed and I like to think that he is there now in paradise.

We flew into Lihue, and I was so excited b/c I have wanted to visit Kauai for the longest time. Kauai has such dramatic scenery.

To be a downer, my first impression of Maui was disappointing. It was cloudy when we flew from Lihue to OGG, so we didn't see much from the air. We got into our shuttle, left the airport, and the first thing I saw when I looked up was...a Starbucks! Then a Borders, then another strip mall! This is not how I pictured Hawaii!! Where where the palm trees? The lush greenery? Further into our trip, we saw the deep green along the Road to Hana, and the pretty beach at Makena. But it took us a while to discover the special places.

For manyyears as my Husband suggested Hawaii, i bauked saying " We have been to Florida and the Bahamas, how can it be so different. Ocean, sky, palm trees? Then finally we went. If I ever doubted that there was a God, Hawaii was evidence for me that he exsists. Who else could have created such incredable beauty? This will be our thrid trip! :-)

Our first trip to Hawaii was in September 2004 when we got married on the island of Oahu. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The lodging was nice, but we didn't feel like it what Hawaii should be like. It was almost with reluctance that we returned in Feb of 2004, this time to Kauai. And finally we found the tropical place that was in our thoughts for so many years. It was such a delight! We are contemplating a return trip to Hawaii for February 2006, maybe to Maui. But now we've been spoiled. I'm afraid that we will find it too plugged in with the rest of the world. Possibly we'll do a week in Maui and then break our own rules and return to someplace a second time -and experience another unforgettable trip on Kauai.

WoW,

I've been away, (Maui) and I'm surprised to see this still on the board.
Thanks all.

This thread keeps popping up, something about the topic won't let it die! Same with me, Hawaii has been unforgettable right from the first visit, which for me was 1980. As a first impression I remember the open air atmosphere of the airport, and the moist, tropical smells and plants.... and the cute local girl slipping that lei over my head. Had a great time, and knew I'd be back. The next visit was 1989 with my wife, about 6 months after we were married (we honeymooned in the Canadian Rockies, but Hawaii was right at the top of the list for a must-do trip.) We came in at night, the Saturday before Easter, and drove up to Turtle Bay Resort (Hilton, then). It rained the whole way up there, and was windy, about as awful as it gets in Hawaii. My wife's first visit to the islands, and she didn't say anything, but I bet she wondered what she was in for..... In the lobby, we saw where they had an Easter sunrise service out on the lawn, the next morning, and we decided to go for it. It started early enough that it was dark outside, so you couldn't see the ocean, but the morning was incredible, and the temperature perfect. A gorgeous sunrise, revealed big waves rolling in, with the breeze blowing spray off the tops of them, and we found ourselves in a luscious green and flowered paradise, with the blue Pacific all around us. It was pretty hard to not "get religion" in that setting! It must have been a great “indoctrination” for us, as we have been back another three times since then. We just returned in April, from Maui and Kauai, and after a little side-trip to Molokai this time, have now made it to 6 of the islands. Will we return……….? How could we not?!