My first trip to Hawaii offered the kind of adventure that tends to be life-changing. My father, being an officer in the U.S. Navy, had been transferred there. And as a travel treat, he arranged to have our family sail to Oahu by luxury liner.

Sailing to Hawaii. On a luxury liner. What teenager wouldn’t enjoy that?

Our trip began one sunny day when a couple of my mother’s friends drove us to a San Francisco pier where we boarded the S.S. Leilani. Since there were six of us, we had to book two separate cabins. My mother, older sister and two younger brothers shared one, while my father and I were in another (in bunk beds, with me up top).

In those days, the late 1950s, passenger liners weren’t nearly as well-equipped as the fleets of giant cruise ships of today. I recall the Leilani had a small swimming pool, people played shuffleboard and I had fun exploring as much of the ship as I could access. There were nightly shows, too, though as a teenager I was never allowed to attend any.

After something like five days, we arrived at a Honolulu dock that, as I recall, sat right next to one of Honolulu’s best-known sites: the 184-feet-tall Aloha Tower. And this began the first of four years that we lived on Oahu. We spent our first year in the town of Wahiawa and – following a one-year sojourn to Rhode Island – we returned to spend the final three in Ewa (pronounced eh-vuh) Beach.

I began thinking about my years on Oahu when I read a recent New York Times feature titled “36 Hours: Honolulu.” It’s part of a regular series that features a number of international cities, with choices over the past few months ranging from Quebec City, Canada, to Antwerp, Belgium. (I didn’t read the Dec. 26 Palm Springs article until after I’d written my own couple of posts.)

Not that I’m a fan of such a format, which involves running around to try to experience everything a city has to offer in just a day and a half. I’ve spent months at a time in Florence, Italy, and every time I return I learn something new. But at least writing a story the New York Times way does give tourists a heads up as to what they might expect to experience, not to mention how long it should take.

And no doubt Hawaii has a lot to offer, Oahu in particular and Honolulu for sure. Yeah, the other islands are inviting, especially (for me) the Big Island, what with black-sand beaches, volcanoes, coffee plantations, rain forests and more.

Friends of mine swear that Maui is their favorite, and I’ve enjoyed times in what was Lahaina (long before the devastating 2023 fire), played golf in Kihei and driven the infamous Road to Hana. Kauai has ardent fans as well, and the helicopter tour that my wife Mary Pat and I took told us why. Molokai, too, has its attractions, particularly the Kalaupapa National Historical Park (site of the famous leper colony).

But the time I spent on Oahu was precious, and so every time my wife and I fly there – several times over the past three decades – I always make sure to spend some time revisiting places I remember as a boy.

The New York Times article was written by Martha Cheng, a writer whose claim to fame is that she “has lived in Honolulu for nearly two decades.” So, she has the standing to be considered an expert.

Cheng’s story is big on food, whether you pick up something to eat at Fort Ruger Market, order a meal the MW Restaurant located on the second floor of a car showroom featuring Maseratis and Bentleys or visit the Kaka‘ako farmer’s market and get pastries at the Wallflour Bake Shop. She also suggests feasting on Japanese and Okinawan dishes at Ethel’s Grill, though the place closed suddenly just before Thanksgiving.

She mentions other sites and activities as well, including the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Foster Botanical Garden, taking a guided tour of the architectural treasure Liljestrand House or basking in the view from the Pu‘u ‘Ualaka‘a State Wayside.

Strangely enough, Cheng avoids mentioning some of Honolulu’s more well-known tourist attractions. Yes, she does mention the chance to hike up to Diamond Head State Monument and to snorkel in the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.

But what about the one site that most people seek out: the Pearl Harbor National Monument? Or stopping by Iolani Palace, once the place where Hawaii’s kings and queens reigned? And remember the Aloha Tower? If you’re into shopping as well as eating, the place is now home to some 60 shops and restaurants.

One of my favorite things to do is simply walk around, either along Waikiki Beach or through Ala Moana Park. And, too, I like to explore a lot more than just the urban areas of Honolulu. I’ve spent time in Haleiwa and then up through the surfing sites of the North Shore. And I always return to Ewa Beach and to the school that should have been my alma mater, James Campbell High School. (And I would have had my father not been transferred to Norfolk, Va, where I ended up graduating).

It's hard for me to accept that my intro to Hawaii, by the Leilani, took place so long ago. And that I was fortunate enough to have experienced it. Our other trips back and forth were far less comfortable, with the six of us jammed into four-engine, propeller-driven airliners, which were hard to sleep in because of the roar of the engines.

Instead of those sounds, I prefer to recall listening to the crash of waves when, as a mere boy, I watched the sun set during hundreds of Hawaiian evenings.

The world is full of wonders. Nothing, though, can beat a sunset seen from a beach on Oahu.