June 17-25, 2010
Happy 10 year Anniversary to Us-- a trip to Hawaii!
I have wanted to go to Hawaii for as long as I can remember...Jason not so much. He went when he was 15 with his sister to see his grandparents--the Fords-- while they were serving a mission at the PCC. A little convincing, a long but pleasant flight (over 6 hrs and no lay over),and my dream soon became a reality...I was sitting on the beach in beautiful Oahu, Hawaii!
We decided since we never splurge on nice hotels, we were going to this time. So, we stayed at a beautiful Colonial style resort literally right on Waikiki's beach--the Westin Moana Surfrider. It was built in 1901 and had the most amazing architecture and character about it. 
Between the hotel and the beach is this huge "walking" Banyan tree...it's as old as the resort and every night there is a little stage set up and live music for the guests. It was cool. And it was also a great location--right across the street from the International Market, which had fun gifts and awesome food! (I'm glad one of the docs I work with suggested this hotel--it really was amazing!)
Everyone talks about the sunrise and sunsets in Hawaii....and everything they say is true! They are breathtaking! This was taken on the beach right outside the hotel.
Views from the "hotel beach" aka Waikiki were awesome. We watched surfers, catamarans, boats, and just people in general. We also just enjoyed laying on the beach in the morning, reading, relaxing, and just soaking up all the "vacation" we could.
As much as we enjoyed the fun chaos of Waikiki, we also enjoyed just getting into our car and driving. We found little seclusion as summer is a busy place in Hawaii, but we did find lots of places to just enjoy the beauty of island.
You only imagine a island of sandy beaches, but along the east coast, there are cliffs and rocky beaches. These pics are of Makapu'u Point. See the lighthouse at the top of the hill? Cool huh?!
This is a blowhole we saw--I never seemed to catch it at its grandest state.
Jason loved to explore the coast...the crashing waves have made such beautiful landscapes!
Of course there were beautiful beaches on the coastline, too! We stopped and swam, snorkeled, and rode the waves as much as possible...which meant every afternoon we were there! We loved it! We didn't take many picks of the beaches...guess we were too busy enjoying them! Some of the awesome beaches we enjoyed were Wiamanolo, Kailua, Turtle Bay, Wiamea Bay, Hale'iwa, and lots more that I can't remember (or pronounce) their names. The water was always awesome as was the weather. We got sprinkled on almost daily, but the shower was always welcomed since it was warm--87 or so degrees (which the locals thought was sweltering and we loved coming from 107 at home!).
Between the hotel and the beach is this huge "walking" Banyan tree...it's as old as the resort and every night there is a little stage set up and live music for the guests. It was cool. And it was also a great location--right across the street from the International Market, which had fun gifts and awesome food! (I'm glad one of the docs I work with suggested this hotel--it really was amazing!)
Everyone talks about the sunrise and sunsets in Hawaii....and everything they say is true! They are breathtaking! This was taken on the beach right outside the hotel.
Views from the "hotel beach" aka Waikiki were awesome. We watched surfers, catamarans, boats, and just people in general. We also just enjoyed laying on the beach in the morning, reading, relaxing, and just soaking up all the "vacation" we could. As much as we enjoyed the fun chaos of Waikiki, we also enjoyed just getting into our car and driving. We found little seclusion as summer is a busy place in Hawaii, but we did find lots of places to just enjoy the beauty of island.
You only imagine a island of sandy beaches, but along the east coast, there are cliffs and rocky beaches. These pics are of Makapu'u Point. See the lighthouse at the top of the hill? Cool huh?!
This is a blowhole we saw--I never seemed to catch it at its grandest state.
Jason loved to explore the coast...the crashing waves have made such beautiful landscapes! Of course there were beautiful beaches on the coastline, too! We stopped and swam, snorkeled, and rode the waves as much as possible...which meant every afternoon we were there! We loved it! We didn't take many picks of the beaches...guess we were too busy enjoying them! Some of the awesome beaches we enjoyed were Wiamanolo, Kailua, Turtle Bay, Wiamea Bay, Hale'iwa, and lots more that I can't remember (or pronounce) their names. The water was always awesome as was the weather. We got sprinkled on almost daily, but the shower was always welcomed since it was warm--87 or so degrees (which the locals thought was sweltering and we loved coming from 107 at home!).Diamond Head is a big volcano crater right at the edge of Waikiki. We hiked to the top and the views were amazing. It was crazy because it was totally a desert environment on the crater and just below you was the tropical isle. It was warm, so to cool off after the hike, we went to Hanama Bay (a nature preserve) where we snorkel and saw lots of tropical fish. There is tons of coral there and it was windy so the water was pretty choppy. We got pretty cut up and I swear I almost drowned (which Jason thought was rather funny). But overall, worth the trauma!
They say you have to go to a Luau while you are in Hawaii, so we took the advise and went to Germaine's Luau. A bit on the cheesy side, but fun and entertaining! The food was pretty awesome, especially the Kalua pork! We sat by some locals and enjoyed hearing their take on the island.
Of course we went to the USS Arizona Memorial also. It was a sacred, sad, and solitary place. Jason, my history buff, loved every minute of the experience. I love the sense of patriotism you feel at places like this....people gave their lives so we could enjoy the freedoms we have. We are so blessed to live in this country. I truly enjoyed it, but have to admit that our next stop--the swap meet at Aloha Stadium was a little more on the fun and light side.
The USS Misouri sits next to the memorial and also there is a submarine, the Bowfin and the Pacific Air Museum. We opted to visit the Air Museum while we waited for our time to go to the memorial. The museum was small, but the planes were amazing.
Sunday came quickly and we went to church there in Honolulu. Their building was built during the war by the people. It was amazingly ornate, complete with mosaic of Christ on the front of the building and reflection pool. Their service was also cool, as their bishopric was being released and a new one being instated.
Another cool destination was the Nuuanu Pali lookout. The mountains around you are just straight up and down and covered in vegetation....and the WIND! It's crazy windy every where there, but in just the right spot the wind is so strong, you can barely stand! We guessed maybe 50-65mph!
Check out that wind:
Amazing views from the lookout:
We also went to Punchbowl or The National Cemetery of the Pacific. It was a beautiful, peaceful place that told stories of so many killed, lost or missing in action. Like the USS Arizona, you couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for this great country.
Food in Hawaii was good, but different than we expected. Everything consisted of some meat and 2 scoops of rice...this seemed to be the staples there. We ate at some local hole in the wall places that had been recommend like the Rainbow Drive In, Zippy's, and L & J's. Plate lunch is the choice, but the loco moco was Jason's favorite: rice, hamburger patty, egg, all covered in brown gravy! I loved the Malasada's from Leaonards bakery: awesome filled doughnuts. Another favorite was the shaved ice at the famous Matsamoto's in Hale'iwa--so soft and cool! We also ate at a few fancy places like Duke's--which was cool because it was right on the beach. Our favorite had to be eating at the shrimp trucks--Giovanii's and Blue Water Shrimp Co. The shrimp was amazing and we even found one that had awesome fish tacos! Yummy!
The best "tourist attraction" on Oahu has to be the Polynesian Cultural Center in La'ia. Of course we probably are biased a bit as this cultural amusement park is ran by the church, but is every bit as awesome as everyone says....and if you only do one big thing on Oahu--this has to be it!
The parade of the islands is cool--the dancers are all amazing and fun to watch!
This boat actually made a long voyage--it was built in the ways of old and has no nails! Cool.
I got a tatto at the Figian village. Cool huh?!
We even visited the little chapel Gram used to play the organ in at the PCC...brought back lots of fun memories for Jason!
The night show "Breath of Ha" is nothing short of amazing! It incorporates all the styles of dance from the different islands and things that they are known for like fire twirling, poi ball swinging, etc. It truly was awesome--we loved every minute of it!
Something I really wanted to do while we were in Hawaii was see sea turtles, well we not only saw them, we swam with them on 2 different occasions! The turtles are much bigger than you think they are. They just eat and swim along and they really are fast! We saw them coming up on to this "beach" to eat as we drove by and so we stopped and jumped out to see them. Jason found one by the big rock in the middle of the bay at Wiamea--he only had 3 fins but seemed to do just fine. (Wiamea is cool--people jump off the cliffs into the ocean there.) Then, on an overcast and then rainy afternoon, we swam with lots (maybe 10 or so) at the Hale'iwa Beach...it was cool because we were pretty much the only people on the beach (guess its cuz sharks come out when it is overcast--we didn't find this out till later!).
I loved how beautiful the vegetation was there--beautiful hibiscuss growing everywhere. Much prettier than the cactus and weeds of home!
We also went to the temple in Laie. Unfortunately we weren't able to do a session or anything becuase it is being renovated. It is scheduled to reopen in October. Bummer for us, but it was a beautiful and peaceful place.
The sister missionaries give you the beautiful flowers to put in your hair when you walk up. Very sweet! 
One of the coolest past times we found in Hawaii was hiking to waterfalls. It was great--we would hike and be hot in the morning and then cool off at the beach in the afternoon. We went on 2 diffrent waterfall hikes. The first to Maunawili Falls, were we found ourselves with about 30+ other people at the falls when we got there. The falls were tall, but small and people were jumping from the cliffs above into the pool at the bottom. It was crazy! It was 1.5 mile hike each way and not the easiest, but very cool. It was neat to be in the middle of a rainforest.
We also hiked to Manoa Falls, which is not too far from the University of Hawaii. It was a much shorter and easier hike- only about .8 miles each way. It was just as dense of vegetation though. Manoa Falls were even smaller, but still very cool.
Another fun tourist destination was the Dole Plantation. We rode the little train and learned all there is to know about pineapples. It was a fun place, but I loved eating the frest pineapple and pineapple whip ice cream the most!
All in all--it was one amazing vacation! We loved every minute of it...well, maybe not the redeye flight home, but everything else was close to perfect. I don't think we even missed home much, except for the kids! It was great to just be the two of us with no worries and no definite plans and just hang out and enjoy ourselves. We almost never do anything alone so I loved it just being us--a couple. That life seems so long ago and so different. We are so blessed...to have each other and to have our little family!
They say you have to go to a Luau while you are in Hawaii, so we took the advise and went to Germaine's Luau. A bit on the cheesy side, but fun and entertaining! The food was pretty awesome, especially the Kalua pork! We sat by some locals and enjoyed hearing their take on the island.
Of course we went to the USS Arizona Memorial also. It was a sacred, sad, and solitary place. Jason, my history buff, loved every minute of the experience. I love the sense of patriotism you feel at places like this....people gave their lives so we could enjoy the freedoms we have. We are so blessed to live in this country. I truly enjoyed it, but have to admit that our next stop--the swap meet at Aloha Stadium was a little more on the fun and light side. 
The USS Misouri sits next to the memorial and also there is a submarine, the Bowfin and the Pacific Air Museum. We opted to visit the Air Museum while we waited for our time to go to the memorial. The museum was small, but the planes were amazing. 
Sunday came quickly and we went to church there in Honolulu. Their building was built during the war by the people. It was amazingly ornate, complete with mosaic of Christ on the front of the building and reflection pool. Their service was also cool, as their bishopric was being released and a new one being instated. Another cool destination was the Nuuanu Pali lookout. The mountains around you are just straight up and down and covered in vegetation....and the WIND! It's crazy windy every where there, but in just the right spot the wind is so strong, you can barely stand! We guessed maybe 50-65mph! 
Check out that wind:
Amazing views from the lookout:
We also went to Punchbowl or The National Cemetery of the Pacific. It was a beautiful, peaceful place that told stories of so many killed, lost or missing in action. Like the USS Arizona, you couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for this great country.
Food in Hawaii was good, but different than we expected. Everything consisted of some meat and 2 scoops of rice...this seemed to be the staples there. We ate at some local hole in the wall places that had been recommend like the Rainbow Drive In, Zippy's, and L & J's. Plate lunch is the choice, but the loco moco was Jason's favorite: rice, hamburger patty, egg, all covered in brown gravy! I loved the Malasada's from Leaonards bakery: awesome filled doughnuts. Another favorite was the shaved ice at the famous Matsamoto's in Hale'iwa--so soft and cool! We also ate at a few fancy places like Duke's--which was cool because it was right on the beach. Our favorite had to be eating at the shrimp trucks--Giovanii's and Blue Water Shrimp Co. The shrimp was amazing and we even found one that had awesome fish tacos! Yummy!The best "tourist attraction" on Oahu has to be the Polynesian Cultural Center in La'ia. Of course we probably are biased a bit as this cultural amusement park is ran by the church, but is every bit as awesome as everyone says....and if you only do one big thing on Oahu--this has to be it!The parade of the islands is cool--the dancers are all amazing and fun to watch!This boat actually made a long voyage--it was built in the ways of old and has no nails! Cool.I got a tatto at the Figian village. Cool huh?!We even visited the little chapel Gram used to play the organ in at the PCC...brought back lots of fun memories for Jason! The night show "Breath of Ha" is nothing short of amazing! It incorporates all the styles of dance from the different islands and things that they are known for like fire twirling, poi ball swinging, etc. It truly was awesome--we loved every minute of it!
Something I really wanted to do while we were in Hawaii was see sea turtles, well we not only saw them, we swam with them on 2 different occasions! The turtles are much bigger than you think they are. They just eat and swim along and they really are fast! We saw them coming up on to this "beach" to eat as we drove by and so we stopped and jumped out to see them. Jason found one by the big rock in the middle of the bay at Wiamea--he only had 3 fins but seemed to do just fine. (Wiamea is cool--people jump off the cliffs into the ocean there.) Then, on an overcast and then rainy afternoon, we swam with lots (maybe 10 or so) at the Hale'iwa Beach...it was cool because we were pretty much the only people on the beach (guess its cuz sharks come out when it is overcast--we didn't find this out till later!). 
I loved how beautiful the vegetation was there--beautiful hibiscuss growing everywhere. Much prettier than the cactus and weeds of home!
We also went to the temple in Laie. Unfortunately we weren't able to do a session or anything becuase it is being renovated. It is scheduled to reopen in October. Bummer for us, but it was a beautiful and peaceful place.
The sister missionaries give you the beautiful flowers to put in your hair when you walk up. Very sweet!We also made a stop at the byodo-in temple . It is a replica of a Buddist temple in Japan and has this huge Budda inside. I ran the awesome bell and we checked out the millions of coy--that were huge--they had in the ponds around it. It was a neat place.
One of the coolest past times we found in Hawaii was hiking to waterfalls. It was great--we would hike and be hot in the morning and then cool off at the beach in the afternoon. We went on 2 diffrent waterfall hikes. The first to Maunawili Falls, were we found ourselves with about 30+ other people at the falls when we got there. The falls were tall, but small and people were jumping from the cliffs above into the pool at the bottom. It was crazy! It was 1.5 mile hike each way and not the easiest, but very cool. It was neat to be in the middle of a rainforest.We also hiked to Manoa Falls, which is not too far from the University of Hawaii. It was a much shorter and easier hike- only about .8 miles each way. It was just as dense of vegetation though. Manoa Falls were even smaller, but still very cool. Another fun tourist destination was the Dole Plantation. We rode the little train and learned all there is to know about pineapples. It was a fun place, but I loved eating the frest pineapple and pineapple whip ice cream the most! All in all--it was one amazing vacation! We loved every minute of it...well, maybe not the redeye flight home, but everything else was close to perfect. I don't think we even missed home much, except for the kids! It was great to just be the two of us with no worries and no definite plans and just hang out and enjoy ourselves. We almost never do anything alone so I loved it just being us--a couple. That life seems so long ago and so different. We are so blessed...to have each other and to have our little family! I think the kids missed us just a little--I know we missed them. A day didn't go by that we wouldn't say to each other "The kids would so love this." Reagan and Travis did love their souveniers though--Reagan loved her jewlry, flowers, hula skirt and coconut bra and Travis loved his ukalalee, his Hawian shirts, and the chocolated cover macadamian nuts!
7 comments:
What a great trip and wonderful pix Amanda. Thanks for sharing them. Seeing the PCC brings back lots of memories for me.
Looks like you had an amazing time. Awesome pictures.
Heidi
Looks like you had an amazing time. Awesome pictures.
Heidi
Happy 10 years! Can't believe it has been that long already. What a perfect way to celebrate. I am glad you guys had a blast and got such great pictures :)
I'm soooo jealous, I would LOVE to go to Hawaii!! Looks like you guys had a great trip. Who watched your kids?
Like Dana your pictures and descriptions brought back a lot of memories for me.
I'm so glad that you guys took the time (and money) to go...it's so important to have some "couple time" in the midst of our busy lives.
Thanks for sharing with us!!
Wow, what an amazing trip! You guys packed so much in! And the pics are great!
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