Days 1-3 Oahu
We stayed at a hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. This was our fabulous view. Saturday morning we ran 4 miles along the shoreline then took off our shoes and walked along the beach and in the water. It was heaven. I wish I could finish every run like that.
Friday we went to Pearl Harbor. I loved it so much. There was so much to learn and see, and there was a very respectful feeling there. I guess that's the right word. It's hard to describe. 
Standing on the USS Arizona Memorial. It sits right on top of the sunken battleship. That white buoy over my shoulder marks the front of the ship.
Looking down on the ship from the Memorial.
The anchor from the USS Arizona.
Showing off our pretty flowers. Wondering if the lady in the background is about to punch her kid?
Go America.
We had to stop at the Dole plantation on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center so Casey would stop whining about having fresh pineapple. Not sure if it was worth the stop, but it did stop his whining.
Polynesian Cultural Center. They start off at 2:30 with a canoe parade. All the different islands have a canoe they perform on. It was amazing.
Watching the canoe parade. We were VIP, so we got taken care of pretty well. Good seats at everything, plus a tour guide who had us for the day. She made sure we didn't miss anything worth seeing. P.S. it was all worth seeing! Loved it.
All the different islands showed some of their culture.
Our tour guide. Can't remember her name. She was adorable.
We had some time before the night show (which was AMAZING, by the way). So we went around the block to the temple and BYU Hawaii.
Days 4 & 5 Maui
First morning of the cruise. I think Casey and I were feeling pretty excited. We couldn't sleep so we got up at 5:15 and went on top of the ship to see the sunrise. Check out my super strong hair gel. It was actually super windy, but not a bad view.
We rented a car and drove the Road to Hana, which is a popular tourist attraction. It was the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. We drove to the Black Sand Beach, spent a little bit of time there, then drove back and stopped along the road to hike to some waterfalls a local had told us about. By the way, if I was to do it again I would forgo all tourist-type attractions, find me a local, and bribe them to tell me all the things we should do and see that the tourists don't know about.
There were frequent pull off spots where you could check out views like this. Not bad.
On the Black Sand Beach. It was beautiful, but there were so many people there, it kinda ruined it.
The hike the local told us about took us to four different waterfalls. We had to leave Casey's parents behind for an hour or so. I wish we could have stayed all day.
The trail was through this forest of bamboo.
At the end of our hike.
At a beach on Maui. Do you see Casey? He's hard to miss.
Still see him?:)
Heading back after a day at the beach.
Our room had a balcony. Super awesome. It would have been way more awesome if our neighbors hadn't been smokers.
Day 6 Hilo, Hawaii
We got on a tourist bus and spent the day sight seeing, with most of our time being at Volcanos National Park. There were steam vents all over and tons of old lava. We walked about a quarter mile through a lava tube and that was very cool. Except there were too many people. I was sure starting to get sick of tourists. And no, I don't consider myself one.
Day 7 Kona, Hawaii
Home of the Ironman World Championships! Kona seems like a very cool place, although we didn't get to see nearly as much as I wanted to.
We took a much needed break from ship food and had lunch at Pancho & Lefty's mexican restaurant. It was the best food I've ever had. Or maybe I was just getting really sick of ship food.
That night we dressed up for a fancy dinner. It was nice to get out of swimming suits and tank tops.
Aww, so pretty.
Days 8 & 9 Nawiliwili, Kauai
See the houses overlooking the beach. Yeah, I want me one of those. We went running up around there and tried to find them, but we never did. We did find a golf course and the airport. After our run we went and soaked our feet in the ocean. I'm tellin' ya, that's the best thing in the world.
Kauai is the wettest of the islands, therefore the greenest. It was beautiful.
I loved this place. An old sugar cane plantation built in 1935, 14,000 square feet, restored and with 40% of the original furniture. It was where we went to an amazing luau.
First we took a train ride around the many acres of orchards, gardens, and animal fields.
See how much fun I'm having?
Getting ready for the luau. My sunburn was hurting so bad I was trying not to cry all night.
At the luau. Good food, great entertainment.
Our last day it poured, so we pretty much stayed on the ship till it was time to leave. The island was so beautiful! I wish we could have seen so much more. If I were to go back I think I would definitely choose Kauai.
Meanwhile, back at home:
Caleb had his last t-ball game.
The kids went to a luau of their own.
There was plenty of bike riding and playing outside at Grandma's.
Playdough girls.
Caleb got sick.
The kids went to a swimming party at the pool.
This kid grew like a weed.
On a phone call with me & Casey.
Fort night.
Beckham & Paige trying to bust out of the house.
Beckham helping pull weeds.
Picking some strawberries, getting even cuter, if that's possible.
They decided to move the trampoline over by the slide so the kids could jump off.
Resulting in Jada landing on Paige and breaking her leg.
We're so sorry, Paige:(
1 comment:
No one commented on this? Weird. I meant to but I must not have. Hawaii pictures make it look like a blast. It would be so nice to do it sans kids! And poor Jada and Paige and the broken leg :(
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