Hawaii Day NINE...

I actually don't have any photos from this day.  We woke up early to take Sara and Cory to the airport.  We then had a few hours before our flight, so we headed back to the hotel.  We went to the pool -only it was a little chilly and cloudy/sprinkling - so we didn't stay long.  Checked out and we decided to head back over the the Swap Meet because 2 times just wasn't enough.  =)  Then it was time to drop off the rental car and head to the airport for our two day trip home.  We had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back!

Hawaii Day EIGHT...

We woke up early to pack up the house. Took some final pictures and headed down to Honolulu. We spent the rest of the day in Honolulu just doing some shopping. Headed over to the Aloha Bowl Swap Meet again and the International Marketplace in Honolulu (basically a more expensive version of the swap meet).

We were so glad that we hadn't spent our vacation time in Honolulu. It was soooo tourist-y, busy, and horrible traffic. We checked into the Hotel Prince Waikiki. Really nice hotel, with gorgeous views of the marina. We had gotten a Groupon to a really nice Italian restaurant called Sarento's at the top of the Ilikai hotel. We actually had to make RESERVATIONS. I can't remember the last time I ate at a restaurant that required reservations. It was only a couple of buildings over from our hotel, but he had a little bit of a hard time figuring out which building it was exactly. While on an elevator in the wrong building, we ran into a local who helped us find the right place. In fact, he walked us right over to the entrance to the elevator that takes you up to the restaurant. Yes, the restaurant has it's own dedicated elevator. We ended up walking through the hotel's pool area that was being set up for some fancy shmancy party to promote some product. If we weren't with that local guy, I'm sure we would have been thrown out from that area - but he just waved all the people off and we walked through. He said that we needed to come back the next day because they were throwing a big preview party for the series Hawaii Five-O there with Iron Chef Morimoto. Too bad we were flying out the next day. At least the Morimoto part.

Dinner was soooo yummy. We had some really really good food while we were in Hawaii. I especially liked the restaurant in Hilo and Sarento's the best. Sara would say Papa Ole's was where it's at. I personally loved to eat at Surfin' Tacos practically across the street from our rental. Basically it was Cafe Rio. Then there were the yummy treats at Ted's bakery. I was surprised that I actually liked the chocolate haupia pie (it has coconut milk in it). All very yum! Next up - our very last day. *sniff*

Hawaii Day SEVEN (yup still posting about it)....

Friday was the last day we spent in our rental house on the beach.  We got up early that morning and headed to Laie beach.  There is a little island off the beach there called Goat Island.  Sara, Cory, and John ventured out to the island.  They could almost walk the entire way.  I stayed back on the beach to keep an eye on our stuff.  It started to make me nervous as time went on because the waves were really kicking up on the back side of the island.  I was worried that someone would venture off the beach on that side and get in trouble - but of course, everyone was smart and made it back safe.

I found a little "friend" on the beach that kept me entertained.  The beach was covered with "sea stuff" and yes, that is the technical term.  All of this sea stuff made for some great food for our friends the Ghost Crabs.  Ghost Crabs are pretty much clear in color, and up to this point, I think I had only seen a few on the beaches around Hawaii.  Laie beach was full of them!  It freaks you out the first time you see one, because you can't see them until they move.  And usually they are quite tiny.  My "friend" was a pretty big one that kept peeking up out of his hole... then would run and grab something and run back.  I would have to stay very still to keep from scaring him away.  Sara and John made it back before Cory did, so they sat and played with the crab with me.  It was amazing how the crab could sense movement so well.  I was sitting about 10 feet away, and it could tell if I moved.  We thought it would be funny by throwing stuff at it to see if it would run away.  It was sitting on the edge of it's hole, and I picked up a sea shell and threw it at it... and you know what? It ran out and CAUGHT the shell.  No joke.  We spent probably a half hour throwing things at it.  Too funny.

After Laie beach - I believe we went back to Turtle Cove and snorkeled some more.  Ate some lunch and headed into Haliewa to shop.  We stopped at a place called Turtle Beach where a lot of turtles tend to congregate and actually come up on the beach.  There are special volunteers called Honu Guardians that keep watch over the turtles to make sure that people leave them alone.  I couldn't believe how many turtles were swimming around out there.  Three were beached while we were there.  

This is Isabel and Punahele - and the Honu Guardian told us that they were not "together" together.  Haha, how do they even know that?   It's cute.

Do you see that in the wave?  Yup, that's a turtle surfing!

We shopped at some little shops in Haliewa and ate some dinner and more Matsumoto's Shave Ice.  Then headed home.  I don't have a lot of photos from this day - so I think that my recollection is right, but I could be wrong.  I reserve the right to amend this day's post!

Hawaii Day SIX...

On the sixth day of our vacation - John and I booked a flight over to the Big Island. Sara and Cory stayed back on Oahu. We arrived early in the morning, rented a jeep and headed out to explore. We flew into Hilo, which is a little bit of an older city with a more local feel. The first thing that we noticed was that the airport was an "outdoor" airport. It is much smaller than Honolulu of course. The walkways between the terminal and the baggage area were enclosed, but with one wall open to the outside. There was an immediate humid feeling and beautiful smell - some sort of flowers growing there. Much different than the Honolulu airport. We knew we would enjoy it here immediately. We headed out not far from the airport to Banyan Tree Drive. It is an area where many years ago numerous banyan trees were planted by dignitaries, celebrities, religious leaders and other notable people. My great great grandpa Heber J. Grant has a tree there - so we had to take a picture.

We then took a scenic drive up the coast a bit to Akaka Falls. Such an amazing and beautiful drive. There were trees rising high above us and covering over the narrow road. So much greenery everywhere. Ferns growing up the trunks of the trees. Amazing. We hiked to Akaka Falls which was so pretty. There was also another falls on the hike, Kahuna Falls. It is a little further away from the viewpoint and harder to see, but beautiful as well. This is the stuff of postcards people!

amazing lush green wall all along this road

viewpoint on the scenic road to the falls

postcard picture of Akaka Falls

After our hike - we jumped back into the jeep, grabbed some lunch, and headed out to Volcanoes National Park. We had hoped that there might be some active lava flows somewhere - but not the day we were visiting. Unfortunately our camera battery died shortly after arriving - so the pics I have are from my cell phone. We first stopped at the rim of Kilauea's Crater. You could steam erupting from a vent in the middle. There was steam all along the edge. Cool! We drove and looked at a few other vantage points of the crater. Then we checked out the Thurston Lava Tube. Lava tubes are sort of like caves formed from flowing lava. The outer edges crust - leaving the center hollow. It was pretty neat. This is where our camera died.

going into the lava tube - last pic before the camera died

looking down inside a crater (those little white specs are people)

We then visited some other crater areas and then decided to head to the other side of the park. We drove out to where there are some petroglyphs in the lava field. We hiked out over lava until we came to the place where there were what looked like holes with circles around them. We learned that these are places where ancient Hawaiians would bury the umbilical cord of their children in some sort of ancient ritual. Very interesting. (pics coming from cell phone)

Then we drove out to the end of the Chain of Craters Road. It use to circle around the park - but now ends where a large flow of lava has covered it. There is a sea arch here as well. We walked out the edge of the ocean - where it is a sheer cliff down. All over are signs that say "Do not stand here" - even though it is a clearly man-made lookout. The signs warn that the lava shelf could collapse at any time. If you lean out a little you can see the sea arch that has been made by the ocean carving into the lava shelf. I have to admit - I was nervous and did not stand here long. (pics from cell phone coming!)

After this place - it was time to head back to Hilo. We were going to try to attempt to see a black sand beach. The closest/best one was about an hour or so south of Hilo. We started the drive, but figured it would most likely be dark by the time we arrived, so we turned around and headed back to Hilo. We had a guidebook with us that mentioned some restaurants to try in Hilo. We settled on one that seemed good -Hilo Bay Cafe. It was in a strip mall next to Walmart. We were not expecting what we saw when we walked in. The hostess asked if we had reservations. It was a small but obviously upscale restaurant that was quite busy. She told us she could fit us in, but that we might have to leave if the next reservation arrived. We told her we would be quick and that was fine. Boy, did we feel underdressed after hiking all day as well! The food was absolutely fantastic! John had some fresh fish (Opaka paka I think?) that was delicious. I had a ratatouille of fresh veggies with a pastry crust. YUM! After dinner - we drove around a little bit and headed back to the airport for our flight back to Oahu. What a long fun day!

Hawaii Day FIVE...

What a beautiful morning! We planned to spend the day in Honolulu visiting the Pearl Harbor memorial. As we drove into the city - it was raining and waterfalls were pouring over the mountains. So pretty!

can you see the thin streams of water coming down from the top of the mountain?

It was a perfect overcast day to walk around the memorials and learn about all that happened on that dreadful day not so long ago. We toured the Bowfin submarine, visited the Arizona memorial, and also the Missouri battleship. It was a great reminder of how much we are indebted to those servicemen who serve our country so selflessly. How much we take our freedom for granted sometimes!

a underwater diving suit in the museum

model of the USS Bowfin

from the shore looking towards the Arizona memorial

the USS Bowfin submarine

commemorating the end of WWII on the USS Missouri

check out those guns!

gasoline still leaking from the underwater USS Arizona

Arizona memorial with the names of all those who died that day

After the memorial, we headed over to the Aloha Bowl Swap Meet - a great place to pick up some cheap souvenirs. They were starting to close up, so we decided we would probably need to come back a 2nd time. We took a drive around the other tip of the island and stopped at Kailua beach. A note about the beach restrooms we happen to visit: many of them do not have doors on the stalls. Yes, including the women's toilets. And they smell lovely.

view of Flat Island off of Kailua Beach

On the drive back to our home - we stopped at the Valley of the Temples. It's a cemetary that also has a very neat japanese buddhist temple called the Byodo-In. It was so beautiful and peaceful there. We luckily arrived just before it closed. One of the traditions is to ring the gong once before entering the temple. (John had the honors - see the video). There is a large golden buddha in the center of the temple. The grounds have beautiful koi ponds and lovely bonsai trees. It was a perfect end to our sightseeing day.

view from above as you walk in the entrance

the biggest koi I have ever seen - watch out mr. goose

really beautiful and serene

quite large buddha

interesting black headstones...quite a contrast when they were wet from the rain against the really bright green grass

And the long awaited gong video:

Hawaii Day FOUR...

The house that we stayed in was very close to the LDS Temple in Laie. We headed up there and did a session in the morning...had some lunch, rested, and got ready for our day at the Polynesian Cultural Center (also in Laie).

huge ginormous hibiscus flowers on the temple grounds - really like twice the size of my hand

beautiful view from the front steps of the temple - looking out all the way to the ocean!!

someone had just gotten married - that's why there are people hanging out in the background

We had heard that you just HAD to go to the PCC, and do the show and the luau. We opted to do our own self-guided tour. Honestly....we were very under-whelmed. We had already seen some of the beauty of the country of Hawaii- and felt like the PCC was waaaayyyy too commercialized (and overpriced). It was Polynesian Disneyland without the rides (and a lot less fun). They always remind you that they are "students" working their way through college, etc - and constantly offer you overpriced desserts or photo opportunities. It almost feels a little like begging. The luau was honestly not very good, and they closed the buffet by us almost immediately after we got our plates. No chance for seconds (not that we wanted any!). The luau entertainment felt very "vegas". However, the evening show was actually quite good and entertaining....so if we were ever to go back I think we would just opt to see the show. Now, if we were staying in Honolulu - a trip to the PCC would probably be very neat and interesting... just wasn't our Hawaiian experience at that point. We were glad that we were staying close by since the show didn't get out until quite late, and it would be an hour drive back to Honolulu.

enduring the luau entertainment

greasy faces after a long hot day

our cheaper version of the photo op complete with fake waterfall background minus the random hawaiian attired student workers

loved these tiki guys

Self portrait at the evening show. One of my favorite pics of the entire trip because we did the self photo, turned the camera around to look at it, and noticed the girls making silly faces in the background. We then turned around and laughed with them. I thought it was great!

A couple of videos from the canoe river show we saw right when we arrived:

Hawaii Day THREE...

I don't have as many pictures from this day as we spent most of it in the water. Day THREE was scuba diving day. We got a deal from Living Social for a 4 hour intro scuba lesson on the cheap. I was so excited and really looking forward to this! Unfortunately - my ears severely plugged up on the flight over to Hawaii. I was hoping by day three they would be better and I tried everything. I was non-stop taking decongestants, antihistamines, ear drops... all to no avail. Well, they don't let you scuba dive if you have plugged ears - something about your head blowing up, no biggie. I was bummed, but since John wasn't going to scuba either (for liability/gear issues) - we got to snorkel instead. Cory and Sara would still scuba.

We sat through all the instruction however, and our dive guide was great. It was just the four of us going although we joined a larger group on the boat. Apparently the dive shops in Oahu all rent the same boats...we had our own little designated space on a bench. Some pictures of the shore as we rode out into the bay:


Cory and Sara had to practice clearing their masks (which is a handy trick for snorkeling too btw) before they were allowed into the water. It is drilled into you that you never take out your regulator (the thing in your mouth) even if you have to puke. Little did they know that would turn out to be useful information......haha.

showing how to descend on the rope

The instructor pours water into your mask, while you have the regulator in your mouth.

Then you have to push on the top of your mask while you blow through your nose, which forces the water out the bottom.

Sara's first attempt (notice that Cory's shirt is soaked - he had to do it a few times before he got the hang of it).

She did it!!

John and I really enjoyed the snorkeling - in fact I think it was my favorite place we snorkeled. We snorkeled at a location called "Turtle Cove" I believe... just off the Waikiki shore. The turtles apparently hang out at this reef to be cleaned. They sort of pull into slots in the reef like a car wash and wait while the cleaner fish do their job. While we were snorkeling a turtle swam right up to us - so close that we had to back away or we would run into it. Turtles are protected, and you are not supposed to pursue them, or touch them. However, if they swim up to you, it's ok if you sort of hang around. It swam by us for quite awhile until another loud snorkeler came up and scared it off. Really LOVE the Honu as they are called in Hawaiian.

John and I waiting to head out snorkeling and John pretending to be sick - which he was later.

Cory and Sara enjoyed their scuba dive, however it made Cory quite seasick. He luckily held it in until they surfaced at which point he "chummed for fish" as John said. John also was a little seasick, so we passed on going to the next diving/snorkeling spot...and headed to shore.

We had a nice lunch at Ala Moana beach, and then decided we all felt good enough to try out some more snorkeling. We headed over to Hanauma Bay. It's a large protected bay that you can pay to snorkel. We got there late enough in the afternoon that we got in for free. I did not enjoy snorkeling here because the water was quite cloudy and the wind had made the water very choppy as well. I had a bad snorkel that wouldn't clear very easily...and that combined with the poor visibility and waves....made it quite unpleasant. The reef is very very close here, and when a wave would come, it would push me into the reef. Since I couldn't see well, it made me nervous, and I was having some mini claustrophobic type panic attacks. I had to quit early. The others quite enjoyed it though. There is quite a bit of aquatic life.

We headed back home after a long day in the water, had some dinner, and called it a day. Next up day FOUR!

Hawaii Day TWO...

John was up early with the sun that 2nd day (see: not adjusting to time difference). Beautiful sunrise - but I was fine to miss it.

He did have some company though!

Where are we? Oh yeah, HAWAII!!

First thing in the morning - we wanted to try our hands at snorkeling. We went to a nice little beach/cove area in Turtle Bay called Kuilima Cove. It's a pretty protected cove area with quite a bit of marine life. Very nice small beach too. I wasn't really sure I was interested in snorkeling at all - but thought I would try it. I spent just a few minutes trying it out and quite enjoyed it! It wore everyone out - so we rested for a bit on the beach.

John diving in!

Cory completely worn out.

Next we drove further north around the coast to Waimea Falls. We hiked up to the falls through some gorgeous garden areas. So beautiful and relaxing with some very interesting vegetation.

John was the first one to volunteer to swim to the falls. I wasn't going to - but after watching him make it there, decided I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. How often do you get the chance to swim under a waterfall? Boy is that water powerful coming down! You have to really exert yourself to get over to the falls (especially without any kind of life preserving device). Once you were right by it, the force of the water plus not having much to hold on to (see sidenote below) made it even more difficult. The rocks are quite slippery - and sort of cave inwards, so there is not much of a foothold/ledge to stand on until you get right underneath the falls. Thank goodness John was already there to help me! Sara and Cory you really missed out!

*sidenote: there were probably 4 or 5 unsupervised little kids just hanging onto the rocks near the waterfall. They did not want to let anyone get their chance in there. A little bit annoying - but you can't be annoyed for long - you are in HAWAII swimming under a WATERFALL!

We ended that 2nd day with dinner in Haliewa and a stop at the famous Matsumoto's Shave Ice. Wasn't impressed the first time - but learned that it was the flavor(s) we chose. We tried again later in the trip and thoroughly enjoyed the SOUR flavor(s). Starting to make ourselves get used to the 4 hour time difference a little bit. I think we might have even stayed up until 8:30 this night!