So, while there are many things I need to post to get caught up, I have had numerous requests for pictures from our trip to Hawaii. So, let's skip all those other posts and get right to the good stuff...
Last summer, Jeff and I celebrated our ten year anniversary. We had talked about doing a big trip to mark our first decade, but it wasn't a good time (what with me being pregnant and sick and all), so we sort of agreed to wait until our 11-year and go somewhere then. We went to Maui on our honeymoon, but Jeff had never been to Oahu, so when a trade became available (via our Marriott timeshare we own in Park City), we jumped at the chance to stay at the Ko Olina Beach Club for seven nights.
Fortunately for me (and more fortunately for my kids), my parents agreed to come and stay at our house with the kidlets while we were gone, and judging by the pictures my mom took, they had a fabulous time. Those pics can be a post later on.
Jeff and I flew from SLC Saturday morning (after getting back from our Fall Break Moab Trip the night before). We had a layover in San Francisco, and were supposed to leave CA at 6:00 pm, arriving in Honolulu at 8:44 Hawaiian time. Our flight was delayed, however, and wasn't supposed to leave until 7:00. AND the flight before ours, set to leave at 12:45, was also delayed. We got on the standby list for the earlier flight and were the last two to get on, which meant we got to Hawaii even earlier than we had planned! Unfortunately, our luggage didn't get on the earlier flight (even with the 2 hours United requires to make the change) and didn't end up getting there until 11:20 pm! We checked into our resort and planned on resting for a while and then going back to the airport (about 30 minutes away) later that night to pick up our bag. We didn't make it, though, because we were so exhausted (there is a 4 hour time change for us) and fell asleep while we were waiting. We ended up having to go back Sunday morning to pick it up, which ruined our plans of attending Sacrament meeting.
We spent the day getting lost several times (the freeways were not labelled as well as we hoped they would be) before finally making it to Pearl Harbor to see the sites. We were too late to do everything we wanted to do, so we just saw the museum and took the boat over to the USS Arizona Memorial (The Arizona was one of the battleships we lost during the attack and it is still visible beneath the surface of the water. There is a memorial built right on top of the battleship, and it still smells heavily of oil and gasoline). It was very cool and definitely a very solemn experience. We also saw two other families sporting BYU apparel. What else do Mormons do on Sunday in Hawaii? Haha.
Monday morning we went back to Pearl Harbor to tour the USS Missouri, the battleship where the war with Japan was ended in 1945. We got there early (one of the perks of the 4 hour time change--I couldn't sleep past 6 am any day we were there) and had our own private tour before the rest of the crowds got there. It was amazing and such a cool experience. Here is one of the rare pictures I got Jeff to pose for, standing in front of the "big guns," that shot missiles 23 miles. Impressive.
You can see the USS Arizona Memorial in the distance from this picture taken on the battleship. It looked like a partially melted cube of butter. Not sure why it was designed that way.
There was a dentist office on board and Jeff peeked in to see what the conditions were like. Not great.
We spent the afternoon at our resort, wondering how in the world we got so lucky. It truly was amazing. I posted this picture on Facebook from there. That was also when Jeff told me he would pose for ONE picture with me the entire trip and ask someone to take it for us. Isn't that nice? That night we took advantage of being kidless and went to see Footloose at the movie theater. It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.
Tuesday we took the scenic route to the North Shore. It's amazing to me how different the island is at different locations. We stopped and did a session at the temple and stayed to do some sealings. The temple was even more beautiful than I remembered (my sis said it was recently remodeled, and you could tell), and I even got Jeff to pose for a picture with me with our camera on timer. He must have been feeling the spirit. Haha. We then found Ted's Bakery and had a good lunch before stopping by Turtle Bay to look for turtles. We didn't see any. Then we snorkeled at Shark's Cove (and spotted an eel!) and jumped off the 30 foot rock at Waimea Bay. We got a shave ice from Matsumoto's (with ice cream, no beans or condensed milk) and drove back to our resort through the pineapple plantation. It was a super fun day.
Try to focus on that itty bitty pineapple here and not my white thighs, mmkay?
Wednesday we drove to Hanauma Bay and did some more snorkeling. What an amazing place that is. On our second time, we saw a sea turtle. It was right below us, eating off the coral just like in the movie. We stayed and swam with it for the next 10-15 minutes and it was really the highlight of my day! Maybe the highlight of my trip. I did have a little run-in with some coral (it is really shallow in spots and you have to get past the shallow stuff to get out to the good stuff), which put a little damper on the day. After we had had our fill of sun and water, I changed out of my suit and drove over to "hike" Diamond Head Crater. It was a short hike, mostly consisting of steps to the top. But the view of Waikiki was amazing and definitely worth it. Jeff took a really cool panoramic picture with his camera and I'll add that eventually when he edits it.
FYI-This is the one pic we asked someone to take for us. It doesn't begin to do justice to the beautiful crystal clear water.
Thursday we spent the day at Waikiki. We got there in the morning and rented an umbrella and two chairs so we could people watch. That was a lot of fun. We played a game where we tried to guess whether tourists were American or European. It was harder than American or Asian? We had a late lunch and went back to our resort for our massages. That was heavenly and I could have done that every day. We got the new X-Men movie from Redbox and watched it in our room. Well, I fell asleep about halfway through, but it was after 9:00 pm after all!
Friday morning we got up and went to the driving range at the gorgeous golf course near our resort. That was a lot of fun and made me want to take some lessons so we can golf together. We went back to our resort, sat by the pool and then went back in to watch the BYU game. Then, after admiring a gorgeous sunset, we went to dinner and to another movie, this time to see Puss in Boots. Jeff thought it would be fun to see it WITHOUT kids. It was funny. Not as funny as the previews made it look, but still. We were at our second movie in a week without kids. How could it be bad?
Saturday we had to check out at 10:00, so we got up and got ready. Then we went to the swap meet at the stadium and got all our goodies. We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at the resort, feeling sad that it was already time to go. Jeff took some more awesome pictures (coming soon, I hope) and I finished reading The Help for the second time. I loved it just as much as the first time. We showered at the fitness center and headed back to the airport to take the red eye home. Oh, it was so hard to come home. We had the BEST time. It was so relaxing and I could sleep, not wondering if someone was going to wake me up during the night. We could eat when we felt like it and basically do anything we wanted to do.
I HIGHLY recommend a week long vacation without children. If not Hawaii, go somewhere you can relax. But if you can find a way to do it, I recommend Hawaii. It was magical. And we want to go back again next year (maybe Kauai next time!). And the year after that....
(this was one more that we set up with the timer. About Wednesday, Jeff came up with a game. He said we could each choose two things the other person had to do. I wish he had come up with this game on Saturday. I totally would have picked "pose for any picture I want to take." We would have had a LOT more pics of the two of us. And because we started the game so late, we each only got one thing from the other. I guess that's something else to look forward to next year.)
