I have been trying to get this post done for awhile now, but man, I have been so busy that I never quite have enough time to get it done. ( And just a warning, it's a long post, but I just had to get it done and threw it all together.)
Corey and I, along with our good friends Kurt and Shadoe, took a trip to Hawaii. We have been home for over a month now, but I still find myself imagining I'm still back there. It was such a beautiful, amazing place and I miss it. If it hadn't been for the fact that I didn't have my kids with me, I could have stayed forever.
We started our adventure early on a Friday morning and flew through the night to Hawaii.
I have only been on a plane once before, that I can remember anyway, so a long flight made me a little nervous, but we survived. The plane was full though so the sleep was really not the best.
We landed and grabbed some breakfast and then boarded a small plane for Maui. Maui was our home for the next five days. I loved it there.
We headed straight to the beach.
I love to sit at the beach, especially when I have good company, but I am really not a fan of going in the water. Whenever I've gone before the water was freezing and just seemed dirty, but Hawaii beaches lured me in. The water was warm and so pretty I couldn't resist.
The next morning we got up bright and early to catch the sunrise on Haleakala. I thought we were driving to the top of the earth, we just kept climbing and climbing up the crater, but it was spectacular (and cold) at the top. Unfortunately it was cloudy so our view was not quite what we wanted, but still a spectacular way to start a morning.
(The thing that was so amazing about Maui and surprised me,
is how diverse the island is. There are the beautiful beaches, but then you can find
jungle, forests, and everything in between.)
Afterwards we set out to find some redwood trees. Kurt had purchased a guide book that led us on all kinds of adventures. This particular one resulted in a 6 mile hike. I don't love to hike, on the way out I thought I was going to die, but it was also just amazing.
This whole trail was damp and slippery. We heard wild pigs along the way and I was convinced one was going to jump out at me, but that thought kept me going.
Now these redwoods may not be as impressive as other places, but they were in Hawaii so that just makes them impressive on their own.
(I look quite scary in this picture, but I'm just glad it was taken before we started our hike back, I was quite a mess by the end of that.I'm just kicking myself for not getting more pictures of us actually cleaned up while we there. Almost everything of us is during our hikes or fresh from the beach.I also have a lot of not so good phone pictures because I just couldn't take my nice camera everywhere.)
After our hike we set out on a beautiful drive around the north side of the island. It was on a 2 lane highway and we went through some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Little villages and spectacular ocean views. Pictures just can't do justice to the beauty of that drive. ( I was also not the best photographer, I was just so happy to be there, I kinda forgot about everything else)
We even found a blow hole on the drive. Corey, Kurt and Shadoe hiked right down to it. I'm not gonna lie I was spent from the mornings hike. The walk down was rocky and super slick and since I have the weakest ankles ever, I wasn't going to risk killing myself. But even from a distance it was spectacular.
We ended the day at a beach watching the surfers catch some waves and caught the sunset over the ocean. It was truly a day in paradise. Hike and all.
The next morning we got up and went to sacrament meeting. Then we went to a fruit stand and sampled some fresh coconut. The lady who ran the stand was pretty fierce with a machete.
Of course all the fruit was just amazing there.
The we spent the afternoon on the beach again soaking up the sun. Corey did some snorkeling and even saw a sea turtle. I couldn't quite bring myself to get down under water though to go with him. Just getting in was kind of a big deal for me.
The next day was a rough one too. We decided to drive to another part of the island and check out another beach. Kurt did some surfing while the rest of us enjoyed some more sun and sand.
(a little side note, while we were sitting in the sun on this beach, some kind of shady people were behind us most of the time and it turns out they were dealing drugs. It was quite interesting. It was not what I was expecting while on my Hawaiian vacation)
That afternoon we took a walk through several shops, had lunch and I had my first ever taste of shave ice. It was to die for and I having been craving it since. We had to take the opportunity while we could and enjoyed several of them while we were on the island.
We did some more shopping and touring around the island. We always ended each day with a delicious dinner somewhere.
On Tuesday, Kurt and Shadoe headed out for another hike/trail in search of a good snorkeling spot. The trail was along lava rock the whole way and I knew it would be a sprained ankle just waiting to happen for me so Corey and I decided on another beach day. It was rough. I read all morning on the beach, then we found a great taco place overlooking the beach, and then went back to the beach for the afternoon. Did I mention how rough it was?
I don't think I could ever get tired of the view though, I was just so pretty everywhere.
On our last day on Maui we decided to drive the highway to Hana. That was another spectacular drive. We stopped along the way to take another hike to see some of the waterfalls that are hidden from the road.
Shadoe will love this picture, but this was what the first part of the hike was like, we were hiking through walls of bamboo then the trail opened up hiking along the rocks to the side of and over the streams. I lost count on how many times I slipped and my shoes were soaked by the end. It was a rough hike for me, but another experience I'm so glad that I didn't miss even if I was soaked, sore, and looked down right scary.
Can you see Corey?
I lost my lens cap somewhere in that bamboo.
See all the boulders? That's what the hike was like. One of the final waterfalls required swimming through ice cold water to reach it. I opted out of that part. Getting in the ocean is one thing, but getting in freezing cold dirty water is another. And since it was the off season the waterfall ended up being just a trickle. Kurt slipped and broke his thumb trying to get a picture and Corey and Shadoe both ended up with bug bites from something in the water so I was not sad I stayed behind for that part.
The drive itself is just amazing. Waterfalls everywhere and it's just so green and beautiful. It's a very, very windy road though, not for the faint of heart, or for those who get motion sick and don't take Dramamine before heading out.
That day had been cloudy and rainy so on our way back we stopped to look at the huge waves that were crashing in. It's hard to tell how big the waves were because we were watching from up above on the roadside, but the waves were huge. HUGE. We all just watched in awe.
It was such an perfect way to end our time on Maui.
The next day we heading to the airport and flew to Oahu. As soon as we landed we headed to the Hawaii temple and did a session.
After we went to the Polynesian cultural center for a luau and to see their amazing show.
The next day, Kurt and Shadoe opted to have a beach day and Corey and I headed to Pearl Harbor. That place is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. There is such a feeling there and I was so glad I had the opportunity to see it. Although I was kicking myself, I forgot my big camera and had to make due with my phone.
The first thing we did was take the boat ride out to the USS Arizona memorial.
I felt like the list of names went on and on. Such a tradegy, yet such an amazing memorial to their part of history. One thing that amazed me what how much oil is still being spilled into the harbor from the ship even after all these years.
Our next stop was to tour the USS Missouri. We spent hours there and probably could have spent more time there.
It's overwhelming to see this case full of dog tags and see the photos in this ship. The quote on the wall says it all.
One of the highlights of the day was while we were on the deck we got to witness them bringing to submarines. Watching the soldiers in uniform, standing on top of the sub, while they were being towed in was such a lucky opportunity, truly once in a lifetime. I felt truly proud at that moment.
Pearl Harbor is huge. There was so much more to see that we just didn't have time to see. Neither of us realized that you really could spend a couple of days there to see all that is there. But we felt so blessed to see and experience what we did.
Our last day in Hawaii was pretty uneventful. I actually woke up not feeling too well and spent the morning in the hotel room. Corey spent a little more time on the beach. We went to lunch and finished some souvenir shopping along Wakiki,. Then we met some friends for dinner. The Zellers were in our ward until they were recently stationed in Hawaii. It was great to see them for the evening.
That night we had to say goodbye to paradise and head home. We had such a good trip. We loved having such good company and have such good memories to share. I loved it there and hope to make it back there again sometime. I was really happy to be home though. I missed my kids and was ready to have them back. I'm so blessed to have such great in-laws and parents who were willing to come and take such good care of them. It really meant a lot to be able to go and not worry about things at home.
