Monday, April 23, 2012

Hawaii

It has taken awhile, but I am finally getting some Hawaii pictures posted.  Sometime near the beginning of October, Thomas' sister got engaged.  We were very excited for her.  She had said since she was small that she was going to get married in Hawaii, and she stuck to that. 

We got in to Hawaii at about 11:00 and it took a while to get to the hotel and get settled, so that first day didn't really count.  All we saw was the Alamo rental station and the hotel.

Day 1 was the wedding.  We had planned on going to session at the temple before the wedding, but due to me being sick on the flight the day before and Thomas feeling a little bit nauseous that morning, we didn't leave quite early enough.  We still left fairly early, but we took our time and didn't rush.  One of my favorite things about Hawaii was coming out of the tunnel that separates the South and North sides of the island.  It was amazing to be back in the sunlight with a view of the ocean and excessive amounts of green everywhere.  Since we were early, we stopped at one of the small beaches that line the road.  It was a small cove with no one else there.  When we got to the temple it was still really early, so we drove a ways up the North Shore. We felt overdressed for the beach there.








The Wedding was beautiful.  Everyone was amazed that we all came so far to support the happy couple.  The sealer shared several little known stories about the temple and how it came to be built. 

After the wedding we went to Papa Ole's Kitchen.  We took the food to the beach, where we did some additional photos. 

On the way back to Honolulu we realized that we had lost my dad's GPS that we borrowed.  We had been really careful with it, but there was some confusion on the way into the temple and we couldn't remember if we had taken it off the dash.  We either forgot and it was stolen, or it was dropped somewhere.  I was sick about it a good portion of the trip.  We spent a couple of hours the next day retracing our steps trying to find it.  Unfortunately it never showed up.  The good news was, the day we got back was Black Friday.  I got an identical one for about $40.00 less than my Dad had paid. 

After returning to the hotel that first night we decided to go for a walk.  We were about two blocks from the Waikiki beach.  We strolled down the beach for about 6 blocks and then came back through the shops.  It was a nice walk, but when we got back we realized we didn't have a key to our room.  The lady at the front desk was very helpful. 

Day 2:  We spent the morning at Pearl Harbor.  It was very interesting.  There was so much to see there and we only had a couple of hours.  We did go over to the Arizona memorial.  It was sad, but also... I am not sure how to describe it.  You see all those names of men who died before they even knew what was happening.  You see the oil still bubbling up after nearly 70 years.  I would definitely like to have a change to go back and learn more. 

After Pearl Harbor we headed back to Leia to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We were a little unsure at first how it was supposed to work, and what we were supposed to do.  There are seven different islands represented at each one they do a presentation at a specific time.  You have to follow the schedule, which we didn't realize at first.  My favorite part was the Canoe show.  They do traditional dances from each island on a canoe.  We also splurged on some really good ice cream.  In the evening we went to the Luau for dinner. I didn't like most of the food.  I did however enjoy the purple poi rolls.  After dinner was the big show.  Fire dancing is always fun.

Day 3: Thomas got up and went snorkeling.  I did not go.  I was worried about being cold and misserable. I really don't like being cold.  This was actually my birthday.  My brother and sister in-law invited me down to thier room for some birthday cake they had bought.  It was very nice of them.  After that I headed out to do some shopping.  I got some ornaments for the christmas tree.  I also got a couple of surongs and some makadameina nuts.  Once Thomas returned we checked out and headed to the Dole Pinaple plantation. Thomas loves pineapple, so this was a must see on his list, or rather it was a must taste. We ate lunch in cafe, which was fun.  I had a terriatky burger.  It was pretty good. I wasn't that impressed with the main part of the plantation. I don't know that the train ride was really worth it.  The botanical garden though was gorgeous.  It was fun to see so many exotic plants growing natuarlly.  They also have a giant hedge maze there that I wanted to do, but we were short on time. 

Besides being my birthday it was also Thanksgiving.  I was a little sad about missing the big day at home.  It is one of my favorite holidays.  I really like turkey.  Everybody met up dinner at a place called Chuck's Cellar.  After a small emotional incident while waiting for everyone to show up, Thomas and I headed down to the beach.  I felt bad that we hadn't really gotten a chance to just hang out on the beach.  I played in the surf while Thomas took pictures of the sunset.  After the sun set, we headed back to the restaurant.  My pants were wet, and it was a little cold, but I felt better.  I enjoyed the dinner, although it was the first time I had ever had fish for Thanksgiving.  Following dinner we did a bit more shopping then headed back to the rental car place and the airport. 

Despite a few momments it was a nice trip.  Definately too short.  It just means that I need to go back again.  I think everyone needs a little bit of tropic in the middle of the winter.

No comments:

Post a Comment