This is a picture of me standing outside our hotel, the Ko Olina Marriott. Ko Olina is on the "leeward" side of the island, which means it gets about 1/10th of the rain that the windward side does. The mountains are pretty dry, but it's great to be able to look across to the other side of the island and see clear skies when the other side is getting rain. This particular hotel is located about 20 minutes out of Honolulu, and the original owners blasted four little inlets, or bays, into the beach, which are perfect for kids to swim in (and for snorkeling, if the fish decide to show up). It was a beautiful place to stay.
Forrest checking out a spiky pineapple at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Not only are the pineapples spiky, but so are the leaves on the bush. We went on a little train ride around the plantation and had some quite excellent fresh pineapple afterward.
This is Forrest at the bottom of Wiamai falls (and no, I don't think I spelled that right). We went on a pretty hike through the mountains and ended up at this spot, where there's a waterfall and a little pool you can swim in. Okay, so I mostly waded around, but Forrest went for a swim and sat at the bottom of the falls. They say they've had very little rain this year so the falls aren't as raging as they usually are, but it was fun to see nevertheless.
This is another shot of the beach outside our hotel. You can see the very corner of the hotel on the left hand side. It was fun to walk from bay to bay, and there was a little restaurant by the water where we had some great dinners and watched some gorgeous sunsets. As much as we wanted to come and relax, though, we didn't spend nearly enough time laying around on beach chairs reading books.
The two of us at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was fun to wander around and see so many good looking BYU students putting on such a great show. We especially liked the guy from Samoa who walked on fire and climbed up a coconut tree . . . and he was funny! What are the chances of being able to shimmy up a coconut tree barefooted and also engage in witty repartee with Japanese tourists?!?! So I hope he's paid well.
My windblown, vacationey look. Forrest and I took a catamaran breakfast cruise (and boy, were people grateful when the host asked if anyone didn't drink and wanted to donate their drink tickets to anyone who could hold their liquor! . . . :-). Even without the alcohol, it was a great time. The cruise was advertised as a "Dolphin Watching" expedition; unfortunately, though, there weren't any dolphins to watch (dang!). But we did see a huge sea turtle flapping past, and when we stopped to snorkel there were a ton of different fish to see. I was a little nervous about snorkeling because I hadn't done in years and years (and, at almost six months pregnant, not at the peak of grace). Unlike Hanauma Bay where a person gets to wade in gradually, here you basically jump into the ocean and go. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that once I put my head down and started kicking, I pretty much floated. I'm sure the six months pregnant part contributed to my buoyancy. I did get a good mouthful of saltwater to begin with, but I figured out the snorkel soon enough, and Forrest and I had a great time kicking around and looking at all the sea life.
This is a shot of the flag at the memorial aboard the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. It was a madhouse the morning we went--tons of tourists. At first I was surprised to see so many Japanese tourists there, but I suppose if I visited Hiroshima I would go see a memorial there, too.
Hanauma Bay, legendary tourist destination on Oahu. At first I wasn't expecting much. I vaguely remember visiting Hanauma Bay when I went to Hawaii with my Madrigal group when I was a senior, and didn't think much of it (apparently). (It's suprising and a bit disconcerting how little I remember of my Hawaii trip my senior year. I mostly remember 1. going to the Hard Rock Cafe, which isn't nearly as cool as I though it was back then, 2. My friend Natalie Foote getting sunburned, and 3. bringing a framed picture of Forrest to put on my nightstand because I felt guilty leaving him so soon before he was supposed to leave on his mission. Yes, I was 17.) Anyway, back in the day when I first visited, they allowed tourists to bring frozen peas and bread to lure the fish, and as many tourists as they could pack in, so the place was a zoo. Now, you can't feed the fish at all, which seems very reasonable to me--all that bread and all those peas clogging up the fragile reefs. They also limit the number of people there at any one time. I'm surprised they didn't implement these changes sooner. ANYWAY . . . this time, Hanauma Bay was amazing. The water was crystal clear, and it wasn't very crowded, so Forrest and I got to explore quite freely and saw an amazing variety of fish. My favorite was this huge, clown-faced fish that looked like she was wearing lipstick. Good times.
On the last day of our trip, we went to the Honolulu Temple. It's a gorgeous temple, set up on a hill with a huge path of flowers and palm trees leading up to it. The temple is nearly 100 years old and was the 5th temple built. It was a peaceful and relaxing way to spend our last day there . . . especially since soon after we were done, we headed to the airport for a three hour wait and eight hours of flying overnight to get back home (most of which I spent trying to sleep upright with my arms folded, trying not to bug the rather large stranger sitting next to me. Forrest I didn't mind bugging and had no qualms completely overtaking his armrest).
Although we both felt pretty hammered and jet lagged when we got home (and were both hit with--surprise!--a nice welcome home cold) it was a wonderful trip. We couldn't have done it without all the people who helped and watched the kids, feeding them, helping them with homework, shuttling them to soccer and football, and putting up with their general craziness. It was wonderful to spend time together just the two of us, especially since, in a few months, we won't have nearly as much "alone time" as we've grown accustomed to lately!
And to all of you reading this blog, I promise it won't always be this long!!
