Paradise

Now that life is beginning to get back to normal and I have caught up with all of the laundry, I thought this would be a good time to finally recap our vacation. On September 17th, Chris and I flew to Hawaii for a well ended get-a-way. My sister, Kaylene, and her husband also went with us. Before I recap our trip, this vacation would not have been possible if it wasn't for our family offering to watch all of the kiddos. We are so grateful for my sister, Kimberly, who came and stayed with all the kids...I'm sure she will be greatly blessed for her perseverance. My mom watched Kaylene's kids at her house in the Tri-Cities. Thank you, thank you everyone who helped out! Elise you were awesome to be a 'floating' babysitter!

Day 1
The first island that we went to was Oahu. We landed in Honolulu at noon, got our rental car, checked into our hotel and headed straight to the Polynesian Culture Center. We had a great time going around to all of the islands and learning of their culture. It was very interesting and educational. We were able to watch a demonstration on husking coconuts, how to climb coconut trees, starting fires, how they built and decorated their structures and much more. After we had made it around to the islands, we headed over to our Luau. The food was okay and the pina colada fabulous! Oh, how I love my pina coladas. After the luau was the performance which was AWESOME! It was quite the show. My favorite part were the dances with fire....very impressive! After we left the Polynesian Culture Center we drove to see the temple. The temple looked beautiful with all of the spotlights shining up at it late in the night.

This was our view from our hotel room.

Day 2

After a good night rest and waking up at the crack of dawn, due to the three hour time difference, we headed to Pearl Harbor. We were impressive at the reverence we felt as soon as we entered the building. People were respectful, quiet and solemn. As we were on the boat heading over to the USS Arizona Memorial, a submarine was coming into the port. It was one of those touching experience to see all the sailors standing on top of the submarine anxiously awaiting to dock and get on dry ground. I've never seen our Armed Forces while on duty and it made me very grateful for my freedom and the sacrifice of those men and women who are fighting to protect my freedom. We also went on a tour of a submarine. It was amazing to see the tiny spaces that they live in for weeks at a time. In all, it was a day we will never forget.

After going to Pearl Harbor, we headed to Waikiki Beach for some tourism and fun. The water was warm and inviting. The shopping is incredible and the food tasty. We ate at a place called Cheeseburger in Paradise...very good. We would recommend it anyone going. It is in this cute little hut like restaurant with a great view of the beach.

Next we headed to the airport to catch a evening flight to Kauai. It was definitely the shortest flight that I have ever been on. It was quick!

Day 3
Kauai is a beautiful island that is the complete opposite of Oahu. It doesn't have all the tourism and is extremely low key. It was wonderful! We liked visiting Oahu for the Polynesian Culture Center and Pearl Harbor, but were happy to be getting out of there. It was not what I would consider as a relaxing Hawaiian vacation. Kauai is not considered a tourist island. It is a small island and due to land protection laws can only be developed up to 5 %. So, not only can they only develop 5 % of the island, they can not build anything higher then the tallest coconut tree. Life there is just slower and more relaxing.

We spent all of day three sight seeing and going on some hikes to see beautiful cascading waterfalls. We bit off a little more than we could chew on our hike. Not only was the hike longer than we were expecting, but we saw wild bores. It was all worth it though to see such magnificent nature. We also went to the beach to catch some waves. Chris even did some body surfing after making friends with one of the locals and getting some lessons.

Day 4


This was the best day ever!!!! Hands down the highlight of our entire trip. We loved, loved this. We went on a Na Pali Coast Expedition. This was a trip up the Na Pali coast on a zodiac raft. It you want adventure and thrill this is the ride for you. It was a absolute blast!!!! Do you know how much air a boat can get going 50 miles per hour over ocean waves....a lot! We were able to sit in the front of the boat, so there were times that I almost became one with the ocean with my near death experiences from nearly being bounced off the raft. Did I mention that we were not wearing life preservers? :)


As the guides took us up the coast, we were able to go in some sea caves and go under some waterfalls. We eventually stopped at a secluded beach and had the best catered meal I have ever eaten. It was delicious!!! Yum. Yum. After lunch, they took us on a tour of an ancient fishing village that was discovered about 15 years ago during one of their expeditions. It was fascinating to see how far technology has come and the way that people lived a few hundred years ago.

We had dozens of dolphins swimming around us and about six sea turtles....so cool!

Then it was off for some snorkeling! This was a first for me. I was a little timid at first, and convinced that there was no way I was getting in that water when they told us there were two sharks there. Guess what though....I did it and LOVED IT! I am still a timid snorkeler and prefer the shallower waters, but I had a blast. Unfortunately, our water camera didn't do a great job, so our pictures are not great. Oh well, it's still good memories.

After our day of bliss, it was off to the hot tub at the condo for some needed TLC. My body was so sore from my death grip on the rope of the zodiac. The boat ride up the coast is 2 1/2 hours and I usually don't clinch every muscle in my entire body for that amount of time. Needless to say, it hurt to move the next day...but still worth it!

Day 5
On Sunday, we went to sacrament meeting at the little branch in Hanalei. It was wonderful being able to see the native Polynesians and their traditions, and to know
that in reality we are all just children of our Heavenly Father. We can look, live, and act so differently but in the end we are all the same. Also, it is a comfort to be able to go church anywhere around the world and know that the church is the same. After church, we did a little more sightseeing and just had a lovely and relaxing day.

Day 6
Monday was spent doing a little sightseeing, going to Tunnels Beach and snorkeling. The water was warm, inviting and divine. The snorkeling was awesome. There were so many fish...big one's too. One of our favorite places that we went to was the Queens Bath. This is a natural water pool that has been created from the lava rock on the edge of the ocean. There is an opening for fish and turtles to get into and is a lot of fun. The scenery was breathtaking and a true testimony to God's magnificent creations.

Day 7

Tuesday we went to see the Spouting Horn, do some shopping, go on a zip line and Hideaways Beach. I think Chris found his calling in life doing the zip line. I have come to believe that it would be his dream job to open up a zip line company and also be able to be one of the guides at it. He was like a little boy there with no fear. The zip line consisted on 6 zips and two rope bridges, and you are up in the trees the entire time. The zips were not scary, but while you are waiting for the rest of your group and the next zip, you have to stand on this narrow platform that sways up in the trees. I do not consider myself to be scared of heights, but it was slightly unnerving. Everyone seemed a little apprehensive about getting too close to the edges of the platforms.....not Chris!
Day 8
Wednesday was a relaxed day of snorkeling and laying on Tunnels Beach in Hanalei. I also had my first experience with Shave Ice...love it! I had heard so much about it and it did not disappoint.
Day 9
Our last day, boo. We spent the entire day shopping, shopping and more shopping. They have great farmer markets on Kauai. We found some great stuff. Of course, we had to take a break and get another Shave Ice. It was a full day of shopping before we caught the red eye flight back home.

In all, we had a magnificent vacation. We enjoyed being able to get some quality time together relaxing under the Hawaiian sun. It went far too quickly. I guess we will just have to go again! :)