Hawaii Day Four: Oahu

So... Saturday morning we got up and flew to Oahu for the day. (I just love saying that- I flew somewhere for the day.) We started off at Pearl Harbor which was interesting and sobering all at the same time.

view of Memorial from Welcome Center

I mean there was a survivor there. I can't even fathom experiencing a tragedy as that and how that must live with you every single moment of every day of the rest of your life.

The USS Arizona still sits submerged under the memorial

Pearl Harbor was a monumental loss for America but it also caused America to enter WWII which ended up costing 300,000 American soldiers lives. I think the America we live in today is a different place than the one in 1941.

The flag always flies at half-staff

After Pearl Harbor, we drove up the center of the island to the North Shore. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Maui Mike's. They serve a fire-roasted, rotisserie chicken that is absolutely amazing. I rank it as one of the best meals of my life. This is the #1 reason I want to return to Oahu.

Can you spot the two sea turtles playing?

We stopped off at a beach and got to see the sea turtles playing.

And we found the set of LOST! They weren't filming then though :(

We finally made it around the eastern side of the island down to Diamond Head. We didn't realize you had to hike to get to the top and that they recommended an hour and a half for the round trip. We arrived an hour and fifteen minutes before it closed in sandals and me in my dress but we decided to try anyway. We flew up the trail in 20 minutes sacrificing one of my sandals in the process. The view of Waikiki was totally worth it.

Hot and sweaty from our hike up the crater

View of Diamond Head from Waikiki Beach

We had reservations at Duke's on Waikiki Beach and we were ready to eat. Our meal at Duke's was delicious especially the oreo crust, macadamia nut ice cream pie topped with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and mac nuts that our waiter gave us for free! Def best dessert of the trip.

Surfers at Waikiki

After dinner, we headed back to the airport to fly back to Kauai. We arrived back around 11pm and had more than an hour drive back to our place. I tried so hard to stay awake to help Jonathan but he said I kept falling asleep in the middle of talking! Sorry babe. Thanks for getting us home safely.

Hawaii Break: Winning Presents!

A couple of months ago, I won two contests on the internet like within a week of each other. It was a lucky week. I should have bought a lottery ticket.

First, I won a contest on Jacob & Sara's blog. I don't even remember what it was- maybe it was just leaving a comment? Anyways, our package arrived a while back and inside was a beautiful Thai elephant (they were living in thailand then; have since moved to HK). I have it hanging above my stove which is probably very non-feng-shui but it makes me smile while I am cooking. I love keeping up with them because their two girls are pretty much the exact same age as our girls (seriously the firsts are like a week apart and the seconds are like a month b/c hers came early). Thanks Sara!

pretty Thai elephant

Then I won the contest on TeamUecker's blog for guessing the correct birth day of their daughter! I figured I'd be getting a Hook 'Em Horns magnet or something of the likes. I was incredibly surprised when a brand new bright pink Bumgenius 3.0 One-Size Cloth Diaper showed up in my mailbox! I was really touched by the individuality and thoughtfulness of this gift. Now my stash is up to 9 cloth diapers!! Woohoo- thanks Ueckers!

I bummed this picture off the Ueckers blog b/c I didn't take time to take a picture when it arrived on this end- I ripped it open and put it on my daughter's bum immediately! Clean! White! Soft! I love them. So this is baby Annie and she was born on May 4th...just like I predicted.

So...I totally didn't plan this when I started this post but I am inspired to do a contest! I'll give something away! I have no idea what.... this is spontaneous... but I'll do it. And don't worry only like 7 people whose last names aren't Caskey or Fitzgerald read this so your chances of winning are great! Hum what to do for the contest...

Since I'm in the throes of tracking down classmates for our 10 year high school reunion, leave a comment and tell me if you went (or are planning to go) to your 10 year high school reunion and why or why not!

Hawaii Day Three B: A Windy Road Back Home

After the helicopter tour, we drove south to see the Waimea Canyon. Its called "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific." I've never been to the real Grand Canyon, but this one was pretty cool.



If you look way, way off in the distance, you can see the ocean. It might help if you squint.

This is the island of Ni'ihau. Its located 17 miles west of Kauai and is owned by one family. The whole thing. About 100-200 Hawaiians live on the island and they have really strict rules about how people can visit (only if you are invited by one of the residents) and a resident can leave the island any time but if he or she chooses to live somewhere else, they can never live there again. This place fascinates me. I'd love to get an invitation to go there. Maybe next trip.

This is the Pu'u o Kila lookout overlooking the Kalalau Valley- the largest on the Na Pali coast. This picture does no justice. It was by far one of the prettiest views I've ever seen.

We stopped at Glass Beach on the way back but it was pretty disappointing. Just some glass and sand.

We also stopped at Wailua Falls where ancient men would jump off to prove their manhood. So glad that's not a tradition anymore.

Our last stop was Kilauea. This was the part of the island that I loved because I could see myself living there. It was so cute and quaint. And they had the best ice cream. Delicious. The have the lighthouse too but it was already closed for the day.

Hawaii Day Three A: Helicopter Tour

We splurged on a one hour helicopter tour of the whole island of Kauai and it was worth it. We saw the entire island and just one spectacular scene after another. Waterfalls, beaches, mountains, jungle, valleys, cliffs, canyons, islands, reefs. It was almost overwhelming at how diverse and beautiful this small island was. I tried hard to only pick the best but...


Here's a map of Kauai. There is a little airplane about 4 or 5 o'clock- that is where we started. We basically flew clockwise around the island.

Leaving the airport, flying down towards the south side of the island

hills- south

Falls made famous by Jurassic Park

Five Sisters Waterfalls

First time looking down on a rainbow

Waimea Canyon

First glimpse of Na Pali coast (west)

Na Pali valley- the Na Pali coast is only accessible by air, sea or hiking in 11 miles one way

Na Pali Coast

Our helicopter went into some tight spots...or at least it felt that way to me

looking back at the Na Pali Coast

Coming around tip to North Shore- look near the center for the line of houses in the valley- that is where we stayed

tallest waterfall and the one we could see from Hanalei

My favorite part- the wettest place on earth! Mount Wai'ale'ale receives an average of 440 inches of rain per year. This picture was taken from the Wai'ale'ale Crater.

Heading back to the east side- the two falls in the middle are the Wailua Falls. We saw so many waterfalls yet it was the dry season. Twice as many flow during the wet season.

See it was us- we really did it.

Hawaii Day Two: Five Miles and Fish Tacos

When we drove to our place on the North Shore, we couldn't see anything but the road in the darkness. The next morning, our jaws dropped when we saw the gorgeous surroundings we had entered.

Hanalei Valley

One of the best parts of the North Shore is all its hidden beaches. Most of these beaches were at least a 10 or 15 minute hike to get there. The first beach we visited was Hideaways which is known for its snorkeling.

Hideaways Beach

The great thing about going to the North Shore in the summer is that the waters are very calm and you can easily snorkel off most beaches. We did snorkel that day but we didn't see that many fish. Bummer.

When Hurricane Iniki devasted Kauai in 1992, many roosters and hens were freed and many wild roosters and hens roam the island still today. (That was for free.)

Wild chickens at Hideaways Beach

view from trail to Hideaways Beach

After our jaunt to Hideaways Beach and a nice lunch of chili fried chicken, Jonathan & I decided to hike the Hanalei 'Okolehao Trail. Here's a quote from the guidebook:

So you've been especially gluttonous since you've been here, and the guilt is keeping you awake at night. Here's your chance to work off that lu'au you attended. This trail is a puffer. It gains 1,250 feet in less than 2 miles. That means the grade is steep, tiring and unrelenting. It will seem much longer than it is.

The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook

Taro fields on the way to the trailhead

Taro is grown is pounded to make poi. We never tried any while we were there.

View of Hanalei Bay from the trail

Here's another quote from the guidebook:

Just before the trail ends at the plateau, a different spur trail to the right leads to a separate ridge. Nasty, scary, hard core and death-defying make that a must-miss alternative.

Well, we forgot that part of the guidebook and I can testify to the scary part. Thankfully we figured it out after only 5 minutes, two repelling sections and 1 scary slip. We were promised an expansive view of 1/5 of the island from the top. Well.... the writers must have hiked this trail before the vegetation got very tall. Even though the top was disappointing, the views along the way were well worth the hike.

End of Hanalei 'Okolehao Trail

Waiting for fish tacos at Hanalei Gourmet

We capped off the night with Fish Tacos at Hanalei Gourmet recommended to us by Ryan & Heather Thompson. They were excellent. We wish we were there for Fish Taco Thursdays more often.

There's Day Two. I really did try to pare down. For those of you that are related to us or just have an obsession with Hawaii, I will be putting lots of photos on the web in a Picasa web album. But not tonight because I'm tired. Unless I'm up till 2am with jet lag. Again.

Hawaii Day One: Traveling

Day One of our vacation was spent traveling...GSP to DFW to LAX to LIH. Almost 24 from when we left our house to when we arrived at the guesthouse.

But on the way.... we had a long (should have been 2 hours longer!) layover in LA, so Alicia picked us up to catch up for a little while. We had enough time to get In-and-Out and take it to a beach to eat.

Thanks Alicia for spending half your day just to see us for a few hours! It was a great way to start off our vacation!

Aloha

We are back from our fabulous trip to Hawaii.

We have spent the evening snuggling and giggling and playing and catching up with two little girlies that we missed very much.

I tried to go to sleep at 10pm thinking it would work since I only slept about 3 hours last night. But I'm still on Island time I guess...its only 5pm there...so I'm wide awake.

I have a bajillion picture to look through and pare down to a few faves to share with you guys.

If my family and I suddenly go missing, check Blowing Rock first. If we're not there, you can bet on Kauai.