Day 1: Oahu, north shore, near the PCC. We stayed above the top of an art gallery in a condo. It was pretty nice with a view of the ocean out the back deck. This is the first morning sunrise.
The beach just down from our condo. Simply beautiful! The temperature is so perfect there...not too hot or too cold.
This wall behind our condo had a bunch of crabs crawling all over it. They were kind of creepy.
Day 2: Snorkeling at Shark's Cove.....It was really good. We saw lots of cool fish and coral. It was pretty clear and the crowds didn't show up until we were ready to leave.
We wanted to find some vines to swing on like Tarzan! It was very entertaining watching Jared swing and holler through the jungle and then get his foot stuck in the vine. We all took a turn!
We wanted to find some vines to swing on like Tarzan! It was very entertaining watching Jared swing and holler through the jungle and then get his foot stuck in the vine. We all took a turn!
We had to try the famous Matsumoto shaved ice. It was delish!
Maunawili Falls trail. It was quite the hike.....lots and lots of mud. Our shoes and legs were covered by the time we made it to the falls. We took a dip in the water and even jumped off the ledge of the falls. It was refreshing.
The beautiful waterfall! The water was COLD!
The after picture of our shoes. It was slimy, gooey, hard to wash off mud. Because of the humidity it took a long time for our shoes to dry out. We ended up blow drying them.
Another view from the trail head.
After our crazy hike we wanted to eat some yummy seafood! We found this great place called, Haleiwa Joe's Seafood Grill in Kaneohe. The food was amazing and we sat on this balcony overlooking a beautiful botanical garden and pond. We took a walk around the pond while we were waiting for dinner.
Day 3: We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the day. It is such a cool place with so much culture and history about the polynesian people. We loved watching all the shows.
Tattoos from one of the islands.
Luau and show. Wow, the food was great and the entertainment so fun.
This little boy was an amazing fire torch dancer.
Day 4: Church and visit to the temple. Then off to catch a flight to Maui!
Silly Jared.
Other things we did on Oahu: ate shrimp at Giovanni's shrimp truck, bought pineapple, bananas, avocados, papayas (not so good), and other tropical food to eat, drove around and explored the north shore.
Day 5-9: Kihei, Maui...we stayed at the Maui Banyon, right across the street from the beach. It was a really nice condo! We had to head to the beach to boogie board first thing. The waves were really big the week we were there. It was pretty intense boogie boarding:)
Jared decided to wear snorkel goggles so he wouldn't get water and sand in his eyes and nose.
Beautiful Maui sunsets!
Another muddy hike! We hiked up a mountain into the clouds. The view was spectacular on the way up, but then we couldn't see anything once we got to the top.
Notice the waterfalls in the background.
Nice and cloudy view.
We drove around the top of the island. The coastline is gorgeous.
Eating Hula Pie at Leilani's in Kaanapali. It was yummy!
A cool tree at our condo.
The top of Haleakala (the volcano on Maui). Wow, you have to drive forever to get to the top and then you feel like you are on mars. Hardly anything grows that high and it was freezing!
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| One of the plants that grows is called the silver sword. Pretty cool! |
Boat ride out to Molokini crater. The snorkeling was impressive. Very clear water and lots to look at, but then the crowds came. Luckily we got there fairly early and were leaving before it got too crazy. The seas were pretty rough, so a few people were feeling queasy.
A black sand beach. We saw some turtles rolling in the waves and came back to snorkel the next day, but couldn't see any turtles.
Another view of the pretty beach by our condo.
We visited Big Beach and the waves were huge! The lifeguards wouldn't let anyone swim because the riptide was strong and the waves would crash so hard onto the beach. It sounded like thunder. It was amazing to watch. We took a walk over to little beach hoping to see some turtles and realized it was a nude beach! Yikes! That plan didn't work:)
Other things we did on Maui....ate at Maui tacos (mmmmm, so good), stopped at a farmer's market and bought 2 coconuts (which fit in Jason and Melissa's luggage) and macadamia nuts, bought souvenirs for our kids and babysitters, ate Jason's yummy pasta and pineapple brownies, drove down to the lava fields and watched surfers, ate at a pretty good burger place, snorkeled at some fancy resort and another bay (where a guy was telling everyone not to get in the water because it was contaminated??), drove and drove some more, and watched a few episodes of flip it (home remodel show).
Jared says we can't go back for another 10 years! I can't wait. I'm ready to go explore some of the other islands!
