Vacation to Paradise

So I thought that I would join the world of blogging with a bang . . . my vacation to Hawaii, April 11 through April 16. What an amazing time! I went to celebrate finishing my master's degree, my birthday, and just because the opportunity arose!

I went with my good pal Heather who had to go for work (seriously, who gets to go to Hawaii for work?). We flew into Honolulu on Friday, April 11 and stayed with friends Davy and Inga with little Annie on the Naval Base in Pearl City. On Saturday, we hit the swap meet at the Aloha Bowl, Haliewa (including shaved ice at Matusomoto's), and partied at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I did try to bring home a Polynesian warrior guy in a grass skirt, but he didn't want to leave the island life. I don't blame him. I guess I will just need to go back to date him. Yes, I did try poi and yes, it is disgusting. I decided I needed a new hobby since I don't have my thesis anymore so I purchased a ukulele and am attempting to learn.

Sunday, we went to church early with Davy, Inga, and Annie (who made sacrament meeting much more fun) and then drove all over the island. We went to the Byodo-In Temple where we took turns ringning the peace bell and went walking through the stunning grounds. We drove on the Pali Highway and stopped at all the scenic overlooks. We checked out the Halona Blowhole and then we made our way to Honolulu to the hotel on Waikiki Beach. We ate dinner at Duke's and walked on the beach.

On Monday, Heather had to work. I was getting over a beast of a URI virus and took it a little easy in the morning. I went to Pearl Harbor to the USS Arizona Memorial. What a humbling experience that was. There is an eerie feeling there. Heather and I then went on an adventure to the Ala Moana Shopping Center in pursuit of Hilo Hattie. I can honestly say I did my part to stimulate the Hawaiian economy.

Tuesday, I got a fairly early start and drove back up to the North Shore. I went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation where I went on the cheesy train ride through the pineapple fields and took a self-guided walk through the gardens. They have so many incredible plants including hibiscus flowers of every color imagineable. I drove back up to Laie and did a session at the temple there where I was the only white person! It was awesome. I took the scenic route back to Honolulu. Driving by the ocean with the windows down is heavenly. We went to a Thai food place for dinner and then went to the Mai Tai bar at the Royal Hawaiian hotel, a.k.a. the Pink Lady. We drank fun drinks (virgin so don't you worry), listened to Hawaiian music by the ocean. It was so relaxing!

Our last day in Hawaii was Wednesday. We got up early and Heather hiked Diamond Head. I wasn't so much feeling up to that so I drove to the Punchbowl Cemetary and we did a little divide-and-conquer tourism. We headed to Hanauma Bay and spent the rest of the afternoon there. I tried snorkeling for the first time. It was incredible. I saw a ton of coral and bright tropical fish. It was like swimming in an aquarium. We decided to have one last adventure and headed into Chinatown. Not that I've ever been to an Asian country, but I think walking through there would be what it would feel like. We ate at one of the restaurants there and had some pretty authentic Chinese food. I've decided that I like American Chinese food much better. Then we came home! What a fun trip that was. Now I need to go back and see the other islands . . .