Hawaii: Day 13 (14 June 2009)

Day 13, Sunday; we woke up, got ready for church, and promptly went sightseeing instead... well, actually we just went to Rainbow Falls for a few minutes before church started. It was overcast that morning but right as we made it to the falls the clouds parted and the sun shown through and we saw a little rainbow right in the waterfall. Just as soon as it came the rainbow was gone again.

There wasn't much water coming down right now but it was still very pretty. Take a look at dad... you can tell that he is as happy as a pig in the mud.

Following our visit to Rainbow Falls we attended church and had a good time. The ward was friendly and fun. After church we went back to the hotel, got changed and took a little nap. Laura and I went on a walk through the Liliuokalani Gardens right next to the hotel.

After the many tsunamis that have destroyed the houses and shops that used to line the shores of Hilo they decided not rebuild them again but rather they would build parks and recreation areas instead.

The park was beautiful and peaceful.

After our walk and naps we all got in the car and made our way to the tallest mountain in the world... Yes, I know what you are saying... "Mt. Everest is the tallest!" It may be the highest above sea level but from base to peak Mauna Kea is 33,476 feet high. That is 4459 feet taller than Everest! As we neared the top we stopped at the visitor center. They have everyone stop for 30 minutes or so to acclimatize to the altitude a bit before going to the top.

Near the top of the mountain is an observatory. It is a good place for it because not far back down the mountain it is overcast and cloudy but up here as you can see the sky is mostly clear and beautiful.

The actual peak of Muana Kea was across from the observatory. I decided it isn't everyday that you can stand on the tallest mountain in the world so despite the 40 degree temperature and the strong icy winds I would make the trek to the top.

Laura followed a few minutes later. It was cold and windy so we only stayed long enough to take some pictures then we rushed back to the car and the heater.

This was the highest place I have ever been on other than in an airplane which doesn't really count. I could feel how thin the air was and how hard it was to get a good breath. The trek to the peak was pretty tough even though it was just a short hike. The sky was so blue, it was beautiful!

Our last stop for this day was our favorite little restaurant L&L Drive-Inn. Good cheap food.

Hawaii: Day 12 (13 June 2009)

4:30 a.m. wake up call and a 5:30 a.m. departure time!? What could be so important as to get us out of bed that dang early on our vacation?? Well, the Temple of our Lord, a 7:30 a.m. session and a two hour drive of Course! Yes it was early and the drive was long but as you can see the sun rise over the temple was so beautiful and it was great to be in the temple in such a glorious place. We even got to see a few of the members from Amy's ward.

As with every temple I have been to the grounds were beautifully kept and here at the Kona temple as you can see it did not disappoint.

The variety of flowers and vegetation is just as you would expect a tropical paradise to be; glorious and beautiful.

After our trip to the temple we stopped at the first place on our list for the west side of the island; a smallish bay called Kealakekua. It was here that Captain Cook the famous explorer first landed on the Big Island and it was also here that he met his demise in a fight with the natives over one small dingy. Anyway, we were supposed to rent a couple of kayaks and cross the bay to the monument on the other side. We read that some of the best snorkeling on island was near the monument.

On a "normal" day it is said this is a calm and tranquil bay but as you can see this was not a "normal" day. I guess there was a storm somewhere making for some pretty big and anti-tranquil waves!

As this would put a bit of a damper on the whole underlying goal of the trip... live through it... we decided it would be best to go on to our next stop; Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. Translated, the "Place of Refuge at Honaunau" is the most complete restoration of an ancient Hawaiian religious sanctuary. In early Hawaiian religion the laws and punishments were very strict. For most laws-breakers the punishment was the same... death by clubbing (and not the kind you go dancing at).

There were a few "refuges" like this one in difficult-to-get-to places throughout the islands where someone that has broken a law could flee to in order to be forgiven if he could get there before he was killed by his pursuers. It was a beautiful secluded oasis of palm trees and fresh water surrounded be the raging sea on one side and a vast barren volcanic-rock-strewn landscape on the other.

Near the refuge were the royal grounds where the kings would sometimes visit.

This large pitted rock is believed to be one on which King Kamehameha would play a game of stragey. It was said that he was very good at the game and as you can see so was I! Laura got her trash kicked.

We had two more stops on our list for the day; the colored (no racism intended) beaches. First was the Green Sand Beach. This was one of the reasons I opted to upgrade to the 4x4. We read that it was about 2 miles from the paved road and with the strong winds that always blow into your face it feels more like 4. After some real rough roads Mom and Dad "opted" to wait behind as I dragged Laura on with me. We made it to the top of the cove without even rolling the rental once!

The sand was really green... not just kinda green in the right light or something, it was GREEN!

The sea was raging here as well but that didn't stop some people from getting wet and catching some waves.

As for Laura and I we just got our feet wet and took some pictures. We didn't want to leave the parents alone for too long... who knows what kind of trouble they might get themselves into.

As we made our way back to the vehicle we saw a couple and thier teenage son finally make it to the beach (we passed them walking to the beach on our way in). They looked pretty pooped so we gave them a ride back to the road. They were grateful for the ride and that Mom and Dad "decided" to stay behind so that there was room for them in the car.

The next color was black. As with the green it was very black and just as fine-grained as any other sandy beach.

We later learned that the different colors of sand come from underwater volcanoes erupting and as the magma hits the water it shatters in to the small sand sized particles. The different colors depend on the minerals in the magma. As the eruption dies out the source of the colored sand stops and the ocean slowly washes away the colored sand and it is replaced by normal sand so you never really know how long one of these incredible beaches will be around.

We ended the long day with an all-you-can-eat buffet at Pizza Hut! That sure sounds really good right about now too!

Hawaii: Day 11 (12 June 2009)

After a late night playing games I figured we would sleep late, have a nice breakfast, take our time getting packed and just have a leisurely morning... It wasn't to be... well, at least not the sleep late part of it. We got new upstairs neighbors, they had several young kids who were probably used to the main land time and were up before the sun running back and forth up there pushing chairs and making all kinds of noise. It was a good thing this was our last morning! So, we were up at 6:00 am also and figured we had might as well see our last sun rise from the beach house. I would miss this view! We picked an incredible place to stay.  I wouldn't have changed a thing! Our plane to the Big Island didn't leave until noonish so we spent the rest of the morning with Amy and Juan playing Catch Phrase and relaxing. We got to the airport and gate just as we thought the plane would have been boarding. The sign said it was boarding but there wasn't even an attendant at the gate. We sat and waited watching the sign change from boarding to final call to departed before they finally changed it to delayed. I guess we needed to remember where we were... Hawaii, relax, no rush, the plane will get here when it gets here. Anyway, we left about 45 minutes late and made it to the Big Island, upgraded the rental to a 4x4 and made it to our hotel with little trouble.

We had a pretty nice view from our hotel, the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. It was a bit older but the rooms were nice and it was well maintained. The little island we could see from our balcony was call Coconut Island. There was a nice park and some fun places to swim.

Before we had to pick up Dad that evening we had time to have lunch at L&L BBQ and stop by a waterfall not far from the road called Wailuku Falls. The trail wound through a pretty dense jungle and Mom decided to go back after a little ways in.

It was a very pretty waterfall and we had fun hiking together through the jungle.

It was nice to be alone, just the two of us. We hadn't done much by ourselves. It was romantic. Right as we were getting back to the car it started to rain a bit but that was alright because it was about time to go get Dad from the airport. At least that is what we thought. We should have learned from our experience at the airport earlier that day... Dad was supposed to come in about 8:30 but by the time his flight actually arrived it closer to 9:30. We gathered him and his luggage up and went back to the hotel for a late dinner and got to bed.

Hawaii: Day 10 (11 June 2009)

Today was our last full day on Oahu. Earlier in the week I made a deal with Amy that if she would take us up the Stairway to Heaven I would take her out to breakfast... It was a pretty good deal all around! Amy took us to a tiny pancake restaurant that's famous for their pancakes and Macadamia Nut syrup. At first sight I thought this had better be good! The line was out the door and down the street. But "Amy said" it would be worth it so we got in line. This is how it works... you go up to the entrance and get your name on the list then you wait in line for about 30 to 45 minutes looking at the menu and deciding what you want to order. After what seems like forever (you can smell the delicious aromas wafting through the door) a server comes out to get your order and then... you wait for another hour or so when they call your name and you finally get to go inside to wait even longer for your food to come. So by this time they could be serving yesterdays slop and it would taste divine because your stomach thought your throat had been cut.

Anyway, the food came and the portions were generous and it tasted wonderful!
It was worth the wait and now we wish we could make that mac nut syrup! I would wait in line for hours to have it... wait I did... So, with breakfast taking the whole of the morning of our last full day we decided to get into the ocean one last time. We went snorkeling at Shark's Cove. It was pretty crowded but there were lots of fish and I even got to follow a little turtle around for a bit.


Throughout most of our vacation Amy spent lot of time with us and poor Juan always had to either work or go to school so we decided to spend our last evening at their house eating dinner and playing games. I bet Juan was glad to see us go so he could have his new wife back, I can understand that. I remember what it was like to be a newly-wed!

Hawaii: Day 9 (10 June 2009)

As I look through the last few days of our "Hawaii Holiday" I realize that though we still had some really neat experiences ahead of us I think we reached the climax on day 8. Jordan and Dad left us in the morning of day 9. We dropped them off at the airport first thing in the morning and they flew off to the island of Kauai for a few days of hiking. Jordan, you should tell us about your adventures there!

As for the rest of us, Anne & the kids, mom, Amy, Laura and I visited the USS Arizona Memorial.

Though I have visited the memorial a few time before the spirit I feel there is strong. So many people gave their lives fighting for freedom in this harbor. What was even more amazing was the high number of Japanese visitors to the memorial and the feeling of friendship and forgiveness felt by all.

It gives me hope to know that nations that have fought each other so ruthlessly can overcome their animosity and hatred toward one another and become friends and brothers in the end.

Following our visit to Pearl Harbor we made our way to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

It was a hot day. Amy, Anne and the kids went through the Pineapple Garden Maze, the biggest maze in the world. Mom, Laura and I were lazy and just walked around the store and had the best pineapple ice cream and juice ever! It was soooo good!

Today was also the day that Anne, Sera, and Evan had to leave us and go home :(
The kids wanted to get into the ocean again before they had to leave so we headed for Haleiwa and the beach.

They loved to play in the sand. They would dig holes, trenches and walls to keep the water out. Everytime the waves would come up and knock them over they would frantically re-build before the next big wave came.

We were also visited by a few turtles. This guy was pretty big though not quite as big as he looks in this picture. Isn't he cute!?

How's this for a nice little place right on the beach?

Again the sunset was beautiful.

What a nice day! We had our last dinner with Anne and the kids at a nice little Thai place there in town. I love Thai food. After dinner Anne left with the kids for the airport and we were all sad to see them go. When Mom, Laura, and I got back to the beach house it was just way too quiet! Our time on Oahu was coming to an end. Time goes by way to fast!