Hawaii (Ya, I know I'm late, but hey, at least it's here)

Disclaimer: This is going to be an EXTREMELY long post. Obviously, we have a lot to talk about. I know there are some who want to know all the details, and others (probably most) just want a quick rundown of our trip. So for the latter group, let the pictures do the talking (They say a thousand words each anyways right? So that's like 26,000 words!)

Now... on to the trip!

We left SLC on Friday afternoon and arrived in Honolulu at about 10:30 PM Hawaii time (About 1:30 AM for us). After finally figuring out how to get to our rental car place, we got our car and found our electricityless condo (See previous blog entitled "Nothin's Gonna Stop Us Now!!" for explanation). They had lanterns and candles laid out for us so there was plenty of light to get ready for bed.

The next morning (Saturday), we ventured off to Pearl Harbor. It was an amazing experience and very enlightening to see how important Hawaii was in the Pacific Theater of WWII.

The USS Arizona Memorial felt almost like sacred ground. The memory of the ultimate sacrifice paid for our country and freedom could be felt as soon as we arrived.

After Pearl Harbor, we went over to the National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific (AKA the Punchbowl). It offered another glimpse into the many sacrifices laid out on our behalf by those servicemen who have served to protect our country. It also offered some great views of Honolulu.

Speaking of Honolulu, that was our next stop. By this time, we were pretty much starving. After aimlessly cruising the streets of Honolulu for some time trying to spot an appetizing stop for lunch, we stumbled upon Hank's Haute Dogs. So we thought, "What the heck?" and had some lunch.

Then, it was on to Diamond Head Crater. It's a huge crater left from an extinct volcano (There are a lot of those in Hawaii) that you can hike through and to the peak. Because of it's position close to the shore, it was also used as a military lookout point back in the day. As you can see in the pictures, we got a little wet, but that's ok.

Well, that was quite a lot for one day's adventure. So we headed home and called it a night.

We found out that we were being upgraded to a new house with a kitchen and, guess what else... electricity! We were pretty happy about that.

Sunday morning we walked about a block down the street from our house in Kailua to the chapel for church. That afternoon we had a picnic and took a stroll down Kailua Beach, also a very short drive from our house. The weather was beautiful here on the beach.

As beautiful as it was on the beach, a short drive inland brought us into a tropical rainstorm the likes of which we had never been in before. See video.

Monday morning, we stopped by the Byodo-In Buddhist Temple on our way up to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

It was a really cool building and we got to gong the gong. We also stopped by the Laie Hawaii Temple. It was under construction so we weren't able to get a super close look, but it was nice to see one of the first temples completed. We also had an fun little run-in with Elder Eubank (as in Mark Eubank of KSL Weather fame), the Director of the Visitor's Center. He was kind enough to take our picture and also offered us our own personal weather forcast. Unfortnately, the good weather he predicted didn't follow us over to Maui, so we're not sure how accurate he really was.

Oh my gosh!! I don't even know where to start! The Polynesian Cultural Center was so incredible. We were able to take a tour through all the different polynesian cultures. It was very entertaining. As you can see in the pictures, they all had tons of enthusiasm and love for their culture.

After touring all the islands of Polynesia, we went to a Luau. All you can eat, super tasty food, and great entertainment, what more could you ask for. Cousin Benny even played the Ukulele with his teeth! Plus we got a mango slushee right out of a pinapple. Mmmmmm.

After the luau, we went to the night show, "Horizons". It was another great view of the polynesian cultures through their music and dance. And the fire dancers really "lit it up"!

Tuesday, our last day on Oahu. How else would we spend it than on the ocean? We rented a kayak and journeyed out to an island off the shore of Kailua Beach. It was so much fun!

Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early to get back to the car rental place at 5:30 AM so that we could return our car and get over to the harbor by 6:00 for our ferry ride over to Maui. It was a really fun experience, but I felt like I was going to puke by time we got there. We were able to see some whales off in the distance as we cruised.

After getting settled into our new condo on Maui, we ventured up to Haleakala. It is another old volcano crater. But this one is extremely high. We went from sea level up to a little over 10,000 ft. elevation in about an hour! Quite the climb. But it was incredible. As you can see in the pictures, we were well above the clouds. A whole new world.

We stayed up at the top for the sunset and man, was it cold!!! The temperature drops by about 30 degrees going up that high so it was almost freezing! But it was beautiful.

Thursday... time for another adventure! This was one of the things we were most excited for as we planned our trip and ended up being one of our favorite experiences. We rented a couple of mopeds and spent the afternoon cruising along the Maui coastline.

We were a little concerned about whether or not the weather would cooperate with us, as it had been raining that morning, but it turned out great. A little cloudy and cool, but we were alright with not having too much sun considering the terrible burning our legs had received a couple days earlier on the kayak.

Friday we braved the treacherous Road to Hana. Ok fine, so it's not really that treacherous. But I have never seen so many curves in a road in my entire life!! Talk about motion sickness! Thank goodness for wristbands and dramamine. We had a great time. The landscape was beautiful. We saw so many waterfalls and even found some jungle vines to swing on!

Along our journey we got a tip from our awesome tour book about the Pi'ilanihale Heiau. It was an ancient Hawaiian temple/altar. It was huge! The structure itself covers about 3 acres. It was in the middle of some very nice gardens which displayed many of the different plants found in Hawaii. It was very peaceful and a great place to stop for lunch and a much needed break from the windy road.

Next stop: Wainapanapa State Park (Try saying that one three times fast. Just try it!). There was a beautiful black sand beach and a big blowhole. I had a great time playing in the sand and water and Daniel had fun taking pictures.

Now, onto perhaps one of the most successful marketing schemes of all time: The Seven Sacred Pools of Oheo Gulch. So, in case you didn't know, there are a lot more than seven pools and guess what... they're not sacred at all! (Except, of course for their mystical power of healing sunburns. It was cold, but it sure felt good.) Turns out people are alot more willing to drive halfway around an island on the most insane road ever to go to the Seven Sacred Pools than they are to go some where called Oheo Gulch. Either way, it's still beautiful and we had a great time.

So, most people turn right back around after the pools and go back the same nauseating way they came. But we, being the adventurous types that we are, continued on around the rest of the island. The road got rough and bumpy for a bit, but wasn't to bad overall. And it was much less curvy so that was awesome. It turned out to be one of our favorite drives on the island. The scenery was remarkable. We were also traveling at about sunset time so the light was gorgeous. It's definitely a lesser-known and lesser-traveled part of the island, but we definitely recommend it to anyone who get the chance.

Saturday morning, our last chance to play! What better way to do it than with a snorkeling cruise out to Molokini Crater and Turtle Town? Crystal clear waters, abundant sealife, and beautiful corals! Doesn't that sound amazing?

Unfortunately, we showed up to the harbor to leave on our wonderful tour only to find out that it had been cancelled due to weather. Needless to say, we were really bummed. But the weather really wasn't that good, so better safe than sorry right? So we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon hanging out in Lahaina. It is such a cute little town. It's an old whaling harbor town. The streets are lined with shops of all sorts. Think Main Street Park City island style! Way fun.

That afternoon, we made another attempt at a beach day, but when the waves are as tall as you are and the sand is blowing in your face, it's just not quite as fun. Go figure.

Sunday morning we got packed up, went to church, and headed out for one last exploration of the island. We had to be out of our condo by 11 AM and our flight didn't leave until 9 that night, so we had all afternoon.

First stop was Iao Valley, a beautiful valley tucked away in the mountains with lush tropical plants and waterfalls all around. After roaming around a bit, we stopped off at a nearby park for lunch and a few rounds of Uno.

After Iao Valley, we decided to drive around the northeast coast of Maui. During our 5 days on Maui, we ended up driving around pretty much the entire island! It was great, we really got to see all sides of it. This drive was outstanding. Another super windy road that at sometimes was barely wide enough for one car to pass on, but the views were amazing. Rocky cliffs and shorelines, tiny villages popping up out of the middle of nowhere, and beautiful scenery all around. What a way to finish a great trip!!

So after all our adventures, we returned to the airport. Waited in the check-in line for a ridiculous amount of time and ended up having to sprint to the gate to catch our flight. But we made it and returned home safely to the snow and freezing weather of Utah.

All in all, we had an absolutely wonderful time, even despite the not so perfect weather. This was a great experience that we will always remember and we are very grateful to have had the chance to go to HAWAII!!

P.S. The moral of the story is...