Hawaii

I just got back from the best week of my life (literally) Ryan & I had so much fun in Hawaii with our good friends the Cliffords. It was just what we needed. After 10 years of marriage, we have kind of gotten to the point where we've forgotten just what we have in each other. Spending 10 days with Ryan made me feel like we've fallen in love all over again. I just keep smiling every time I look at him. What a great guy!

Now it's possible that I may have gone a little overboard and took 1737 pictures while I was there. I was able to narrow those down to my very favorite 358 pictures. I will do my best not to load them all on this blog post, but I love each and every one that I took, so be aware that this may be a very long post.

Day 1 (Friday, May 8^th)

We hopped on the plane at 10:00 Friday morning and headed out to San Francisco where we met up with our friends for the long flight to Hawaii. Ryan & Mike spent the entire flight playing cards with each other. I was happy to see them back together and having fun just geeking it out. The flight was a bit longer for Tamara and me since we didn't bring ourselves such entertaining things. We had time to be 'girls' while we watched Hairspray. Tamara even watched the in-flight movie though I couldn't make it more than 15 minutes into Inkheart . Seriously... what the heck???

When we arrived we headed out to our condo. I wasn't sure what to expect renting someone's private condo. Who knew what we were going to get. I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. I have never seen someplace as beautiful. Plus, it had two master suites which gave us plenty of space and privacy. Here are a few pics of our place.

My favorite part of our condo was the lanai. This is the best picture I could get, but you can kind of see how the whole back of the condo opened up to the outside. It was so nice to go out and sit at the table and feel the breeze and see the ocean while we ate breakfast each day. Oh it was heaven.

Day 2 (Saturday, May 9^th)

This was the part I had been waiting for. We were going to cruise around the island on scooters. I knew we'd look like dorks, I mean four 30-year-olds on scooters can't look that awesome. But we sure had fun.

When we were signing all of the paperwork, the guy asked us what color scooter we wanted. I noticed almost all of the scooters were red; there were a few silver ones, but only 2 green ones. "I want green" I said. The response…. "Oh I'm sorry. We can't rent the green ones to women." What??? Was he serious? "Are you serious?" Could he be serious? "Ya. I'm serious. We don't rent the green ones to women because statistically speaking, women wreck our scooters more often than men do. And the green scooters are brand new and hold a special place in our hearts. So… you'll have to choose a different one." Wait a minute! What?!?!? Now I really wanted the green one. No one tells me I don't get a green scooter because I happen to be a woman. I never knew just how much a sexist remark could send me off until this moment. And since I knew there could be no legal way that he could keep me from a green scooter…. Guess what….

I got me a green scooter! We had so much fun just crusing around. We went up through all the neighborhoods to get an idea of how people really lived in Hawaii. We drove all along the coast line. It was so much fun. And let me tell you what, that's definitely the way to go if you're looking to explore. We could go anywhere we wanted. I am so glad I was able to convince my friends that this was a good idea.

We made it all the way to Waikiki Beach. This made me so happy that we were staying so far away in quiet little Ko Olina. Waikiki is too crazy. Too much traffic, no place to park. Anyway, Ryan & I found this funny little boat on the shore so we took our picture with it.

Somehwere in the middle of all the scootering around, we stopped to hike Diamond Head. I did not know just how out of shape I am until I tried hiking 50 bagillion stairs straight up a mountain. I was hot and sweaty, but the view was spectacular.

After our long day of hiking and scootering, we hit up the local Target and did some grocery shopping. Thank goodness for Target. We bought breakfast foods and snack foods so that we would really only have to worry about dinner.

Then it was time for games! We have missed playing games with the Cliffords so badly. We brought tons of games in anticipation of playing with them everynight, but I was the group party poop. I was so incredibly exhausted that we only got to play once. Sorry guys.

Day 3 (Sunday, May 10^th)

The boys surprised Tamara & me with Mother's Day leis. We felt pretty special going to church with our leis on. :)

We headed off to find the local ward. I'll be honest, I a bit skeptical that attending church as tourists would be a good idea. I felt a little but stupid when we walked in and we were the ONLY tourists in the place. But… I must say I'm glad we went. Church was so much fun. There was just such a relaxed atmosphere. The speakers were absolutely hilarious and I laughed until tears rolled down my cheeks. Thanks Tamara for being a good example and talking me into going.

After church it was time to hit up the swap meet. And no… it doesn't make sense that we made sure we went to church and then immediately went shopping. Oh well… we were on vacation. We were able to find souvenirs for everyone we love (Ryan & I even went back the following Sunday after the Cliffords had gone home)

After a long day of shopping we decided it was time for a long-overdue dip in the ocean to soak our achin' feet. We headed back to our condo to our own private beach. It was amazing, and we practiacally had the place to ourselves.

We went for a walk up and down the beach. It was fun just goofing around and checking everything out. They have the grounds of the condo manicured maticulously, which made for quite a fun walk.

Lucky for us, we had the Cliffords with us. They were navigators extraordinaire. Each night they sat down and planned out what we would be doing the next day and how to get there. Ryan and I were so lost without them when they left.

Day 4 (Monday, May 11^th)

First stop - Hanauma Bay! This was the day that Tamara was waiting for. When I asked her to show me just how excited she was to be there, this is the face I got:

She says she looks thrilled, but to me she looks terrified. We spent the morning snorkeling around with all of our fishy friends. It was really neat to see them all so up close. They weren't scared of us one bit. They just went about their daily business like it was no big deal.

When we had seen all the fish we could stand to see, we went for a scenic little walk around the Hanauma Bay Park.

After that we headed over to Holona Point to see the blow hole. Tamara was thoroughly unimpressed. The tide was really low so it wasn't blowing to it's fullest extent, but I still thought it was pretty neat.

We had to grab a couple of pictures with Ryan and the new love of his life. Yes… it's a Chevy Impala, but after driving a Daewoo for the past 6 years, Ryan thought he was in heaven.

Day 5 (Tuesday, May 12^th)

This was my favorite day by far. We started off the day with a trip to the grounds of the Laie Hawaii Temple. We really wanted to do a session, but the temple has and will be closed for over a year. They are completely remodeling it inside and out. I was in absolute awe of the grounds. So pretty.

After the temple we headed for the Polynesian Cultural Center. We planned on having this be the highlight of our trip, the big 'wow' moment. Boy did it deliver. We paid the Bucu bucks and got the Super Ambassador package. We hemmed and hawed over whether that was the way to go and whether it would be worth it. Let me just say, IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! We were treated like royalty. We had our own private tour guide who spent the entire day with just us. We had front row seats to every single village performance as well as the big show. We even got to walk through the ropes to a special bench just for us during the long boat show. We even got a private canoe ride. It was so much fun. Here are some of the highlights:

The beautiful chants from the island of Aotearoa (New Zealand) I wish I had sound to accompany this picture.

The long boat show where we got to sit right up by the river and watch them pass right by.

Our private canoe ride. It was so peaceful and very romantic. (well… that is if we could ignore those Cliffords right behind us) Can you see our cute tour guide popping her head out? She was so much fun. Her name is Diliana and she came here from Bulgaria. I was so impressed with her as she was telling us her story about joining the church and coming to Hawaii to go to school.

The "Dumb-Dumb" statue

Learning to Hula

Eating new and exciting foods. (including raw fish, rice that looks like worms, purple rolls, and delicious pineapple slushies)

Eating roast pig at the Luau

Hanging out, eating food, and having fun with our friends.

Dancing on stage in front of everyone because it was our 10^th anniversary.

Watching the freaky monkey-man climb the coconut tree.

Laughing histerically at this guy:

And this guy:

Trying our hand at a spear toss

Watching my friends make fools of themselves trying to play the stick game

Congratulating my husband when he was crowned the champion

Watching the boys try to dance like a Tahitian (looking very puzzled, by the way)

Getting temporary tattoos

And of course, having front row seats for the night show. It felt like the dancers were putting on a show just for us.

If you're planning on a trip to the Polynesian Cultral Center anytime soon, may I recommend getting the full package. It made for such a great day!

Day 6 (Wednesday, May 13^th)

We had ourselves all syked up to go surfing. We were going to get lessons and everything. The only thing we forgot to do was some research. Apparently trying to 'catch a wave' in the middle of May just isn't going to happen. When we got to the rental shop the guy so politely informed us that the closest we would get to surfing would be to rent a boogey board and use it as a flotation devise. Thanks rental guy. So that's just what we did.

We definitely got our $4 an hour rental fee's worth of fun. The beach we stopped at just happened to have wild sea turles basking in the sun and floating along. They were a wee bit scary, but I finally got up the nerve to touch one. Unfortunately I don't have a picture.

After 'surfing' we went to Waimea Falls. It was soooo gorgeous. I know I'm getting old when I have tons of fun walking through a botanical garden looking at all the plants. Oh well… it was fun for me.

When we got back to the condo we were so tired we went straight to bed. As I was laying there it occurred to me that I was in Hawaii and I shouldn't be going to bed at 9:00 at night. So Ryan and I snuck out for a stroll along the beach and some star-gazing time. It was so nice. I'm lucky to have a husband who will go along with all of my crazy ideas.

Day 7 (Thursday, May 14^th)

The Cliffords woke up early to go to Pearl Harbor. I wasn't really feeling it so Ryan & I slept in. It was nice to have a slow, relaxing morning for a change.

When they got back, we headed straight to Wet 'n' Wild Hawaii. If I wasn't feeling old before, this pushed me over edge. I'm pretty sure we were the only ones in the park over the age of 20. I swallowed my pride and jumped in. Who cares how dorky I looked, right?

Since we didn't get a chance to surf in the ocean, we all bought a pass to fake surf. This guy made it look so easy. We could do this! I'm sure of it.

After watching Ryan wipe out and Mike konk his head, I decided to take the easy way out. Boogey boarding should be easy. Here I go!

Oh wait… No one told me my board was upside down. (alhtough I still maintain my belief that it looks like it should go this way) Woops. Ever wonder what happens when you try boogey boarding on an upside down board? There's a little of this

Some of this

And a lot of this. You can't really tell from this picture, but I was totally stuck. I couldn't get back up because the water was hitting me so hard and the ground was super slippery.

When we were done with the water park, it was time to say farewell to our good friends. They had to be back for a family wedding and couldn't stay the rest of the trip. With tears in our eyes, we headed to Hard Rock Cafe for one final meal with the Cliffords. We were in a rush to get to the airport and the service was soooo slow. I was getting major annoyed because I wanted to order a sundae and now I wouldn't have time. I very politely made my concerns known to the waiter and before you knew it, we were talking to the manager. He was super, super nice and went above and beyond when it comes to customer service. He comped half our meal for us and then gave Ryan & I a card for a free meal and drinks (which we used the very next day) . I felt a little guilty about complaining, but the service really was terrible.

Ryan's plan after the Cliffords left was to hit up a movie every night. How often do we get to go see a movie at home? You have to arrange a babysitter, and hurry back and forth. He was right. It was a really nice way to spend our time, and we were lucky enough to see 4 movies over the next 4 nights. We saw Star Trek, Wolverine, The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (lame), and Angels & Demons.

Day 8 (Friday, May 15^th)

With the rest of the trip to spend by ourselves, Ryan & I slowed our pace and spent the last few days just exploring the island. I googled 'scenic drive' and came up with the suggestion of going to Mount Tantulus. It was so pretty. I felt like I was trapped in an episode of Lost or in Jurrasic Park. Pardon my crooked pictures. I had to prop the camera to get a shot of both of us, and I haven't had time to go back in and edit them all.

We happened upon a little trail head that we decided to take. The sign warned us to beware wild pigs. Ryan was pretty freaked out that we were going to get attacked by a boar. It was hilarious. The hike was so pretty. We had no idea what we were hiking to, but we kept thinking, "We're almost there. We're almost there." When we finally got 'there', it ended up just ending at a road with another trail head marker that pointed us right back down the way we came. But… even though our destination wasn't what we imagined it would be, the hike itself was well worth the journey.

Day 9 (Saturday, May 16^th)

Another day, another scenic drive. Today we went to Nuuanu Pali State Park. It was so gorgeous. It was about to rain and the clouds on the mountains were so pretty. We did eventually get caught in the storm. We had been waiting the whole trip to see the famous Hawaiian rain.

Day 10 (Sunday, May 17^th)

Ryan & I had to check out of the condo by 10:00 so we got up early, packed our bags, and cleaned up. Our flight wasn't until 9:50 that night so we had a whole day to kill. We decided we should go to Pearl Harbor since we didn't go with the Cliffords. I have a little bout of shame when I admit that we weren't very patriotic. We couldn't stay for the whole tour. It was hot and I was getting very clastrophobic. We ended up just kind of walking around on our own. It was still a neat experience, but I do feel bad that I copped out.

After Pearl Harbor we decided we were hungry, and thus began the longest food hunt of all history. We literally drove around for 3 hours and 15 minutes looking for somplace to eat. This was to be the last meal of our trip so we wanted to go somplace special. We headed to Waikiki and got stuck in the terrible traffic. We finally found the Cheesecake Factory and Planet Hollywood, but there was absolutely no place to park. We even asked someone who worked there where to park and still we came up blank. Then we thought that maybe if we looked outside of Waikiki that we'd have better luck finding a place. We found 2 Italian restaruants (both closed down) and some noodle place that after looking at the menu we decided we couldn't gag it down. Then I had the idea to head over toward the airport and find something over that way. Again… no luck. All we could find were McDonald's and Wendy's. By this time we were starving to death. In a last ditch effort of desparation we headed back to Waikiki and ended up eating at the food court in the mall. I can tell you that Panda Express and Sbarro's Pizza never tasted so good. We were good and hungry by then.

I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go on this trip and go be able to go with such good friends. I'm happy that we've been able to stay close to them even though they deserted us 2 years ago and moved to Minnesota. And I'm glad I married my cute, sarcastic husband Ryan. This trip wouldn't have been the same with anyone else.

Just a few of our many laughs this trip:

• How many candybars could I buy if I didn't buy this?
  
• You can get addicted to anything if they slip a little glass in there.
  
• If you make eveyrhting a priority, then nothing's a priority.
  
• So…. Right? Right? Right?
  
• "Some jokes just never get old!"
  
• At the next light, make an immediate U-Turn
  
• "See what I did with the words there?"
  
• Scooters! Woot Woot!
  
• And the Ode to the Impala, the divinely inpsired car.
  
• Stay the course!!
  
• Wah Wah
  

Thanks again guys for the fabulous trip!