Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts

Monday, April 6, 2009

"An enjoyable vacation is awaiting you"

That is what my fortune cookie fortune said
the first day we arrived in Hawaii
no joke
Our first day here was a Sunday. We went to church, then to the LDS Temple. Unfortunately it was under construction, so we weren't unable to go inside for a session. The grounds were beautiful.This night we walked to the beach and saw our only sunset. Perfect weather.
Love Spencer
Monday we headed to the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) We visited each "island" to learn about their culture. For dinner we ate the Ali'i Luau. This included a lei greeting, Hawaiian music and entertainment, All-you-can-eat buffet and more.
Tuesday was hiking the botanical gardens up to Waimea Falls. This was one of our most favorite experiences. The small hike was relaxing and enjoyable, and swimming in the falls was super fun. After this Spencer went golfing (didn't do so hot, weather was crapy) and the rest of us went to Waimea Beach. Also not great b/c of the weather. Wednesday we first went to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. Hello, crazy lots of stuff here! It wraps all around the stadium. Mostly the same stuff, with some new things throughout. We came out with some great hawaiian treasures. After spending some money and walking for what seemed like forever, we made our way to Pearl Harbor. I really liked this place as well. We watched the movie Pearl Harbor before we came, so I could better understand what happened here. It really helped and made my experience here very memorable and sobering. After Pearl Harbor we traveled into downtown Waikiki. We ate at Duke's Fish which was amazing and highly recommended. We walked along the beach a little. There were lots of buildings, like there are in cities, and we were really glad to not be staying there, rather at the North Shore. On Thursday we drove past China Man's Hat to get to Makapuu Point Lighthouse, which we hiked up to see. It was a nice little hike that got us all some exercise. The view from up top was spectacular. After this we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, which is the best place to go. Spencer enjoyed this more than me. (it kinda gets to me being that close to those fish and stuff) We stopped to see Halona Blow Hole. Was neat, cool pic. Friday was our last day here. We started out at the DOLE Pineapple Plantation. Took the train ride then walked around. We learned how to cut & serve pineapple (tutorial to come later).
After here we went into Haleiwa. We ate a a shrimp shack, then went and did some sea kayaking. Nice and relaxing, just the two of us. After here we did a little body surfing. We headed off to dinner then ice cream dessert (for the 3rd time!) and closed our night with packing.
So long, farewell Oahu , Hawaii. We wish you gave us more sunny weather. We'll definately come back to visit in a warmer season to see a different island. Until then. Ciao. It was my birthday on Saturday, as we flew home. Spencer asked the flight attendents if they had any of those little ice cream treats for me. They didn't, but brought me this snack box. That was thoughtful of them! My mom picked us up from the airport and had made me some cupcakes. It was perfect. Thanks mom.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Last Maughan Adventure: Oahu, Hawaii

We spent the first week of March in Oahu, Hawaii. It was a busy, enjoyable week. Life has been crazy since a week before then, maybe we'll get to the highlights of this vaca, maybe not (we didn't even post about our 3 week Europe Backpacking trip! Later, we will)

So I have added a slideshow to the sidebar so you can at least see the Saaweeeet Pictures we took of the fun things we enjoyed and did. Take a look. Click on the slideshow to view the picts normal size in Picasa to really see their awesomeness.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Fab 5

Hawaii. 5 days gone. 481 picts thus far (we love our digital camera!) Here are a couple favs for a sneak peak into our latest journey. Until the end...