We left for Hawaii the day after Thanksgiving. I was a little sad to leave because my brother and sister were still here visiting from out of town -- but then I went outside and it was 3 degrees, and I didn't feel so bad anymore. The flight was uneventful, but by the time we landed our third plane in Kaua'i, we were beat. The first thing we saw was a rainbow, of course! I lost track of how many rainbows we saw. Anyways, we still had to get the rental car and go shopping for the week, unload at the condo, and then go back to the airport to pick up Ben's aunt Linda. Haley and I decided to wait at the condo and make dinner while Fred went to get Linda.
Our first morning, we watched the sun rise at Spouting Horn -- a place along the beach where the waves jump up through a hole in the lava rocks. Very cool -- especially because we saw a bunch of sea turtles, too! They're so cute -- I want one. We spent the rest of the day roaming around, sitting on the beach, and soaking up the sun.
We went to church at the cutest little LDS chapel. It was in Kapa'a, and there were several different buildings on the property. The chapel was it's own building with seven french doors. It was beautiful! We listened to two returned missionaries, and I was so happy to be there. I was missing the rest of my family (especially my husband -- don't go to Hawaii without your husband) something terrible, and I needed something to make me feel at home. Sacrament meeting did the trick.
After that, we drove to the north side of the island and visited a lighthouse there. I can't remember the name of it, but it was a beautiful view.
We stayed right across the street from a coral reef, so Haley and I rented some snorkeling gear and hopped in the ocean to swim with the fishes. My favorite were the big long blue and pink ones, and the black and white polka dotted ones. It took me awhile to figure out my breathing (and to stop hyperventilating), but once I did, it was really fun and relaxing. Although, I have to admit: I didn't like the feeling of having the open ocean behind me, so I kept turning around looking for a big shark to come out of the deep. I'm so insane.
I think our favorite adventure was going kayaking on the Wailua river. Haley and I shared a kayak, and I think we did pretty well. We figured that thing out pretty quickly, and paddled 2 1/2 miles up the river, tied up the canoes, and hiked 1 1/4 miles to a waterfall that we were able to swim in. It was great fun. Our guide, Cathleen, added to the fun. She was a woman who moved to Hawaii from Boston over a quarter century ago. She is a typical surfer girl, with the slang and the accent and everything. When we were getting our gear ready to go, she said, "Oh, man! I knew I was getting mountain people today. I was, like, listening to the wind this morning, man, and like, it blew real hard and I shivered, and it told me I was going to have mountain people here today. And here you are!" She also told us about minerals and crystals, and surfers, and magical people, and comets. She was a real earthy person. I liked her a lot. She convinced Haley that it would be a good idea to do the whole thing barefoot, like her, and let the minerals from the dirt soak up into her feet. So Haley did, and luckily there aren't many pokey thorns in Hawaii. On our hike, we crossed a chest-high river, and passed by some ancient ruins where the Kaua'ian king used to live. It was just beautiful.
We also visited Allerton Botanical Gardens. We had a guide who took us through Mr. Allerton's "Garden of Eden". Good thing he was a billionaire, because it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Part of Jurassic Park was filmed there, by the trees. In the garden, you can either hear or see water at all times. There were many mosquitos, but we had bug spray and got out of there with just a few bites. There were many waterfountains, and my favorite was the one that pulsed water at exactly 60 beats per minute. It was very calming, and it slowed your heartrate down. Everybody looked like they needed a nap after that. We really enjoyed the gardens, and found out that a lot of famous people have gone there, including Jackie Kennedy and her two kids, who went there for a month to grieve following JFK's assasination. Very interesting place.
We also drove up Waimea canyon. It was a long, windy road, but we didn't get car sick. When we stopped at the first lookout, the canyon was so big and deep that it actually looked fake. Like a Hollywood backdrop, or something. It was just amazing. When we got to the top we were able to see the Napali coast. It was covered in a cloud when we got there, but within five minutes it cleared, leaving us with a breathtaking view of the cliffs and coastline, complete with a perfect rainbow. This is where Jurassic Park was filmed, also -- when the plane (or helicopter?) is first coming up on the Jurassic Park island. You can't get to the cliffs any other way but by plane/helicopter, or boat. There are no roads that can take you there, but we went to the end of the road and saw just the edge of the cliffs. It was definitely worth the drive!
Haley and I spent the rest of our time on Kaua'i walking around, sitting on the beach or by the pool, and shopping. I really liked it there -- it was much less crowded and much more rural than Oahu.
But we did go to Oahu for a couple of days. We met up with a friend, Jon Von Nieda, and drove to the North Shore to take a tour of BYU-Hawaii. Haley really wants to go there for college. I think she'd have a blast, but we'll see what she wants to do in four years. We also went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the rest of the day. As usual, they don't dissappoint! We loved visiting the villages again, and our guide, Peja, was excellent. We had a great dinner, and really enjoyed the fire show, Ha, at the end of the day. We got some great shopping in, too, including a conch shell which Andrew has already mastered. The Samoan who sold it to me warned me about that.
On Saturday, we bummed around Waikiki, enjoyed some REAL Hawaiian Shave Ice, and watched the sun set on the beach. Haley wanted to stay outside as long as she could, so we walked the sidewalk at Waikiki while we waited to go to the airport for our red-eye flight. We only went in when we started getting multiple unwanted requests to join groups of men at the many bars along the walk for a drink. We declined all the offers, and went to the airport for an all-night trek back to the mainland. I'll never do that again. I didn't get one wink of sleep, and I was a zombie the next day, and even the day after that. But we came home with great tans, so that's what counts, right?
(Sunrise at Spouting Horn. A great place to find sea turtles.)
(Wailua river that we kayaked)
(Coastline looking south from lighthouse)
(Coastline looking north from lighthouse)
(Funny Hawaiian signs)
(Haley at the opening of the lava tube, staring at a gigantic spider web.)
(View from inside the lava tube, looking out)
(Pretend cave drawings in the lava tube)
(Haley, the dip)
(Taro fields)
(This waterfall was a gusher. They say the old princes used to jump into it. We bought a basket in the parking lot from a guy with no teeth.)
(Catholic cemetary -- mostly hispanic names with deaths dating back to the 1920s)
(Waimea canyon)
(Napali Coastline with rainbow)
(This Japanese garden was at a golf course)
(They have lots of funny signs in Hawaii)
(Haley pretend surfing)
(Kristi, the dip)
(Looking down from the cliff road to get to the Allerton Garden of Eden)
(One of the paths in the Allerton Garden of Eden)
(The Roman Room in the Allerton Garden of Eden)
(A fountain in Allerton Gardens)
(Allerton's Garden of Eden)
(The pulsing fountain - 60 beats per minute)
(Our guide in the orange explaining how Mr. Allerton brought these trees in an empty beer can from Australia)
(Haley at Jurassic Park trees in Allerton Garden of Eden)
(Jurassic Park trees in Allerton Garden of Eden)
(Waterfall in Allerton Gardens)
(Decorated for Christmas - Can you spot the ukelele?)
(The chapel of the LDS church we attended)
(Swimming in a waterfall)
(Haley's feet after kayaking and hiking with no shoes)
(Our river guide, Cathleen)
(Crazy Samoan climbing a tree)
(Tihiti dancers)
(Aoteorea dancers)
(Our canoe ride guide)
(Haley on Waikiki - Diamondhead in the background)
(Turtles at the Hilton)
(One of the many rainbows)
(Another funny sign on Kaua'i -- they say "Speed Humps" instead of "Speed Bumps". Haley and I laughed for hours.)
