Hawaii

So we're finally back from beautiful Hawaii!! It was nice to finally have a vacation! Here's what we did.

Monday:

We hiked Diamond Head. It was a pretty easy hike at first but then we came to the stairs portion of it and boy did those give me a good workout! It was worth it once we reached the top! Then we toured Bishop's Museum. We learned about Hawaii's history and saw how the polynesians use to live.

Tuesday:

We woke up early to watch the sunrise! The first place we stayed at was a little condo with the beach 10 feet from our back door. It was fun to listen to the waves crash up against the rocks while enjoying the sunrise. Then we set out to explore Pearl Harbor. We visted the USS AZ Memorial, Battleship Missouri, and a couple other smaller ships. It was interesting to hear the history behind it.

Wednessday:

We went to the Hawaii Temple. We did sealings and then walked around the visitor's center. It is georgous! The walk up to the temple is amazing... pictures don't do justice. Then we spent the rest of the day at the Polynesian Culture Center. It was quite entertaining. Each group taught us about their own culture like dancing, beating drums, climbing coconut trees, making fire etc. Their culture is so free and fun. Then there was a dinner luau and finally the Horizon Show.

Thursday:

We relaxed at the beach soaking in sun and boogie boarding. We caught quite a few waves in. Then we went to Waikiki and walked around the shops and beach down there.

Friday:

We went up to North Shore for the afternoon. We walked around the Waimea Botanical Garden... I was attacked by a million mosquitos leaving swollen bug bites the size of a baseball. Then we rented snorkeling gear and swam around Sharks Cove. There were a ton of fish to see. That night, we went on a dinner cruise. It was really fun. They had the dinner first and then entertainment and dancing. The group was pretty lively which made it fun.

Saturday:

We drove out to Huanama Bay to snorkel. That was a blast!! We took tons of pictures but they are not developed yet. We spent half the day just exploring.

Sunday:

We went to the Valley of Temples where the Byodo-In Temple is and cemetery lots. The Japanese culture is amazing. Some of the families have their own area where the whole family is burried (like in Mulan :)) They are georgous burial sites. Then we went to the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden. We spent a couple hours there looking at all the different plants and enjoying the view.

The End.