Hawaii

October 10-15, 2012

Jeff and I were able to fly out to Hawaii to enjoy a vacation together and visit Amanda and Solomon.

We were so excited to see them and spend some time with them.  They were so wonderful to us and let us stay with them and took us around the island.

Our first morning there (Thursday, October 11) they took us to Koa Pancake House.  Jeff ordered a Portuguese Sagusage Omlette and I got  Sweet Hawaiian French toast, they were delicious!!!

After our yummy breakfast, we headed to Pearl Harbor.  On our way, we saw the stadium where they do the swap meet.

Because of Solomon's military pass we were able to go out to Ford Island and see the USS Utah that was sunk during the attack at Pearl Harbor.

USS Utah

The mysterious big white pearl.  

(We didn't know what it was and to make it even more intriguing, they told us it comes and goes randomly.)

More pictures taken from Ford Island showing Pearl City

Some neat military planes (the wings fold up)

We then went to Pearl Harbor.

We walked through the new museum.  It was amazing.  I learned a lot.  Such a tragic attack.

Here is the original speech the President of the US gave that day.

Birds of Paradise

On the boat out to the memorial

The monument of the USS Arizona

Pearl City

The remains of the battleship Arizona

Oil that is still leaking from the ship

The battleship USS Missouri

The wall of those still entombed in the sunken battleships.

We then went to the Dole Pineapple plantation.

(Amanda and Solomon are the shadow's in this one)

Real, fresh pineapple growing there!

Cocoa trees

Solomon

Amanda

Our Hawaiian tour guides :)

Lots of pineapple plants!

After touring the plantation and sampling some delicious fresh pineapple, we then got a Dole Whip - YUM!!!

While there, they had some oysters you could open and keep the pearls from inside.  I picked an oyster with two black pearls!  Perfect for some earrings :)

We then went for a little drive.

Beautiful mountains

More pineapple plantations

I LOVE the pine trees there in Hawaii.  They just make me smile.

That evening we went to Haleiwa and had dinner at Pizza Bob's.  They had a stray cat that wanted to join us for dinner.  Amanda and Solomon say that there are stray cats everywhere in Hawaii.

My huge burger!

The next day (Friday, Oct 12) we went to Laie.  The drive there was beautiful.  We loved the mountains.

And the pretty beaches

When we got to Laie, Amanda showed us where she lived when she went to BYU Hawaii and took us to this beach which was just a walk away from her apartment.

Jeff found a coconut there.

Shark's Bay, another area just down the road from where she lived.

We then were able to do a session with Amanda and Solomon in the Hawaii Temple.

So beautiful!

After walking around the beautiful temple grounds, we then went to the Polynesian Cultural Center (the PCC)

We got to watch a canoe parade featuring dancers from the different Polynesian Islands.
Fiji

Tonga

Tahiti

New Zealand

Samoa

We went to Tonga to learn more about these islanders' culture.

The Tahitian show

The Samoan who showed us how they start fire, break open a coconut, and climb trees.  He was pretty hilarious.

Amanda introduced us to Pani Popo - delicious rolls covered in coconut sauce.  We enjoyed every bite! YUM!

The New Zealand area

Easter Island

While there at the PCC we had a chance to try spear throwing, it was pretty fun :)

That evening we went to a luau at the PCC

There was music, dancing, and a yummy native Hawaiian buffet

Our main course - roasted pig

The food was pretty good.  We knew our girls would have loved the purple rolls!  They were made from Poi.

After stuffing ourselves with delicious food and desserts we went to the evening show.

We couldn't take any pictures, but it was amazing.  They did dances and told stories from each of the islands. 

The next day (Saturday, Oct 13) we went to Waikki to do some shopping and sight seeing.

The Hawaiian Palace

Jeff by the statue of King Kamehameha, the iconic statue of Hawaii's greatest king that united the islands.

After getting some great souvenirs we went to the beach.

We really loved the scenery as we drove there.

Jeff and Solomon did some body surfing.  Jeff caught on quickly!

Amanda and I watched our men enjoy the waves

The beach had a little grass hut

That night we went to Amanda and Solomon's ward activity.  While there we happened to see Jeff's cousin, Sister Wright, who is serving her mission there!  It was so fun to chat with her for a bit.

After the ward party, Solomon and Amanda took us to their favorite place to eat "Buca Di Beppo"

On Sunday, our last day there, we saw a rainbow and had to take a picture of the rainbow in the rainbow state!

We went to church with Amanda and Solomon and then went for a scenic drive of the island.  It was a little rainy that day, but still so beautiful.

They took us to see the blow hole

We saw a light house from a distance

And the "wise man's house that he build upon the rock" ha ha

China Man's Hat

The Laie Temple at night

BYU Hawaii campus

The next day, we had to say Aloha to Hawaii, as well as Amanda and Solomon.  On our flight home we saw Diamond Head

And Hanauma Bay

Aloha Oe to Hawaii

On our way home to our girls!

We had so much fun while out there.  Thank you to our parents for watching the girls while we were gone.  They had a great time!  We are grateful to Amanda and Solomon for taking us around and letting us stay with them.  We really enjoyed our time being with them and miss them already!  We love you!!!