Hawaii

Blogger has been a pain lately. I tried to upload pictures and I was told that I had exceeded my limit of photo storage and needed to purchase more. A friend on facebook had the same problem so I tried some of her suggestions. They worked, but I ended up deleting some folders of pictures that I didn't intend to. Thank goodness for backups.

This vacation to Hawaii was so relaxing and needed. It was definitely a bucket list trip and once we found out about my cancer we knew that once I was healthy we needed to go. We timed the trip around chemo treatments so that I'd be feeling my best. It was perfect.

We left Wednesday morning, November 7th and arrived in Oahu that evening. One of Cody's patient's huband was a flight attendant on our flight and we enjoyed some extra perks like free headsets, snacks and magic tricks. Our flight was direct so we had a lot of time to read, watch the clouds and ocean below us and sleep. It was a sunny 80 + degrees when we landed, so we picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel on Waikiki beach. We received a bunch of wooden bead leis and we were off to find dinner. The food is SOO expensive in Hawaii. Cody and I were blessed to have taken this trip for free by using points from his business credit card, but the cost of food at the restaurants was a lot. I don't eat a lot, especially since having cancer. One of my side effects is a loss of appetite, and even though I wasn't on chemo while we were on vacation, I still can't eat an entire meal - thus a lot of wasted food. It drives me crazy!

Our partial ocean view room.

Our first full day we hiked to the top of Diamond Head Crater.

This is one of the the defense bunkers carved out and used during WWII.

The flowers are so beautiful. I loved going around most corners and seeing Hibiscus plants. My yard would be full of them if they grew in Utah.

We went to the Dole movie theater complex in Honolulu  and watched the Skyfall James Bond movie one afternoon. Then we found the King Kamehameha statue from the tv show Hawaii 5-0.

Sunset from our balcony. Cute Asian girls got married every day at either our hotel or the one next door. What a beautiful backdrop.

 Cody and I took surfing lessons our first day in Hawaii too. No time to waste. I purchased a Groupon before we left for a discounted class. It was just Cody and I. The instructor had his friend come and surf and take pictures/videos for us. I pulled out my very unflattering one piece swimsuit from 10 years ago so that I didn't run the risk of losing anything. Surprisingly to me, I actually got up and loved it.

 Cody was a natural. He got this sweet shot with the sailboat and rainbow.

 Our last couple surfs we tried surfing together. It's a lot harder surfing next to someone and trying hard not to run into them or smash your body against the reef. Awesome morning though. Our hotel we stayed at is the one right behind my head in the picture.

 This is a picture of our favorite snorkeling place. We tried Hanauma Bay and had fun, but it's super crowded with not as many fish as we expected. This gem of a place is called Kahe Point Beach. We stopped here in the morning on our way to the north shore and stopped again on our way back because it was so amazing. Tons of colorful fish, sea turtles and very warm water. Unfortunately, we didn't buy an underwater camera so no pictures of the sealife, but if you are headed to Hawaii, it's a must see/do that most tourists don't know about. Luckily I have a husband that researches like crazy.

We decided to hit up Pearl Harbor on Friday. Veterans Day was the following Monday and we figured we better choose the day less people were likely to be around. We got our tickets with no problem and enjoyed a beautiful morning. I am a dummy when it comes to history, I actually own the book, US History for Dummies, because I can't remember anything. I've seen the movie Pearl Harbor, but it was amazing to see in person and learn about.

 They had a couple of the actual anchors from USS Arizona. They are massive.

 Cody with some torpedoes.

 The Memorial.

 It was interesting to learn that if you were a member of the crew and pass away today, you can be cremated and have your ashes sent back to your ship.

We drove to the Laie Temple and did some temple work while we were there. Beautiful temple with gorgeous views of the ocean out front.

 

 After the temple, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We were able to watch the canoe parade of the different islands. There are different sections of the center that talk about the different islands and cultures. The dancers below depict Tahiti.

The luau dinner was sold out, but we ate from their buffet and watched the "Ha, Breath of Life" show.

 When we arrived at our hotel the first day, there was a big block of sand out front. By the end of our stay, this is what had been created. The detail was really amazing.

 On our last day we didn't fly out until late evening, so after we checked out of our hotel we drove up to the Pali lookout. It was extremely windy, but beautiful.

 Paradise.

Thank you to our parents for watching our kids. It would not have been possible to go without you.