On our last and final day in Hawaii we went to Nānākuli Beach and Andrew and I loved it! There were
huge waves and we totally stood out as tourists because we were so amazed and in awe of it all. We didn't
have any other camera except the gopro and tried as hard as we did, it just could not capture the waves. Where the
waves were more calm I would be standing on the shore, nothing except sand at my feet. When a wave would
come in, the water would quickly be past my belly button. Once it even knocked Andrew over. The water was strong!
It was crazy and I loved every minute.
There were locals who were camping out on the beach and that is now on my bucket list. Sleep with the sound of
waves and then hang out at the beach all the next day. I think that would be so fun to try!
^We did make it in and just floated around.^
Later we came back to our resort cove where it is nice and calm and no waves.
Here is where we goofed around because we weren't so worried about being carried off .
^Ryan and Andrew^
Then at our resorts pool.
At a small shop down the street from us we could get Dole Whip for $4 and you served it yourself.
Andrew piled that Dole Whip up so high and we split it. Totally worth it and and so good. Now my mouth is
wanting one. We just need to go back to Hawaii.
And of course we needed your standard picture at the beach taken by a local.
Do we stand out as tourists of what? haha. But I think we look cute. Look at this fam!
Hawaii was a blast and I am still dreaming about this trip. I love exploring new places with Andrew.
Speaking of which, we are going to see Aladdin today and we are so excited! (Whole New World came to my head-
not a completely random thought). I'm excited for new adventures with him, but I would not complain one bit
if we traveled back to Hawaii.
Most of our trip in Hawaii, Andrew and I would wake up around 5:30 to watch the sunrise.
Now that sounds all cool and impressive, especially when you know that Andrew and I are night owls!
But it was 9:30 in Utah. We weren't fully on Utah time though and not fully on Hawaii time, so somewhere in between.
No matter what strange time zone we were in, we loved the sunrise!
This morning after the sunrise I went on my run and Andrew went for a swim with his dad in the ocean. I joined
him after my run and not 2 minutes before, Andrew and his dad had seen a sea turtle just swimming around in the water.
How neat is that? They were out for a morning snorkel and they see a sea turtle! I think that was one of the highlights
of their entire trip!
After our morning swim, the first place we went was Matsumoto's Shaved Ice.
It is the only one ever and it was good stuff. If you ever go there I recommend the Matsumototo
flavor combination. It was SO good!
^Showing off our colored tongues. Mine was really faded but you can see a small tint of green^
For the rest of the day we were at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was a really neat place where we experienced some of
the culture of the various islands of Polynesia (hence the name of the place, haha).
I am a person who LOVES to experience and learn about different cultures and people. I loved hearing them sing
and watch them dance. Some cultures talked about some of their history and traditions. Totally up my ally.
I totally forgot what countries they were, but there are two separate countries in Polynesia, it takes a 45 minutes flight
to get from one to the other. BUT, it is a 23 hour time difference because of the international date line!
Is that crazy or what?! I love learning random facts like that!
^In "Fiji"^
^One of the sisters from my mission works at the PPC and it was great to see her for a hot second!^
At the PPC we tried coconut bread which was delicious and tried to throw a spear. Andrew was not half bad.
Me on the other hand, it's a good thing we don't depend on my spear throwing capabilities for food. haha.
Amy and I were shown how to dance. We watched the video of us attempting to dance and you can see the Poly blood
does not run through our veins.
One neat thing learned about was the origin of the Shaka.
So here's a brief history lesson:
Hamana Kalili was working in a sugar mill and he lost the first 3 middle fingers on his right hand. He was
later reassigned to the sugar cane railroad, and he would wave his right hand to have the train come.
People thought it was an island thing so they started to start doing it too. Also he conducted the Mormon choir in
Laie and they knew his hand signal too. I just had no idea of how the shaka became a thing, and my mind was blown.
We ate at the luau where a 10 year old kid was fire dancing! It was impressive!
We went to the night show, "Ha- Breath of Life." I found it online and started it at a funny and impressive part
to watch.
It was fun to watch the full thing in person and see this wild stuff they did! It was incredible!
Overall I loved the PPC but personally I think it's a little overpriced and not run efficiently.
A lot of our time we were wandering because we had no idea where we were going or what to do.
Then things close after dinner so you wait around for over an hour waiting for the evening show to start
(we had the early luau). They do give you additional days to come back and do the activities but our condo was over
an hour away. It wasn't worth our time to drive all they way back, especially when we had other things we wanted to do.
We were able to talk to some of the sister missionaries though and learn about their day to day schedule.
We love finding missionaries wherever we go! Missions are the best!
And here is one of the many sunrise pictures we took. Hawaii is one beautiful place.
First off, look at that view! The hike was beyond worth it!
Besides the relaxing and the swimming, one of my favorite things we did in Hawaii was Diamond Head.
If you ever go to Oahu, it's a must do if you're into hiking and pretty views.
^This was only the beginning of the very long staircase. haha. Luckily there is an alternate path
which is easier- without stairs and a much prettier view. We took the stair-less way on the way up
and on the way down we took the stairs just to say we did it. ^
When we got back down we got a small treat and I don't think I've ever tasted a more delicious piña colada in my entire life.
We went and toured Waikiki Beach and it was crowded!
And see that mountain on the right? That's Diamond Head!
^Proof that we were there, even though we didn't swim^
Traffic was really bad going back to our condo so we tried to wait it out.
We went shopping and bought amazing cookies!
^It was an outside mall and these were the trees "inside" --> so cool!
It kinda reminded me of City Creek in Salt Lake.
We ate at a place called Marukame Udon which Andrew and I really loved because we are all into
Asian food and eventually we made it back to our condo.
I love looking back at all these pictures! It makes me really miss the sun! I know I've said it before, but Utah is
struggling with the warm weather this year! I kid you not, today I wore a sweater and boots to work! At the end of May!
And I was still cold. For now it's just imagining the sun on my skin! And waiting for summer to begin!
This past weekend Andrew and I went to Costco and bought pineapple & coconut snacks in attempt to bring some of
Hawaii back to us. We are currently loving crispy coconut rolls and I'm eating them right now! I want to put them
in pineapple ice cream. Or coconut ice cream. Does that even exist? I'm going to look for a recipe.
More Hawaii photo dumps to come! And maybe one on coconut ice cream.
