Back in December when Robert and I were deciding what to do for our anniversary, he suggested we go to Hawaii. I had always wanted to go to Hawaii, so I thought it was a great idea! He got tickets for the Valentine's Day/President's Day weekend because it was one of two long weekends Robert had off for the semester. We found a cute little studio apartment on Airbnb in Laie that was kitty corner the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center). It was a good location because it was near a lot of delicious food places, it was near the Hukilau beach (we decided it was the best beach we went to the whole time), and there were a lot of fun tourist places to go, without it being so crowded (like Waikiki). It was such a fun trip! The weather was perfect, and it was just so fun!
Day 1
We arrived on Thursday afternoon, and we just spent the time driving to Laie and getting settled in. We then drove to Pizza Bob's, while looking at the crazy tidal waves. The pictures don't even do them justice. They were huge!
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| Just waiting to take off |
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| The crazy fog/inversion as we left. It was a blanket of white, with just the mountains peaking through. |
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| Driving to Laie |
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| Robert showing off our studio apartment to the family |
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| The big waves that don't look big in pictures. |
Day 2
The second day we toured Kualoa Ranch. They have a bunch of different tours there, such as the Jungle Tour, the Ranch Tour, ziplining, etc. We did the Movie Site/Ranch Tour. It was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. We had a nice little group, with just Robert and me and another couple. This allowed the tour guide to show us extra things and stop at extra places that is hard to do with larger groups. Then, of course, we spent time in the ocean and on the beach.
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| The view from one of the WWII bunkers up in the mountain. |
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| Entering a set used in Hawaii Five-O |
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| The Japanese Bunker set in Hawaii Five-O |
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| The submarine used in Lost. It's made out of styrofoam. |
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| This guy is only a fifth the size of the ones at Easter Island. That's huge! |
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| At the log the kids hid behind in the first Jurassic Park. |
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| We see a dinosaur. |
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| And now we're running from it. |
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| A couple of the footprints from Godzilla. They used to be 42 ft. deep. |
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| China Man's Hat. |
We also ate at Haleiva Joe's because I
had to get some crab on this trip.
Day 3
We spent a little time on the beach in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to the PCC. We planned on going soon after lunch at around 1 or 2, but there was bad traffic. We didn't get to the PCC until around 4, so we didn't enjoy all of the attractions like we could have if we would have known how bad traffic would be on a Saturday. I have also never been before, so I had no idea it would be an all day thing. Robert's been before, but he didn't realize it would take forever to get lunch.
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| Watching the New Zealand presentation. |
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| Watching the fire dancing Samoan. Their presentation was hilarious. Samoans are funny. |
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| Waiting for Ha: the Breath of Life show to start. |
Day 4
We went to go to church, only to find out that it was Regional Conference. So we went to the Laie Temple Visitor's Center and watched a little presentation on the history of Hawaii and the temple. After that we looked around the Visitor's Center and then we walked around the temple grounds. We also took a stroll on this path in this jungle area. It was just a relaxing day.
Day 5
On our last day, we spent some more time on the beach (duh), and then we got some of the world famous Matsumoto Shave Ice. It was seriously so good and lives up to all the hype. I feel like the syrup used in the shave ice I've had here in Utah (and anywhere, really) is so concentrated with sugar and thick flavor. As I watched them put my shave ice together and DRENCH my ice in syrup, I was nervous. But surprisingly, the flavor was sweet, but light. It was delicious!!!
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| Pina colada and melona. Heaven in a bowl. |
Robert and I made our way toward Honolulu, and stopped by the Dole Plantation on the way. I had no idea pineapples grew so far up from the ground. I thought they either grew in the ground or close to the ground.
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| A pineapple growing. |
We also stopped by Pearl Harbor and toured the U.S.S. Bowfin Submarine. It was pretty cool. I just can't imagine being in that thing underwater for months at a time. It's just so tight and confining.
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| A little kitchenette area |
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| A bedroom |
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| A little eating area |
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| The doors to each area are tiny and hard to get through! |
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| I would have no idea what buttons to push or what levers to pull. |
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| The kitchen |
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| Kitchen Aid on steroids |
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| The "cafeteria" |
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| More living quarters |
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| Toilet paper from the 1940's! Haha jk. |
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| I think these were for steering the ship? I just saw one for reversing. |
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| Looking out at the harbor |
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| Looking in the binoculars to aim the ginormous gun |
Hawaii, I seriously love you. Until next time.
