Hawaii - 2010

To celebrate finishing our master's degrees and our five year anniversary, Jace and I decided to go to Hawaii. We had some friends that lived there and we had a wedding to attend, so it was an easy destination to choose. We were there for almost three weeks, far too many adventures to write about, so instead I'll just choose some of my favorite pictures and give a little commentary on them.

Oahu
Due to the time change, we were up and ready to start our day by 6am on Waikiki. It was neat being out there so early to beat all the people. There were the locals who took their morning surf before work and other mainlanders who were also dealing with the time change.

                                                             6 a.m.

                                              Early bird catches the worm

                                              Starting to get crowded

After the morning in Waikiki, we took a bus to Kailua, a fun little town towards the east where we rented a room in a very nice home. It was a great town and we could walk everywhere.

                     We rented kayaks and went to a couple neighboring beaches.

                                                   Amazing sunsets

                                     Our breakfast every morning - YUM!

                  Kailua is famous for its windsurfing and kiteboarding

                  because it's on the windy side of Oahu.

Then our awesome friend Tracey picked us up to take us back to her humble abode where we'd be staying with her and her husband Bill. They rock!



Our own private tour of Oahu by Bill and Tracey. Man, they charge an arm and a leg.

Nice beach on the north shore.  Hard to believe that in the winter this place has world class waves!

                                                   My friend Tracey.

                The number one thing I wanted to see in Hawaii were sea turtles.

             Turned out that we saw so many that I eventually got a little bored with them.

Hike up Diamond Head overlooking Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. We left early in the morning so we could be up at the top during sunrise, but we left the house a little too late so we saw the sunrise in the car on the way there.

This is what we look like after a full day in the sun and snorkling at Hanauma Bay.

Break down adventure with the Vanagan.  Only when Jace and Amy come to town.

                        Swimming with a strange man (not Jace) at the waterfall.

                                     The best church in Wahiawa, Hawaii!

Polynesian Culture Center


Pearl Harbor

Hawaii (aka the big island)

After about a week and a half on Oahu we flew to the island of Hawaii for our friends' Jeff and Jean's wedding.  Hawaii is very different from Oahu. On the eastern side in Hilo where the wedding was, it was very rainy and lush. It rained every day and every night we were there, even during the wedding! But it was so beautiful!

                                             Sunbathing beauties, Hilo, HI

                            Some bamboo was probably close to 70 feet tall.

Best man duties.

                               The only picture of us from Jeff and Jean's wedding.

After the wedding, we drove to Kona on the western side of the island. Soon after Volcano National Park the vegetation turns from wet and tropical to dry and volcanic.

                            Old lava flow into the ocean at Volcano National Park.

                                                          Love him.

Private tour of a coffee plantation. (It was private only because no one else was there.)

Back to Oahu

We then flew back to Oahu for one more day before we headed home.

                                                   Last night in Waikiki.

                                               Nice way to end your day.

                                                 I will miss you, Hawaii.

There is something magical about Hawaii that I didn't understand until I went there. Maybe it's because of the rich culture. Maybe it's because of the gorgeous weather. Maybe it's because it's a tropical island and you can drink water from the tap. Whatever the reason, Hawaii captures you and I think anyone who goes comes back a little different...