Hawaii Day 3

We loved the green rainforest of Hawaii.

We were up early again, and this time it was for hiking. After breakfast of eggs and bacon, we drove down to Manoa Falls. It was a 1.7 mile hike, and it was supposed to be easy. It didn't seem easy to us, though! It was rocky, muddy, and pretty steep. At the end it was really steep! But we enjoyed the birds and the beautiful rainforest. Mark spotted myna birds, cockatoos, and green parakeets. None of these birds are native to Hawaii, but they have spread as invasive species, just like the mongooses. The trail was busy, but we hoofed it pretty fast, because we had timed tickets to another hike. We reached the waterfall, and it was really tall and pretty. After snapping a few pictures, we hustled back down the trail.

There was an old train car right in the middle of the trail. It was so cool.

The hike was more difficult than expected, but we still enjoyed it.

The waterfall was so tall! You couldn't get it in one picture.

The pool was beautiful.

We spotted this tiny gecko. It was so cute.

We saw so many neat birds on this trip.

It was a short drive to Diamond Head, which was our second hike. Mom and Dad weren't really excited, because we knew this one was difficult, but Seth had read about it in our blog book, and he had asked about it a lot of times. This hike was drastically different. Instead of the damp, shady rainforest, we walked through the dry, yellow grass up the bare hillside. But the hike is cool because there are a few tunnels and some fun overlooks. There were some cool birds on this one, too, and we even spotted several more mongooses. The hike was difficult, and we were sweaty and puffing by the end, but it was fun. We all agreed that we didn't need to come back for this trail again.

We hiked Diamond Head, and never again.

We saw some more mongooses on this trail, too.

We spotted cardinals in Hawaii, too.

The views were nice from Diamond Head.

The water color is beautiful.

We liked exploring the old fort relics.

Mom and Dad 10 years after the last time they hiked this trail.

Our next stop was Pearl Harbor, which Mom and Dad had missed on their first trip to Hawaii. When we got there, it was closed due to a maintenance problem, and our tickets were cancelled. We didn't know what to do, so we headed over to Waikiki Beach. The water was calm and beautiful, and we found a nice sandy section. The boys and Dad did some swimming. They even tried snorkeling, but the water wasn't so clear on this beach. Still, we spent a few hours and enjoyed the water. We also spotted a sea turtle way out at sea.

We tried snorkeling, but it wasn't good.

Seth is always playing in the sand.

Mark loved the birds running around the beach while he swam.

The snow cones were yummy!

After a short stop for a snow cone, we drove up to the Pali Overlook. This is a nice stop that looks out of the other side of the island from Diamond Head, so we saw most of Oahu today. The overlook was a short stop on the way to Byodo-In Temple. Unfortunately, as we pulled into the parking lot, it started to rain. Luckily it was a little drizzle, so we walked the grounds anyway. It was a pretty temple, and the boys enjoyed ringing the bell and practicing a little meditation.

The mountains were covered in clouds.

The lookout was amazing.

We loved the green overlook.

On the way out of the temple, we decided to count cats in the graveyard. We'd seen a bunch of cats on the way in, and there were signs reminding us not to feed the "wild" cats. With growing amazement, we counted 70 cats on our way out. Mark did most of his counting in Spanish, and Dax and Seth were laughing at every cat we counted! By the time we left the temple, it was dinnertime. We stopped at a sketchy restaurant (don't worry, we lived) and ate a variety of food. Dax made the best choice with the vegetable ramen, but Mom liked her kalua pork. While we sat and waited (and waited) for our food, the rain became a downpour. We watched through the window of the restaurant as it pounded down in the parking lot. It had been a long day. The drive home seemed long, too, but we'd seen and enjoyed so much!

Mom and Dad loved showing the boys this buddhist temple.

The boys enjoyed exploring inside.

It was rainy, but fun.

This temple is in a beautiful location.

The bell was their favorite part.

Mom loved these green mountains.

So many cats!

Dinner was surprisingly good despite the location.

Hawaii Day 1 & 2

We found cheap airline tickets to Hawaii, so, we had to go! We planned a short trip over Fall Break. Dad and the boys would miss the Wednesday before, and the Tuesday after the break, making it a week-long vacation. Our flight left on the first day at 6 am and took us to Dallas for some reason. We had a short layover there before flying to Oahu. We arrived about 3 pm. After grabbing a rental car, we stopped at Costco for our groceries, and then made the one hour drive in the rain to our house in Hauula, which is just south of Laie. It was a nice quiet little home just a hundred yards from the beach, but we were pretty tired, so even though it was only 8 pm local time, we went straight to bed.

Mom found her own candy store in the Dallas airport.

Mom and Dad got to sit together on the plane.

This is what the boys do the entire flight.

We made it to Hawaii!

We immediately loved how green it was.

We stopped along the side of the road to enjoy the beach for just a few minutes.

Of course, we woke up somewhere in the 5 o'clock hour ready to go, because that is about 9 am for us. Since we were up that early, we walked down to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was really beautiful. We walked along in the sand, getting plenty wet, and took a lot of photos. The boys spotted a few crabs hiding in the sand, which started their day off right. 

The sunrise was beautiful.

It was so early.

We took so many pictures because of the lovely colors.

We waded a little into the water, too.

This is what Mom looks like on most of our vacations.

Mom loves this picture she snapped.

The colors were so nice.

Hawaii captured our hearts immediately.

It was a great morning.

And it got even better with a rainbow.

Then it became a double rainbow.

After Mom made breakfast of pancakes, we loaded up the car, and headed up the coast. Before we even made it into the vehicle we spotted two massive snails. These guys were about as big as your fist! We knew it was going to be a good day. Just past Laie, we saw some wildlife. We'd seen hundreds of egrets and a few herons, but we spotted two mongooses right on the road. These guys are invasive, but it was still cool to spot a few. 

One of the large emails that we spotted.

We stopped at a beach called Turtle Bay and unloaded our snorkeling gear that was graciously supplied by our homeowners. The boys went straight into the water, and after just a few minutes spotted several cool fish. Dad and Dax saw a long narrow fish, probably a cornetfish, but Seth and Mark were more interested in Reef Triggerfish with bright blue lips. We saw several types of bright yellow butterfly fish and a few pretty tangs. There were also some nice spiky anenomes, and the weird brain-shaped ones, too. We had a great time snorkeling, and can't wait to go again.

Dax enjoyed snorkeling.

The boys really liked the warm water.

By the time we got back to the house for lunch, it was almost time to head to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We hurriedly scarfed our sandwiches and drove back to Laie. We had things all planned out. Our first stop was Hawaii. We learned about the hula dance and tasted some poi (it wasn't good). There were also a few games, like Hawaiian bowling, cup-and-ball, and tops to spin. We spent about a half hour at Hawaii before heading on to Fiji.

The Polynesisan Culture Center was a lot of fun!

We played games in Hawaii. 

It was fun to learn all the different games.

Mom's hair was already going crazy!!

Seth's best friend is from Fiji, so he was so excited to visit this part of the park.

In Fiji, we had some huge, hollow sticks that we banged on the ground along to the beat. They taught us a few chants, and they played some music. Next we went to New Zealand. The huge building was entirely packed, and we couldn't even sit down. Still, we enjoyed the dancing, including the Haka. New Zealand also had the best games outside. The boys and Mom tossed sticks on the beat to each other. Then we played a stick dropping game which Mark won (but our three boys were the final three contestants). We even learned to spin poi, which were like puffballs on strings. 

We each chose our own sticks to use.

Mom and Mark had a blast with this activity.

We had to stand in the back corner for the New Zealand show, and we were so hot!

Our boys were pretty good at this game.

We were not good at this activity, but we had fun!

We bought a fancy drink to cool off, and it was delicious!!

Our next stop was Tahiti. They showed us how to bake coconut bread, and then drummed for us. Of course, we had to dance to the drums, and we weren't too good at it. From Tahiti, we took a canoe ride down the river. It was sort of like a tour of the property, which was fun. 

Dad bought a coconut at Samoa, which no one really liked, but everyone liked the show. They told many jokes and showed us how to make fire and skin coconuts. Then they shimmied up a coconut tree with lightning speed. They even did a fire dance at the end, which the boys loved. In Tonga, they didn't talk too much about the culture, but they did a little drumming and a little dancing. We also made some fish out of banana leaves, which the boys enjoyed. Their favorite activity, though, was a seed game that was a little like shuffleboard. Of course, Mom won with the best score.

We loved watching the Tahiti dancers even though we weren't great at the dances.

Mark and Seth got a few temporary tattoos.

Riding down the canoe as a family.

We tried the coconut, but we did not love it.

The fire dancers were pretty amazing!

We had fun playing this Tongan game. 

We made these adorable fish.

Then we threw some spears.

The grounds are so pretty.

Our last event at the PCC was a tram tour. The sister missionaries loaded us in an open-air tram and took us over to the temple. We snapped a few quick pictures and then listened to a message in front of the Christus statue. We'd done a similar tour on our cross-country trip, so the boys were a little better about answering questions this time. It wasn't long, so we knew we had to go back to the temple another day.

There were a lot of food trucks at the Center, so we grabbed some dinner, too. Seth had a crepe, but Mom and the older boys had fish and chips. Dad decided to try the calamari burger, which wasn't that good, but it was a new experience. After that, it was dark, so we drove back to the house and turned in early again.

The tour through BYU Hawaii was fun.

We love this beautiful temple.

A long, but fun day!