Hawaii 2010

I'll never get over the ocean on Oahu's North Shore. It's turquoise in color, and the waves are at least 8 feet high. Truly a surfer's paradise. It was a breathtaking place to live for a week, and a far cry from my current view out the front window. Even as I'm writing this, I'm getting chills just thinking about it, and I will always remember the awe with which I watched it. The weather god's didn't do exactly as I would have wished, but it would usually blow over and be sunny at least part of the day, and at least it was warm even when it did rain.
If you ever go to Oahu, stay on the North shore at Turtle Bay. I cannot say enough about it. I loved loved loved staying there. We got to do all the touristy things on the island, like the Polynesian Cultural Center, Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, and many others, but my favorite days were when we just hung out at the resort and snorkeled and played in the ocean. Nothing to make you feel more like a tiny little petite thing than being thrown around by those big old waves. I seriously dumped a gallon of sand out of my suit, and having your sinuses cleaned out a couple times with salt water has to be good for them.

When we got off the plane I asked Jay when they were going to come up and put a lei around our neck and say "aloha". (it was my first time to Hawaii) He laughed that I really thought they did that to the millions of visitors they have. Finally, at the Polynesian Cultural Center, I got my lei!!

The LDS temple in Laie. It is the 5th oldest temple ever built, and has been closed for a year ( I think they said a year) because it has basically been gutted and is being re-done. I had no idea the church was so influential on the island, and I was told at the visitors center that that area around Laie is 87% LDS.

The Dole Pineapple Plantation. I loved this place. Go there and eat lunch and then have a pineapple turnover. YUMMY!!


I had always heard that the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor still had oil coming out of it. It does, and I thought it was quite a lot so I took a picture of it! Humbling to go there. I thought it was interesting that half of our tour was Japanese......hmmmm.....in fact, half the island is Japanese. They bombed it and then took over. (shouldn't have said that)

I had to take a picture of this avacado on a plate to show how big it was!!

My parents lived in Oahu about 40 years ago and it was fun to find the street they lived on and hear of some of my moms memories of living there.


Another fun part of our stay was that they were filming a movie at Turtle Bay while we were there. It's called Soul Surfer, about 13 year old Bethany Hamilton that was a famous surfer and got her arm bit off by a shark. Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Carrie Underwood, & AnnaSophia Robb (she's in a ton of "teen" movies) are in it. Dennis was very visible throughout the resort, especially on the beach, and I regret not asking for a picture with him. I should have just marched up to him in my suit and snorkel gear and asked. Kaitlyn will never let me live it down. I did, however, sneak a pic of his back. He really was there, and it was fun to watch him playing with his twins and being a dad. He seemed very nice and gracious, and to tell you the truth, I don't think most people knew who he was. That or they were just respecting his privacy like I was. I did make eye contact one night when I walked past him in the lobby....we're good friends now. Anna was also very visible throughout the resort, but I never saw Helen. If she was there, she was hiding well, because I was looking. According to what I've found online, Carrie is going there this week (too bad for me). One thing that was interesting. The producers and their "offices" were occupying about 6 rooms at the end of the hall from us, so one night I walk down there because I'm snoopy like that. I started thumbing through a rack of swimwear, and it's all from Walmart. The tags were on it, and I was shocked to know they used swimsuits from there on the movie. Go Walmart!

They say Oahu is not the prettiest island, and all I can say is the others must be something to see. I loved my vacation there. It consisted of everything I think about when I think "vacation." Sun, sand, & water. Guess these things only exist in my mind and my photos now, but you can't be on vacation forever. Happy to be home, happy to be with my kids, happy that my mother survived it, and happy to see the snow.