Aloha from Hawaii

We can't believe it!! We are actually going to Hawaii. It was crazy how it worked out. They changed our tickets at the last minute, so the girls drove from Salt Lake City to St. George, picked me up, and we caught the plane in Las Vegas. We then flew back to Salt Lake City for a 2-hour lay-over. It was the same on the way back, except the lay-over was not as long. Then we drove back to Nephi where Terry met us. He had moved camp from Lake Powell to Mt. Pleasant in Utah, while we were gone. The girls traded cars in Salt Lake and Jill drove on home to Idaho Falls.

When we first got this crazy idea that we could go to Hawaii. (After all, Terry and the boys got to go to the NASCAR race in Phoenix for some "father/son bonding" so it was only fair!)
Travis and Shannon have a Marriott time share and they just happened to have a week they couldn't use, so they let us have it.

We stayed at the Ko Olina resort on the Island of Oahou, about 30 miles from all of the business of Honolulu and Wakiki. It was a beautiful resort.

We were on the 7th floor and the view from our balcony was beautiful.

After we settled in, we headed for the beach.

There were four lagoons that were part of the resort. They were all kept so nice and had lots of lounge chairs to sit in.

The sunset that night was really something.

First thing the next morning we went to Lagoon # 2 and watched them call in the fish and feed them. We all got to through in a handful of feed and we learned a lot about the fish in the area. We were a little late getting to the program, but he told us it was okay and that the motto of the Hawaiians was "hang loose," and he showed us the hand sign. (I had a bit of trouble getting it right!) We "hung loose" the rest of our stay!

Jill and Sarah decided to take surfing lessons. They did pretty good and actually got so they could fall off of their surfboards quite gracefully!

Sunday was Mother's day so the girls took me to dinner there at the resort. They were really busy and forgot our order, so dinner was on them. Sarah and Jill thought that was about the least expensive Mother's Day they ever had. We had gone to Church that day at one of the family Wards. All of the Moms were wearing leis that their family had given them. At the beginning of the meetings and before each talk in Sacrament Meeting, the speaker or the one in charge would say "Aloha" and everyone would say it back. There is a lot of hugging and cheek kissing also. They were very friendly. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the resort.

The next day we went to the North Shore. On the way we stopped at the Dole Pineapple Factory. We learned a lot about pineapples.

We learned that if you stop on the road and steal one of the pineapples off of a tree, it is a $5,000 fine. The pineapples were good, but not that good!

One of the funnest things we did was to snorkle. I was a little nervous to start with, but the girls coaxed me in! We snorkeled first on the North Beach and later in the week we snorked a couple of times at the resort lagoons. Both times we saw many brightly colored fish and we saw sea turtles each time. The last time we snorkeled at the resort we saw a very large turtle and got close enough to touch it.

After we snorked and ate lunch on the North Beach, we went back to the beach and Sarah and Jill tryed their skill at body surfing. They had a good time, but landed in the sand a lot.

It was nice to just play on the beach because the water was warm, but quite salty.

On Tuesday we got up early and went to the Temple. It was a beautiful drive to get there. It was through the middle part of the Island which is a lot more like we imagined Hawaii to be, with lots of green trees and shrubs. Even in the Temple session, the greeting of "Aloha" was said back and forth. The temple was beautiful.

After the Temple and lunch, we went to the Polynesian Center. There we met our guide, Cousin Eddie, and he guided us around the Center where we learned about the cultures of six Polynesian Countries.

and watched the Pageant of the Canoes where each country wore their traditional colors and costumes and did their dances.

Then we went to a great Luau. They roasted a pig in the ground and served bread made out of poi and had other traditional foods. The only thing I didn't care for was the raw salmon.

Later, we went to a wonderful program where all of the countries performed. One of the most spectacular were the fire dancers. They wouldn't let us take pictures, but we got a CD with lots of picures.

On Wednesday we went to the flea markt. I'm not sure that was wise becasue it cost Jill the money for a new suitcase so we would have enough room to take all of our purchases home!

In the afternoon we went to Pearl Harber. It was quite a somber experience. Terry and I had watched the movie of Pearl Harber the week before, knowing I would be there to see where it all happened.

There is really a special feeling you get by being at the acutal place. This picture shows the USS Arizona underwater below the monument.

Because Thursday was our last day at the resort, we decided just to hang out there all day. It was very relaxing. We spent time on the beach and went to a couple of activities on the resort schedule--lawn bowling, Island fruit demonstration where we learned how to cut a pineapple, and Jill even entered a ping-pong tournament!

These are a few of my favorite "hanging out and hanging loose" pictures.

Me & Sarah posing on a tree.

Jill "hanging around."

Jill and Sarah standing by the torches, with Jill looking like a "Polynesian."




"The girls" in front of a waterfall in the front of the resort.

Friday morning before we left the resort, we got brave and each of us got a "tatoo." (They assured us that we could get them off with rubbing alcohol if they didn't come off in a week.)

We packed up our stuff (thank goodness for Jill's extra suitcase), spiffied up the little condo, and left to spend the rest of the day at Diamond Head, Wakiki Beach, and shopping before catching the plane at 10:00 pm.











Diamond Head is a dead volcanoe that was used to keep the Island safe during wartime, although it was never used as that. You can drive inside the crater through a tunnel and then climb up to the ocean side where the big guns were kept.

It was a long climb, one of the stairs had 98 steps and another had 52.




But, getting to the top was well worth the climb. You could see the whole island from the top. Behind Jill and Sarah is Waikiki.

Sarah took a picture of Jill and I and our final walk on the beach before heading to the airport. All week she wanted a picture of us running along the beach like in the movies. This is the best she got!

We had a great time. We wouldn't have been able to go to Hawaii without two great son-in-laws who took care of my grandchildren and things at home to let their wives leave, a husband who was willing to move on his own to the next campground, and a son who allowed us to use his timeshare. Thanks to all and ALOHA!