Thursday, July 16, 2015

Hawaii Part 2!

Part 2 of our Hawaii trip is brought to you by the letter 'S'! 
 
Styling
  In the evening time, we often borrowed a DVD from the resort and did nails, hair, or simply all jumped on the bed to watch.  It was so fun. I told Anna to find a hair-do on Pinterest and we'd take a stab at it.  This was the result!
 

Shopping

Every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday there is a swap-meet at Aloha stadium in Oahu.  Vendors sell lots of fun Hawaiian souvenirs and it's a blast.  We Houston girls love looking for deals together. On Saturday, we spent hours there and only made it through 2/3 of the booths! We were even able to bargain a little, which was kind of exciting.  I came home with new jewelry, hair accessories, sandals, and even salad tongs! Scott was a perfect angel, even though it was approximately 1,000 degrees outside with 1,000% humidity.




 

Sight-Seeing

Saturday afternoon, we checked out the Dole Plantation and got the infamous Dole whip treats! We went on a little train ride and learned a little about how pineapple, bananas, and other fruit have been such an important part of Hawaiian commerce for many years. 
 
 





Our new sandals from the swap-meet!





Sailing

We thought a nice Sunday activity would be going for a sail after church.  It turns out we didn't totally catch the vision of a catamaran boat ride ahead of time- we came in dresses with no sunblock. Everyone else was in beach gear.  Oops. It was very hot but still beautiful! Unfortunately, we did not have any dolphin or turtle sightings :-(. 
 
 






Snorkeling

I was obsessed with getting to snorkel in Hawaii, and Anna and I finally got our chance on Monday! We rented gear at the resort and explored the lagoon next to ours that was better for seeing sea life. It was so fun to see such colorful little fish, sometimes in schools. It was everything I hoped for!  Next time I come to Hawaii, I want to get someone who knows what they are doing to come along and show us all the hot spots! One thing I've realized as I've gotten older is how much I love the water! I love swimming for exercise and for fun.  Snorkeling was right up my alley and I wish I could have stayed a couple weeks more to do it again and again!  My skin apparently hates the sun though- I got so badly burned on day 2 of the trip that I had to get a swimshirt.  Despite two applications of sunblock, my legs were fried by that night!
 


Playing with Scotty on the beach was a highlight for me!


reSort (I know, I know)





 


 

 
  
 

 


Seaside Drive
Due to some unfortunate circumstances including illness (the family reunion plague finished it's work on our Hawaii trip) and expired temple recommends, there was no one who could come with me to the temple on Tuesday.  I really wanted to go, though, so I ventured off on my own. It ended up being such a beautiful drive there and back.  I must have stopped four times to take pictures! I was staring at a full rainbow for a good twenty minutes of the ride.  It was really fun to see Hawaii life away from the resort (though I'm not complaining- the resort was a little slice of heaven!).  It confirmed to me that I need to come back probably several times in order to see and explore everything that I long to!
 
Pineapple and snow cone stands!

 
North shore
Full rainbow accompanying me home

 

A lone fisherman

Sacred House of God 

The temple grounds are incredible! What a joy it was to see them!
This is the view coming out of the temple- the palm trees go on for at least a mile!



Visitor's Center
Even though I would have preferred having one of my family members with me, it was a really sweet experience to go to the temple alone.  My relationships with my Savior and Father in Heaven have been strengthened enormously because I have spent so many years single.  I have had to rely so heavily on their love and faith in me.  It was really neat for me to silently reflect on that precious relationship I've worked to develop on my own. I can't wait for the day when I have a companion to work alongside me in the service of the Lord, but I wouldn't trade the time I've had to learn and grow as a single woman!

 Snow Cones

What can I say. I'm obsessed. Pineapple flavor is my favorite. Ice-cream in the bottom is a must.  On our last night in Hawaii, we met up with some family friends, Jared and Amy Bukarau and their darling daughter.  They just moved to Hawaii (Jared was raised here) and are returning for graduate school! Jared took us to the BEST shaved ice on the island and an incredible restaurant that mostly only the locals know about! It was some of the best food I had in Hawaii!
 



 
 



RIBS


Saying Goodbye

The trip was perfect.  Not only is Hawaii breath-takingly beautiful, my relationship with my mom and sisters is so precious to me.  Spending my first trip to Hawaii with them was a dream! Tina and Scotty and I had to catch three flights back home (14 hour travel day, wahoo!) but it was worth it. 
 

 



Scotts
We got to see Papa for a few short minutes when he picked up my mom and Anna from LAX!
 

To you Hawaii....I say 
MAHALO!