*HaWOWaii* Part 2

Tuesday, February 21st
David and I went to the Polynesian Culture Center and had a blast! It was so fun getting to do all the different shows and activities they offer and of course learning about all the different cultures/traditions from each of the different Polynesian Islands. Two highlights from that day- One was when we went to the Tahitian Village. While there, they picked me to go up on stage and do the 'shake your hips' dance with a couple other people from the audience. The crowd then had to vote on who did it best and guess what?!? I won!!! Not to toot my own horn but people throughout the rest of the day kept coming up to me saying how well I did, and asked if they had taught me how to do it before hand and if they offered me a job and all sorts of really nice things!! I felt like I was famous or something! Soo fun! The second highlight was the night show, a must see!

We weaved fishes out of leaves! 

Land of Men?? ;)

There were gorgeous waterfalls everywhere

Elvis Presley at the PCC!

These guys climbed the palm trees like it was nothing. It was amazing!

Wednesday, February 22nd
We went into Honolulu for an awesomely HUGE swap meet, found some awesome treasures and then decided it was beach time! This was a great day! We ended up sneaking on to the Disney Resort and swam in their pools and lazy river and then of course their private beach!!! We were nervous at first in fear of getting caught and kicked out because everyone there had writs bands but it added to the thrill of the day if you ask me! They had an awesome water slide too! SO FUN!!!!!!

China Man's Hat

Thursday, February 23rd
Pearl Harbor! David and I ventured into Honolulu again to go visit Pearl Harbor and later that day Waikiki. Visiting Pearl Harbor was such a sobering experience. The museums there do an incredible job giving you a play by play of the days leading up to that tragic event and then of course the day that Pearl Harbor was hit.  You feel like you are there watching it all unfold. They have crazy video footage that is only seen at Pearl Harbor and exhibits that are full of real pieces of wreckage, clothing, life, etc. Then we took a little ferry boat to the actual memorial where you are literally standing over the USS Arizona. This was probably the craziest part because not only are you looking into the water at a sunken ship but you know that thousands of men and women are buried right underneath you that went down with the ship that day. The USS Arizona hasn't been touched since the day it was bombed so as you see it is how it sunk. In fact it still leaks oil to this day, (not enough to be environmentally dangerous) they don't want to remove it in fear of desecrating the burial. So they say the oil that leaks are the tears of the soldiers that died that day. Im a history buff so every bit of Pearl Harbor was so special and interesting. This particular event was a pivotal moment in US History and it was so neat to somewhat experience it. Waikiki was fun and very touristy. They have tons of shopping right there off the beach with restaurants and street performers and hotels. It was fun to see the tourist side of things, and of course lounge on the beach in the sun :)

Friday Feb 24th
BEACH DAY!!! We lounged by the beach all day and got fried! We also learned how to surf and the boys tried rafting to goat island (hilarious). We had good music, sunshine and the best of company!

The Hukilau Cafe! This little gem is quite famous! This is where the movie 50 First Dates got the name they used for their cafe and it's where Jack Johnson loves to eat breakfast. He has songs about the banana pancakes from this restaurant. Inside they also have lots of pictures of big name peeps. It was really yummy and of course a local favorite! 

Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes!  

David was pro at surfing! He could catch his own waves and everything. That California boy, it must be in his blood!

You've got to get your back side even when you're pregnant! 

Okay so we weren't able to get any pictures of me actually standing up while riding a wave. I wasn't very consistent but I did in fact get up, I surfed!! I got up a solid two times! It was awesome!

This was hysterical! The boys paddled for probably a good 20 mins and didnt get anywhere! The waves would push them back every time they got ahead. So funny!  Im sure on a calmer day they would have made it! 

Yummiest Thai food ever!

Saturday February 25th 

This was our last day on Oahu and boy did we make it count! We started the day at a BEAUTIFUL beach called Lanikai (its on the top ten beaches in Hawaii, a must see!!) unfortunately our last day was a grey windy one one the island, still really warm, but kinda stormy looking so we made plans to one day make it back so we can see this beach and all the other places we went that day in all their glory! Anyhoo so after Lanikai we went to to Makapuu Point to hike to the lighthouse, which was soo fun! Then later in the evening we ventured in to Waikiki and got a taste of the nightlife down there and boy was it a hoping place! He had dinner at Outback Steakhouse and then headed home to beautiful Liae where we packed :( and enjoyed the last couple hours reflecting on all the good times and memories we made. 

In no special order--

So the hike to the lighthouse was actually to a spot looking down at the lighthouse which didnt fly with us! We saw a pathway to it so we decided to head that way. It was gated off at the start of the walkway and also right at the lighthouse but being the thrill seekers we are, we kept going! It was soo funny to see my 6'6 husband crawl through these little holes in the fences! And as you can see we made it to the lighthouse; chalk another one up for the the law breaking, thrill seeking, adventures peeps! lol

beautiful scenery 

A Buddhist Temple!  

Wowza! We have bathing suits on, promise! 

love was in the air!

These are cool old bunkers that are along the sides of the mountain we hiked. 

We saw a lot of whales here!! 

David makes the best funny faces!! 

Outback Steakhouse! The view was incredible 

Squid, or in other words Calamari, YUM! 

This tree's roots grow down in the ground and then back out again, crazy, huh!

'The Duke'
He is a surfing legend! He also popularized the sport of surfing which before then was only known in HI. He was the first to introduce surfing to the Mainland US  in Southern California and also in Australia and many other Countries around the world.  

Sunday February 26th 

We woke up bright and early to start our 12 hr travel day home to UT. When we got home that night I cried to David as we laid in bed about how badly I didnt want to be home (school, work, responsibility etc.) and how I wish we could still be in Hawaii. My sweet husband laughed comforted me till I came to my senses. It was our first indicator that I was pregnant!! We still have a good laugh about that night to this day! hehe 

I hope you all enjoyed the picture fest even in its randomness! :)

Happy Blogging!!