Hawaii 2013

So Drew and I had kinda had a rough semester/last time at BYU. We knew that since both of us were going to graduate school and therefore were going to be graduating again, and most of our family lives out on the east coast, it would be kinda difficult to do the whole graduation ceremony. And in all honestly, both Drew and I were fed up with BYU at this point. We wanted to leave Provo and start a new chapter in our lives. It's not that we hated Provo (no, I didn't hate it, I just greatly disliked it), it was more the feeling that we honestly had grown out of Provo. We felt that we had done the growing that we needed there and it was time to leave. 

With this in mind, we found a really good deal to go to Hawaii and decided that we needed a break. So far we had been going 200 miles an hour and barely had time to relax. Even our study abroads were filled with schoolwork and intense pressure. Even the vacations to Paris and Rome were super structured because of our lack of time there. We really needed a vacation where we could just wing it and relax. This was EXACTLY what we needed. 

But the first stop was Las Vegas. The airline tickets were out of there and my good friend Rachel still lives there. We asked if we could crash on her couches and leave our car there while we were in Hawaii. She said yes, and we had a full day to explore Vegas before leaving for Honolulu. 

The beautiful Dave Chihuly at the Bellagio:

Seeing the garden in the Bellagio:

Pictures of the Strip:

Of course we had to do the slot machines! Luckily we did the cheap penny slots. :P

All broke!

Holding up Paris!

Excalibur!

We finished off the Vegas portion of our trip by going to Bubba Gump Shrimp!

The next stop was Hawaii! We got in super late but were still able to catch the bus that ends at the condo we rented for the week: Makaha Towers. 

It was such a lovely stay. In all honesty, that first day, all we did was relax. We made sure to sleep in late, got up to get food. And then just lounged around and watched tv/look outside at the beauty and just relax. 

The view to our right:

And the view to our left:

Riding TheBus!

So Makaha Towers is actually in the middle of a peacock sanctuary, so it made for some interesting neighbors.

 

This was right by the entrance to the pool

They were quite loud as it was mating season. It definitely made it interesting at night. We got scared half to death when we were walking to our building because as we passed by the trees we noticed about ten of these HUGE 6 foot long (including the tail) shapes sitting on different branches in the dark. If there hadn't have been a sign about the peacocks we would have been like what on earth lives here!

So after completely vegging the first day, we decided that we had to at least visit the beach. It was about a mile walk from the condo. And of course it was an absolutely gorgeous walk, aside a country road in the jungle-like atmosphere. It was really interesting about halfway through when a mongoose started walking down the road in front of us. I didn't even realize that they were on Hawaii. 

And of course, as soon as we got to the beach, it was gorgeous. It was such a relaxing experience laying on the sand, talking to one another, reading my book and getting in (albeit briefly) the water. It was a little chilly for my personal taste. 

The next day we were able to get out again and this time took the hour bus ride (well, it was supposed to be an hour, we got on the wrong bus and so made it an hour and a half) across the island to Honolulu. 

Unfortunately, by the time we got there, the tickets for the Pearl Harbor site were all gone and we couldn't take a boat out to the physical harbor and see the U.S.S Arizona and the sunken ships. 

However, we were able to buy tickets to see the U.S.S. Bowfin and the Naval Museum. I thought it was interesting and a great perspective, but Drew really enjoyed it. So I'm glad we got to do something dorky and fun for him. 

After touring Pearl Harbor, we went to a restaurant that had been highly recommended by multiple friends. This place didn't have a website, and so (to our dismay) when we showed up to have dinner there, they were closed on that day! Boo...but since we were in the famous fish market area near the docks in Honolulu, we went to a restaurant that had quite a few people in it and decided to try it. It was delicious. Drew and I ended up sharing an entree of Calamari (a classic favorite) and I ordered the Ahi Tuna steak and Drew ordered the Garlic Mussels. It was all so good and SO fresh. The tuna melted in my mouth. And Drew ended up loving the Mussels even though he had never had them before. 

So the next day, we had made plans to trek all the way out to Laie to see the temple there, the PCC and hang out with my friend Ramzi. It was a long ride out there, but it was so nice. We met Ramzi for lunch and then he took us to the Laie temple. 

Then he dropped us off at the Polynesian Cultural Center(PCC) where we had a great time seeing everything. 

We couldn't stay for the fireshow at the end since it would have meant that we couldn't have gotten back to our condo since thebus doesn't run that late. But that was okay with us. We wanted to have a nice and chill time and relax a bit and we had a lot of fun seeing the different "islands" despite the rain. Definitely worth the trek out there. 

The next day we went to the Dole Plantation. It was really funny since when we got there, we noticed that they had Spam macadamia nuts! Apparently they're one of their most popular flavored options. So kudos to the Hawaiians for keeping Spam in business. 

One cool thing that we learned was that the pineapple is actually native to Paraguay! Drew was so happy and he had to take the typical picture in front of the plaque for the Paraguayan pineapple. 

After exploring the grounds a little bit, we went and did the train tour where they showed us how they grew different plants. Some were kinda wimpy since they had had a major crop gathering the week beforehand. It was still fun. 

After our tour, we went and did the pineapple maze. Drew didn't realize how bit it was! It's the largest maze in the world and it's in the shape of a pineapple. It starts at the bottom left hand side of the pineapple and snakes its way up the leaves and back down to the other side of the pineapple for the exit. It was really funny because about halfway through, Drew realized how long it was. He thought that it just went from the bottom of the pineapple to the top! It was really hot and we were kinda thirsty, so he finally gave up and we cut through to exit the maze. But it was okay, we treated ourselves with some Dole whip. 

It was delicious.

After the plantation, we decided to go to the beach since it was our last full day in Hawaii. We had only been once, and so we had to go at least one more time. We had some fun making drew into a sand mermaid/man. 

So we stayed for the sunset and it was so worth it. I will always have memories of that sunset and how breathtakingly beautiful it was. 

We had such a great time and it was definitely the relaxing vacation that we needed. Hopefully we can make it back one day and explore some of the other islands.