We did it! We finally took a real vacation...it didn't start out being a vacation with plans to look at a chiropractic office for sale, but it was a good excuse to visit Hawaii. We stayed a week on the island of Oahu and went about 3/4 around the island. Our first visit was to Pearl Harbor which helped us (me) to realize how brave our soldiers are. Military service I think is one of the most unappreciated and gracious acts one can do in this life. I owe my life to those who defend this country.
One of our main trips was to the North Shore where BYU-Hawaii and the temple are located. During our day trip there we visited the campus and visitor's center at the temple, and probably the highlight of the trip was to the Polynesian Cultural Center (which is owned and run by the Church). This was AMAZING! It's not only a luau with a show but a full day event. You start out with a canoe show featuring dances from all the polynesian islands. Then you continue your tour of the islands with ceremonies and cultural activities from each particular island. This leads you up to the luau where you get to eat the traditional smoked pig feast with entertainment while you eat. I expected the evening to end after that but it continues with an hour and a half full on show featuring music and dancing from the islands (which is put on in an outdoor arena). We didn't get home until 11pm or so. Spendy but a great memory!
We did a ton of swimming- how can you not when the water is like bath water...except for the sand. We literally went to a beach every day! We realized that the North shore had the best waves. I even wore a bikini while pregnant...I wanted the least amount of tan lines as possible. I got a few stares but most people couldn't believe I was actually playing in the water.
We did a little snorkling at Hanauma Bay where it's known for lots of underwater life...we snapped a few shots of different sea life. Paul happened to see an eel, which he said looked like it was going to take a bite out of him. I was glad I didn't see one!
Of course we did some shopping. And on our last day there we tried to go for a hike which started out great...it reminded us of the island on LOST (only our FAVORITE show) but we only got about 300 ft. into the hike due to the thickest muck and swarms of mosquitos!
It was great to get away from the rain and have sun and beach for a week!
