Away to Oahu

As our Christmas gift to ourselves, and as a big trip with Caleb before college, we decided to take another trip to Hawaii with the family. This time, we chose the island of Oahu. We wanted to check out some of the more touristy, landmark type attractions, as well as the Polynesian Cultural Center, BYU-H, the Dole pineapple plantation and North Shore. 

I thought I was being smart planning the trip after finals and at the start of the new semester at the end of January instead of waiting until spring break all the way in April, but it ended up being a bit of a stress to all the boys to take them out of school for the week. Note to self, don't take them out of school unless absolutely necessary. I'm grateful to have responsible boys, though.

ANYWAY, the trip itself was awesome! I'm breaking it down by days so that I can get all the pictures straight.

Day 1: Arrival & Meetings

We arrived in Honolulu in the afternoon. After a brief stop at Hickham AFB for groceries, we drove our rental car up to Laie by the North Shore. Our VRBO house was in Laie, just steps from the temple and a short walk to BYU-H. It was gorgeous, but the boys were all pooped from traveling, so we chilled and got settled.

After dinner, Jake, Riley, Brendan and I went for a little stroll to check out BYU-H just down the street. Then, we got a hankerin' for some treats. We collected Caleb and made our way over to the Hukilau Marketplace outside the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) in search of some ice cream. We parked, walked up not entirely sure which way we were going, turned an then walked straight into Talitha and Michael Call from our home ward in Spokane Valley! Talitha is one of Caleb's good buddies, and that day happened to be her 18th birthday! Our minds were all sufficiently blown that we walked right into each other without even knowing that the other was in Hawaii, let along on Oahu, let along in Laie. 

Caleb got a pic with Talitha and Riley got one with Michael, his former Cubmaster. So fun to catch them on our first night and their last night in Hawaii!

Then we found the New Zealand style ice cream hut "Sweet As" and enjoyed some yummy coconut and vanilla ice cream with ground in fresh fruits! Soooo yummy!

Day 2: Dole Plantation & Shark Cove

We had a gorgeous day! With the time change adjustment, we were easily up early and headed to the center of the island where the pineapple plantation is. We were there right after it opened, which was a good thing because parking filled up fast!

We were fascinated spotting trees that look like they have peeling paint on them, as well as looking at all the different crops they cultivate in Hawaii as we rode the little train around the plantation.We HAD to stop for some Dole whips, and then we braved the ENORMOUS pineapple maze. There were six hidden stations in the maze with little details about all of the Hawaiian islands and a little tracer that you used to mark off the station on your card. I had four guides to show me which way to go, and I was happy to leave them to it.

After our adventure on the plantation, we were ready to find lunch and try some snorkeling. We drove through historic Haleiwa and some of the North Shore craziness. There was a big surfing competition going on that day, so there were cars and tourists EVERYWHERE. We were happy to leave them to it, though, and headed over to the much quieter Shark Cove. We found some food trucks and tucked in for some island yumminess. I got a Hawaiian bowl and the older boys got some seafood loco moco. We found that they had some reusable waters! They also had complimentary water refills. It was a sweet deal and a great way to conserve. Riley found a pizza truck...and ordered a burger. Ah, Riley.

After our bellies were full, we took our gear down to the little, scenic cove to snorkel. It was a little rocky to get in, but then was chocked full of schools of fish. They were mostly black, white and light blue fish, so not as many tropical colors, but there were a lot of them, so it was easy to spot things to look at. What a full day!

Day 3: Pearl Harbor, Valley of the Temples and the Holy Temple

We got a tip from Brother Call that if you arrive really early to Pearl Harbor's Arizona Monument you can get standby tickets. Otherwise, they tend to run out of tickets. They only offer a certain amount and so many tours per day. So, we all agreed to have a really early start and by down and in line for tickets at 6:30am. Sure enough, we were glad that we had because the parking lot filled right up and, within minutes of our arrival, the line for tickets was winding around the parking lot.

We ended up in the first tour group of the day. We were ushered into the small theater to watch a movie about the history of Pearl Harbor and what happened on that fateful Sunday morning. Then we boarded a navy boat and were taken out to the monument. Sailors were running the boat and at 8am when the Star-Spangled Banner started playing from Hickam AFB, we stopped right where we were in the water, they saluted and honored our country. We were seated in the front of the boat, so I don't know what the other passengers were doing, but we removed our hats and put our hands on our hearts. It was a solemn moment for me. Looking out at the monument, and other monuments for the other sunken vessels, as well as the USS Missouri just nearby, my face streamed with tears as I remembered those who were killed during the Pearl Harbor attack, and all those who have and continue to give their lives for our country.

After the National Anthem ended, we continued on to the monument and had the chance to walk around, look over into the water to see the oil still leaking out of the Arizona, and look over the names of all the sailors who are buried in her depths. I was touched to discover the names of all those surviving sailors from the Arizona who later chose to have their remains interred with their shipmates there. It is a special honor only granted to sailors of the Arizona.

Once back on shore, we drove across the bridge to Ford Island to tour the USS Missouri and the Air Museum, which is housed in one of the old base hangers which was shot up during the attack. The boys got to see where the Japanese surrendered and signed the treaty, ending the war.

Below decks on the Missouri, we were fascinated to see all the places that the sailors lived, including the mess hall, the post office, the offices and coffin racks. Jake was sure to find the doctor's quarters, which was the only room on the entire ship with carpeting. Ha! He was pretty pleased with that.

After the Air Museum, we enjoyed a little picnic lunch by the water on base before heading back towards home. On the way, we made a brief stop at the Valley of the Temples to see the Byodo-In replica temple. We all got to ring the bon-sho sacred bell, which is customarily rung before entering the temple, representing spreading the eternal teachings of Buddha. We had to remove our shows before entering the temple and then we lit some incense at the altar by the enormouse Buddha statue. We spotted a huge black swan, and Riley enjoyed all the koi in the pond. Jacob found some fish food and they would go crazy over that. 

That night, Jacob and I were able to attend an endowment session at the Laie Temple. We were greeted by the sweetest brother at the recommend desk, who just started chatting us up! He told us how Las Vegas is where people from Hawaii go for vacations and that it is their "ninth island". What a funny guy! We were asked to be the witness couple, which was a great honor. I sat beside a sweet lady in the chapel as we waited to begin. She told me with eyes near tears that after a really crazy day she knew that she needed to be in the temple. She was just the cutest. We left feeling uplifted, and with a love for the sweet people of that town. Then we headed back over to the Hukilau Marketplace to have dinner at a place called Pounders. It was a nice date night together!

Day 4: Hukilau Beach & Kahuku Food Trucks

After all the touristy stuff and waking up super early, we decided to take a chill, beach day. The Hukilau beach was just down the street from our house, and even on a Saturday it was practically all ours. There were only a few other families there. Granted, there were some high winds and it got a little stormy, but it had perfect waves for boogie boarding. 

Right when we came onto the beach, we spotted a little hole/shelter that someone had started previously. Caleb immediately decided it would be his mission to make it large enough to stand in and spent the majority of his time digging it out. The other boys helped, but also enjoyed some boogie boarding. I got out there, too, until I got swept off my feet by a crazy big wave which literally spun me head over heels. I hit the sand under water pretty hard and it bent my board. It was kinda scary, as that has never happened to me before. I was sure grateful that there weren't any rocks in the sand!

Once the weather was about to get really crazy, we left the beach in search of the famous food trucks in Kahuku. Kim Shaffer told me that we had to check out Giovanni's garlic shrimp, and the older boys were more than happy to. Seafood is their happy place. What we didn't bank on was how popular the food truck was (there was a pretty consistent line of hungry people), that they only accepted cash (Jake had to run and find an ATM nearby), and that the shrimp were not peeled (all the legs, baby!). So, it was a bit of an adventure getting to actually eating our shrimp, but after the buttery fingers, I think we could agree that it was pretty tasty. Jake found a BBQ truck and scored a HUGE barbecue pork platter with rolls and all sorts of stuff. Riley got a pizza waffle from the waffle truck. It was sort of like a waffle calzone on a stick. He tried it, but wasn't a fan. 

After that, we just chilled at the house for a little while. The boys brought their Nintendo Switch with them, so they enjoyed playing video games together. LOTS of Super Smash Bros was going on! 

Jake and I later went back to walk around all the other trucks and hidden nooks and crannies around Giovanni's. There was a hidden post office, a tiny Kaiser clinic and a bunch of other little mom and pop huts, trucks and trailers. Even a bus that sold BBQ. Who knew?  

Later that night, we tried the shave ice place in Laie called Angel's. We all agreed that we liked the place in Hilo better, but it was still yummy. 

Day 5: Laie Fourth Ward, Temple Visitor's Center, & Laie Beach

Saturday night as we were planning out what we would do for Sunday, it suddenly occurred to us that it was going to be fast Sunday. In all honestly, I had completely forgotten and had gone ahead and planned out breakfast. We had a pretty careful plan for using up all our food, and the thought of not eating it was not appealing to me, so my first instinct was that we could just fast the following Sunday. We were on vacation anyway. We told the boys that they could choose for themselves what they wanted to do.

When Sunday dawned, I went out to the living room and found Riley out there. He informed me that he had chosen to fast. He then taught me a great lesson. He said that he felt choosing not to fast simply because we wanted to use up food, was not a valid reason. He believed that we would be blessed for fasting properly and for the right reasons. I was humbled. Taught by my nine-year-old about faith. I agreed to fast with him. 

Later that morning, we attended the Laie Fourth Ward which was less than a block from our house. We walked there, the boys in their sandals. We walked in and were greeted at the door by some sister missionaries who hugged and kissed us aloha. Then as we ducked into the back to sit down, a sweet sister sitting in the row ahead of us turned around to say hello, welcome us and hand us hymnals so that we could all sing. She told us that she expected great things from us. LOL. 

We enjoyed a lovely fast and testimony meeting full of welcoming "ALOOOOOOOHA's". Then afterwards, that same sister told us that we should move into their ward as they were the smallest one in Laie. After doing some research myself, I found that the little town has FOUR stakes in it! Two young single adult ones from the university and two regular ones! Well, that sweet sister made us smile, and feel very welcomed. We will definitely consider moving to their ward someday!

After sacrament, we walked next door to the temple, walked the grounds and checked out the visitor's center. We met a couple more sister missionaries (there are many, many sister missionaries...all wearing matching mumus), who showed us a couple of films about the Church's growth in Hawaii and about Laie's history and the building of the temple. They were fascinating. We learned that the Hukilau beach we had visited just the day before was THE Hukilau that the song is about. It was where their community banned together to raise funds to rebuild their burnt down chapel and later build the temple by inviting tourists to come participate in fish pulls (bringing in nets), dancing, and luaus to learn about local culture. What an amazing story those saints have!

Then the boys looked around at all the family history tech around the visitors center before we walked home. 

After lunch, we tried another nearby beach, Laie Beach. It was also NOT crowded. The clouds came in and out, but the waves were great, the sand clean and the views of green mountains stunning! Caleb found me a flower for my hair, and then discovered just how curly his hard can get with loads of moisture! 

Day 6: Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve & Malasadas Attempt #1 

We had really wanted to score some malasadas since returning to Hawaii, and had heard there was a bakery up in Haleiwa called Ted's, which was good. So, Jake, Riley, Brendan and I had an early started to get to the bakery when it opened and see if they had some. We were disappointed to see that they didn't! Only muffins and rolls and a lot of things like a regular mainland bakery. So bummer! BTW, I never saw any of the pink guava bread we enjoyed on the big island last time. I wonder if it is exclusive to Kona?

Anywho, we were disappointed, so we decided that we would try another place the following day. In the meantime, we really wanted to go on a hike. Caleb and Brendan especially had been wanting to go, so we headed back towards Honolulu. There were a couple of hikes that looked not too hard, but had great reviews. We drove to the trailhead for the first one, but it was closed due to poor conditions, probably due to mud from rain. So, we headed over to Diamondhead to hike the crater. 

We were fortunate to get there right after it opened and got into a parking spot straight away! There was actually a waiting queue for parking, so that in itself was a small miracle. Then we sunscreened up and headed up the crater. It was a paved path with rails, so although it was a little uneven and steep in spots, it was totally doable. We were all equipped with water, too. Riley did the entire hike without any issues or complaining, which made it even more enjoyable. The view from the top was awesome. It was a relatively quick hike, and the way down was scenic.

After a spot of lunch at a Honolulu McDonald's (Riley was thrilled), we went snorkeling at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. The water was turquoise blue and the view was breathtaking from the top of the preserve. All visitors must watch a brief video about the preserve and safety for themselves and the wildlife before being permitted to go down to snorkel. Riley was not so patient with that part, but once we got down there, he was happy to draw in the sand and try and see some of the gorgeous tropical fish. With such a large area, fish were a little harder to find compared to Shark Cove, but the wildlife was MUCH more colorful. We saw some fish that were HUGE and had large beak-like mouths. It was amazing! 

Day 7: Malasadas (Finally!) & The Polynesian Cultural Center

Brendan, Riley, Jake and I made one last attempt to get some malasadas. This time, we just went over to Penny's Malasadas truck by the Hukilau Marketplace. We were the first customers of the day and order a variety of malasadas with fillings like coconut and pineapple. Some had powdered sugar and some had cinnamon sugar dusting. They were mmm-mmm good. As you can see in the picture.

We took our time milling around, the boys played video games, and then, after a full lunch of all the dinner left overs and foods we had in the fridge, we headed over to the PCC which opened at noon.

We went to New Zealand first, where the brother serving there taught us a game using staves that they would use to teach their youth training to be warriors how to be quick and nimble. We all played, and all the boys agreed that it was their favorite part of the day.

We watched the New Zealand welcoming ceremony and then the presentation and haka. My favorite!

We went to all the "islands" after that. We wove little fish toys out of coconut tree leaves and paddled a canoe in Tonga, got tattoos and used large staves for making music in Fiji, went fishing, shot spears, and ate coconut bread in Tahiti, explored a chief's hut in Hawaii, and attempted to start a fire in a piece of wood, learned all about the tree of life (coconut tree) and it's many uses, and then watched the fire dancers in Samoa. At the middle of the day, everything stopped so we could gather by the river and watch the canoe celebration on the water, where every island was represented.

I personally had a lot of fun talking to the older folks in the "islands" and hearing their stories. They were all immigrants from those islands. It was so fun to hear the accent of the Kiwi sister as she wove her artwork, and hear the conversion story of the Tongan sister who came to Hawaii on her own and helped buy the PCC. Such fun stories!

The presentation in Samoa was the last thing we watched before going to dinner, and it was led by a small Samoan man named Kap. He was a little comedian as he told about how to open a coconut and all the uses for coconut fibers and such. He ragged on the young men who were his assistants, had them climb coconut trees and was just super entertaining. What was crazy is that both Jake and I were talking about it afterwards that both of us felt like we had seen Kap somewhere before. His name sounded familiar, his face looked familiar. But after racking our brains, we could not see any way that we could have known him or come across him. It was so weird.

We ate dinner at the buffet that night and stayed to watch their big performance called "Ha: Breath of Life".

We all agreed that the Polynesian Cultural Center was the climax of the trip! We felt like it was the perfect way to wrap things up. 

Day 8: Heading Out - Last Pics

On our way out of Laie towards Honolulu, I wanted to grab a picture of the Hukilau Cafe (the name of which was used in the movie "50 First Dates") just at the end of our street, and the sign for the Hukilau Beach. Two adorable pieces of Laie history.

Once out on the tarmac in our plane, we had one last view of Diamondhead, and then realized that the runway was also being used by the fighter jets from Hickam AFB. There were fighter jets waiting their turns right in between the passenger planes, taking off with their wingmen. It was so fun! One last send off from Oahu before the reality of school and work. What a great trip!