Aloha ~ Hawaii Day 9

On Friday we went to the Wailua River and rented Kayaks.  We didn't take the wimpy tour, oh no. 

We opted for the 2-mile. Oh yeah.

Lunch before the hike.

Crossing the raging stream.

The hike was beautiful, especially along the river

and through the forest

And then they slip in the mud.

We made it to the falls.  Awesome!

Then we had to kayak back.  By now, I had three really nice blisters on my hand.

 We made a pit stop by a rope swing and had some fun.

It was a long way back. I thought it would be easier, going downstream and all, but no, there was a nice headwind to make things more challenging.  But, it was fun, well worth it, and we had a great shoulder workout.

There are chickens and roosters everywhere.  And I mean everywhere.  The Walmart parking lot has a bazillion.  They are all over the resort.  

This girl was below our balcony.  Ashlyn like throwing bread crumbs down.  In no time we had a bunch.  If chickens are ubiquitous, then why are eggs so expensive here?  Crazy!

Each night, after dinner, we watch the Olympics.  Awesome.

Aloha ~ Hawaii Day 8 ~ Kauai!!

And we're off to Kauai!! 

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but our hotel room at Ko'Olina was super tiny...made for 2 people.  It was nice and brand new, only a month old, but it had one king bed, one couch (bed), one bathroom and a small, tiny, mini kitchen (two plates, two forks, etc.).  We squeezed all 6 of us in there and loved the family togetherness.  

However, arriving at The Marriott Lagoons is nothing short of palatial in comparison.

This place is huge!!!

Three large bedrooms, Three large bathrooms - not 6 people sharing one small bathroom sink.

We can spread out! 

We can breathe! 

We can live!

The whole wall opens up to a huge balcony

There's a dining room - seats 8!

Large living room

Ashlyn and Christian's bedroom

Master bedroom - the glass doors open fully to the balcony also.  Walk in closet too!

Master bath

Long hallway to the laundry room and the girls' room

There's a whole room for this - plus an antechamber/utility room.

Girls' bathroom

Girls' bedroom

View from balcony

Looking in from balcony

And an amazing kitchen with Sub Zero and Wolf appliances.  Fully stocked with all one would need (except food)!

 As soon as we were settled, moved in really, we went to Costco to load up, then enjoyed the beautiful pool.

I think we are going to like it here.  

Aloha ~ Hawaii Day 7

Our last full day on Oahu - we decided to chill and enjoy the pool and beach.

We met these really nice people from England and our kids started to play together.  So great!

Then daddy got in (when he was done working) to play with the kids.  Could it also be because one of the English boys was 13?  Nahh...

Daddy loves his kiddies!!!

 That night, the kids wanted us to go on a date to the hotel outdoor restaurant for a sunset dinner. 

We wouldn't want to disappoint them.

 Ko'Olina has magnificent sunsets.  

This is my morning walk . . . 

on my last morning.

Good bye Oahu!!

Aloha ~ Hawaii Day 6 ~ The PCC

Our friend Roy scored us a good deal on the Polynesian Cultural Center (he used to dance there, and his brother works there).  The PCC is located next door to BYU-H and the Temple and is a cultural showplace/amusement park of sorts for the students of Polynesia to earn their way through college and to preserve the heritage.

We were going to meet Roy for lunch first but our car had a blow out on the freeway. Total bummer! We had to wait for AAA to come, then we went back to Hertz to get a new car.  By that time, it was so late, we had to hurry to the PCC to try and get in enough time.

AAA to the rescue!

We waited, and waited, over an hour.  

      We made it to the PCC, finally!!  

First stop, the canoe ride.

Next was the Samoa village where we wove fish out of sugar cane leaves.

 The girl helping us asked where we were from.  

California.

What part?

We never say "Newbury Park", because nobody knows where that is, 

but we took a chance and said, 

"Newbury Park" 

 turns out she recognized us, but wanted to make sure.

Sister "M" served in our ward nearly 2 years ago.  She is now moving back to New Zealand to get married after this last semester at BYU.  Small world!!  I wonder what the other tourists were thinking when we talked about her having dinner at our house.

Getting native tattoos in Figi.  (Church-sponsored place, and yet they do tattoos!)

 We love this guy.  Cap has been doing this Samoan family show for years and years.  He's hilarious!

 And they have a guy climbing the palm tree to get a coconut (and to show off a little).

We kind of stunk at the poi balls.

We went to a luau where they roasted a pig in an imu (in ground oven).

And enjoyed traditional Hawaiian food.  Yum!

We had a few minutes before the night show and all the attractions were closed, so we took the tram tour through Laie ... brilliant from a missionary perspective.

 The tram goes by BYU (with a missionary guide narrating) and stops at the Temple visitor's center for about 20 minutes where they invite everyone in for a FREE movie.  Genius! 

The temple at night is even more beautiful than during the day!

The night show was fabulous with so much talent.  The kids especially loved the fire knife dancers.

I had to take this picture of Christian with two beautiful girls.  He was so shy, he wouldn't do it, so I had to go with him, then the girls conveniently (expertly?) posed without me and we captured a great shot. 

We love Hawaii!!