Hawaii 2010

Aloha Friends and Family! Aloha!

We're back.....and what a trip it was! I chose to title it Hawaii 2010 because we're hoping to add some future years to the word, "Hawaii."

We flew into Portland, Oregon on Saturday, February 6th. Jen and Steve Johnston met us there 90 minutes later. We ate dinner and discussed the brutal murder of our neighbor's little dog (killed by another neighbor's German Shepherd). Jen and Steve were a hoot and the perfect couple to "double" with on this trip.

We arrive in Honolulu at 10:00pm that night. We rented our red convertible and headed for the Ko Olina Marriott Resort on the west shore of Oahu, about a 25 minute drive from the airport.

The next morning, Dave and I were up early (the time change is brutal) to explore the resort.

Stunning
Breath-taking
Beautiful

We couldn't believe our accommodations for our stay in Hawaii! Here are some pictures of the resort on our first morning:

Here is one of the multiple pools on the property. This one is designed for families, including a huge wading pond and "beach."

Here is the workout facility. Dave thought the weights weren't "heavy" enough.....

At the resort, there were several private coves to the Pacific for us to use. Here are Dave, Steve and Jen at the main cove...

Brothers from different mothers
(that is what they call each other.....)

Love my man!

Here they are checking out the Reflection Pool at the resort.

After we ate our $40 per couple breakfast at the resort, we headed to Costco to purchase food and save the budget! It ended up to be a life-saver! Since we were on the run each day, we would eat lunch at the local "dives" where we ate killer BBQ and rice a lot. I loved this picture of Dave and Steve trying to haul in our loot....

Welcome to Hawaii Show
Ko Olina Marriott

I barely made it to this show. I had spent the previous night sick and Monday morning in an Insta Care. Strep Throat, if you can believe it! So on Monday, I spent the afternoon huddled under blankets and sleeping while Dave and the Johnstons rented our snorkeling gear for the week and checked out some sights of the island.

In the evening, I put on my sweater and blanket and found a place to sit and enjoy the welcome show. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Steve and Jen trying out their snorkeling gear at the cove!

Pearl Harbor

On Tuesday morning, I felt way better so we were off to Pearl Harbor. It was amazing and we learned a ton. It made us all appreciate the sacrifices of our soldiers and their families all over again.

Leaving the boat for the monument.

The two best-looking men at Pearl Harbor.....

I love this picture I captured of our flag. Dignity, pride.

DOLE PINEAPPLE FACTORY

Swinging and singing the hula dance....

Isn't it funny how big Dave sticks out from behind the little guy?

Jen's fresh flowers smelled amazing!

THE NORTH SHORE

A Stop At The Shrimp Truck

Now, if you have been to the North Shore of Hawaii, you probably know about the shrimp truck! Best shrimp scampi in the world! About 4 cooks work in this truck and crank out super sea food! It was a garlic-ee stop; so grateful for the gum given to us by other patrons as they overheard us discussing the need to purchase some.

It is a tradition to sign the truck. Here is my signature!

(I need to insert a comment here that the outfit I selected was horrible for a day of so many pictures! I can't believe how unflattering it was)

LDS TEMPLE

We stopped at the temple to look around and to recharge my battery on my camera. This beautiful temple is being renovated right now so it was closed. Guess there will have to be a next time! :)

BYU HAWAII

We had to make a quick drive past BYU Hawaii. Beautiful campus.

Steve wore my lava lava around his neck since he was getting sunburned. He looked so gay.

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER

This was a great afternoon (even if Jen hated going here). We enjoyed several hours of learning about Polynesia. Here we are with our tats!
After we went to the Samoa show, one of the men grabbed Dave and asked him to be a part of the next show. He took Dave and a pasty-white American aside and taught them how to make fire-

Here is Dave practicing how to make fire.....and he actually did!

Now, the show part! Dave couldn't do it! It was so funny to see him sweating, extinguishing the fire from the beads from his head.

And alas.......
FIRE!!!!

Dave was crowned king of the village here.

And then the dancing started! Dave was hysterical! He was right with the guy, beating his chest and all. It was the beginning of this phrase, "Jody, I'm half-Polynesian now. These are my brothers."





All of the sudden, the Samoan yelled, "Drop and do push-ups!" Dave had been working out for months on weights (check out his upper arms here) so he was so happy to show this off! :)


Here is a cute Samoan doing his tree-climbing show where he now poses for shots of his muscles. Too funny!

Canoe ride!
We LOVE HAWAII!

We had a feast in the evening of crab legs, Ahi, shrimp, bbq chicken and tender loin, to name a few items. Our server was darling. Phil from the Philippines was his name.
We ended up watching the show "Ha" which was amazing! When Dave and Steve bought our tickets, they asked if we could have front row seats. AND WE DID! The hula dancing and fire dances were stunning. It was a jam-packed day and a ton of fun!

THE EAST SHORE

If I could live in Hawaii for a year, I would live in this area. Lush green, striking mountain peaks covered in green foliage, blue ocean.....GORGEOUS! Here is a picture of Dave on a great beach.

Waikiki Beach

We went to the beach after a morning of snorkeling Hanauma Bay (Jen has those pictures which I'll post at a later time since it was an amazing location). Waikiki is the happening place. By the end of the day, we were glad to have played with the mobs, but then to go back to our little "island" at the Ko Olina Resort.

I LOVED these trees! We saw them everywhere!

Dave and Steve, before they went bobbing in the ocean.

One of the views from the beach!

Our Last Day at the Ko Olina Resort

We spent all of our final day at the resort. Since we had to check out by 11:00am but didn't fly out until 10:00 pm, they allowed us to store our luggage and use the facility for the day. We spent the day at the pool, laying out and swimming. It really was the greatest, most relaxing way to end the trip since we had been on the run all of the other days.


Before we boarded the plane, we sat and watched the sunset and listened to a Hawaiian singer with his guitar. Romantic. And the perfect ending to a wonderful trip to paradise.....