Hawaii or Heaven?

Light breeze & sunshine warming our faces.
Sand in our toes & fresh fruit invigorating our bodies.
History, culture, & new wild adventures cultivating our minds.
Sea turtles, bright fish, humpback whales, & palm trees etched into our minds forever.
Friends, love, & each other pulling at our heart strings.
Hawaii, you had me at first sight.
I'm in LOVE with you.
Thank you for carving the coolest memories into our noggins.
This winter has been a bleak one.
A vacation to Hawaii was a must.
Blakeboy & I have never been.
So, we made arrangements for London,
 grabbed some of our best friends
& booked last minute tickets.
Everytime I think back....
Wow! A full week of Wowness.
Hawaii resides within my top 3 vacations.

Day 1: Sunday
We jumped off the plane & immediately fell in love.
Swap meet was the first activity.

We stayed on a beach house on the North Shore.

Driving there was magical.

I'm still taken back at the beauty.

Since our plane came in later in the day,

we decided to just take our first day & chill.

Here is our little balcony on our beach house.

Blake is looking quite smashing while he smashes a coconut.

We then drove to the temple.

Amazing. 

Breathtaking.

Perfect Juxtaposition with the stormy clouds

& beautiful temple.

Day 2: Monday

One of my very favorite days.

Since we all were on Utah time, 

we woke up at the butt crack of dawn.

We didn't mind though.

Watching the sunrise from our balcony every morning

put the icing on the cake.

Our first adventure was Kualoa Ranch.

Blake & I might be a bit obsessed with LOST.

Kualoa Ranch is where a lot of scenes were filmed.

So, naturally, it was a must to take the Movie tour.

Jurassic Park, Hawaii 5-0, Pearl Harbor, & 50 first dates

were some other movies filmed at this location. 

Submarine from LOST.

Although, Kualoa Ranch was way rad,

we were craving some serious adventure.

So, a hike to Waimano Falls was our next adventure.

I think it's safe to say, this was my FAVE part of the whole vacation.  

CRAZY hike. Seriously.  Tree roots everywhere. Straight up & down.

Wouldn't change it for the world.

Took about 1.5 hours to hike in....

Then,

Our fab hike payed off by showing us this.

Then, we got to do this.

Incredible.

Had the whole place to ourselves for about an hour.

Favorite Memory.

After our perfect adventure,

we decided to hit up Waikiki Beach.

I wasn't the biggest fan...

But still fun to experience Waikiki Beach.

I picked a pearl....

Can't wait to put it on a piece of Jewerly.

Day 3: Tuesday

Good luck can't follow us everywhere...
Unfortuately, the day we decided to go to Hanauma Bay to snorkel..
It was closed.
Of course.
The drive was beautiful though.
Since Makapu'u Lighthouse & the Halona Blow Hole are right there...
We decided it was the perfect opportunity.
The hike up to the lighthouse was beautiful..
as if it could be anything else.
Fortunately, Humpback Whales are in season.
We sat at the top trying to spot Whales.
Everyone was spotting them left & right.
Everyone, that is, but ME.
I was going mad.
Just when I thought I would give up.
I spotted one.
Just playing.
So freakin cute.
After that,
I joined in on spotting them left & right.

Lunch at the famous Giovanni's was next.

The Polynesian Cultural Center took up the rest of our day.
Perfect entertainment.
Awful food.
All the 'mormon's were lining up to get air brushed tatoos.
P.S Don't get the ice cream during intermission.
Gross.      

Day 4: Wednesday
Fun fact: I was born on Dec. 07.
Does anyone know what significant day in history that is?
That is the day the Japanese bombed the U.S at Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor kept us busy the first half of the day.

What a remarkable place.
To me, it was a spiritual place.
Absolutely heart breaking.
Blake & I walked around & read all the beautiful memorials.
I am so proud to be an American.
The men that fought in WW2 were outstanding.
I thank them.
We toured the Submarine,
& the USS Arizona...
where so many men are still buried within it's chambers.
It was humbling to see the oil still spilling out of the Arizona.

We spent the next portion of the day
driving through fun little beach towns...
& soaking up on the sun at Turtle Bay.
Snorkeling was brilliant.

Day 5: Thursday
 Many people told us that the Dole Plantation wasn't worth the
time, money, & drive.
BOY, were they wrong.
We loved it.
We learned all about pineapple while we rode a cute little train.
Best part?
The Dole Whip Ice Cream at the gift shop.
Out of this world.
I'm salivating right now just thinking about it.

We then packed up our stuff & headed to our new place.
This place was hidden up in the mountains.
Fresh fruit trees everywhere.
Perfect secluded get-a-way.

The surfers at Pipeline captured our attention
for a good amount of time.
Then Sharks's Cove.
We were bruised on the maximum level.
Remind me to never try to snorkel at Shark's Cove when the waves are big.
I seriously can't count the times I was bashed into the coral/rocks.

Day 6: Friday

Perhaps my 2nd favorite day.

We started our day out by renting some scooters.

As I said, Blake & I are super LOST fans.

So, we knew we wanted to hike to Waimea Falls.

The scene that was filmed at Waimea Falls is where 

they dive down to the airplane.

The hike was beautiful beyond words.

Picture the perfect jungle.

Absolutely stunning.

Pictures do not do it justice.

After some lunch...

We went Matsumoto's to get the famous shaved ice.

It's famous for a reason.

Wow! Delicious.

Of course,

throughout our whole trip,

we stopped at about every local fruit stand.

Our coconut drinks were a favorite.

We ended our day by going back to pipeline.

Soaking up some serious rays & watching the surfers.

We even got brave enough to venture out into the water

& play in the big waves...

only after running past all the signs that say

NO SWIMMING.

Yeah, we are crazies, 

but it was worth it.

Day 7: Saturday

Since we had an early flight..

we couldn't do much.

But, we did find time to stop at the Dole Plantation again for some

out of this world ice cream.

I want to eat some right now.

I wanted to cry as we walked onto the plane.

Goodbye Hawaii.

Many memories were made on your island.

Thanks for the good times.

We had a hard time finding a decent meal,

but your entertainment certainly made up for it.