Aloha! Trev and I finally got to goto Hawaii for a few days tho first week in February. We had a great time! When we first arrived Trev couldn't wait to stick his toes into the sand so we got our rental car, checked into our hotel, and took off for the beach. Our first steps on to Waikiki were right when the sun was setting. What a beautiful site. Trev and I stood there in each others arms while we enjoyed the view. In my opinion there aren't too many more moments you can spend with your husband that beat a sunset on the beachs in Hawaii. After walking around for hours we made our way back to the hotel for bed. Time change can really mess with a person and Trev and I were bright eyed and bushy tailed at the awesome hour of 5am the next morning. After turning on the news we were disappointed to learn that Ohau had forcasted showers throughout our first fun day there. We decided to make the best of it and head off to the Polynesian Cultural Center. What a wonderful place. We loved every moment that was provided for us and I found myself brought to tears many times by the beautiful people and my entire experience with them. I've always been intrigued by the Polynesians and their heritage, but I have a new found respect for such a humble, admirable culture. During the Luau there was this gorgeous little boy and girl that would come out and dance for us (this was one of the times I got a little emotional) and they did such a good job. My favorite dancers were the Tahiti dancers who had me in awe. I came home searching for teachers and hope to hula sometime. This was my favorite thing we did in Hawaii.
The next day Trev and I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and went to Hanauma Bay to snorkle. When you first walk into the "park" you are provided a great view on a cliff looking down into the bay. Its gorgeous looking down into the depths of the ocean from above and we were so excited to jump in and explore. I was dead set on finding and swimming with a sea turtle! We grabbed our gear and headed out. Now, we were able to snorkle on our Honeymoon in Costa Rica and had a great time but let me tell you that there was a big difference between the two. First, in C.R. the fish were at least 4 feet away and we were in a pretty little lagoon that was really calm. At Hanauma bay you are literally inches from touching the coral at times and felt as though you were a fish with how closely you were swimming with them. Second, we were able to use a "normal" snorkle in C.R. and in Hanauma Bay they were all sold out and we had to use a dry snorkle. My stupid dry snorkle kept filing up with water and I would get a HUGE gulp of salt water every couple of minutes. I was freaking out! Besides not being able to breath and catch my breath the fish were WAY to close to me for comfort and the waves were pushing me into the coral which was causing me to scrape my knees. Trev was the only thing that provided me any kind of comfort so I was constantly grabbing and climbing on him to try to gather my composure. Needless to say his patience wore thin with me and I got into trouble a few times. So he dropped me off at the beach so I could tan instead and I was SO relieve to actually relax. After a few hours of laying there and hearing everyone else talk about the sea turtles Trev came to me with a new dry snorkle and a bright yellow life vest equipped with an awesome crotch buckle. I felt ridiculous but wanted to please Trev so I went out one last time. I did a lot better but still didn't like the fish touching me or the coral. After hitting myself on a giant rock and not seeing a turtle I gave up. Maybe some other time?
The next couple of days were spent exploring the island. We went to North Shore, Dole Pineapple Plantation, Pearl Harbor, and tanned and watched surfers at local beaches. Hawaii is beautiful and we had a great time, but its always good to come home. We look forward to seeing a different island another time. Here are a few pictures we took. We still need to use the rest of the underwater camera so stay posted for those.... Mahalo.
