Oahu: Day 5

Our final full day on the island was very bittersweet. We tried to soak in as much as possible without dwelling on the fact that tomorrow we would be leaving... Throughout the week we could see planes leaving from the airport, flying out over Waikiki, and we would comment "so glad we're not on that plane!" but we knew our time was almost up. :(

Anyway, on Day5 we had planned to beach hop along the Windward coast, but after our sunburn experience from the previous day, we really had no desire to punish our tender flesh with more direct sun. So, we drove along the coast and got out to enjoy the views as we wanted to. We were once again overwhelmed at the beauty God has created on Oahu. How beautiful He must be to be able to make something like that!

After our scenic-spot hopping, we made it back to our hotel beach in time to enjoy one last dip in the Pacific (once the heat of the afternoon sun was gone) before watching the sunset from the beach. The perfect way to end our final day on Oahu.

Oahu: Day 4

After a busy Day 3, we decided to spend our fourth day just relaxing. We went to a local drive-in for breakfast: Geoff got sunny side-up eggs over fried rice, and I got sweet bread french toast. We spent the morning eating breakfast out on our lanai, reading, enjoying the breeze, etc.

Then we hit the beach! We even spotted a sea turtle swimming with us in the small cove by our hotel. Having spent the morning lounging around our room, we were on the beach during the sun's most intense time. In other words,we made it until day 4 before getting fried. We're still enjoying the peeling skin...

After the beach, we found another way to relax: massage! We got a couples massage at the spa in the Hyatt Hotel downtown. It was bliss, and thankfully our sunburn really didn't start to hurt until later in the day. We enjoyed saying goodbye to all those knots from the long flight (and could probably use another one...). Here we are in the spa's "relaxation room," enjoying water flavored with mint and ginger, and tasty treats of pineapple and chocolate.

After our spa treatment, we spent some time regrouping in the lobby of the Hyatt (the one with the waterfall in it) and enjoyed some Mochi ice cream. This was something we'd read about in the travel books and decided we had to try- its ice cream after all! Mochi ice cream is cold ice cream wrapped in a soft, fluffy rice dough and dusted with a white powdery coating. Its quite an interesting texture experience... probably a good, not great treat in our opinion.

For dinner, we went to Dukes. We had heard this place was worth checking

out for its outdoor seating, right on the beach. We had to wait awhile for an outdoor table to open up, but the reviews were right! We enjoyed good food in a beautiful setting, and Geoff bought be a beautiful fresh lei. We enjoyed another Hawaiian sunset and the shimmer of the tiki torches on the ocean. A great end to a perfect, relaxing day!

(well, the perfect ending might have been the aloe we applied to our burnt skin before bed, but that's far less interesting...)

Oahu: Day 3

Friday we visited Pearl Harbor. They have a great museum on site that we had plenty of time to look through as we waited 3 hours for our timed ticket out to the remains of the USS Arizona. It was a very hot day so we spent some time walking around the outside exhibits, but quickly decided our time was best spent indoors!

Looking thru the periscope out to the harbor

Geoff testing out the big guns

One of the remaining turrets from the Arizona, which lays beneath where Danielle is standing

Behind Geoff is the USS Missouri which stands guard over the sunken Arizona

*****

After spending all morning and early afternoon at Pearl Harbor, we went back to Waikiki to cool off in the ocean for the afternoon. Then we walked downtown Waikiki to get dinner and watch the sunset over the ocean. Beautiful ending to the day!

20 weeks

Baby is doing well and we're so thankful. Doctor says he/she has a "beautiful" looking heart, and everything else baby needs. Counted 10 fingers and 10 toes. Amazing. God is good!

Oahu: Day 2

Thursday we drove along the other side of the island from Waikiki to the North Shore. On our way, we stopped at the Dole Plantation. We learned the history of the pineapple and how James Dole used the unique climate and soil of the Hawaiian islands to build a pineapple empire. Most importantly, we got pineapple ice cream (mine was also topped with fresh pineapple) which was delicious and the perfect treat for a hot day. Tried to figure out how to bring some home with us, but I guess we'll just have to go back... :)

Leaving Dole, we kept heading towards the North Shore. We stopped in Haleiwa for some shopping and to get lunch. Geoff got another plate lunch, this time with pulled pork, and I got a hot ham, pineapple and cheese sandwich. yum. (I managed to have pineapple in some form every day while in Hawaii). From Haleiwa, we drove to Sharks Cove where we went snorkeling

(no Sharks spotted). We weren't in the water 2 minutes before we came face to face with a sea turtle! We saw at least a dozen different types of beautiful, brightly colored fish. This was one of the highlights of our trip for sure! After snorkeling, we left the cove and walked to the nearby beach to do some swimming (the cove was very rocky). The North Shore is where all the surfing competitions happen in the winter, but thankfully the surf is much calmer in the summer so we amateurs could enjoy the water.

For our return trip to Waikiki, we drove down the other side of the coast and enjoyed spectacular views of soaring mountains and jagged cliffs offset by crystal clear waters. Please excuse the pictures since they were taken from the moving car and don't do the views justice at all.

Oahu: Day 1

With baby on the way, Geoff and I took the opportunity to have one last big get-away together (i.e. "babymoon") by spending about a week in Hawaii. It was fabulous. So fabulous in fact that I plan to take you through our trip day by day, because its just too good to fit into one post :)

So, here comes Day 1: we got to our hotel late on Tuesday night (which felt like 4am to us) and after checking out our sweet lanai (balcony), we crashed. Wednesday was our official Day #1, and we packed it full! Since our bodies were still on EST, we were up and out the door by 7am to enjoy some delicious breakfast at the beachfront restaurant next door. Then we walked into downtown Waikiki (about 10mins from our hotel) to check out what was what. And to find a Starbucks of course. Here's the view of downtown from our hotel...

For lunch, we went to a "locals" spot where Geoff got his first plate lunch. Basically, its some type of meat served with rice and either a green salad or macaroni salad on the side. Its the standard lunch fare on the island. This place also had amazing iced tea (with pineapple and mint in it).

After lunch, we decided to drive along the Windward side of the island. It was breathtaking. If you go to Oahu and only see Waikiki, you are missing out! A few snapshots from our drive...

National Pali Lookout

Halona Beach Cove

Hanauma Bay (popular for snorkeling)

We did some more exploring and decided we'd need to come back to this side of the island later in the week. You'll see more pictures of that to come! Check back tomorrow for ice cream and snorkeling adventures :)