We were so excited about our trip to Hawaii that we started taking pictures before we got there!
This is where we stayed. It's a Ko Olina Marriott time share resort and it's very luxurious. It was much nicer than what we're used to staying in! We had a unit with two large bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. There was a private beach, beautiful pools, fitness room, and more. We probably didn't see it all!
Our second day there we went on a dolphin cruise. We got this for free for going to a time share presentation, so that made it even more fun. A bus picked us up and took us a ways up the island to where the boat was. We spotted lots of dolphins and we even saw a lot of whales while we were out. The whales weren't very close though. I really wanted to see on right next to the boat, like the dolphins were!
This is the view of the coast from the boat. It was really beautiful!
Here's where we started from. After the dolphin watch and lunch on the boat, we went back and dropped all but eleven people off and went back out for the snorkeling. That was really fun, but when we were swimming near the shore the water was moving back and forth and Charles got a little sick and couldn't go out at the next stop. That was unfortunate, because that's where we saw a lot more fish. I got to swim through a school of them and also saw a sea turtle sitting on the bottom. I also dove off the platform on the side of the boat a few times. The water was so blue and warm and inviting that I couldn't help myself!
"The Black Pearl" from Pirates of the Caribbean was sitting in the marina right by where we were staying. Disney is building a resort in the area so we concluded that maybe that was why they had it there.
Here's the view of Waikiki from the top of Diamond Head. Diamond Head is a gigantic crater. It's like a big valley on the inside, but the sides are very high and overlook the ocean and the city. It was a military outlook during the second WW.
Parasailing was a "high" light of the trip. I thought it might be kind of scary, but it really wasn't. The ride was smooth and the view was terrific. We took a waterproof camera up with us, but will have to get those pictures developed the old fashioned way.
This is Hanauma Bay. Lots of people go snorkeling there, but since we already went snorkeling we just viewed it from the overlook.
This is a strange kind of tree we found in Waikiki. The roots seem to grow down into the ground from above!
The water at Waikiki Beach is very blue and the waves are kind of soft and rolling and inviting-looking. It's beautiful. Even in the evening, it was still warm and people were in the water.
We took this picture and later noticed we had a post card of the same shot, only at sunset. I really wanted to get a sunset picture for Abby, but the sun was taking too long to go down!
This is the Hawaiian Temple in Laie. It's right next to the Polynesian Cultural Center and BYU Hawaii. We read that the church bought the property in the 1800's for about $14,000.00.
This was after the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The dinner was served buffet style, and at first we thought it was going to be like a ward dinner and take all night for everyone to be served. To our surprise though, the lines went very quickly. The food was delicious and there were plenty of vegetarian dishes.
We really enjoyed spending the day with the Merrills, who were coincidentally in Hawaii the same week we were. He was there on business, as his company has a facility there. This was the first time Lisa came with him though.
This was a good spot for a picture! The Polynesian Cultural Center was very interesting and entertaining. It's divided into "villages" for several different island cultures. You get to do hands on activities and it's all very authentic. I think it's great how so many jobs are provided for BYU students to help them earn their way through school. The show that night was outstanding. It was interesting how they focus more on the guy dancers than the girls. You think of Hawaiian hula dancing being mostly girls. The guys are more entertaining though. They get pretty wild! They did some pretty impressive fire dancing too.
We saw wild chickens at North Shore, but this one is by Manoa Falls. They just run loose. The parking lot attendant told us they roost and lay their eggs in the trees.
We also learned that much of the TV series, "Lost", was filmed right in this area. We saw the polar bear cages where they kept prisoners on the show, but didn't get a picture.
Here's the falls. I don't think you can really tell how impressive this was by looking at the picture. It was very high! I'll post a video of it too.
Charles climbed over where it was roped off so he could get a closer look!
It was still spring break for Katy's kids after Jacob's visit, so we had Austin and Ethan spend a night with us. The weather had been rainy, but cleared up enough for a game of miniature golf Thursday afternoon.
The "ant hills" are the hardest!
We took the boys home the next morning, then went with Katy and Paul to his mom's wedding. She's been a widow for about 12 years now, so the family is glad that she's found someone to share her life with. I didn't get any pictures of them, but he's a very nice man!
Here are the Ellsworths at the wedding luncheon.
Katy and Paul looking lovely and handsome!
We enjoyed getting to be with the family for awhile. Here are Kelsey and Hunter.
