my 10 days in paradise!

I'm back from Hawaii!  It was beautiful and lots of fun.   I want to go back already!  We flew out on May 27th to Honolulu where we spent three days on Oahu and then we flew over to the Big Island Hawaii and stayed for seven days there.  

We stayed at the Wyndham at Waikiki so the first day we just went down to the beach and had dinner and then went back to the resort to settle in and sleep.  We weren't used to the time change and we were still operating on Utah time.  The next day it was packed full with fun activities.  We met up with my friend Natalie who just moved there to live with her sister who was nice enough to offer to buy our tickets for the Polynesian Culture Center for half price with her military discount.  After we got the tickets we went to the Dole Plantation then up the North Shore to see the Laie Temple, BYU Hawaii, and the Polynesian Center.

The next day, Friday, we went to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial and then shopping down on the Waikiki Beach Front and the International Market Place. That night we flew from Honolulu over to Kona.

Saturday we went grocery shopping and spent the afternoon atthe beach swimming and soaking up some sun.  Sunday we went to church in Captain Cook to the Ke'ei Ward.  Ruby's dad had helped build the chapel there when he was on his mission so she wanted to go see it.  The ward members were so excited to have visitors because most people just go the the ward in Kona.  We were a little late because we got lost and had to stop and ask directions a couple time.  The last people we asked were the local firemen and they pointed us in the right direction.  FYI - mapquest.com doesn't always give the most accurate directions.

Monday we went to Hawaii Volcano National Park where we watched steam come out but no lava.  We also walked through a lava tube and saw the sea arch. 

Tuesday we went and did inititories at the Kona Temple and then spent the afternoon at the beach.  

Wednesday we went on an ATV tour called Ride the Rim.  It was in the Waipio Valley and it was FUN!!!  Beautiful scenery and the tour guides were lots of fun.  After the tour we drove down towards Hilo and hiked Akaka Falls. 

Thursday was another beach day.  We went to the beach midmorning and the waves were pretty big.  Alex, Ruby, and I went out swimming and then when we were trying to bet back into shore we were attacked by a couple of big waves that knocked us over and rolled us around on the bottom of the ocean.  We came up covered in sand and matted hair.  After that we decided to go back to the pool at the resort where we could swim without risking our lives.  Friday we packed up and checked out of the resort then went shopping in downtown Kona until it was time to go out to the airport.  Our flight ended up being delayed between Kona & Honolulu which made us miss our flight to LAX.  We had to run through the Honolulu airport and were able to get on standby at the last flight out to SLC.  We finally made it home and we had a great time. Lots of laughs and memories!