Surfers and Snorkeling

On Friday we decided to drive around the island and then do some snorkeling at the end of the day. We first went to the Dole Pineapple plantation which was interesting to see. Then we drove up to North Shore where we had lunch and Hawaiian Shaved Ice at the original stand called Matsumotos. From there we drove past Turtle Bay Resort and near there we stopped to get some fruit from a fruit stand. Michael was able to get a coconut and drink the liquid from inside just like he did when he was a kid. He was so happy. I didn't particularly like the taste. We also picked up some mangos and some sugar cane. From there we continued down the east side of the island and it was raining quite a bit so we just looked at the scenery. Finally we reached Hanauma Bay which is where we wanted to go snorkeling. It was sooo much fun. It had a great beach and lots and lots of fish. And the best part of all is we saw a green Sea Turtle right next to us!!! It actually started swimming to us. What a wonderful way to end the day.

On Saturday we flew out to the Big Island to Kona. The airport had everything outside - very interesting. We then went to our hotel - driving through old lava beds. We even saw a lava tube. Here people take dead coral from the beaches and write their names on the black lava along the road. The grounds at the resort are beautiful and we had dinner last night overlooking the ocean. The volcanos have been active and thus there is a lot of haze in the air or what they call VOG. The winds should start coming in and clearing it up soon.

We have lots of activitys planned here. We are taking a snorkeling cruise on a catamaran which also has a slide to go into the ocean, a dinner sailboat cruise, swim with dolphins, visiting the volcanos, a luau, and hopefully some boogie boarding and more snorkeling.

Aloha

We LOVE Hawaii!!

Let's just say we have only been here a couple days and we already love it! Our flight here was great. Hawaiian Airlines still gives you a meal - can you believe it!! The flight was about 6 hours and we landed to warm hot weather. Our room is awesome. We have to balconies that look over a lagoon and part of Waikiki beach. We spent the afternoon walking around the resort and then that evening we drove to the other side of the island to have dinner with the parents of a friend. They live in Kailua and they gave us some great tips on what to see and do here. On Thursday we went in a submarine and saw some beautiful fish and several green sea turtles. That was an amazing experience. Then in the afternoon I went snorkling for the very first time. We snorkled at Waikiki beach - it was a good place for me to learn. There were some fish but not tons and we even saw puffer fish - lots of them. The area is being taken over by algae so there is not as much wildlife as other areas. Today we are going to Hanauma Bay which is supposed to be great for snorkling. We are also going to the Dole Pineapple plantation, North Shore to see some surfers, Kailua beach and lots of other places. We are driving around most of Oahu today. We will upload some pictures tonight for everyone to see. We have some of the views outside our room, the sea turtles, etc. Tomorrow we fly out for the big island!

Aloha!

Hawaii here we come!

Hawaii here we come!

This is my first post for this blog. Michael and I leave for Hawaii tomorrow morning on a 10 day trip without the kids! We are very excited. We will be staying on Oahu and the Big Island. My goal is to try and post some of the things we do on our trip. It will definitely be an adventure for us! Our flight leaves at 8:00 tomorrow morning and we arrive in Honolulu to start the trip. Michael's mom is watching the kids while we are gone and we hope that they behave!!! Keep checking for future updates!