I didn't run into any real traffic on the way to work.
I went out to a farewell lunch for some friends at work, and when the server accidentally put my meal on the manager's check (he was paying for the people who were leaving, but the rest of us were paying for ourselves) - the manager was really nice and just said to leave it there.
On the way home, I was driving across the 520 bridge from the sunny side to the shadowed side when I looked down at the dark steel gray water. There was no blue at all. It was an amazing color. And on one side of the bridge the water is all calm, while on the other side there were whitecaps from all the wind.
Enough people showed up to play volleyball, so I got to play for the first time in a month!
25 June 2009
Going Home (Awesome Vacation Day 8)
We actually packed up the Monday evening so that we could head out to the Hukilau Cafe for breakfast. I had Hawaiian sweet bread french toast, and Dan had fried rice with eggs and spam.
Then we put all our stuff in the car and drove off, stopping just a bit down the road to see Laie Point. There was an explanation of the legend of the point - something about a monster that was defeated and it fell in five pieces, making up the five islands around the point.
We drove a ways and stopped at this macadamia nut store, where we sampled various flavors. They were all really good - especially the ones covered in chocolate!
Then off to the airport. We were there in plenty of time. We were asked to take an earlier plane (by about 20 minutes) to make room for some folks who were missing their connecting flights. So we had a few minutes to look around from the Maui airport before we got on the long flight home. So, here's pictures of our very short stay in Maui. There were mountains and then some very agricultural looking land.
My brother picked us up at the airport - we got in pretty late at night - and he dropped us off at home. We set our alarms to wake up for work and prepared to return to real life the next day. With a really nice tan.
Then we put all our stuff in the car and drove off, stopping just a bit down the road to see Laie Point. There was an explanation of the legend of the point - something about a monster that was defeated and it fell in five pieces, making up the five islands around the point.
We drove a ways and stopped at this macadamia nut store, where we sampled various flavors. They were all really good - especially the ones covered in chocolate!
Then off to the airport. We were there in plenty of time. We were asked to take an earlier plane (by about 20 minutes) to make room for some folks who were missing their connecting flights. So we had a few minutes to look around from the Maui airport before we got on the long flight home. So, here's pictures of our very short stay in Maui. There were mountains and then some very agricultural looking land.
My brother picked us up at the airport - we got in pretty late at night - and he dropped us off at home. We set our alarms to wake up for work and prepared to return to real life the next day. With a really nice tan.
23 June 2009
Awesome Vacation Day 7
Monday morning we woke up super duper early so that we could get on the road and get down to the southeast part of the island before there was any traffic. And it worked too. Today it really sank in - this was our last full day in Hawaii and our last full day to spend with our friends! Our trip was 500% better because of our friends! Thank you!
We spent the rest of the day driving from one thing to the next and enjoying ourselves. First stop, Halona Blowhole:
Next up, snorkeling Hanauma Bay. Aren't we lovely? Those masks are really a fashion statement. There weren't nearly as many fish as Shark's Cove, but the bay is in a lovely caldera and we saw a sea turtle! Sometimes a little closer than we meant to - we think the sea turtle may have been trapped by the low tide and was just waiting for the water to rise enough to let him/her out.
After snorkeling for several hours, we hiked back up the hill to the parking lot.
Then we headed out for a quick lunch at Taco Bell. After lunch our friends dropped us off at the Sea Life Amusement Park. It's small and doesn't really compete with all the other water attractions on the island (hello, there are real beaches) but it did have an okay dolphin show and they let us swim with the stingrays. We also saw their dolphin show while we were waiting for our turn with the rays and we saw a sea turtle up close through the aquarium window.
First we waded in and petted the stingrays while they swam past our legs - following the food the handlers were giving them. Then we put on the snorkeling masks and swam / floated in the water with the rays for another 20-30 minutes. It was kind of eerie when a big stingray appeared right below you in the water, only about a foot away. They seemed to like swimming up underneath your feet and then appearing in your vision once they're already halfway along passing underneath you. One stingray came up to Dan and bumped into his mask!
Our friends found the next stop - I'm glad they thought of it because I hadn't heard of it. We went to the spitting cave - you had to know to follow a little path between two houses down to the rocky cliff area and then we walked out along a little point of the cliff so we could look back at the cave. Here's my favorite video I took of it:
While we were watching the spitting cave we looked out into the ocean and saw this guy!
To finish off a very busy day we went out to eat. Our friends had gotten a recommendation for an Indian restaurant - it was delicious!
We spent the rest of the day driving from one thing to the next and enjoying ourselves. First stop, Halona Blowhole:
Next up, snorkeling Hanauma Bay. Aren't we lovely? Those masks are really a fashion statement. There weren't nearly as many fish as Shark's Cove, but the bay is in a lovely caldera and we saw a sea turtle! Sometimes a little closer than we meant to - we think the sea turtle may have been trapped by the low tide and was just waiting for the water to rise enough to let him/her out.
After snorkeling for several hours, we hiked back up the hill to the parking lot.
Then we headed out for a quick lunch at Taco Bell. After lunch our friends dropped us off at the Sea Life Amusement Park. It's small and doesn't really compete with all the other water attractions on the island (hello, there are real beaches) but it did have an okay dolphin show and they let us swim with the stingrays. We also saw their dolphin show while we were waiting for our turn with the rays and we saw a sea turtle up close through the aquarium window.
First we waded in and petted the stingrays while they swam past our legs - following the food the handlers were giving them. Then we put on the snorkeling masks and swam / floated in the water with the rays for another 20-30 minutes. It was kind of eerie when a big stingray appeared right below you in the water, only about a foot away. They seemed to like swimming up underneath your feet and then appearing in your vision once they're already halfway along passing underneath you. One stingray came up to Dan and bumped into his mask!
Our friends found the next stop - I'm glad they thought of it because I hadn't heard of it. We went to the spitting cave - you had to know to follow a little path between two houses down to the rocky cliff area and then we walked out along a little point of the cliff so we could look back at the cave. Here's my favorite video I took of it:
While we were watching the spitting cave we looked out into the ocean and saw this guy!
To finish off a very busy day we went out to eat. Our friends had gotten a recommendation for an Indian restaurant - it was delicious!
Awesome Vacation Day 6
A relaxing Sunday. At least it was relaxing after we made it to really early morning church. We woke up, dressed up, and walked to church. It was already very warm before 8AM. In Sacrament meeting we got to sing along with Aloha 'Oe for those who were moving out of the area. Every meeting and talk started with a big Aloha, echoed by the congregation or classroom. After church we walked over to the Laie Temple.
I love the flowers on the temple grounds. The missionaries actually go out and collect flowers to give to the visitors.
One of the missionaries serving at the temple took us through the visitor's center to see the Reflections of Christ photographs. After that we explored the rest of the visitor's center - Dan liked looking at the Book of Mormons in different languages and I watched some short movies with our friends. Their daughter really liked the movie about cupcakes, so I saw that one two or three times.
We walked home, stopping to look at some houses with history markers, and then we took afternoon naps. When we woke up, it was time for some Ratatouille for dinner. Yum! After dinner I made my lei, carefully threading ribbon through the kukui nuts and then tying knots for spacers. How cool to make my own Hawaiian souvenier!
I love the flowers on the temple grounds. The missionaries actually go out and collect flowers to give to the visitors.
One of the missionaries serving at the temple took us through the visitor's center to see the Reflections of Christ photographs. After that we explored the rest of the visitor's center - Dan liked looking at the Book of Mormons in different languages and I watched some short movies with our friends. Their daughter really liked the movie about cupcakes, so I saw that one two or three times.
We walked home, stopping to look at some houses with history markers, and then we took afternoon naps. When we woke up, it was time for some Ratatouille for dinner. Yum! After dinner I made my lei, carefully threading ribbon through the kukui nuts and then tying knots for spacers. How cool to make my own Hawaiian souvenier!
22 June 2009
Awesome Vacation Day 5
We started off the day with pancakes for breakfast! After breakfast we attended BYU Hawaii graduation. You know you're starting to get used to the heat in Hawaii when the air conditioning starts to feel cold. So anyway, everybody wears a lei to graduation. Students and faculty. After the graduation ceremony we wandered around the campus a bit, stopping for some pineapple juice and cookies. The administration building (I think) had this huge mural up on the wall representing Kapi-olani, who defied the local volcano deity Pele, stating that her god (Jesus Christ) would protect her. She lived.
Here we are enjoying the beautiful campus. And we just couldn't resist the second picture. Tradition, you know.
Next we went out to lunch at Giovanni's. Shrimp. Yum. Very messy. I didn't really dare touch a camera with such dirty fingers. We signed the truck, which must be painted nearly every week to keep up with the number of people signing it all the time. But it's tradition. We stopped at a local produce stand to try some papaya, grapefruit, apple bananas, and freshly sliced up coconut. My favorite was the coconut, followed by the apple bananas - they had more flavor than regular bananas.
Then our friends dropped us off one beach up from Hukilau Beach and we walked along the beach until we found a spot where we wanted to swim. It was the perfect day at the beach. The sun was warm, the water cool, the waves were big enough to knock you over if you weren't careful. It looked just like this.
Dan thought it was funny to let the waves roll him back and forth in the shallow water - it looked like he was stuck in a spin-cycle. I liked falling into the oncoming waves only to have them drag me back upright. And we even saw a sea turtle swimming about 30 yards off-shore.
After we had been swimming a while, our friends came out with us. They headed back as it got close to dinner time, and we reluctantly packed up, showered off, and followed their tracks towards home. There we had Hawaiian haystacks with fresh pineapple for dinner, did a bit more laundry, and watched some Pride and Prejudice. Well, I did. I think Dan went for a book or something at that point.
Here we are enjoying the beautiful campus. And we just couldn't resist the second picture. Tradition, you know.
Next we went out to lunch at Giovanni's. Shrimp. Yum. Very messy. I didn't really dare touch a camera with such dirty fingers. We signed the truck, which must be painted nearly every week to keep up with the number of people signing it all the time. But it's tradition. We stopped at a local produce stand to try some papaya, grapefruit, apple bananas, and freshly sliced up coconut. My favorite was the coconut, followed by the apple bananas - they had more flavor than regular bananas.
Then our friends dropped us off one beach up from Hukilau Beach and we walked along the beach until we found a spot where we wanted to swim. It was the perfect day at the beach. The sun was warm, the water cool, the waves were big enough to knock you over if you weren't careful. It looked just like this.
Dan thought it was funny to let the waves roll him back and forth in the shallow water - it looked like he was stuck in a spin-cycle. I liked falling into the oncoming waves only to have them drag me back upright. And we even saw a sea turtle swimming about 30 yards off-shore.
After we had been swimming a while, our friends came out with us. They headed back as it got close to dinner time, and we reluctantly packed up, showered off, and followed their tracks towards home. There we had Hawaiian haystacks with fresh pineapple for dinner, did a bit more laundry, and watched some Pride and Prejudice. Well, I did. I think Dan went for a book or something at that point.
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