Hawaii pt. 7: Traditional Tourist Sites

Our next day was filled with traditional tourist sites.  We started by driving up to the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout.  Besides having a beautiful view (one of the best on O'ahu) overlooking the 985 foot cliffs of the Koolau Mountain Range, it was here in 1795 that King Kamehameha and his warriors defeated the O'ahu armies by sending them over these steep, forested cliffs and claimed his victory, thus uniting the Hawaiian Islands.

Next stop was a new one to me, but one we wanted to go to with Emma.  It was Queen Emma's Summer Palace.  It was just down the road from the Pali, and given that it was the former residence of a Queen Emma, we felt we had to go.  The tour inside talked a lot about Hawaiian history and the former rulers of the islands.

We then went into downtown Honolulu to visit the Iolani Palace, see the King Kamehameha statue across the street, and wander over to the old mission homes of the early missionaries.

This is Kawaiaha'o Church.  It's the first church the missionaries built. 

I loved the white plumerias everywhere!

Some of the old mission homes and buildings.

We had to stop and get a picture of Emma on Queen Emma street.

Punchbowl Cemetery (as it's informally known), is the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.  It's located in the Punchbowl Crater, named for it's punchbowl shape.  It serves as a memorial to honor those men and women who gave their lives in serving in the US Armed Forces.  Besides having over 50,000 soldiers interred here, there are approximately sixty memorial markers with bronze plaques commemorating soldiers of various wars.  There is a pathway lined with these markers that leads to a spectacular view of Honolulu and Diamond Head.

After finishing at Punchbowl, we headed to Chinatown.  We were picking up dinner for everyone here, but first we wanted to wander around a little.  We found a market place with loads of fun things.  Emma bought several little souvenirs for herself, including an umbrella hat and some necklaces.  There was a big halloween festival that was about to start as we were picking up dinner.  It had made parking a little scarce, but it was fun seeing some of the costume contest entrants, as well as listening to the band play just down the street.

Dinner was fantastic - I love chinese food!  After dinner we held another uke jam, spoke some German with my uncle (he served a german speaking mission years ago and has kept it up better than I have!), and Emma showed off some of her taekwondo moves.

We enjoyed some yummy pancakes the next morning with Marcellus and Jo, and then headed to Waikiki.  Normally I prefer avoiding Waikiki because it is so crowded with tourists, but Emma really wanted to see Waikiki beach.  Her reason is too funny though.  She likes the Brady Bunch show, and loves the episodes when the family went to Hawaii.  In those episodes, the kids have a tiki necklace which they believe brings them bad luck, and causes several near mishaps.  One of these mishaps is Greg nearly wiping out while surfing at Waikiki beach.  This is why she wanted to see it.  How can you say no to that?  We also did a little shopping in the area (more souvenirs for Emma!), and then headed to Kahala Mall which is really close to my aunt and uncle's house.  We finished there and then spent some time in the backyard throwing a frisbee or just relaxing with a ukelele, which is now one of Emma's favorite things to do.  We decided to have a quiet evening at home with Marcellus and Jo, so after dinner we all watched Napoleon Dynamite.  It was Emma's first time seeing it, and she thought it was hilarious.

The famous Royal Hawaiian pink hotel.

I have no idea why Eric's pulling this face.  Emma took this picture and I didn't notice at the time what he was doing.  I can only guess it has something to do with the tiki necklace he's wearing.  Yes, before the trip I bought a tiki necklace just like the one in the Brady Bunch.  Occasionally Eric wore it on the trip and we always pretended that something bad was going to happen because of it.  Yes, we are nerds.  =)

The video below is of Emma learning to play the ABC's or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (whichever you prefer).

Hawaii pt. 6: Pineapples, the North Shore, and Hanauma Bay

The next day, after sleeping in (we'd had a lot of early mornings and late evenings - and what's a vacation without some sleeping in and relaxing?) we headed to the Dole Plantation.  There are so many things to do here.  We tried the maze, rode the train, and wandered in the gardens.  But no trip is complete without having at least one serving of their pineapple ice cream.  I dream about this stuff.  And it always seems to taste better here than anywhere else.

Their grounds are so pretty.

They have the world's largest hedge maze.  Dang, it was big.  We didn't find
everything before we were all exhausted and very hot from the sun.

Inside the maze.

We rode the train after we did the maze.  We all wanted to sit, so it seemed like a great activity.

Here Emma is showing just how hot and tired she was.  She's enjoying the little fan quite a bit! 

Lots of different plants to see on the little train ride. 

One of their pineapple fields. 

Starfruit. 

In their garden.

After the plantation, we went to the North Shore.  There are several cute little towns that are fun to visit.  Eric had been wanting to get a new ukelele while we were in Hawaii, and we happened to pass a ukelele shop, which just happened to be the best shop on Oahu to find ukeleles.  No lie.  What a great coincidence!  We went in and he found one he liked.  Well, actually he found several he really liked, so I should say he found one he decided to purchase.  We all love it.  I think Emma wants it for herself, even though Eric gave her his old one.

We stopped by a beautiful beach to enjoy some of the north shore waves.  I went in and swam with Emma first, and then Eric took a turn with her.  I don't think Emma was ready for the big waves.  It was so fun to watch her try to stay standing only to be bowled over by the water.

This might be my favorite picture from the trip.  I love Emma's expression mid-wave.

As we passed Pearl Harbor on our way back into Honolulu, Eric was excited when we saw an aircraft carrier.  Those things are huge!  Once back in town we went to Ala Moana mall for some shopping.  Emma wanted more souvenirs.  I already didn't know how we were going to get everything to fit in our suitcases.  More stuff was crazy to think about.  But she was determined.  I admit that I always like wandering around this mall, so I didn't really mind.

The next day was an early one for us.  We were heading to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling.  This place is always packed with people, and the parking lot fills up early.  We grabbed a waterproof camera on our way, which Emma was excited to use.  Sure enough there was already a line, but luckily it wasn't too long yet.  In order to get down to the beach you have to walk down a steep road.  We went down and found a spot for our towels and umbrellas.  Then Emma and I went to look at the fish.  I love Emma in a snorkel mask.  She's so cute!  After awhile I switched places with Eric.  This is the kind of place you could stay all day.  So beautiful.

The light was all wrong when I took this, plus I took it with my iPod, so not a great camera.
 But I love it.  She's like a creature that just emerged from the water!

This place really never disappoints.  Every time I come here
I am blown away all over again with its beauty. 

When we left it was packed.  This is just one part of the beach!

Afterwards we drove through Hawaii-Kai (the town where Hanauma Bay is located).  It's really pretty there.  Then we headed to the Island Snow store (a store my family has always loved because we're all Snows), bought Emma her first Island Snow shirt, and enjoyed some of their shaved ice.   On our way back home we stopped by Makapu'u Lookout for the views.  After we got home, we cleaned up, and hung out in the backyard.

Hawaii-Kai

The view from Makapu'u lookout.  Looks like a rabbit.

Emma playing Eric's new ukelele.  I think she played it there more than he did!

We ate dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin, and then held a ginger jam on some ukeleles (my cousin also has red hair).  My cousin Matt was so great with Emma.  He would teach her chords and help her learn songs.  He also taught her the blues.  She spent the rest of the trip trying to sing the blues.  Not an easy task while in Hawaii I might add.

All of us!  My cousin Matt on the left, my aunt Jo on the right, and my uncle Marcellus in the front.

Hawaii pt. 5: Heading to Oahu & the PCC

Our last morning on the Big Island we just had some breakfast at the hotel and packed.  We enjoyed our time on the Big Island so much, and very much want to visit again.  We feel we barely scratched the surface of things to do here.  We were here for parts of 6 days, and it wasn't long enough.

Our flight to Oahu was nice and short and gave us some nice views of Maui, Lanai, and Molokai.  Emma was excited to see Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head out the window.  And as an added bonus, we saw an active operating submarine leaving the harbor as we were about to land.

We got our luggage, picked up our car, and headed to my aunt and uncle's house.  It was so nice seeing them again!  My aunt gave us a tour of the place (much of it was the same as I'd seen it on previous trips, but they'd changed a few areas, and of course, Eric and Emma hadn't ever seen it), and I instantly remembered how much I love their house.  We brought our luggage in and got settled in, and then explored the yard.  Their yard is amazing.  It's huge and absolutely gorgeous.  I've always loved spending time outside just enjoying their yard.  The first banana I ever ate (at least the first banana I ever enjoyed) was picked off a banana tree in their yard during my first visit.  It's still the best banana I've ever eaten.  Emma was in love with their yard too!  She wanted to spend every spare moment we had running around outside or lounging on the patio.  We had dinner with my aunt and uncle as well as my cousin who came by for the evening.  After dinner we played some ukeleles with my cousin while singing and talking.  It was a great first day on Oahu.

My Aunt and Uncle's house.

The backyard.  I'm standing in the back of the yard.  You can see Eric and Emma
standing by the patio which gives you an idea of how big the yard is.

This is the view as we entered the yard from our rooms.  It's a little side
yard that leads back to the main part of the yard.

The next day we got up early and headed up around the island to Laie.  Here we visited the Laie Temple, which has always been one of my very favorites.  There was some construction around the grounds, so we couldn't wander around too much.  That gave us some time to stop by a beach before lunch.  We found a little beach and enjoyed getting our feet wet.  Emma got a little more than her feet wet though, so we tried letting her dry off a bit before we left.

Emma thought it was so funny that she was sitting there in just her panties.  You can see her shorts drying in the sun on the bench.  I told her no one would see her (hardly anyone was at the beach), and even if they did they'd think she was in a swimsuit.  Plus her shirt was long.  But I had to share the picture and story because I told her I would.  =)

The rest of the day was spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC).  This is a center owned and run by the Church that helps preserve and teach others all about the island cultures in the pacific.  The employees are almost all students at BYU-Hawaii, which is right next door.  Since many (if not most) of the students there are from pacific islands, it works out very well for them to come and represent their island nations.  It's a great place to visit if you haven't been before.  I tend to always go to Hawaii with people who haven't been, so I've visited the PCC several times.  But I didn't want Emma to miss it.  Their grounds are divided up in to sections representing different island nations in the pacific.  You wander around and can see dancing, learn about island life and culture, and participate in activities.  We also chose to enjoy a Luau dinner there (I wanted Emma to attend at least one luau), and then stayed for the evening show, which consists of more dancing and story telling.  The best part of the show is the fire dancing at the end.  Emma was excited for that.  It made for a very late evening by the time we got home, but it had been fun.

Eric and Emma got matching temporary tattoes.

Emma learning a dance.

Eric learning a dance with the men.  

See?  We did learn how to make the fish from palm leaves.

There were performances all over the center.

It's always impressive seeing people climb the palm trees.

They have a bigger show on the water with dancers from all the different islands.

Emma loved the little tiki.  Plus this is a rare photo of Emma actually smiling while showing her teeth.
She rarely does that.  Her natural smile is closed-mouth.

Learning a game that requires coordination as you toss sticks to each other. 

Coconut bowling.  You were supposed to roll the coconut up so it would roll back down in between the sticks on the right. I was the only one who did it, and that was on my first try.
I still say it was skill, not luck.  Eric disagrees.

During the dinner luau all the October birthdays were supposed to go up to the stage and they had to perform a dance for everyone.  Eric was a good sport and went.  Sadly this picture didn't turn out that great because of the pouring rain between us and the stage, the lighting wasn't great, and the distance.
Oh well.  I've still captured his shining moment. Ha!