Hawaii Day 6: Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Hike and Kailua Beach

On our last full day in Hawaii, we decided to do a hike to a lighthouse on the south east tip of the island. I didn't think it was a difficult hike from what I had read about it, but I was wrong. it was all paved and the views were gorgeous, but it was quite a climb up to the top. 

The lighthouse was cool, but we could only look at it from a distance. the path to it was blocked off.

The viewpoint at the top was on a peninsula, so we had ocean on three sides and big Hawaii mountains on the fourth side.

After the hike, which was a lot easier on the way down, we were all ready to hit the beach. We looked up the best beaches on Oahu and discovered that 2 of the top 10 beaches mentioned were right next to each other and just a little bit north of where we were. So that is where we went. We couldn't find parking at the first beach we tried, and you had to go on pathways in between houses to get to it (it was probably on the list for the smaller, more private feel of the beach). So we headed to the other beach, which had a nice big parking lot and grassy area next to the beach. We picked out a spot next to this really cool tree and pretty close to the restrooms. We spent the next two hours playing in the water or relaxing on the beach. Have I mentioned how warm the ocean is in Hawaii? The water felt amazing!

Alyssa was scared to go in, at first, but when she finally did we had a hard time getting her out.

She even tried the boogie boards out.

It was so relaxing, but we decided we needed to leave shortly after 2pm. Some of the kids were saying they were done, but we also wanted to do one last dinner out and things close down super early in Hawaii. We hit up a shaved ice place close to our rental called Kokonuts. It was so good.

We tried to go to dinner at a Hawaiian BBQ place, but when we got there with our group of 12, they told us they didn't have room in their restaurant to accommodate a group our size. By this time, we were all pretty hungry, so we went to the Chili's that was pretty much across the street from our vacation home. The food was good, just not the authentic local cuisine we were hoping for.

After dinner, we headed back to pack and get to bed early since we had to leave for the airport at 6:30 am the next morning.

Hawaii Day 5: Waimea Falls and Other North Shore Stops

We spent the afternoon of day 5 in Waimea Valley. Our destination was Waimea Falls, but we got to hike up to the falls through the botanical gardens. It was beautiful and green with unique plants and huts and features.  

The waterfall was really pretty and they actually let you go into the pool at the bottom of the falls. They had lifejackets there for anyone to use and lifeguards on duty that had some restrictions (like stay away from the left side of the pool and don't go under the waterfall. The second one was given to us after I had gotten out of the pool so we had done our thing just in time).

Some of us did go under the water for a bit. It was hard to stay there because the water pushed us away. the water in the pool was super cold but didn't bother us much once we got used to it.

After exploring Waimea valley, we headed to turtle bay. I was under the impression from my research that there are sea turtles at turtle bay. We hoped to see one but were disappointed to find a normal beach. There was a jetty to walk out on, It had a lot of crabs on it too, so that was fun.

We hung out on the beach until sunset, enjoying some of the snacks that we brought along with us.

The palm tree looked cool against the darkening sky as we were leaving the beach,

Once it was dark, everything closed down, so we headed back to our rental. We wanted to take the kids back to the PCC to try some of the activities in the different islands, but we didn't make it there until 6 and everything was closed by then for the luau. We still had a fun day full of a lot of new experiences.

Hawaii Day 5: The Dole Plantation and Lunch

On Friday, we headed back to the North Shore. But this time, we took a different route that took us past the Dole Plantation. That was our first stop for the day. We decided to do the train ride through the plantation and the maze. We started with the train ride becuase they told us that the line can get really long. 

We squeezed all of us into 4 rows.

I had no idea that pineapples looked like this while growing. There were a lot of other crops growing on the plantations (fruit trees, and veggies)

After the train ride we went inside to see the pineapple cutting presentation. The lady taught us that when you cut a pineapple, it releases a lot of acid. That can irritate your mouth, so you should always soak your pineapple in cold water when you cut it to wash that stuff off. Then you are just left with the sweetness. Pineapple has always bothered Ashley's mouth, so she was very grateful for this tip. They also introduced us to Li Hing powder. We were worried it would be spicy because it looks like it has chili powder in it, but it was very sweet and tasty. We bought some to take home and my kids love eating pineapple now.

After the pineapple cutting, we got dole whip. Not sure why this photo is so blurry, but it was the only one I had of the dole whip treats.

After our dole whip treats we headed into the maze. They had 10 stations that you were supposed to find in the maze. We each had a card where we could mark off each station we found. We split into pairs and headed off into the maze. Robbie and Alyssa were determined to win. I think they ended up finishing second.

When each of us finished, we gathered at this mini pineapple shaped maze in the middle. A lot of the group played real life among us. They also played a tag game where one person was it and ran away from the others. You couldn't climb over the barriers to catch them. 

After the maze, we took a couple of pictures and then headed further north.

Our plan was to stop at a shaved ice place about 15 minutes up the road in this cute little beach town. But when we got there, the line was out the door and along the building. It probably had 50-75 people in the line. We decided that was not worth it, so we found a burger place for lunch instead.  

Hawaii Thanksgiving Day: Hanauma Bay

The only problem we ran into with all our planning for this week was Hanauma Bay. We had to make our reservations 2 days before we wanted to go at 7 am. This meant that we had to make the reservation while in Hawaii because we had planned to visit on Thanksgiving Day. So, Brian and Danny got in at 7 am on Tuesday morning to make the reservation for around 8 am. The registration opened and Brian whizzed through it and reserved the 6 tickets for their family. Danny was using his new laptop and had to fill in all of his information (no autofill yet) There were no more tickets left by the time he had filled everything in. They were able to reserve 2 more pairs of tickets for different times that morning, but that still left us 2 tickets short. There was still the standby line, so we all got up nice and early on Thanksgiving Day (after our late night at the PCC) and headed off to Hanauma Bay. There was already a line of cars when we got there 15 minutes before standby opened. Instead of waiting at the end of the line of cars, we waited across the street in the start of a blocked off road for them to open the gate. When the gate opened, Brian forced our big van into the line of cars and the nice Hawaiians let us un. We went through the booth and got our last 2 tickets. 

The other downside to the morning was that it was drizzling and windy and the coolest day we had had in Hawaii thus far. Not a great day to spend on the beach. They told us that we could all wait until our latest reservation and go in together, so we had about an hour and a half to kill in the parking lot. Some of us took a little walk up this path to the side of the lot. It had a nice lookout of the bay.

Not only was the view of the bay amazing, but there was also a beautiful sunrise and a rainbow.

After going through the safety video and walking down to the beach, the kids were excited to get in the water and see the fish. We bought new snorkels for the little kids that covered the whole face so they did not have to bother with breathing through their mouths and blowing water out of their snorkels. Tyler and Camden spent about 30 minutes in the water and then decided they wanted a break. it was cold on the beach, especially after getting wet. The water was actually warmer than the beach.

Ashley and Lydia were in the water almost the whole time. Alyssa didn't go in for a while, but once she did, she really enjoyed it. 

The younger 4 kids spent a lot of the time on the shore line playing in the sand.

I had to snap a picture of this lady who was wading in the water with a winter coat on because it looked so funny. It was chilly, but definitely not cold enough to wear our winter coats. LOL!

Danny played this stomp on each other's feet game with the boys in the sand for a while. I don't know if they did it to entertain themselves of to keep warm. The sun did peek through the clouds a bit right before we left. Most everyone was ready to go after a couple of hours.

I took this picture with Ashley right before we left the beach. The trees and vegetation right off of the beach was just as pretty as the ocean view the opposite way.

We headed back to the rental home to get cleaned up and decided on Denny's for dinner We had all decided that the luau the day before was our Thanksgiving meal this year, so we were not looking for turkey dinner, just somewhere that everyone would eat well and would not be crowded and could accommodate our large group. Oh, and somewhere close-ish to home. Denny passed on all accounts.

After dinner, we hung around the house for the rest of the evening and went to bed early. We were all tired.

Hawaii Day 2: BYU Hawaii, The Temple, and the Polynesian Cultural Center

On Wednesday, Nov. 23, We headed up to Laie to visit BYU Hawaii, the temple grounds, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. We started at BYU Hawaii, with a plan to visit the bookstore. We overlooked the fact that we were visiting on the day before Thanksgiving. Everything was closed that day. We still walked around the campus and took some pictures

After BYU, we headed over to the temple grounds. We took some pictures, walked around the grounds, and went inside the visitor center. We watched a couple of short movies about the Laie temple and what makes it special. Danny and I discovered our dream senior mission (working in the visitor center there).

After the temple, we headed over to the PCC. It wasn't quite open yet, so we grabbed some lunch right outside. When it was time to head in, we were assigned a tour guide (from Tonga) and we were off. 

I'm not sure if I remember the order that we visited the islands, but according to my memory we started in New Zealand, then Samoa, Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti, and last was Tonga. New Zealand performed the Haka

 We also played this game with sticks after the show. You could only use one hand to hold your stick and the person in the middle would should "right" or "left." You had to let go of your stick and grab the stick to either the right or the left while moving that way. if your stick fell, then you were out.

Robbie made it to the top 3.

The kids are showing off their tattoos that they got at one of the islands. I can't remember which one.

This guy was hilarious. I believe he was from Samoa. He was telling all kinds of jokes as he described the culture. There was a part of the presentation where he broke upen a coconut and then scraped out the flesh using a sharp rock. He made it look so easy and it is definitely not easy. I know, because I have tried it at home. They also did palm tree climbing demonstration afterwards. They also made that look easy.

This was a really large boat that one of the islands built to get off of the island. If I am remembering correctly, they came and inspected this boat when designing the boats in the movie Moana.

Brian volunteered to play the drums in the Tonga show. He had no idea that they were going to make him wear a skirt and look foolish. At least that was their intent, to make people laugh. But he did a great job and came away from it with a palm leaf crown.

Here we are waiting for one of the shows to start.

And a shot of some of the group walking during the tour.

After the tour, we headed to the luau, complete with flower leis, pineapple smoothies (in an actual pineapple), and a whole pig. The food was amazing, and the atmosphere was even better.

During the show, the younger kids went up on stage for a bit.

After the luau was over, we had some free time. We took a couple of pictures up on the stage and we learned how to play the ukelele.

And then it was time for the Ha Breath of Life show. We got there first.

The kids mixed up a bit after their cousins arrived. The boys really wanted Tommy to sit in between them. And then he promptly fell asleep within 10 minutes of sitting down. The show was good, but we were all exhausted after a long day and because of jet lag. I think most of us struggled to stay awake.

And on the car ride home, I think Ashley was the only kid that was still awake at the end of the drive. It was a super fun day and we learned so much about the Polynesian and the programs that are in place to help them gain an education by working at the cultural center.