Day 4 Off to MAUI

On Sunday, we checked out of our high rise hotel and caught a plane to MAUI! We were both very excited to get out of the city and enjoy the beauty Hawaii has to offer. 

Still, weird to me that birds are normal in the airport!

cute bathroom signs!

We went to Ho'okipa Beach to see Sea Turtles. At first from a distance we didn't think there were any, just rocks on the beach. As we got closer and saw the gawking tourists, we realized there were a ton on the beach! We sat and watched as turtle after turtle came up on the beach to rest. We were so amazed! They are fast swimmers and slow crawlers. They were big too. 

The baby was adorable!

Our new place in Maui was beautiful. Right on the beach and our room had stunning views of the ocean. 

Found this little lizard in the lobby garden.

 It was nice to just settle in and eat and relax on a Sunday. 

Hawaii Day 3

Today was a little more about relaxation! We strolled through the Saturday swap meet and picked up a few souvenirs for the kids and us. It was a really fun time! I loved it! 

Then we went to Waimea Falls in O'ahu. We hiked to this waterfall through an incredible botanical garden that I can only imagine that this is what it was like where Adam and Eve lived. It was stunning and I photographed nearly every flower I found. Enjoy!

Then we got to the waterfall and we could swim in it!! I was pumped to do this since its a dream of mine! We had to wear life vests so I was very glad. Chad was less than thrilled. It was AMAZING!!!!

A favorite stop was the Laia Temple! Wow!! It was just stunning! We spent some time in the visitor center chatting with missionaries and just soaking in the spirit. 

We then went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Cool place, but we had done most of the activities in our luau so we just walked around mostly enjoying the scenery. We took a boat ride up a little river and that was probably the highlight. Not as impressive for us as many others thought. 

Sea Life Luau

We attended the Ka Moana Luau at the Sea Life Aquarium. Excitedly we entered and were immediately showered with fresh leis, pictures and drinks! The lei's smelled heavenly! I loved them so much!

We were seated after a little fiasco of them not being able to find our tickets but we were clear in the back, oh well. We were told about all the fun things to go learn about and do before the dinner. We played ukulele, braided leaves, making a flower lei bracelet and watching a man climb a coconut tree!

Where our yummy pig is cooking. 

When dinner was ready, 2 guys pulled it out of the ground and took it over to get ready to eat. I'm still trying to decide if it was real or not because the meat was ready REALLY fast after they pulled it out. So I'm not sure if that is the one we ate or if it was even real! But cool nonetheless. 

I was glad the weather held out. It was a perfect evening! Time to eat!

I loved EVERYTHING i tried. It was so good. 

Then the show began and I just couldn't take my eyes away! All the dancers were totally amazing and talented and good at what they did! I was amazed and really enjoyed it. 

The fire dancers were incredible. They were two young boys who performed and it was mesmerizing! 

What a wonderful day! On our way home we went to Walmart in the City. WOW! We had to park in a parking garage. And we were looking for pre made sandwiches, none of which they had and when we asked about it they looked at us like we were crazy. Maybe that's not a thing in Hawaii. But it was an experience in itself!!
 

Hawaii Day 2

 We were up early to head out to Kualoa Ranch. We had on our itinerary to have a Secret Beach excursion...but it was POURING rain....we didn't know what to expect but we planned on a rainy beach day. Upon arrival, we learned that our excursion was canceled. Not surprised. We switched excursions to a jungle tour and just went with the flow. We walked around a small museum and learned that many videos were filmed there and it was a very popular well known place. And again we enjoyed the grounds and the birds.

China Man's hat island. Our beach we were supposed to be on faced this mountain. 

But instead we loaded up on this seated area on the back of a pickup truck and this old lady came up to us and told us she'd be taking us through the jungle in this big ol truck....ok... She tried to give us comentary on the way but between the rain and the bumpy road, it was hard to hear. We did make a few stops and since we were the only couple on the tour we could do what we wanted to. She pointed out that these were the Gods that hawaiians prayed to. 

We walked up to this holy ground and the tour guide said we had to make an offering to be able to enter. She offered her beaded lei as an offering and walked around the area with her lei held high before we could enter. I don't get it but you could tell it was a sacred thing to her. 

Film sets are scattered through the jungle. We came upon this crashed helicopter that was a set for the movie King Kong. So cool!

And did I mention it was POURING rain! We knew we would get wet today but we thought it would be in the ocean, not from the pelting rain! Even though we had a covering over us, we were traveling fast enough that the rain was just coming straight at us and off the top of the truck right into our faces. At one point all we could do was laugh because we were so soaking wet!! The lady wanted to take our pics everywhere and it was nice to see the beauty of this jungle with the amazing views!

We came upon the Jurrasic World set and that was so cool. 

The aftermath....soaked!

We sat and ate an acai bowl mostly for the experience. It was good. Most of it anyway....those slimy worm looking things were not good. 

Next up was the Byodo Temple. Again, we could tell it was sacred to the people. It was cool to see how they worshiped and what they believed. Inside this temple was a giant Buddha statue painted gold. People would come in and remove their shoes and light incense and pray to the statue. The grounds and koi fish and birds were stunning to look at. 

Then we were off to a beach! Finally! The rain had stopped but it was still cloudy but it was warm enough to go and enjoy the ocean. This was one of my favorite spots just relaxing here and being together until it was time for our luau. The sand was amazing and the water was warm. 

Some fun plants along the way. 

The luau happened after this but it needed its own post! We were just across the street so we changed into our luau outfits and took our hungry bellies to dinner! This place is just amazing!