10th Anniversary

December 19th was Matt's and my 10th Anniversary!  In some ways ten years sounds really long, and in other ways it sounds so short, especially when you talk to a couple who's been married for thirty plus years.  It was a big milestone for us though, and we celebrated with a big trip to O'ahu. 

My parents agreed to watch our kids, which was really nice of them.  They deserve a lot of credit for helping us make this trip happen. 

On our first full day in Honolulu, we hiked Diamond Head, which is a one of the more recognizable landmarks on O'ahu.  It's a volcanic crater, and from the top, you get fantastic views.  Since it's a popular hike, we had to park a good distance from the trail head and walk to the starting point.  The parking lot we parked in was next to a whole bunch of succulents and other cacti, which I'll admit was a surprise to Matt and me.  We also got to see wild chickens hanging out in the grass next to the parking lot.  It's so interesting how Hawaii can feel like a foreign country while very much being a part of the United States.

Matt in front of the cacti

Chickens

 The hike was relatively short and easy, which was nice.  I'm so grateful that my knees are doing well enough for me to be able to say that about any hike!  The views along the way and at the top were spectacular!

View from Diamond Head

You can see it was very windy

That evening we went swimming at Bellow's Beach and caught some of the best waves of the entire trip.  We had the entire beach to ourselves, which was kind of surprising.  It was so nice to be able to swim, just us.

The next morning we hiked to the Lanikai Pillboxes.  The Pillboxes were used by the U.S. military to guard the island from attack during World War II, which made them neat to see.  However, the real draw for the hike were the views from the ridge.  The weather was sunny when we started, but as is wont to happen in tropical climates, it suddenly started pouring rain when we were a little over halfway there.  We just kept walking.  The trail was pretty slick and muddy, and I have to say that the rain shower made our hike quite memorable!  The rain didn't last long though, and the sun came out full blast afterward. 

At the first pillbox

Look at the water!  It's so beautiful!

After our hike, we tried a variety of beaches, including Kailua Beach Park, Lanikai Beach Park, and Sandy Beach Park.  We saw a sea turtle at Kailua Beach Park, which was so exciting that I squealed and scared it away!  Then we saw another one from a distance at Lanikai Beach Park, and I managed not to squeal.  The water was calm and clear.  So beautiful!  When we arrived at Sandy Beach Park, a lifeguard approached us the minute we stepped onto the beach to let us know that this was not the beach for us to swim at unless we had equipment or tons of experience.  While I do feel like I am a good body surfer, I'm not willing to risk my life to catch some waves.  It was fun to watch other people risk their lives, but those were some big waves!  I mean big!  One of the lifeguards told me that they have more accidents on Sandy Beach than any other beach in the world.  Apparently, its unofficial name is "Broke Back Beach." 

On Tuesday we went on a tour bus to Pearl Harbor, which was a fascinating experience.  I loved learning more about the history of the war in the Pacific.  Seeing sights like that makes me proud to be an American.

Matt and I at Pearl Harbor

 Unfortunately, it was too windy for the Navy to dock at the Arizona Memorial.  We were disappointed about that, but we did get to circle it a few times and see it up close.  Regardless, it was a neat experience. 

Afterward, our tour bus took us over to the U.S.S. Missouri.  The treaty that ended World War II was signed on the U.S.S. Missouri while it was anchored in Tokyo Bay.  How neat that we got to see where World War II started and ended for the U.S!  Matt and I thoroughly toured every part of that ship that we were allowed to visit.  We saw the officers' cabins, the cafeteria, the actual spot where they signed the treaty, etc.  When we were done, we hurried off the ship to catch our bus, but it was nowhere to be seen.  Apparently, everybody else on the tour finished up early, and they didn't notice that we hadn't gotten back on the bus.  I called the tour company's office, and they called the driver.  He waited for us for 45 minutes back at Pearl Harbor while we caught a shuttle back over to meet up with the rest of them.  It was a strange experience, but I guess all is well that ends well.

Big guns

Chair for a very important officer

 On Wednesday morning it was raining very hard, but that was okay because we had already planned to go tour Queen Liliuokalani's castle in historic Honolulu.  I loved that tour!  It was so fascinating to see how the Hawaiian royalty adopted Western ways as quickly as they could.  It looked like a European castle with an island theme.  Apparently, they had electricity in their palace before the White House had electricity.  They even had bidets! 

This was the Queen's bedroom

The dining room

After the tour, the weather cleared up, and we went swimming at Waikiki Beach.  It was so nice to be out in the ocean together.  One of the things I loved most about the trip was all the time Matt and I had to talk.  Talking while you're bobbing in the ocean is so relaxing.

A view of Diamond Head from Ala Moana Beach Park

That afternoon we took a tour boat out to Turtle Canyons near Waikiki and went snorkeling.  We saw about five sea turtles up close.  Some of them were even babies.  Matt and I were among the first ones in the water and the last ones out.  I loved diving down deep to get a closer look at the sea life.

The next day we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie.  We loved the PCC and highly recommend it to anyone who ever visits O'ahu.  The Center has several different "villages" that you can visit to learn more about the cultures on different Polynesian islands, such as Tonga, Samoa, Aotearoa, Hawaii, Fiji, and Tahiti.  Each island does a cultural presentation and has hands on activities.

The Samoan cultural presentation

Matt playing a New Zealand (Aotearoa) stick game 

You're supposed to leave your stick standing and catch your opponent's before it falls

We went on a canoe ride

Watched a Canoe Pageant

This was our tour guide.  She was from Tonga.

That evening we went to a Luau and had some of the most delicious food I've ever eaten in my life.  We watched hula dancing in front of a beautiful waterfall and enjoyed more pageantry. 

After dinner, we watched Ha:  Breath of Life, which is the show that the Polynesian Cultural Center is most well-known for because it includes fire knife dancing.  So impressive!   Matt and I couldn't stop talking about how great the PCC is!

The next day Matt and I decided to go zip lining at Keana Farms in Laie.  I've always wanted to go zip lining, and it was totally worth every penny.  The views were fantastic, and the adrenaline rush when you jumped off the platform was thrilling.  Near the end, the guides had us going upside down and backwards on the lines.  The longest line was half a mile, and we were in the air for about a minute.  I wanted to do that one again.  Actually, I wanted to do all of it again.  It was so cool!

After our zip lining adventure, we went back to the PCC since our tickets included three day reentry to the Center.  We took a ukulele lesson and learned to play "You are My Sunshine."

Aren't we cute?

We also went to the Laie Temple

Then we talked to Kawika Eskaran.  He built this canoe, named the Iosepa, and is a real Wayfinder like Moana.  In fact, when Disney started working on Moana, they came to him to ask how real Wayfinding is done, so that the movie could be as accurate as possible.  He teaches a Wayfinding class a BYU-Hawaii, and I seriously thought about dropping everything to canoe around the world without navigational instruments.  Actually, I didn't really consider dropping everything, but I expressed so much interest that he said he'd love to have me in his class.  Lol!  I like adventure, but I'm not ready to be surrounded by fifty foot waves in a canoe.  No thank you!  I do like knowing that people still do that though.  It makes me happy to know that they are preserving their traditions and skill sets.

On Saturday we went back to Bellow's Beach, and this time the waves were pretty big.  We swam for awhile, but they were too big to catch without fear of breaking our necks.  So, we got out and went swimming at Kailua Beach Park instead.  Kailua Beach is usually quite calm, but since it had been rainy and windy the day before, it roiled up the water enough to let us body surf some.  Don't worry it was still very safe! 

After swimming for awhile, we went over the the Blowhole Lookout and climbed down to the Toilet Bowl.  The waves crash on the rocks, and it feels absolutely thrilling to be down there.

On our last day in Honolulu, before we needed to go to the airport, we went back to Pearl Harbor to catch all the stuff we had missed earlier that week.  We also went on the U.S.S. Bowfin, a submarine from World War II.

The submarine is neat, but mostly I'm sharing this picture to show off my new mumu!

Look at Matt's Hawaiian shirt!

Up top on the Bowfin

Matt and I had a fantastic time in Hawaii.  It was full of adventure, relaxation, and really good food.  What a special time it was for us!  We'll always remember it.

Our reunion with our girls was sweet.  Of course we missed each other and were happy to be back together.  Matt and I brought them these cute dresses as gifts.  They look so cute, and that makes me happy!