PART 2 HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ag45mA7zg
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Aloha all!! I'm going to just jump right into this blog cuz we got all kinds of good stuff to cover!!
FIRST OF ALL, this trip was actually a surprise for Mary (My sister of 2 kids). She had really wanted to come visit us when she found out we were moving to Hawaii, but she spent the money she had saved on her daughter's therapy (for Apraxia). SO, ever since May (4 months ago), we bought her plane ticket and spartan race ticket for her to come to Hawaii for her birthday, as well as my other sister Brittany. We of course didn't know that Brittany would be pregnant during the trip. (No one did! haha), so Brittany didn't get to do a lot of activities, but it was still AWESOME seeing both of my sisters for whole week in Hawaii! Here is a little bit of what we did!
DAY 1-Brittany and Mary actually ended up on the same flight out of SLC (where Mary started, and Brittany transferred in), and this was NOT part of the plan lol! (Flight cancellations, etc). So Brittany surprises Mary in the airport! (After Mary was surprised about the trip a couple days prior!)
They were 2 happy sisters on their way to Hawaii! Once they got here, we found out the airline lost Mary's luggage with all her clothes. Oops. But that didn't change Mary's attitude! She stayed happy and we got the luggage the next day anyways! I met them at the airport with leis and a happy face! (Even though I had gotten major motion sickness from the bus ride there). I opted for a taxi ride home.
DAY 2-The next day we woke up bright and early and jumped right into things! Drove to north shore to have an EPIC day! We get to Waimea Bay beach (my fav beach!) and go crazy! There's the famous "Jump Rock" there, where you HAVE to jump off of if you go. (Brittany is the exception because she was pregnant). Mary and I went up at first, and I jumped off. Mary was a little skeptical. She wanted to try a smaller part of the rock before the high jump.
We go to the back of the rock, and guess what we see? A honu (green sea turtle), in the crystal blue water just munchin on breakfast! He was beautiful!! I dash back to the beach, grab my snorkel mask, and go back so Mary and I could have the opportunity to jump in and take a look at him! He was AMAZING! We got some really good GoPro footage of him!
After we swam back to beach, I noticed something on the other side of the beach. A monk seal that had come up to rest! I had never seen one before, so I call Mary and Brittany over (being sure not to get ALL the tourists), and they were amazed as well! They got pictures with him (not getting close at all though), and I snuck in the water keeping my distance, as he swam back out to sea.
If that wasn't enough for a cool beach trip, we explored the cool cave nearby, then Mary went back up Jump Rock! After about 10 minutes of anticipation and a random guy coaching her up top, she made the leap!!! Once you make the initial step and let gravity do the rest, you hit the water and are SO proud! Mary was ecstatic!!
We walk back to the car (stopping on the way to take pics on a swinging rope), and go to get snorkel gear, because turtle beach is next! It started to rain a little bit at that point, but that was okay with us! We stopped for lunch, then as the sun came out, we parked on the road near turtle beach. Brittany, being in her first trimester, was already exhausted, so she slept in the car while Mary and I went to snorkel turtle beach!
And oh my gosh we had the greatest time ever! TONS of turtles! We snorkeled with these majestic creatures and just marveled at them! Mary said at one point she saw 6 at once! After about 30 minutes, we ran back to the car, grabbed Brittany from her nap, and had her come too. She had fun for the most part and saw a couple turtles, but she had ditched her flippers and cut her foot on a rock. So we went and got her first aid stuff at the nearest grocery store.
We only had time left to stop at the Dole Pineapple Plantation for a little bit before my rental car ran out of time. We walked around the garden, fed some fat fish, and took pics. A relaxing end to an awesome day!
DAY 3-Polynesian Cultural Center Day! Always a must for visitors! All 3 of us took the long bus ride there! We went to the island of Hawaii first, got to try mashed taro, and learned a little culture before seeing the hawaiian dancers. After Hawaii, we headed to Fiji where we got to try the stick...dancing...thing. Where you hit your pole on the ground in synchronization with everyone else to make music! It was a lot of fun! Brittany was hungry at that point so while she and Mary went to get her food, I got a coconut for us to share! So they got to try a real coconut! They both said the same thing as they tried it, "That was not what I expected". Haha!!
We go to the island of Samoa next, where hilarious samoans do fire dancing, talk about their lifestyle, and climb a coconut tree! They made a basket out of leaves and asked, "Who wants it?" Mary jumps up and says, "Me!" So they gave it to her, and said, "If you want something in life, go get it".
I got the coconut salesman to cut our coconut so we could eat the meat inside, which is really good in my opinion! Then we saw the famous canoe pageant! I thought it was funny we were th emost enthusiastic ones there. As the different canoes passed us, we would YELL their island name, and it made them really happy! (Most tourists just stare and clap lightly).
We went to Tonga next, which is always the funniest show! Big tongan guy gets up and asks for 3 volunteers whom he dresses up and has them play drums. It may sound weird, but it is HILARIOUS! Especially when he got a clueless Korean guy lol.
Tahiti wedding ceremony was next, and we also danced at that show as well! Then we went to learn about the famous Iosepa boat (which they still take out every couple years!) That was fun and informative. And we ended with Aotearoa, seeing the haka dance and cool ball dancing they do. We saw all the islands! But the fun didn't stop there; we had our own canoe ride, had dinner at the buffet, saw the IMAX movie (where Brittany could sit and chill for a bit, she was exhausted but of course there's no where to just go...take a nap). THEN ended with the BEST part of the day...the HA Breath of Life Show! BEST SHOW EVER! Hula Dancers, a great story, and amazing fire dancers!
DAY 4-Well the PCC had taken all day the day before, and the bus ride home made it so we got home close to midnight. So pregnant Brittany was completely beat and opted out of the next day's morning activity...Snorkeling with Dolphins! We had to be up by 5am in order to get to the shuttle stop. We got picked up and drove to the Leeward side of the island.
Snorkeling was amazing! I have done this tour once before and LOVED it. This time we actually got to see a honu closer! The tour guide dropped us off at a practice spot where we were gazing around for anything cool to see. Just as the guide called us back to the boat, I spot something in the distance coming towards me. I thought it was a turtle, but as I got closer, I realize it's a sting ray!! I yell to Mary to come see, but the rest of the snorkelers were too far away. So just mary and I got to see him, I found out later he's a spotted eagle ray!
We also drop off at a spot by the reef where there are tons of tropical fish! Lots of good GoPro video/pics there. The tour guide also let me try and catch a needle fish with his fishing pole, but he got away.
THEN, it took us a while, but we finally got to see dolphins! Lots of them, with their babies! They don't get too close, but just close enough for us to see! Ahh they are just amazing! I love marine life! After a while of snorkeling around them we headed back, ate the free lunch, and got dropped back off in Waikiki.
Brittany was up and refreshed at that point, so we decided to go hike Maunawili falls! An epic place to hike! We got there late afternoon, so not too late, but not in the middle of the hot day. It was VERY muddy since it had rained before, so no one could avoid the sloppy mud. You just had to embrace it. Brittany had a bit of a hard time at first dealing with that and the hike itself, but we found her a hiking stick and that seemed to help a lot. Kodiak came with us as well!
Maunawili is in a gorgeous jungle, has breath taking views, and ends at the Maunawili Falls, where you can jump off a short rock. Mary and I did that for a while, and Brittany had brought her lei to leave as a token. We left just in time to get to the car before it got dark and drove home.
DAY 5-Surfing! Gotta have surfing! We walked the 5 minutes from my apartment to Waikiki Beach and Mary took surfing lessons! Brittany got a chair on the beach, and had fun relaxing and watching people wipe out in the water. I took my long board out with them and filmed Mary surfing. She was a natural! I wiped out my first time way more than she did! She got up like a pro and had so much fun! The instructor was amazed at all her energy and when he asked her what she did for a living, she exclaimed, "I'M A MOM!"
DAY 6-Spartan Race! I wrote a different blog about this, so go read it! It was AWESOME!
DAY 7-Sunday...we went to church...we chilled at home...walked on the beach...relaxed.
DAY 8-Ziplining!! I wrote a different blog about this too, so again...go read that one!
After ziplining we drove home and then went to Fort DeRussy beach; all 3 of us! (and Kodiak) It was an awesome way to end Sisters week! We rented an "air bed"-basically a giant floaty mat that you take into the ocean. All 3 of us, plus the dog fit on it! We had a blast just floating out there and talking. Kodiak was hilarious, he would jump off only if all 3 of us started to swim away from it. And when we did that he got scared, and tried to climb on top of me, thus trying to drown me haha. We also saw a rainbow, and took pictures back on the beach, and played fetch with Kodiak. Such a fun time!
DAY 9-Brittany and Mary left :( Took a cab to the airport and flew home. It was GREAT seeing my sisters! I knew we would never have a chance like that again, and I am so glad we did it!
Here are some pictures, as well as Videos 1 & 2 of our vacation!!
VIDEO PART 1 HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4hNhpch6Ko
PART 2 HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ag45mA7zg
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