Hawaii

Russ and I took the BEST vacation / "babymoon" to Hawaii (Oahu) from February 13 - 19. We got good deals on flights through Allegiant Airlines and thought it was a great opportunity to take a vacation with just the two of us before the baby comes. My favorite part of the trip was all the time I got to spend with Russ, uninterrupted! We did so many fun things though... I will just list them in order by each day.

Wednesday 2/13: We went to Kua Aina for burgers, got settled in our rental for the week, and enjoyed some cocnut macadamia nut homemade ice cream (YUM) for dessert!

Thursday 2/14: It was fun to wake up in Hawaii on Valentines Day! We went to Konos, the Dole Plantation, "snuggie beach", the farmer's market at Waimea Valley, Matsumotos, and Haleiwa Joes.

Friday 2/15: We ate at the Haleiwa Cafe for breakfast, then took a scenic drive from one side of the island to the other. We stopped at the Pali lookout, hiked Diamondhead, snorkeled at Hanauma Bay, then ate dinner at Cholos.

Saturday 2/16: Breakers is where we ate brunch (including a yummy pina colada!), then we stopped to see the sea turtles that were hanging out on the shore. It was there by the sea turtles where we laid our towels down to rest and a tree came crashing down right next to where we were laying. We went to Waimea Valley and took a scenic hike through the botanical garden that led us to the Waimea Falls waterfall. Russ actually got in the water and swam to the waterfall! Back at the house, we rented some paddleboards and paddled through the river until we got to the ocean, then turned around. That night we visited "shark's cove" and ate dinner at Shark's Cove Grill.

Sunday 2/17: We attended sacrament meeting at the Haleiwa Ward then shopped for souvenirs at the swap meet. We tried to visit Pearl Harbor but the Arizona tour was closed due to high winds that day. We ended up spending the rest of the day at Waikiki - shopping at the International Marketplace and eating at Duke's.

Monday 2/18: Russ took surfing lessons from "Bruno" but picked up so quickly that he didn't really need Bruno's help. I relaxed on the beach and just watched! We went back to Konos for brunch and later that day we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, stopping at the Laie Temple on the way.

Tuesday 2/19: We got up early so that we could do the Pearl Harbor tour of the USS Arizona Memorial before returning our rental car and getting to the airport.

It really was a perfect trip! I can't wait to go back someday :)