Last Day in Hawaii

It was a sad (not too sad though) day! We had our last Hawaii adventures today. We wanted to do a lot of things so we would be able to sleep on the plane home, so we started early. We drove to the south east side of the island and climbed up Koko Head Crater. Koko Head is a volcanic crater that was formed a long time ago. It has a railway track that goes up the outside of it that is no longer used by rail, so people have started climbing up it. It has 1,048 steps up. The first part of the trail is not too steep. Then it crosses over a bridge that doesn't have any dirt under it (but there is a little trail off to the side where I went up). The second half of it is really steep. By the time you get up, you are pretty tired. At the top, you can look off over the interior of the crater and then down into the ocean. It was an amazing view! It was a really fun hike to do. At first I was tired, but then I started enjoying it a lot. Coming down was slower than going up, but we made it just fine.

Then we decided to go over to Diamond Head crater and hike it again. I like Diamond Head because it has a well-groomed path and there is a handrail all up the trail. At the top, you can look off and see all of Honolulu and Waikiki beach. The ocean really is amazing!

The next thing we had on our agenda was to go swimming, but before we did, we decided to go to Chinatown to drink a bubble tea smoothie. I really like the bubble tea, but I prefer it without the bubbles. Today I got a mango pineapple one. It was so yummy and very refreshing after our two hikes. Then we drove back to the north side of the island, but before we went to the beach, we stopped at Ross to see if we could find some good deals. We had heard they had some cute sweaters that were inexpensive. I found a really cute brown skirt like my black one and I brown sweater. I am kind of excited about them.

By the time we finished and drove back up toward La'ie, the wind was blowing, so we hated to get in the water because it is cold getting out and the beach wasn't that warm really. So we walked along the beach and watched the waves come crashing in. I really am amazed and intrigued by the ocean. It was fun! Then we met Tonya's friend Nichole at our favorite dinner place - Surfin' Taco and ate one last dinner. MMMMM-good! We went back to our place and showered and stuffed everything into the luggage and hoped everything would fit okay. Then we left to come to the airport.

We are now sitting in the airport waiting for our flight home to a very cold, snowy Utah...Hmmmm, Maybe there is a job for me here in Hawaii...Someday!

Top of Waikiki and Chinatown

Yesterday we worked in the morning. We went to eat lunch with Mike Griffiths that we used to work with in Provo at the CTL and had a good visit with him about what he is doing and the direction he sees his job going here at BYU-Hawaii. After we finished, we picked up Tonya's friend Nichole who is doing an internship here and we went down to Waikiki. Unfortunately it was windy and the waves were pretty strong, and a little bit rainy and cool, so we didn't do much. We were trying to decide where to eat, and happened to be walking by Top of Waikiki. So Top of Waikiki is a revolving restaurant. It takes about one hour for you to go all the way around. It is a more expensive restaurant than I thought, but the food was really good. We all just got little dishes and ate a little bit, but it was still about $20 each for all of our meals...I ate crab cake and thought it was really good though. Then we tasted everyone else's stuff and it was all really good. So that was a fun and unique experience for us. Then it rained on us as we walked back to our car. It was a fun day.

Today we worked in the morning. Then we went to eat lunch at a fish restaurant in North Shore with Paul from the Testing Center that we have been working with. I ate some ahi tuna and salad and rice. It was so good! It tasted really, really good.

Then we left from there and wanted to go down to Waimano falls, but the trail was really steep and I didn't really want to do it that much. We turned around and went to Chinatown. We had talked about going there a few different times, but we never made it. So we went and wandered around the different shops was a lot of fun. It made me a little bit nostalgic for China. One of the things we bought there was a boba (bubble tea). This is a smoothie with fruit and then it has large tapioca balls in it. We used to drink them all the time when I was in China. Except I prefer to not get the tapioca balls in mine. Anyway, it was refreshing and fruity and something new to try. I liked it a lot.

We went by Costco to buy some gifts to take back with us and then went to Kaneohe on the way home to try a Korean restaurant that we heard was really good. It was not as good as we thought it might be. I have had much better Korean food. Oh well. Sometimes you try something and it's great, and sometimes you try, but it isn't very good. It was a fun day!

PCC and Temple

Today was a rainy day in La'ie and all over the island it looked like. We worked all morning on our projects, trying to make some progress on them. Then about 1:00 we left and went back to PCC. If you have a ticket, you can go back for the next three days after. There were a couple of shows that we didn't get to see. So first we went to the Hawaii one where they taught about the hula. I didn't know that the hula is more about the hands than shaking your hips (like Tahiti). Then it was time for the canoe pageant where they have dancers come out on a canoe and dance through the river running through the PCC. The other day we were sitting on the very end so we didn't see any of the dances, but today we sat smack dab in the middle and we saw it all. It was a lot of fun. The students are so talented! Then we went to Fiji and they did some chanting and dancing for us. We were going to get "tattoos," but we were going to go to the temple right after, so I didn't think I would have time to get it washed off. After we walked around some more, we went to some of the shops and then we left.

We came back to our place and changed back into our skirts, ate some salad, and then Tonya and I went to the temple. It was so neat. It is really beautiful! I enjoyed it a lot and it was neat to be there. The rooms still smell new. It really is a beautiful temple. I am so glad we got to go! It was a great day!

Beach Relaxation

This morning we went in to work early and got busy. I worked on some screens for the Student Ratings management site we will be building. Then I did some reading for American Heritage. Tonya and I went and met with one of the guys that we used to work with us at the CTL who moved here with his family. We wanted to talk to him about a program that he is using for his online classes and then we were talking with him about his plans for where he sees the program here going. It was interesting to talk to him and to see the work they are doing here. He invited us to go to the devotional today where the student body presidency spoke today. It was really good. I was impressed by their talks.

We went back to work and I read more for American Heritage and then I wrote some discussion questions for the lecture tomorrow. I hope he will use them. It always takes me so long to write decent questions. Then when I do, and he doesn't use them, I feel bad. Oh well. It does me good to read the articles and to think about them and the most important messages from them. I am learning a lot about politics and government, so that is good for me.

After I finished, we talked to one of the guys in Provo that we work with to discuss our projects and how to continue working on them. Then Tonya and I went out to the beach here in La'ie. It isn't a very big beach, but it was nice and quiet. There weren't very many people there. We found a tree swing that had about a five-foot seat, so we sat there and watched the waves come in and just talked and laughed. Then we started walking to the next town to get some exercise. We almost got there and Tom came and picked us up so we could go eat at our favorite restaurant - Surfin' Tacos. Mmmmmm Good!

PCC

This morning we got up early and went out running around the campus circle. It was a nice morning to run. There is only a small difference in temperature between early morning and daytime. It is really amazing to me. Then we got ready for work and were there by 6:00. We got busy and started working. Part way through the morning, Paul from the Testing Center came in and asked when we wanted to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We told him whenever he thought would be better. He said that the rest of the week was going to be rainy, so they got our tickets for today. So we worked until noon and then came home and changed into our comfy clothes and walked over to the PCC, which is right next door. Throughout the day we can hear the drums and activities, we are that close.

What an awesome place! They have six different villages set up, one from each of the main island groups. In each of them they have shows and then activities for people to try. They do dances and then they will teach you to dance too. They also teach ukelele lessons and how to make bracelets and leis. We went to see most of the shows in the different villages. In some off time we looked at the shops and watched the canoe parade with dancers from the different countries. What an amazing feat to teach everyone the dances and to make sure everyone is where they need to be when they need to be there. They also got us tickets to the luau and night show, so we went to the luau next. We ate rice and Kalua pork, fish, taro rolls, salad, pineapple, and coconut cake. I thought it was delicious! Then Tonya and I came back to get our sweatshirts for the night show. We went back over and watched Ha: The Breath of Life. Amazing! I think that a word that comes to mind, but it is hard to really explain it. It is the story of life and death, and overcoming challenges. It is all done through dance and music from each of the different islands. The last act was the fire knife dancers. Wow! They were awesome! So talented! So fun to watch! I am so grateful we got to go. I enjoyed it so much. With our tickets, we can go back again. We didn't get to do everything, so I hope one if the days I can go back again to see some more of the stuff in there. It is just such a fun place.

When we got out, I was grateful that I didn't have to drive anywhere. Traffic was busy! It was nice to just walk back to our cozy little apartment. What a fun day!

Sunday in Hawaii

Today was a relaxing Sunday. We got up early and went to church at 8:00. There is a ward that meets in the Stake Center here on campus, so we went there and had a really good Sacrament meeting. There has been a really strong focus on the temple in part because of the dedication, so it was nice to be able to reflect on the temple more too. I'm excited to do a session here.

After church we came back and changed into walking around clothes and drove down by Pearl Harbor and back up the west side of O'ahu. We stopped at one of the nastiest bathrooms I think I have ever seen in all of my life. Just thinking about it gives me shivers...Yucky! But when you have to go, you have to go.

Then we walked out to Ka'ena point which is a point where the north and the west sides of the island come together. It used to be a railroad track out there, but then they quit using the train, so now it is just a trail out to the point. It was a nice walk and it was breezy, so I didn't come back completely drenched with sweat like I usually do from walking anywhere we go. As we got up the path, we went by the albatross nesting grounds. We saw a lot of albatross out nesting on these holes in the ground. In some of the ones that didn't have birds sitting on them, we saw young albatrosses. They were really pretty birds. Out on the point there are supposed to be some seals too, but we didn't see any today. Then we walked back. It was a nice relaxing walk along the shore - above the coast, but where we could see the waves coming into the shore all the way. I really am amazed by the ocean and the power of it. It was really neat.

On the way back, we went through Mililani and North Shore and we saw a few big waves coming in. This evening they weren't a strong as they sometimes are.

I was going to write about one other experience that happened, but I keep forgetting to write about it most of the time, but I am really grateful for the experience. When we were walking into La'ie Falls, I was sweating so much that the sweat was running into my eyes and my eyes started burning. Finally I decided to pop out one of my contacts so I could rinse it off. I popped it out and rinsed it out with water and then I dropped it. I looked and looked, but couldn't find it. Tom looked too, but couldn't find it either.

Tonya had gone ahead of us a little bit. Finally, I told Tom to go ahead and I would look just a little bit more and then catch up. After he left, I said a little prayer and kept looking. The turnoff for the falls was just up ahead a little bit so Tonya and Tom came back. Right as they did, I found it. I licked it off and put it back in my eye and was able to continue on. I was so grateful for that simple answer to my prayers that day. I really didn't know if I would be able to find it or not, but there it was. The angels really do watch out for us and help us along.

Relaxing Day

Today was a good day too. When we got up this morning the wind was blowing and it was raining. Tonya had made a reservation for her and her friend to do a shark dive where they lower people down in a cage to look at the sharks. They take you out in a little boat about 3 miles into the ocean where the sharks feed and they lower people down in the cage and let them see the sharks swimming around. I didn't really want to do it because it just didn't seem like that much fun to me. I can go to the aquarium and look at the sharks and feel a little bit better about everything. It was something she had wanted to do for a long time. I would have gone out in the boat with them, but it cost the same amount to just go out on the boat. I decided I'd like to use my money some other way. When they got out in the boat, the waves were crashing against the boat and it was really rough. Poor Tonya got seasick out there. I was glad I didn't go out with them.

So while they went out there, I took a little nap in the car and then I walked out to the Haleiwa Beach and walked along the coast. I was watching the waves come crashing in. Then I noticed there were some sea turtles right there. I could see their heads pop up mostly and then I saw their flippers come up too and their shells. There must have been five or so out there. It was interesting to see them floating up and down with the waves.

Then we went back into Haleiwa and got a strawberry shaved ice with condensed milk on it. It was a tasty treat. It probably would have tasted better if it had been later in the day when it was hotter outside. We went to the beach and I read there for a little bit, but there was a breeze blowing and the sun kept going behind a cloud. Finally we left and came back to our place we are staying.

Tonya had taken some Dramamine, so she was a little queasy still and really sleepy. I was tired too, so we took naps. Then I read some and looked up places to visit on Oahu. Then we decided to go for a walk, but it was fairly late in the afternoon by then and the hike was a little boring, so we came back and ate at Surfin Tacos (again). We like it there. And for every 10 meals you order there, you get one free. It was another beautiful day in Hawaii. When I look at the weather at home, I'm glad to be here. It feels pretty nice!