Sandy Beaches, Sunsets, and Snorkeling

ALOHA!!! Our family vacation to Hawaii was fabulous! We stayed 8 nights on the island of Oahu and did all sorts of exploring and adventure seeking. Between myself, my two sisters, and my brother, we took over 400 pictures! It was very hard for me to narrow it down to a dozen or so to post for all to see! ENJOY!!!

WELCOME TO PARADISE....
Mom, Dad, my two sisters and I were the first group to arrive. My brother and my husband joined us over the next to two days (they had to work). When everyone was there, that's when the vacation began! !

The first few nights we stayed in Honolulu, a big city packed with people. Our hotel was an "apartment style" high rise and we were on the 25th floor. Our view of Waikiki beach was nice, but included the tops of several other tall buildings and hotels. It was close to the airport though and that made it easy to get to pick up the rest of our family. While waiting for the rest of our group to arrive, we did some exploring and site seeing. We shopped at the International Marketplace, toured Pear Harbor, walked Waikiki beach, and got lost in the maze of shops at the Swap Meet. When Brian and Dave arrived we were ready to leave the city and head to the North Shore.

With all 7 of us accounted for we made our way across the island to our villa at Turtle Bay Resort. We stopped at The Dole Plantation on our way and had some delicious pineapple ice cream.

Our villa at Turtle Bay was gorgeous! Modern and beautiful! Comfy beds, beautiful kitchen, a balcony over looking the pool and the ocean. Flat screen tv's in all the rooms, a storage unit packed with boogie boards and snorkel gear...



One of my favorite parts of the trip was all the snorkeling! We saw all sorts of colorful fish and even a few sea turtles! We would just pack the cars with our "gear" and head to different beaches. (Above) This is at Sunset Beach, our first snorkeling experience. You can tell we were all in need of some "sun!"

We also snorkeled at a place called Sharks Cove... the sharks only come out at night! So they said!









Sunset at Sharks Cove

Our day at the Polynesian Cultural Center was long, hot, fun, and VERY entertaining. We were able to visit different "countries" and learn all about them. We attended different "shows," went to the dinner/luau, and then to the night Horizon Show with all sorts of dancing and entertainment.

Brian was the greatest entertainment! He got called up on stage and did a little dance and some drumming! It was hilarious!

The rest of us each had our turn in the spotlight. The girls, my dad, and I all danced with coconuts and Dave made fire from sticks and opened a coconut!
Dinner and the luau was great! All sorts of dancers took the stage as we filled our tummies with pork, purple rolls, noodles, potatoes, and delicious desserts! It was a buffet so we all left feeling very stuffed!

We visited SEVERAL beaches on the island of Oahu. My brother, husband, and I found the biggest waves at "Sandy Beach." With a name like that, of course it was going to be a great beach. The waves were a bit too big for me though so I stood back and watched Dave and Brian get pummeled by the crashing waves.

Brian and Dave brought their boogie boards but when the lifeguard told them how dangerous the surf was then, they decided not to board but to stand in the sand and get pounded by the big waves. I got some great video's!

We also did some hiking while in Hawaii. The more difficult of the two hikes we went on was to the top of Diamond Head Crater. After several switchbacks and over 200 stairs the view of Waikiki beach and Honolulu from the top of the crater was beautiful!!



The other hike we went on was really more of a stroll through the jungle. This excursion ended at a water fall called, Waimea Falls. Dave and Heather cooled off my taking a little dip in the water and playing under the falls!

The Laie Temple was so beautiful! Mom and I woke up real early one morning and drove to the temple to do a session before everyone woke up. It was such a neat experience! I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints! The gospel is the same wherever you are...California, New York, Hawaii... it is TRUE!

Of course we had to see the temple at night too! A group of us ventured to Laie one night to take photos and admire the beautiful building.

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Sunset Beach was my favorite beach! The snorkeling was great, the water was crystal clear, the soft was soft, AND the SUNSET was very pretty! We took our chairs to the beach one night and just waited for the sun to set. While waiting we had fun burying Holly in the sand!

We did plenty of hanging out at our villa and the grill by the pool! I think we BBQ'd almost every night! The men would take their drinks and chairs by the grill while the girls showered after a long day of snorkeling and got ready for dinner!

Just lounging by the grill...waiting for dad to cook our burgers!

What better thing to do after a meal? Play a little volleyball in the pool then soak in the hot tub for a bit!

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Halewia was a little surf town about 15-20 minutes away from Turtle Bay. We were told that Pizza Bob's was a great place to eat here and for dessert we were to try a shaved ice from Matsamotos! I have never tasted such a delicious shaved ice! They put ice cream in the bottom and beans if you want them (I tried them but didn't care for them)! It was a very delicous treat to cool you off on a hot Hawaiian day!

HAWAII was a vacation I'll surely never forget! One day Brian and I would like to visit another Hawaiian island. But until then, we'll keep the photo album handy and remember our good times in paradise!

This was our last Hawaiian sunset! We stopped and ate at the Aloha Tower on our way to the airport.

~~~ALOHA HAWAII! ~~~