Hawaii

We had such an amazing trip to Hawaii. The weather was amazing, the island was amazing, the resort was great, the company was the best we could've asked for, needless to say, we did not want to come home to the below zero temperatures.

Kynlie was a great little traveler, none of the airplane rides bothered her ears at all, she was good about taking naps wherever we were and when she didn't get one, she was still pretty well behaved.

Kynlie thought the convertible was cool- unless we were driving with the top down!

Tuesday was the first day we had at Turtle Bay. We took a little walk around the resort and out on the reef. Met up with the Hanleys and Stortzs and had a few drinks by the oceanside bar, then hung out at the beach. We got "free" (I'm sure they added some charge to the room for it) snorkel rentals with our room so Neil did a little snorkeling and Kynlie and I walked around sand and in the water. Kynlie loved the water, she would just walk right in until she couldn't walk anymore, then her little feet were kicking like a little frog.

Walking on the reef by the hotel.

Walking down to the beach.

Taking a sink bath to wash off all the sand!

After we lounged around the beach, we headed to a nearby town called Hale'iwa to go in a shark cage. Neil, Kourtney, Rita, Nathan's brother Kyle and I went in the shark cage and it was amazing. There were 4-5 blue sharks swimming all around us most of the time. The sharks ranged from 6-8 feet. Nathan's mom volunteered to keep Kynlie on shore so we didn't argue. The shark cage was a great experience, it was very intimidating at first but the sharks just circled around us.

Blue shark that swam around us while we were in the shark cage

Wednesday morning, Neil, Kynlie and I went on a walk along the beach by the resort. We found a World War 2 bunker right beside the ocean. A lot of the land we walked along was where the series Lost was filmed. It was such beautiful scenery.

Neil, Kynlie and I  with Turtle Bay Resort behind us

 The wedding was Wednesday afternoon and it was the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen. I told Neil that if I ever get married again, I'm going to Turtle Bay! He didn't think it was very funny!

Neil, Kynlie and I after the beautiful wedding.

Kynlie smelling the flowers after the wedidng.

 Kourtney and Nathan took pictures after the wedding, then we went and had a couple drinks and had supper at an oceanside restaurant. The day was perfect. The bride looked amazing, the groom was pretty hansome in his "mokey suit." I can't wait for the reception in a couple weeks!

Kynlie and I at Pearl Harbor

 Thursday we got up early and drove down to Honolulu to go to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It was a great day, Kynlie was a good little tourist and the memorial was an amazing site!

American flag flying over the USS Arizona Memorial.

Neil, Kynlie and I, ready to go aboard the USS Missouri

Neil playing poker in the officer's lounge.

Kynlie riding the nose of a jet at the Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor.

 Friday we hung out at the resort again. Neil was lucky enough to be able to take free scuba diving classes. He is now a certified scuba diver. Kynlie and I hung out by the pool while he was doing his lesson, she took a nap on me, then we went to the beach again.

Headed to the beach.

Two hats are better than one, right?

Neil got certified to scuba dive

How we roll at the pool!

Taking sand off the beach, putting it on the chair.
Kynlie's favorite thing to do at the beach.

My sand eating beach bum

 Saturday we walked up to Waiamia Falls, which was very pretty. It's a 3/4 mile walk through botanical gardens, along a stream up to a waterfall. The fall is about 30 feet and there is a lake at the bottom that you can swim in. We didn't swim in the lake, but it was a beautiful walk. After we were done there, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and wandered around there, then went to the Luau there. It was a great show and it was very interesting learning about the Polynesian cultures.

One of the beatiful sunsets we watched from our balcony.

Another sunset from our balcony

Waiamea Falls

 Sunday, Neil put his scuba certification to use. He had to be in Hale'iwa at 9:30 to get on the shuttle to go into Waikiki to go diving. Kynlie and I dropped him off then went down to the local farmer's market. They had a lot of local made products and some great food. We had to be at the harbor to go on a whale watching tour at noon.

Whale Tail

 When we got on the boat to go whale watching, Kynlie started getting crabby. I knew she was just tired, but was gettng some dirty looks by people that were wanting to relax on the boat. I finally got Kynlie to sleep and the captain let me put her under the cab of the catamaran and she slept there for half of our trip. We saw a lot of whales, very close up. It was a great trip, until Kynlie woke up. We went out on the side of the boat so we could see the whales and Kynlie was mad at me because she wanted to dive in the water!

How Kynlie took in the whale watching excursion, sleeping under the cabin of the catamaran.
When she wasn't sleeping, she was mad at me that she couldn't go in the water.

Helping mommy pack to go home.

 We didn't want to pack up to come home, it was such a relaxing trip in 80 degree weather, but all good things must come to an end. We checked out of Turtle Bay on Monday at 11 and headed to Honolulu to go to the zoo. We didn't have to be to the airport until 8 pm so we had the whole day to kill in Honolulu. Kynlie liked all the animals at the zoo, but her favorite part was the playground.

Kynlie and daddy with some hippos at the Honolulu Zoo

Kynlie loved the playground at the Zoo

We had such an amazing trip. I told Neil that I am ready to go back again, soon!

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Stortz!! You are an amazing couple and we wish you many years of happiness.
Thanks for the great excuse to go to paradise!