Well, we're back from our trip to Hawaii. We stayed in Kauai for a week and then spent one day on Oahu's North Shore. We couldn't be so close to Oahu and our favorite restaurants and beaches and not stay there. We had a great time, though we probably won't go back again during the winter months. I realize that October is fall, but when the weather stays about the same and the only thing that changes is the sea, October is considered winter and the waves are big and the surf is rough. Most of the beaches that we loved to snorkel at were closed or had red flags and signs that said "no swimming" so that bummed us out since we usually swim and snorkel every day. We only got to go about 3 times the whole week. We still had a nice relaxing time and missed moma a ton, but it was super fun for it to just be the two of us. The picture above is of Wailua Falls. This was another "bummer" from our trip. Last time we went to Kauai, you could hike down the falls and swim in the pool below, but they have since put up a big fence and we weren't able to find a way down there. There used to be stairs and a hand rail (rope rail) to help you along. So this was a bummer because we really were looking forward to getting down there and swimming in the fresh water. oh well, maybe next time we go, if there aren't as many people around watching us, we'll try and sneak down. We stayed at the Pono Kai resort in Kapa'a. I stayed there once before when i was 17 with my dad and step mom. We were able to use our brothers time share and it cost us less for the whole week than it would have for one night so we couldn't pass up the deal! Our room was ocean front and the view was great. the beach wasn't a swimming beach which was actually nice so we didn't have a bunch of people hanging out in front of our door. Kapa'a is on the east side of the island and it was so weird to watch the sunrise. i have only seen the sunset over the ocean so it was very disorienting to be sitting out there early in the morning watching it rise over the ocean. Very awesome!

This is a picture of dadi and I at the fern grotto. Again this was a disappointment. I'm really not being pessimistic. we had a great time, but there were some things that we were expecting that we didn't get to do. the fern grotto visit has changed since we saw it last. You used to ride a boat up there and be able to walk up under neath the grotto with the water misting in your face, but i guess they had such bad rain last year that the mountain became too soaked and the rocks are now unstable. They don't want anyone to die from a boulder falling on their head so they had to close it off and you can only view it from a distance. It was still beautiful.

Okay, so I'm showing some boobage in this picture, but all of my snorkeling pics show boobs so i had to post one of them. Sorry. Our camera is a digital camera, but it is water proof and everyone kept getting freaked out when we would take it under water with us. They were like "stop!! you're camera is on your wrist!!" it was funny. we had to explain that it was water proof about 10 times. A lot of people didn't realize that they make them waterproof now. It can go under up to 33 feet and we don't have to put it in any protective thingy. We just have to soak it in fresh water for 10 minutes after being in the salt water.

We took a zodiac tour of the Na'Pali Coast. This coast is only accessible by boat or helicopter. It was awesome. We have done this tour before and we loved it. Again, this time was a disappointment. Because it's considered winter, we could not do a beach landing on the ancient Hawaiian fishing village and the waves were so high it was pretty scary. it was really fun though and we caught air flying over the big waves a few times. we sat on the front of the boat. you literally are sitting on the edge of the boat with your back to the water. the only thing holding you in the boat is a rope under your feet and between your legs that you hold on to for dear life. I was so sore the next day because i spent 6 hours with every muscle in my body tense holding on to the ropes. Dadi called me an old lady.

Okay, sorry to post this lovely picture, but i just had to. During our trip on the zodiac boat, i got sea sick. I was doing just fine when we were going super fast and jumping over the massive waves, but when we stopped to explore a sea cave, it felt like i was in a washing machine and i slowly started feeling myself lose it. I asked the skipper if i could change my seat to go towards the back because i just knew it was all coming up. I made it to the back just in time and during my lovely sea sick attack, i heard the camera go "beep" i knew dadi was taking my picture and i yelled at him, but once i was feeling better, i just had to laugh. He did this once before during my helicopter ride when i puked on that a few years ago (again in Kauai). At least i had a bag that time!!!

Here's dadi snorkeling. He dove down underneath me and i snapped the picture. it was a fun day on the boat even though i puked. We did some snorkeling in calmer waters and saw some awesome fish. During our trip out to the coast, spinner dolphins swam right in front of us and i literally could have bent down and touched them (if i hadn't been busy hanging on for dear life)

On my birthday, i was way too sore from the boat trip to do much so we just went to the botanical garden and toured that. It was pretty expensive, but we learned a lot and saw some beautiful plants and flowers. I love this orchid picture. i took a bunch of pictures like this one of different flowers and I'm going to do a collage in my scrapbook.

On our last day in Kauai, we went down to Po'i Pu which is a touristy area. We usually steer clear of the touristy spots since we love to be in the country so much, but we had to swim on our last day and the beach there isn't as choppy as the rest of the island. On the beach just a few yards from us was a monk seal. they are endangered. it was sunning itself on the sand. We got a picture of it while maintaining the proper distance according to the signs and stuff around the area. He was huge. About 7 feet long. He was laying so still that i at first thought it was a rock, but then he moved his flipper and i realized what it was.

Here's dadi swimming at po'i pu. it was really fun. the water was nice and warm and the waves were big, but not too big. we did some body surfing and i got tons of sand in my suit. it's a natural exfoliant.

On Saturday morning, we arrived on Oahu and picked up our rental car. They upgraded us for free and gave us a convertible. it was so much fun driving with the top down on our way to our favorite breakfast spot. We went to the Hukilau cafe in Laie on the north shore. the line was out the door, but it was well worth it. I couldn't eat what i normally get because i had barfed up the same items on the boat in Kauai. There is a time limit on that sort of thing and I'm sure you all know about that. whenever you get sick, it takes a long while to be able to eat it again. So i had a pork chop and rice. (doesn't sound to breakfasty, but it is in Hawaii)

During our trip, we stopped off at a favorite spot to see the sea turtles sunning themselves. Dadi's aunt and uncle tipped us off to this spot years ago and we have never been disappointed. we always see the turtles there. This guy was medium size. there were two others, one was super huge and the other had covered himself in sand.

Well, that is just a portion of our trip, but i posted some of the important stuff. we had a great time and it was a nice birthday present we gave each other. We were so thankful for dadi's parents coming to town to take care of moma for us so we could be alone. even though i missed her tons, it was so nice to just be away with him and not have to think. i knew she was in good hands and i called her and talked with her daily. she said "i love you" for the first time to dadi over the phone while we were gone and we got a huge kick out of that. when we got in last night, i just had to go in and see her even though she was sleeping. she woke up and saw us standing there and had the biggest smile I've ever seen on her face. it was pretty cute and i am glad to be home.