Hawaii - Part V

Our last full day in Hawaii and it we spent it at one of the most beautiful beaches on Oahu! Hanauma Bay was so special that in the 1800's, only the royal family was allowed to fish and swim here!

We had an early tour - van picked us up at 5:40am from our hotel and we were out on the beach snorkeling by 7:50am! This area was much more shallow than the last place we snorkeled - and a bit more crowded. 

Brock posing! 

Brent and Brock coming in from snorkeling. 

He loves the water!

Apparently this seal hangs out on this beach quite often - has its own little section of the beach to take a nap! 

The seal reminded us of Moose. :) 

The boys getting a few last waves in before we had to depart. 

There's a little trolley that will drive you up or down the very steep hill - back when I visited with my parents in 2004, you had to pay 50 cents for a ride down and $1 for the ride up! Now after Covid, it's free. Kade and I opted to take the trolley and Brent and Brock "took the challenge" and walked/jogged up. 

They definitely beat us to the top! (But hey - we transported all the beach chairs, umbrella, bags, etc!)

Brock did a bit of growing on this trip. What do you think - did he officially reach my height?

Capped off our last night there with a visit to Duke's Waikiki Restaurant - fancy drinks all around! 

We were excited - the "Baked Duke's Fish" of the day was Ono (Wahoo) - which Brock and I both ordered! Yumm!

I think you can tell we went snorkeling that day - we still have the lines on our foreheads! 

A picture on the wall next to us of Duke Kahanamoku welcoming Shirley Temple to Hawaii! 

I love Brock's Hawaiian shirt and Kade's little pose!

We took our time walking back to the hotel that evening - stopped in a few shops and bought some souvenirs (Christmas Ornament!). But we were back in our hotel and in our pajamas so we could watch the Friday night fireworks from our balcony. Apparently the Sheraton down the beach provides a short 3 minute firework show every Friday night! 

Saturday morning we woke up early for the airport and traveled halfway home - stopping in Seattle (technically Bellevue) for the night! 

Dropped our things off at the hotel room and walked across the street to Bellevue Square Mall - so much of our family time was spent at that mall, it was only fitting we return for a bit! First stop - the Kid's Cove!!!

I was able to get Kade to recreate one of his adorable pictures at this place, but alas, Brock was not feeling it. 

Dinner reservations at Daniel's Broiler on the 21st floor! 

For dessert, our family had to indulge in TWO chocolate chip cookies with ice cream topping. 

A bit tricky to get a family photo with the sun glaring in the window, but we attempted it. 

New for us - apparently some restaurants in the Seattle area include a 20% service charge added to each check. I guess a guaranteed way for the restaurant to pay the wages to their wait staff? There was still a tip line there, but with a note saying you were in no way obligated to leave more than the service charge. Still felt a little odd. 

After dinner, we walked over to Power Play - the Arcade area at Bellevue Square. Brought back lots of good memories of bringing little Brock here and trying out his leftie arm in the throwing games. 

Alas, it was time to leave the next day (saw a bit of the traffic returning to the airport the following morning and remembered part of the reason we left) and head back to North Carolina. 

What an amazing trip - so many new memories made. I hope the boys learned something from this trip and remember it. Brent and I were so glad to go back after so many years and share this experience with them. It was a long trip (and expensive!), glad to be home and so glad we were able to have this opportunity. 

Hawaii - Part IV

Wednesday, July 31st we said goodbye to our rental Jeep and took the very short flight from Kahului Airport, Maui to Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. Big city - no rental car here. 

Brent cashed in a good chunk of his Marriott points from all his business trips for our stay at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa - our room was on the 30th floor! 

Everything was walking distance here - big city vibes for sure. Brent and I agreed it felt like Miami. 

Our first dinner in Honolulu was at the Tanaka of Tokyo - teppanyaki style (dinner and a show!). As expected, the boys enjoyed the white rice the most. 

Brent showing off my orchid from my drink. 

They look like twins!

I loved the walk back looking at all the architecture intermixed with palm trees. This is the Moana Surfrider, currently a Westin Resort hotel. The Moana Hotel was the first hotel built in Waikiki, officially opened on March 11, 1901. 

These are very important in the Hawaiian culture. The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu - or the Stones of Life. 

Walking a bit further and we reached the statue of Duke Kahanamoku - the father of modern surfing. 

The boys knew exactly who this was - yay - points for me on making them do a little research and reading prior to this trip! 

Waikiki Beach at sundown. 

Always surrounded by birds..... our quick Starbucks breakfast on the first floor of the Marriott involved birds in the trees and the ground begging for crumbs. I like the ones that stayed in the trees until at least we left! 

Thursday morning we headed out for our tour at Pearl Harbor - booked it 8 weeks in advance to secure tickets! 

A 3D topographic map of the island of Oahu. 

There were quite a few more ships in the harbor than typically - all in town for RIMPAC 2024 - "Rim of the Pacific." RIMPAC is the name of the biennial (every 2 years) international military exercise held in and around the Hawaiian islands. 

We thought this was a museum ship, but NO - this is the USS Carl Vinson - a 1,092 foot long Nimitz-class Supercarrier. 

Fun facts - the body of Osama bin Laden was buried at sea in 2011 from her deck and the same year, she played host to the first NCAA basketball game on an aircraft carrier!

In the back right of the picture below is the USS Battleship Missouri - completed in 1944, she was the last battleship commissioned by the United States. 

The USS Arizona Memorial. 

There are several museum buildings on the grounds explaining the history and significance of this memorial site. This was an active torpedo found in 1991! 

I found this model helpful in explaining to the boys how we were going to see a boat that was mostly sunken. 

How interesting was FDR's first draft of his famous speech. 

Our 9:45am group gathered in a small auditorium to receive safety instructions from the park ranger and then boarded the military boat to be transported over to the actual memorial. 

The names of all the sailors and Marines who were lost that day. 

After our tour, we walked over to Restaurant 604 for an early lunch on the waterfront. 

We got back to the room and the boys and I knew exactly what we were going to do!!

Yes it was a ridiculously crowded and touristy beach, but the water was so inviting and clear! The boys LOVED playing in the waves. (You can barely see them in this picture - they are two little heads right in the middle of the photo) 

I will comment, for how much they fight and bicker ALL THE TIME, they play SO well together at the beach. It is surely their happy place!

Waikiki Beach! 

Dinner that night was at Cheeseburger in Paradise - wasn't expecting a gourmet burger by any means at this very touristy location, but it was pretty good! I had the "Island Style Cheeseburger" with colby jack cheese, teriyaki glazed grilled pineapple, & avocado and it was delicious - went really well with my Blue Hawaii! The boys thoroughly enjoyed our little drink umbrellas! 

Brock missed out on the shave ice from Maui, so he was determined to try this shave ice with ice cream on the bottom in Honolulu - Mango & Strawberry combo flavor!