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.