TnT Hawaii!

Todd and I are head-over-heals in LOVE with Hawaii!

If only Hawaii would accept our sweet little bird butts (we asked, they won't), we would move there and stay FOREVER! You never know, maybe one day.

I can NOT express adequately how great it was to travel with Todd on vacation, not for business.

He only had to deal with a few work related issues!  YAY!

I am having Hawaii withdrawal already.  Of course it didn't help that when we landed back in Hong Kong it was colder than normal in the low 50's dark and rainy for days.  We don't have central heating so it was so cold.  That and Todd had to immediately head over to Shanghai.  Can you say withdrawal?  No hubby or Hawaii!  At least I have Logan here to ease the withdrawal for the time being.  

Here are some pics from our adventure in Paradise...

But first, back in Hong Kong at the airport.


Excited to go!

Waiting at the airport to take off!

We had a stop over in South Korea and between all the hours of flying we only slept maybe 2 hours and we landed at 8am in Hawaii.  Longest Saturday ever!

This was a welcome greeting though:


This was even better:

Logan took a 2 hour bus ride from his school to meet us at the airport, despite being up until 1am.
It was so awesome to finally be able to hug him after all those months!

We were able to have breakfast with Logan and spend a few hours with him before getting on the ship!
So wonderful.

Getting ready to board!




Finally, on board! YAY!


Todd was excited!


Yes!

The cruise ship we stayed on was called, 

"The Pride of America".

I actually thought that it was funny that a Norwegian Cruise Line had an American themed cruise ship.

I love the towel babies you get on cruises!

Adorable.

View from our room. 

Have you ever wondered where clouds come from?

Well, we have an answer for you!

Hawaii!!!

We have proof, check out the photographic evidence.

Sorry you can't dispute it! 

Duffy was able to levitate off the cloud vibes.  awesome.

Very effective!

Serious cloud makers.

Not only do Volcano's produce ISLANDS, but they make clouds.

Who knew?

JEEP!

Duffy wanted to catch a cloud!

Our tour guide entertained us by singing and dancing, while driving.

This fellow tour guest was so happy we were safe she thanked him!

Don't mess with nature.

Lava TUBES are insanely amazing and scary. 

A caldera.  This thing was so huge.  It took some 30 years for it to be cool enough to walk on.  If you look closely you can see people down below. 

It is still steaming.

Wish we could bring these home for the birds.

Todd is such a POSER! haha

Awwww, so nice to see that smile.

This is the area where Todd took the cursed Lava rocks from.

Apparently without warning this lava covered the entire area within 30 minutes.

I believe they said it was in 1976.

 A heart in the sky!

Visiting a friend from High School that happens to LIVE in Hawaii (at least during the winter, smart!).  She lives in Alaska during the summer and has a Helicopter pilot business with her honey.  

By the way, this is pretty much a rock's throw from her place.

View of our cruise ship from shore...

Next up...

We went on a crazy, fun ocean tour and snorkeling (first time for both of us, so fun).

We saw dolphins.  Beautiful adorable dolphins.  We were told they are Spinner dolphins, which are actually nocturnal, so when you see them during the day they are really sleep swimming.  Something about letting half their brain sleep at a time.

We, also, saw MANTA RAYS!  They are huge, like 7-8 feet and there were three of them.  They were just swimming around on the surface dancing with each other.  The coolest thing ever!

Then we had the opportunity to see a Gray whale.

Our host said it was the first whale sighting he has had of the season, and he took a tour out that morning too and didn't see any even then.  

For a size comparison look at pic above.  Look at dude in small boat.

(This was not a dolphin or whale tour, btw.)

They are HUGE!

This beauty spent a good 15 minutes doing a dance in the water for us.

Even caught the blow.

This was our sister boat.  We were in a boat that looks like this.

They used the emergency boats to take us to shore, which I thought was quite smart!

Even if the entire day before they were 'buffing' the ones under our balcony and it was annoyingly loud.

Later that night, we went to a Luau with cruise.

Duffy was excited!

Duff was trying to do the dances. Oh, and he received a Lei too!

Daddy wouldn't let him play with the fire though.

The food was amazing and we had a GREAT time!

Todd videoed a lot, but Pele cursed him for taking the lava rocks (I told him not to), and all the video was erased by the time we got home (of the cruise portion).

We went paddle boarding in Kawaii, which btw was so beautiful!

It was the first time for both of us, and we had a blast.

See phone pics of the beach in Part 2.

Pretty Garden at a hotel nearby.

We were told close to 90% of the plants found on Hawaii are not found elsewhere in the world...

Hawaii has Roosters and Chickens crawling out of the woodwork. 

We happen to LOVE Roosters and Chickens, so we were greatly entertained.

When we were leaving Kawaii, the backside of the island is covered in 100's of waterfalls.

Sadly, Todd's video of them is not with us, but just know they were amazing.

View from our balcony!

There is nothing quite as magical as a sunset over the ocean.

Yes, sunrises are too, but dang are they bright.

I prefer the setting sun...

Although, the sunrise definitely does sweetens the early hours. 

When we arrived back in Honolulu we headed STRAIGHT to Target!

We were able to get some good deals on camping gear, which we were thrilled about!

Ok, I was excited. 

Ready!

You know you have lived out of the states for too long when you get excited to see cough drops in the cough medicine section, not the candy section.  

We were camping just about 10 mins from Logan's University.

This was our first camping spot.  Yes, first, because we decided we didn't like our original spot and this one was only available for a couple of days, and then the new one would be available after that. Oh, then there was the rain.  Lots of rain, and well you will see in a bit.

It was a nice spot that was right next to: 

TA DA!  You could hear the Ocean from our tent.  LOVE!

Amazing, open, uncrowded beautiful beaches.

 One thing I didn't really think about is that the Ocean water in Hawaii is so nice.  Not freezing like CA, but not too warm like Hong Kong...  Between that and the warm weather it was heavenly.

Too many beach pics?

NOT POSSIBLE!

Especially, when a horse makes an appearance.

Oh, just shoot me now and I am pretty sure my spirit will go right back there!

 

We drove a LOT while we were there.

The roads were beautiful. 

Clouds would blow through in the evening.

It was amazing to see the sun battle to make its' presence known on the land below. 

It was illuminating Logan's school, I swear.

Oh, did I mention free range horses? 

Dole Plantation. 

There is pretty much NOTHING by Logan.

No laundromats, no gyms, no Targets...

So we had to drive about 45 mins to find the closest place to do laundry.

Couldn't complain about the drive.

I miss cars.

I miss the privacy and how relaxing it is to be in your OWN car!

Back to Logan's school.

I totally tried to get a picture of Logan signing in for work, but the camera took to long to turn on...

So... Let's pretend this random guy is Logan, ok?

Logan is on the job!

Making me a shake!

BEST SHAKE EVER!

(If you must know, Dreyers Chocolate Fudge Brownie & some Peanut Butter flavor with Chocolate soft serve.  Best of  all the entire 22 ounces didn't have ANY calories!

Todd had the privilege of a Logan made shake too!

  Logan not only made the shakes, but paid for them too.

Thank YOU, Logan!!!

Rainbows!

Chickens!

After packing up the tent!  It was raining all night and projected to rain off and on for the rest of the week (even though originally it said no rain), so we were grateful for a break in the rain to pack up.

We were told this site had flush toilets and warm water showers.

Two things I have a GREAT appreciation for....

Here are the flush toilets.  They were locked up the day before we got there, due to the state.

And they were unlocked while we were packing up! Rude.

They looked cleanish, but still smelled like a port-a-potty.

The Solar Showers.  The rooms aren't the showers.

The showers are outside the changing rooms. 

Solar showers means slightly warmer than without a heating element, but still cold.

Only sink.

The path to the Andy Gump.

And the heated showers.

We could NOT find the showers without help.

Follow some secret path, past this.

Look to the left...

You can see them now, right?

No. Not the building.

Behind the fake thatch wall.

Ta-Da!

Two shower heads that have warm water, but open to the universe.

Todd said bathing suit is required for showering there.

It was actually very relaxing taking a shower outside (despite mosquitoes)...

Amazing plants.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to the Port-a-potty, of course!

I don't know if I have ever shared my GREAT dislike of port-a-potties....

A dislike that is so great that I would rather hold it for ever or squat by a tree than use one...

Yes, and this was our option.

Notice the building behind that scary beast, it was a flush toilet...

However, they were locked by the state right before we came...

Ok, well enough of that, cause that is gross!

Todd's amazing fire that never had a chance to burn.

Todd spent much time collecting kindling and planning a wonderful fire for us.

However, mother nature had other plans and kept raining on it!  So Rude!

Pictures from the road ...

Arriving at Logan's school.

We loved that there were so many amazing birds everywhere!

Believe it or not, our Hawaii University student had not been to a LUAU!

Considering his school was right next to the Polynesian Cultural Center, we felt it was a must he attend one.

He finished his last piece of business for the semester and we grabbed him.

We had dinner too.

There was a huge stage with performers while we ate.

They called up all the December birthdays to the stage.

I really don't like to be on stage, and Logan knew this so offered to go with me.

It was awesome for the night Logan too had a December birthday!

There is a traditional Hawaiian food called 'Poi'.  We were told it taste like wall paper paste.

We had Logan try it for us.  That is what kids are for right?

He agreed that it did NOT taste good and didn't recommend it.  LOL!

Then we were off to the other side of the center for the show!

We were being a bit silly.

My handsome men!

With a performer after the show.

It was awesome!

We grabbed Logan after the performance.  Well, he had to finish packing up at his dorm, and then headed to our hotel in Waikiki (since our camping trip got rained out).  

Waikiki was beautiful, albeit a little more city than I prefer.

Poor guy was exhausted after no sleep and finals all week.

I was hopeful that would not be needed.

There is something magical about a sail boat on the open sea...

For my actual birthday I asked to see the sunset over the ocean.  We were leaving in the morning and had a ton to do, but it was worth it.

Then one more request.... Mexican for dinner, OF COURSE!  

The service was most excellent.  The food was great but really too BIG.

Look at the size of that burrito!

Look at it!  lol. YUMMY.  No, I couldn't finish it...

But!  I did have room for my special Churro birthday dessert!  YAY!

It was a wonderful way to end 2 weeks in Hawaii....  

The following morning getting on the plane was a bit crazy...  Suffice it to say we had 6 LARGE suitcases, 2 carry-on's each and a small car....  That and Korean air I do believe is using a computer system from the dark ages, so it took forever...   Ultimately, we made the flight (after the second trip to the airport in the morning) with minutes to spare!  PHEW!

We had a stop-over in South Korea on the way home and bought the girls each a donut.

To be continued....