Aloha State of Mind

I think I am finally adjusted back to the 5 hour time difference, but I still miss Hawaii. We have only been back for a week, but I am already planning a trip back to the beautiful island of Oahu. Planning it in my mind, of course, haha!

Here are some pictures from the trip, I will try to keep it short, we took SO many pictures, and for each project I have worked on, the number of images has gone down dramatically, from uploading to the computer, making a photo book, putting on facebook, and now onto blogger. I feel like I am leaving too much out if I don't put them all everywhere!

On the TEN hour flight:

Arrival at the airport, the lei smelled so wonderful!

Looking at the beach from the backyard of our house rental:

Paddle Boarding is something that we did a lot of, it was so fun!

Here is Tim standing by "The Duke" on Waikiki beach... he basically invented surfing

 Tim didn't need lessons to surf, he did just fine on his own!

  I, on the other hand, needed surf lessons, but we learned there are lots of positives.... they will help paddle you out, take awesome pictures, and they are a lot of fun!

We went to Pearl Harbor, of course! It was really, really cool, so glad we went even though it took longer than we thought!

This is us in front of USS Missouri, it it the boat on which they signed the declaration to end WWII.

Over this spot is where the table was where signed the actual declaration.

Here is a view of the Mighty Missouri from the USS Arizona

 This is the memorial over the USS Arizona, the first ship sank in the attack on Pearl Harbor. You ride a boat over to this part, and can walk around and see parts of the actual ship which are sticking up from the water. You can also see some of the oil that is still leaking from the ship, they estimate that it will not run out of oil for about 50 more years.

 We also got to go on a tour of a submarine, very similar to one that Tim's grandfather was on. It was so cramped, I hated every minute of it. I loved seeing the place where men worked and slept, but once you are in, you are IN. There is only enough room in the walkway for one person so you are in a line, and the doorways are so small, I am not even sure that my 6 ft 4 brother would have really fit through there. I'm glad there were size restrictions back in the day! Of course, there are people in front and behind you, so you are stuck. Kind of like once you get in a drive through at Chick-Fil-A, haha! Anyways, it was hot, cramped, and I was grouchy!

One of the tour guides said something that was really cool to us. He said that the Pearl Harbor Memorial is kind of like seeing the two book ends of the US involvement in the war. The main part, USS Arizona, is what people think of when they think "Pearl Harbor", and it is very important, but it is just one of many battle ships that sank that day. It happens to be the first, and as far as I know, it was unrecoverable. The men aboard went down with the ship. It was essentially the start of the US involvement in the war. The ship that you can go on (pictures above), the USS Missouri... AKA Mighty MO, is the ship on which war was ended. You can see where the war started and ended at the same time. Very cool.

One day in the week, we took a drive, looking for different beaches, and we found this really cool scenic point on the highway. 

We also went to this really cool beach, the kind of beach where you are the only one there, the water, waves, and sand are gorgeous!

We also took one day to drive to the North Shore. The North Shore of Oahu is where the waves get to about 50 feet tall in the winter, and where all of the tournaments are (in the winter, of course).... I think it is even where they filmed Blue Crush, haha! In the summer, the beaches are still just as beautiful, but not as dangerous. We decided to go to Sharks Cove, because everyone says that this is the best place on the island to snorkel. It wasn't what we were expecting, but cool nonetheless. There are rocks all around that you have to cross over to get to the place that you can snorkel. The day that we went was kind of overcast and sprinkly, so the cold water felt extra cold! We only stayed on the outer perimeter of the rocks, and I am wishing that we hadn't because later on we AGAIN heard that it is hands down, the best place to snorkel. Maybe next time!

We also heard all about Matsumoto's. It is a shaved ice place, and they are supposed to be the best. We thought they were ok, but nothing to go on and on about. 

 Even Tom Hanks has been to Matsumoto's!

We also stopped at a shrimp truck called Macky's. Apparently the North Shore is known for great shrimp trucks, but especially Mackey's. The fruit plate was delicious, and Tim's shrimp looked great too! Since I don't eat shrimp, I can't say how good they are, but the pictures speak for themselves, haha!

On the way out I begged Tim to stop at Matsumoto's again, so we could have one for the ride home. We stopped, and the line was out to door and around the corner! Way too long to wait in, especially since we already had one a few hours before. I was in luck though because right next door was another place called Aoki's. Since we weren't head over heels in love with the first one, we decided to try this place and NOT wait in line. I am so glad that we did, this was the best shaved ice we have ever had! It was like eating soft snow! So delicious!!

There was our trip to Hawaii in a nutshell, you can bet that we will make it back. I am in love with Hawaii!!