Pictures from our Trip to Hawaii

Brent and I went to O'ahu, Hawaii to celebrate our graduations, and our 5th year anniversary. We stayed in a bed & breakfast that was only 220 feet from Kailua Beach. We arrived in O'ahu late at night on August 7th, 2007. We had a lot of fun while we were there. Here are some highlights of our trip.

This is a picture of Brent drinking coconut milk while standing in front of Chinaman's Hat. We had stopped by a fruit stand before this picture and purchased fresh mangoes and bananas, along with the coconut. It was some of the very best and freshest fruit I have ever eaten.

This is a picture of Brent in front of the famous Giovanni's Shrimp Shack. According to the travel guide book we purchased, O'ahu Revealed, this ghetto truck (well, the business) is worth over $700,000.00.

The shrimp was pretty good. It came with rice and HOT sauce. It was so crazy busy there. I personally am not sure why there was so much hype.

This is us at a scenic point on the highway. Isn't it beautiful? Oh, and in case you didn't know, the Highway 3 aka H-3 is considered an interstate highway. Doesn't make sense, you say? Well, according to O'ahu Revealed the H-3 is titled as an interstate highway so that Hawaii can use federal taxpayer's dollars to create the multi-billion dollar road. So, thanks to all you Hawaiian tourists for the beautiful highway!

Brent and I encountered several large turtles while we snorkeled. This picture is of two turtles inches away from the beach. Brent was actually standing centimeters from the turtles! It was a lot of fun to see these beautiful creatures swimming in their natural environment.

On Friday, August 10th, Brent and I hiked about 1.5 miles to the Hidden Beach. It was amazing! We had the entire beach to ourselves the entire day. We spent the day snorkeling, looking for shells, and lying on the beach.

Once we had our fill of the Hidden Beach we hiked another .5 miles to the Secluded Cove. Once again, we snorkeled in the cove without another person around. The Hidden Beach and the Secluded Cove were some of our best memories of O'ahu.

These pictures represent my absolute favorite part about our trip. On Sunday, August 12th, Brent and I went for a hike after church. It was the most amazing hike I have ever experienced. It was only 2 miles long but had about a 1.5 mile incline. So, basically, it was extremely steep! At the steepest parts Brent and I had to push each other to keep going (okay, Brent had to keep pushing me...). I am so glad he did. The view was breathtaking! We could see about half of the island from our viewpoint.

The picture with Brent shows part of the south east side of O'ahu. The picture with me standing next to the END OF TRAIL sign (and boy was I glad it was the end of the trail...) shows much of the east side of O'ahu.




The next picture is of our trip back down the mountain. This picture does a great job of showing how high we were on the mountain. Behind Brent is a beautiful view of a portion of southern O'ahu.
If you click on this picture you can see the steps created for some of the steeper parts of the hike. There were portions of the hike that were so steep that both steps and rope were available.

Brent and I also went to the PCC, or the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is located in La'ie, O'ahu. We made the PCC an all day trip and toured the various representations of 7 different Polynesian islands. We also watched a documentary film about preserving the coral reef. I found the film very intriguing. I didn't realize how very important the coral reef is to the ecosystem. In the evening we attended a Luau where we were given beautiful leis. After the luau we finished the day off with a grand night show that portrayed several dances (our favorite was the fire dance) from the represented islands. I thought the PCC was fun, but a little too commercialized for my taste. All in all, it was a fun day full of entertainment and learning.

The last day we were in O'ahu we visited the U.S.S. Arizona at Pearl Harbor. We watched a documentary on the Day of Infamy before we visited the memorial. Although I already knew the general details of the attack, the documentary was very informative and it created a sense of reverence. After the show, we were ferried to the memorial. Once there, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude for all the men and women who have fought and currently fight for our country. I felt gratitude for their families, the sacrifices made, and the courage shown. I will never forget those feelings I experienced while upon the U.S.S. Arizona memorial. I hope it will encourage me to be a better freedom fighter.

Brent and I left O'ahu on August 16th, 2007. We had a wonderful time in Hawaii. I am glad we chose to celebrate our graduations and anniversary by going to 'Paradise.'