My Pride & Joy

I love summer!!! I can't even say that enough. One of my favorite ways to spend a typical summer day is out working in my yard. I love digging in the flower beds and watching my trees and flowers grow.
Summer took it's time getting here this year. It didn't want to warm up until the middle of June. But looking around now, there doesn't seem to be very much that's suffered. We only lost one tree and all the others are growing like crazy.
My vegetable garden is still a work in progress but we did end up with some yummy little strawberries. I'm going to have to work on something to keep the birds from eating them but the few we managed to pick were sweet and juicy.
I still have big plans for the yard. Lots of grand things that will take time and money, but in the meantime, I love nothing more than to walk around my little part of the world and see green and growing things.

Adventures in Paradise- Day 8

Our last day in paradise started rainy and little chilly. We drove to Pali lookout our way to the beach and was again amazed at the beauty of this place.
The roadways belonged in storybooks and the mountains were simply breathtaking. It's something that I couldn't have imagined before seeing and something that I'll never forget now that I have.
The beaches that we spent most of our week at weren't necessarily on the map. But you can't come home from Hawaii and not be able to say that you went to Waikiki beach, so on Tuesday Candice and I decided to brave the crowds and try some body boarding.

This little oriental lady made it look so fun. We could hear her out in the water yelling and laughing to herself. A couple of times she would catch a big wave and come screaming up the sand, almost to where we were watching. Candice couldn't resist taking a picture and when she caught us, she laughed and yelled, "You take my picture. Ha Ha."
As evening came, Candice and I packed our things and put them in the car. When Demelza came home we went to Kailua beach for one last swim. After it got dark, we went back, had a shower, ate dinner, and drove to the airport.
Our red eye flight left Honolulu at 11:20. We slept as best we could in tiny airplane seats and landed in Phoenix for our connecting flight.
Both airplanes were so cold that we wrapped up in our beach towels to stay warm.
My trip to paradise will remain as some of my favorite memories. Everything on the entire vacation seemed perfect. Candice was the best traveling companion. She made everything more exciting, ready to try anything crazy and never contrary. She was full of jokes and good humor no matter what was going on. Thank you so much sweety for your part in this amazing adventure. I can't wait for our next trip together. Love your guts :)

Adventures in Paradise- Day 7

On Monday Candice and I headed over to the Sea Life Park. It wasn't very big but they had some cute mammal shows going on throughout the morning.
My favorites were the sea lion show and the dolphin show.
One of the highlights in the dolphin show was the walphin. Part whale, part dolphin.

That afternoon we went back and did some more snorkeling at Hanauma Bay and then back to another beach to listen to the waves on the rocks as we ate our lunch. A little added bonus was on the way home we stopped to get a Dr. Pepper. Right next to the straws and lids were flavor syrups and to our delight they had coconut syrup. Dr. Pepper with coconut syrup-YUMMY!!!!
That evening we all got dressed up and went into Waikiki to have dinner with Craig and Demelza. Candice mentioned that it would be fun to eat at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville and boy was she right.
We got to drink yummy little virgin pina colada's and eat some kind of spicy shrimp for an appetizer. Our food was wonderful and to top it all off, they had a band playing. There were three guys singing old rock music, it was awesome. At one point the lead singer left and as the two back up's started to play a rendition of Prince's Kiss, one of the waiters jumped up to sing and totally nailed it. I'll never be able to hear that song again without bringing back memories of our night on the town.

Adventures in Paradise- Day 5 & 6

Friday night the bus dropped us off back in Honolulu and we had to find our way back to the car. Which meant walking down the Waikiki street and all the night life that went with it. In front of the International Marketplace some men put parrots in our hands and took pictures of us with our camera. We had a lot of fun posing, well I did, Candice wasn't as fond of the birds, but when we were done, they asked for a "donation" of $10. What a sucker I am.

Just as we got to the parking garage, this man was posed out on the sidewalk, looking quite like a statue. My parents had told me to look for them so I was excited to see him. I gave $1 to Candice to put in his box while I took his picture. Just as she put it in, he jumped at her and scared us both. But then he smiled and let us get pictures with him.

On Saturday we went to the Aloha Bowl stadium for the flea market. We spent a lot of time and money but we got some really cute things to bring home to our families. We even had to buy more luggage to get it all home. That night, we rode our bikes down to the beach by Demelza's house. It was pitch black so we didn't go far out, but it was still great fun to be in the ocean.
On Sunday we woke up at 5:30 to go to Lanikai beach to watch the sun rise. I can't even begin to explain the peacefulness that came with listening to the waves as the sun peaked over the water and began the sabbath.
Each time we went to a beach we put a handful of sand in a baggie for Candice to put in her beach bottle. It was completely crazy how many different kinds of sand there was on one island.
That night Demelza made us another yummy dinner. We then spent a relaxing evening chatting and laughing.

Adventures in Paradise- Day 4

We spent Friday at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Probably the the most "tourist" thing we did. A bus picked us up in Honolulu and our fabulous tour guide told us all about Hawaiian history for the hour ride to the PCC. He spent the day leading us through the different countries and to make sure that we didn't miss anything important.
At each stop, he would tell us what would be happening and when our que was to get up and leave so that we would have good seats for the next show. I'm tellin' ya, he had us trained. We followed him like puppies all day. And because we did, we were able to see so much more than if we were to wander around on our own.
Candice was very impressed with all the beauty around us. Most of it had their shirts off. This hunka-hunka climbed right up a palm tree in the Samoa show.
Our plan was originally to go visit some botanical gardens on Sunday, but the Polynesian Cultural Center is full of some of the most beautiful landscape that we saw on the whole island. Waterfalls and exotic plants were everywhere and we not only got to walk past them, but we also rode on the canoes
The Polynesian people, at least the ones we met, are some of the most interesting and friendly people. Their cultures and traditions were very exciting to learn about. They were also willing to stop and take pictures with two crazy mainland girls every time we asked.
That evening, we went to a Luau, complete with entertainment and ethnic food. We tried Poi, some kind of noodle rice, and yummy dinner rolls that had to have been made with Poi because they were purple. There was Ahi Poke also, but we passed.
After dinner we had some free time to spend. Our first stop was the 3-D movie in the iMax theater. We only lasted about three minutes as poor Candice started to get motion sick. So we ran over and got on a bus that took us for a tour of BYU-Hawaii and the Laie temple. We even got to see a replica of the Easter Island something or other. I was excited to see it because of the movie Night At the Museum. Ya know, "hey dum dum, you give me gum gum."
The evening show was set in a beautiful amphitheater. It was very impressive to watch all of the dancing and lighting. The play was called Ha- The Breath of Life.
If I could've done one thing different on this day, it would have been to have a video camera follow us around to capture everything on film. This was our one day of adventures that I really wished my husband and kids could have with me to experience.

Adventures in Paradise- Day 3

Thursday was another great day full of things to do and see. Demelza told us that they were shooting Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and that the Black Pearl was docked in a harbor near her home. As fate would have it, the ship had moved out about an hour before that so we spent the morning chasing the island for any sign of a pirate ship. We didn't ever find it but ended up seeing so much on the way.
On our way to the north shores, we stopped at the Dole Plantation. We got to pull oysters out and bring home our very own pearls.
We visited several little shops along the route.At the north shore we stopped and ate our lunch. When we finished we walked into the water at about knee height. All around as were turtles, rolling in and out with the waves. Baby turtles the size of beach balls and mama turtles the size of umbrellas. Awesome!
Next, we went to another beach that had a huge lava rock jutting out into the ocean. It was about 30 high and there were several people jumping off. Not to be left out, Candice and I climbed it. She had no fear and just stepped out and jumped. I tried my hardest to be brave but my muscles didn't agree as I couldn't seem to stand up. So I just pushed off from where I was crouched. Something that I can say I did, but not something I was going to do again. (We took pictures, but I don't have them yet.)
Demelza then drove us to what she called her favorite beach to watch the sunset. This turned out to be some of my favorite memories of Hawaii. We jumped into the waves, got rolled around by the waves, and laughed until we cried. We finally got out when it was getting too dark to see and took with us a good pound of the sand that we played in.
Another one of our experiences was for me to try seafood. I've never tried anything much beyond shrimp and tuna but in Hawaii, you have to at least try it. So we ordered a big combo plate with lobster tail, crab legs, and my very favorite, coconut shrimp with pina colada dipping sauce.
I have to say that it wasn't bad. In fact, I may try it again sometime. Especially that shrimp. YUM!!!
And thus ends our day 3 of paradise.

Adventures in Paradise- Day 2

On Wednesday morning we went to Diamondhead Crater and hiked it. It is actually the inside of a big valcano. The view from the top was amazing and the hike was the perfect prelude to our first swim in the ocean.


Our first swimming stop was Hanauma Bay. We got all our snorkel gear on and headed out into the water.

Demalza was an excellent teacher and within a few minutes, I had stopped trying to hyperventilate and started to really enjoy it.
It was simply indescribable how many fish and wildlife you can see just below the surface. We swam for quite a while just looking at everything. Demelza got really excited at one point and pointed to me. I looked down and was actually right on top of a sea turtle that was in a coral hole.
On our way home, we stopped at this beach. Demelza told Candice and I to walk out into the lava rock so she could take our picture. We carefully made our way to where she told us to be just as a huge wave came up and washed over us.
It didn't knock us over but Demelza laughed and laughed. We stayed there for a long time, watching the waves come in. it was a perfect ending to our day in paradise.

Adventures in Paradise- Day 1

This spring Candice and I were having lunch when she told me that she really wanted to go to Hawaii, and wondered if maybe I wanted to go with her. Of course I said yes. A couple of weeks later she called and said that she'd found plane tickets at ridiculously low rates and asked if she should get them. Again I said yes (duh!) and our plans to go were made official.
Candice had gone to school with a girl, Demelza, that lived there and said we could stay with her. We boarded a plane on Tuesday, August 10 and landed in Honolulu to this beautiful site. One of Demelza's friends picked us up at the airport and drove us to her home in Kailua. That night Demelza brought home Ahi Poke(raw tuna) for us to try. Neither Candice or I liked it very well but it was so fun to try something new and ethnic.
Due to the time change (and a lot of excitement), both Candice and I were up earlier than normal. We walked outside to see the sun come up, and thus began our adventure in paradise.