Maui and Oahu

Oahu was a lot of fun!  We were excited for shops and restaurants after being in quiet Kauai for 12 days.  The first day in, Jared and I were excited to quickly make a Costco run to have some food for the next few days.  It was just one freeway exit away.  

BUT, we had to revise our plans after a water main broke near Ko Olina where we were staying and shut down the freeway, and only way in and out of Ko Olina.  Ugh.  So instead of waiting in HOURS of traffic, we went to the movies.  Ant Man was surprisingly good.  We still had tons of traffic getting home, but we made it after an hour or so.  

Kinda scrapped our first day.  We had to plan our trips around avoiding that part of the freeway.  It was  bad traffic the entire four days we were in Oahu.  

But Sunday we went to church in Kapolei.  It is always fun to go to church in different places.  There was a missionary farewell that was really cool.  

Then we went to Cheesecake Factory.  Yum!  We avoided eating out in Kauai because it was at least $200 every time we ate out.  Ouch.  It was nice to have good food at normal prices again.  We walked around Waikiki as well.  It was really cool!  Honolulu was fun and busy.

We loved our visit to the North Shore and Haleiwa and Laie.  It was fun to see the temple.  We had some excellent sushi and ate at the food trucks.  Our absolute favorite thing we did was snorkeling in Sharks Cove.  It was unreal!  So beautiful!  And the sunset there was incredible.  I feel like I am always chasing sunsets on vacation.  

We'll have to go back to Oahu and spend more time.  We didn't have much time.  I'd love to go to the USS Arizona, hike Diamond Head, and snorkel in Hanauma Bay.  We also didn't get to try Matsumotos Shave Ice.  We need to go back soon!

So Maui was our favorite.  We stayed at Kaanapali beach at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club.  It was close to the Nakalele Blowhole.  We also went snorkeling almost everyday at Black Rock.  It was such a great place to snorkel.  Nice big sandy beach and tons of turtles everyday.  The kids loved climbing up the rock and jumping in.  There was a mall right close with real stores and restaurants.  We were also really close to Honolua Bay.  We LOVED it there!  We saw huge fish, turtles and the walk through the little jungle to get there was so much fun.  The kids were swinging on vines and there was a cool big monkeypod tree that was really neat.  

Jared took the kids fishing one day.  It was a bust.  They didn't catch anything.  But they still had fun.

Of the three hotels we stayed at, Ko Olina was the nicest and biggest resort.  It was much nicer and bigger than Waiohai or Marriott Ocean Club in Maui.  But the beach had no waves.  So there are tradeoffs I guess.  We loved Waiohai's awesome beach with snorkeling and waves.  The rooms were updated and modern and the grounds were really nice. We loved the fun location and pool of Maui Ocean Club.  But the part of the hotel we were in was old and I couldn't even believe it was a Marriott it was so old and gross.  Yucky carpet, old couches, paint peeling, doors old and fading.  The pictures I'd seen in the past was of the newer tower rooms.  We were in the old part that was an old hotel.  The pool in Maui was fabulous.  Nice big waterside and huge kids area with a sandy pool.  We swam the most in Maui.  Soren loved watching Flipper in the room on the iPad.  So when we swam in the pool, he had these cute little diving toys that were shaped like little sharks.  He would dive down and pick them up in his mouth like Flipper.  Then he would make a clicking Dolphin Sound.  It was so cute.  I think everyone at the pool was laughing watching him.

So there were pros and cons to each place.  We loved the island of Maui best.  It was a good blend.  There were fun shops and restaurants.  Good food.  Not too busy.  Waves and great snorkeling.  Fun places to explore and lots of day trips.  I also loved seeing the nearby islands on the horizon.  

Best part of the trip was connecting with the kids and setting them interact and become closer.  I love the shared memories we have.  It was so incredibly hard to come home.  I really loved having my kids all to myself.  They missed their friends, but they loved Hawaii so much.  Soren still talks about the watersides in Maui.

View of lagoons at Ko Olina

Napali Coast Catamaran Cruise

We were so excited to have a boat tour of the Napali Coast.  In the winter it is difficult to get close in a boat because the water is so rough.  And we tried three times to do a helicopter tour, but each time was cancelled due to clouds.  So this was something fun that Jared and I were looking forward to.  We went on Captain Andy's dinner cruise.  It was so fun.  I love sailing.  We got to sit out on these trampolines.  I liked that they kept us nice and cool since we got a little wet.  The kids were so good and so cute with each other.  We had several couples on the tour with us.  A couple different people came up and told us that they just loved watching our kids and that they hoped to have a family like ours someday.  You know how sometimes everyone is just nice and gets along?  That happened and it was magical.  I wish it were always that easy!  Soren fell asleep in my arms.  The scenery was breathtaking.  Pictures don't really do it justice.  The beaches and the cliffs were breathtaking.  

The little kids got to take turns driving the boat.  It is always fun to talk to the people that work in these kinds of places.  They have such fun stories!  Most of the guides we talked to came to Hawaii on a whim and just stayed.  I can understand that!  It is a magical place.  

Monet wasn't super happy toward the end.  I think some teenaged moodiness is happening.  Unfortunately I understand all too well how it stinks to have crazy hormones.  Sometimes you just want to be left alone.  And being stuck with your family for three weeks can be a challenge, even in Hawaii.  So that explains those last three pictures.  Moody blues.