Our vaca part two – HAWAII

What an absolutely fabulous time we had…. We started out in California. We flew into San Diego and spent a couple of days there, then over the course of a few days made our way up North to catch a flight to HAWAII! Let me just say, GORGEOUS! God’s canvas in all of its beauty! Here are some of my favorite photos:

We checked into the fabulous Hale Koa hotel in Waikiki. We started exploring and found that they were having an authentic Hawaiian luau and just had to attend. We say lots of dances, including the famous fire dance. Absolutely amazing.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P05-gH4iK2Y&fs=1&hl=en_US]

A quick video of the last few seconds of the show. The fire thrower at the first few seconds of this video? HE IS 10 YEARS OLD!

On the beach our first day, Waikiki – The background shows a peak of the volcano, Diamond Head

I had to share this picture, because it is just funny! I went to the hotel to get us some sunscreen and came back and found this.

Driving thru North Shore, we saw this gorgeous beach access with this huge rock people were jumping off of.

Lucas and Christian playing on Hauula Beach – North Shore

Had to share this photo because it is showing off the hat I got. Yes, it may be a little to big for my head, but I love it. Comfortable and shields my face fun the sun. And maybe a little stylish too?!?

Waves crashing on Hauula Beach – It was absolutely beautiful!

Hanauma Bay – THE BEST SNORKELING PLACE EVER!

Hanauma Bay – WE GOT TO SNORKEL HERE! It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I have NEVER snorkeled before. We saw so many beautifully colored fish and coral and reefs. It was GORGEOUS. The fish were incredibly friendly. It was almost as if they WANTED you to follow them around… I could hear them eating the coral. I could literally reach out and touch one with my finger if I wanted to. It was amazing. We loved it so much we went back twice. We did get an underwater camera. I am interested to see how the photos turn out.

View from the top of Diamond Head, a volcano in Waikiki. The hike was difficult. Only my son, who is only 4 years old, could keep up with the pace. He has such endurance that kid. When we almost were to to the top, imagine my surprise when I saw the 200 steps we had to climb! AAH. But look at this view.

On the USS Bowfin, Pearl Harbor. In the background, you can see the USS Missouri and the USS Arizona Memorial

My son inside the USS Bowfin

USS Arizona, top of the gun turret sticking out of the water. Seeing this ship under the water was very emotional. All the people that lost their loves on this horrific day.

aerial shot of the USS Arizona

HA. This was too funny not to post. My silly husband.. Those are BULLETS. Look how big those suckers are….

Waikiki

Volcano

Me and my son out the Hale Koa hotel on our last day in Hawaii (sniff, sniff)

My boys playing on the beach. Our last sunset in Hawaii. This is one of my favorite photos….. Love the lighting and the silhouette of my husband and son.

I hope you enjoyed some of the photos. I took many, MANY photos but didn’t want to bore you. If you are interested in seeing them all plus some videos, click HERE for my gallery.