Hawaii - Part Deux

Sunday we thought it would be appropriate to go to Pearl Harbor before church. We got there early and got tickets for the 2nd or 3rd boat. It was really cool to be there...so much history that you could feel it. It was a very emotional experience for me, and I am so grateful I was able to go and to learn more about the great men and women who gave their all for our country.

After Pearl Harbor we went to church with the Schorrs and it is so cool that literally, no matter where you go, the church is the same. The only thing that was different is they have a special song, Aloha 'Oe, that they sing when a ward member moves away, and they put leis on the departing as the congregation sings. That was really cool to be a part of.

After church we headed to Laie, to see the Temple and to visit with some friends. We took Pali Highway, which has a beautiful overlook.

Driving up the Eastern coast of O'ahu to Laie was awesome...O'ahu is simply gorgeous. We took tons of pictures from the car in attempt to capture the beauty. Laie was probably our favorite city, simply because it was all Mormons! :) We were travelling, and needed to get dinner, and everything was closed in the whole city because it was Sunday! We had to drive a couple of cities above Laie to find a shrimp truck where we had a very yummy dinner, followed by shaved ice, of course. :)
The Temple in Laie is simply stunning. It is being remodeled right now, and it is still stunning. I so wish it had been open so we could have gone through...I guess we'll have to go back. :)


We met up with our friends from Palmdale that live in Laie now, the Tuione Family. Brother Longo Longo Tuione was in the Bishopbric when Cody left on his mission and with his wife and family has always been a great friend and support to him. It was so nice to see them and to hang out with them.

Longo Longo took us to Laie point, which was very cool. It was like standing on lava that had cooled. He showed us where the locals cliff dive. Cody was upset I didn't let him try it out. :)

On the way home we stopped at Turtle Bay to check out the Resort and to catch the sunset.

So Beautiful!!! It was a very nice Sabbath.

Monday we drove back to Laie, this time to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We drove through the center of O'ahu this time so that we could drive over along the North Shore and stop again in Haliewa for some more Matsumotos and to do a little shopping there.
We had lunch at McDonalds to try their taro pie...weird at first (I think I was expecting an apple taste because it looks the same on the outside), but it was interesting, in a good way. :)
The PCC was so awesome! I would HIGHLY recommend going there! We learned a lot, participated in an amazing luau, and saw a great show, all in 1 afternoon/evening! I want to go back someday.

I forgot to charge our spare battery, and our camera died while we were at the PCC! We took some cell phone pix, which I'll share in another post, but luckily we sat next to the nicest gal at the luau who emailed us some pictures! The luau was the best!

Funny story - when we sat down at the luau, we took pictures of each other with our leis to put on Facebook. A lady who worked there started talking to us, and we chatted for about 5 mins about facebook, hometowns, our story, working at the PCC, etc. Then she had to get back to work...turns out she was the MC for the luau! At the end of the program she had everyone who was having a birthday in June stand up...so Cody did. Then she told how the first people she talked to were here on their honeymoon, so she said, "Cody, stand up and show us your bride!" It was pretty cool. She had all the other honeymooners stand up, and then she said, "Cody, lead your bride and everyone else up on stage." Then we got to dance, and she asked Cody for his iphone so she could take our picture, because she knew ours had died. It was so cool, and she was such a sweetheart. All the people who worked there were awesome. After the luau, on the way to the show, a few people told us congratulations because they had been at our luau. Very cool. :)
That night we had a very nice dinner at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion, just the two of us. The sushi was amazing! It was on Ko Olina, right near where we were staying, on a beautiful golf course.



After dinner, we went over to the Marriott Resort across the way and went to this "secret" cove around a corner. We weren't the only ones in on the secret though...a bride and groom were getting photos taken and their wedding party and hotel guests were there. It was so beautiful! Prettiest sunset I've seen in a long time!


We played games most nights...Dave is a board game aficionado! We played 3 games over 5 nights; Saint Petersberg, Glory to Rome, and Agricola. They were really fun! Cody was way into them. He and Dave are meant for each other. :)
Our last morning we packed up, and we were going to try to hike Manoa Falls, but at the last minute decided just to keep it low key. We did a little last minute shopping, ate lunch at L&L (my fave!), and headed to the airport. Luckily there were no problems with this flight and we headed back to Los Angeles. I took these shots from the plane -
It was a wonderful week...I'm so glad we were able to go! Thanks to Hawaiian Airlines for the super cheap flights, thanks to Ileana for our rental car discount, thanks to the Schorrs for a lovely place to stay, and thanks to Hawaii for being so amazing! I can't wait to go back!!!!