What do chickens, flip flops, and sleeping on the floor all have in common? ---> Hawaii. These were all daily occurrences during my perfectly-timed, excellently-planned, and yet super-spontaneous trip to visit the best island with the best company. Hawaii. Go ahead, say it again. Mull it over in your mind… think about all that you've heard or seen about this sunny, relaxing, beautiful state. Lush landscape, vibrant flowers, and soft white sand... Our imaginations can come up with some pretty vivid images {and maybe even feelings--longing, desire, and the like} while picturing a vacation in Hawaii. After you're done with your visualization sesh, let me tell you that --it-- was SO MUCH BETTER! What, you ask? My Thanksgiving break. My trip to see my sister. In Hawaii.
At this point in the post, here is where some people would stop reading. At that's okay… there's always "those" guys that stop reading right before the punchline, moral of the story, the good stuff. But for you wonderful people that are still reading this… stay tuned for a picture play-by-play of my awesome week in Paradise!
Since we all know reading my blabbings is the most important thing of your day.
Love you all, enjoy the pictures! :)
I flew through the night Monday the 24th, arriving in Honolulu at 6am. I was so excited to see my sissy and be in Hawaii, but the jet lag prevented a large amount of motivation to get going right away. So, we settled for Day 1 of going to class, taking a nap, and cuddling watching netflix. Oh, we got ice cream too. ice cream is good.
Wednesday we spent the morning on the grounds of the Laie, Hawaii LDS temple. We checked out the visitors center, where they had awesome presentations about the history of the island, as well as some of the basic fundamental beliefs of the restored gospel of Christ's church. We watched a really cool video about the nature of human families... It introduced the amazing God-given promise that we can be with our families forever! Death is not the End! Click on this link to see the video :)
After our comforting and peaceful experience at the temple, I spent the afternoon reading outside while Brooke went to class. That night we wanted to go to dinner, so we set out on 35 minute 3 mile trek
(yes, without a car it takes that long…to get everywhere. Sorry Brooke!)
The setting sun and muggy weather mixed with the lack of sidewalk made for an interesting journey.
After walking the whole way--the hanger is real at this point--we finally got there.
Unfortunately our excitement was short lived.. as we approached the restaurant, the bright red CLOSED sign flashed brightly {tauntingly}.
Sorry Brooke!
The only stores in the surrounding area were Long's Drugs, Dominoes Pizza, and a small taco shack.
Plan B: North Shore Tacos! ---->
They had amazing pork and fish tacos.
They also had a pineapple puree smoothie
… made in a pineapple.
Happy Thanksgiving!
We started out the day with a gorgeous horseback ride overlooking the mountains and distant sea. Brooke works at Gunstock Ranch as a tour guide and all-around-awesome horse-keep… and she was cool enough to give me a private ride! Just the two of us, running through the trees and laughing all the way up... we stopped only to take the occasional--okay, millions-- of pictures. and let the occasional cow cross our path. {that's a thing, I guess}.
Thanksgiving on the Beach!
Our meal consisted of fried chicken, donut holes, and store bought pie {chocolate macadamia nut} from the local market down the street. We walked with all of our grocery bags to the nearest beach, covered some driftwood with a tablecloth, and set up our Thanksgiving feast. Yeah, so we may have eaten as much sand as we did calories… but we were going for the scenic view. :)
Things I'm Thankful For:
hot showers
sleeping pads
tropical fruit
people who laugh at my jokes
my Heavenly Father
the Plan of Happiness
Personal Revelation
Perspective
The next couple of [days] were full of adventures.
Our hitch-hiking buddies. {sorry, mom!}
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| Me, Jito, Grandpa George, Tony, Brooke, and Greyson Complete strangers, but ended up spending a fun evening in the spirit of love and fellowship. After they accepted invitation to the temple visitors center with us, we understood firsthand the power of extending a friendly hand in offering the peace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. [really they lent the friendly hand first with the whole ride home thing… but we followed up!] |
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| coconut macadamia nut shrimp |
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| macadamia nut pancakes on styrofoam plates. |
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| aloe vera in juice/gel form best drink ever--but so weird!! |
Hiking, Tidepools, and Breathtaking Views
That brings us to a close of my Thanksgiving Tour around the beautiful island of Oahu…
It was a pretty great trip, spent with even greater people. I truly have so much to be thankful for!
It was a pretty great trip, spent with even greater people. I truly have so much to be thankful for!
Aloha!
"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."
