Wrapping Up Our Days in Paradise

One would think after being in Hawaii for a week already that we would run out of things to do.  No way!  Even though this wasn't a lounge-on-the beach vacation, we could always think of more that we wanted to see and do.

 Today, I suggested that we go West--over to another side of the island (Ko Olina) where Marriott had bought an area on the less rainy side of the island and built a resort.  George and I had stayed here with Kevin and Angie's family a few years ago.

That particular area wasn't used very much prior to Marriott purchasing it because the beach wasn't so good for those who wanted to casually lounge by it.

But, just let Marriott build four large lagoons along with a fantastic resort, and this became a very popular place for tourists.

This resort is truly an island paradise.

Right behind my dad and sisters is a huge pool with hammerhead shark inside.

My sister Joyce got this perfect picture of a hammerhead shark.

In another pool area, two guys were feeding oysters in the opened shells to sting rays.

They told us the sting ray barbs are close to their body rather than out on the end of their tails, so they felt pretty safe around them.

Those sting rays would come right up and eat out of their hands.  Of course, their mouths are under their bodies, so the sting ray would go across their hand to get the oyster.

Dad taking a little breather while talking to Joyce and Natalie

Something new that has been added since we were there with Kevin's family, is this huge resort right next door to Marriott that was built by Disney.  As always, Disney does it up big!

A huge aquarium where you can study the fish and sea life.

It looks like you can even snorkel there to see the fish up close and personal in the water.

Disney has done the entire resort in a Native Hawaiian theme and culture.

After having a fun lunch in a little sidewalk cafe, we went to the movie theater in the little town nearby where we saw "Parental Guidance."  Angie had told us how their family enjoyed it so much.  George and I saw it in Florida, then we went with John and Alison's family in California, now I went with my dad and sisters in Hawaii.  I loved this movie!  It was so fun for any age!

The next morning, Beverly and I looked out our balcony for the last time on this vacation.  This had been our view for a week now.  At night, the mountain covered with all kinds of lights, was absolutely beautiful.

Joyce, Natalie, and my dad had this view from their side:  Waikiki Beach, the pool, tennis courts, playground, hot tub, lounging area, etc.  We had kept on the move and had only been down there one time.

 Joyce took one last picture on the balcony of our condo before we left.

 My dad has actually owned a condo in this resort for many years--probably 25 years or more, but this is the first time I have ever stayed there.  This condo is so conveniently located and became our home away from home.

The condos have one bedroom, but there is, also, a bed that pulls out of the wall in the living area.

Beverly in the eating area.  The other bed is behind the bi-fold doors.  As you can see, we had our suitcases all packed up.

The kitchen.  Beverly and I actually ate across the hall in Joyce, Natalie, and Dad's condo.  That is where we kept all our food since the kitchen was actually a little bigger.

After leaving the condo, my dad had one last request:  He wanted to see the hotel where he and mother had stayed when they were invited here by the International Governor of Rotary and my dad spoke.  They had such a wonderful time there that my dad just wanted to go and see it again.  It brought him to tears!  Seriously, he cried as hard as I have ever seen him cry.  

We then headed off to the Swap Meet at the Aloha Stadium.  It is a huge swap meet with 700 merchants, they say.  My sisters made a few purchases, but I honestly just enjoyed strolling through all the booths.  I'm getting so that I want to cut down on items rather than get more items.  I must be getting old!

One last stop before they took me to the airport:  Hilo Hattie's--again because my mother loved to go there.  It is huge and has all kinds of Hawaiian memorabilia.  We took this picture in front of a big mural they have out front.  Our last picture together before I took off.

Dad wanted to buy each of us something to remember the special trip we had together.  I chose this little sea turtle:

 It has a little sticker on the backside that says "Hilo Hattie's," so it will always remind me of my visit there with my dad and sisters.  Yes, the father and sister vacation was over as I said good-bye to everyone and walked into the airport.  I left at 5:30 p.m. to start my trip home to Florida, the rest of them only had to go to Utah and Idaho, so they didn't leave until 10:30 p.m.  They actually went to see "The Impossible," while they waited.  I saw it with George when I got home.  Fantastic true story of a family and what they went through in the 2004 Tsunami.  We all loved this movie, too!

So many memories--so many places visited together with so many special people in my life.  Thanks to you all for making it so special!  I will truly never forget this time together! 

Temple Day

This entire trip was a trip of remembrance for our dad.  The last vacation my dad and mother took together was to Hawaii, along with Beverly and Joyce.  Mother wasn't feeling the best on the trip, but hardly mentioned it to anyone.  Upon her return home, her visit to the doctor revealed that she had Stage 4 cancer.  We were all in shock!  My father stayed home from the law office to care for her nearly the whole six months until she passed away.  With the many memories he had of that last trip, and this being his first trip back to Oahu, he wanted to repeat that trip now with us that he had with Mother over 11 years ago.  One of the pleasant memories he had was attending a session in the Hawaiian Temple.  So, today we were repeating that memory.

On the way, we stopped to view a small island called Mokoli'i, or as many call it, "Chinaman's Hat," for its shape that looks like the straw hats the Chinese immigrants wore.  It used to be connected to Oahu before erosion cut it off.

The website stated:  "Mokoliʻi (or Chinaman's Hat) is open to the public from dawn to dusk. On weekends it is somewhat a popular secret with tourists and locals.  It can be accessed by kayak, boat, surfboard, or by swimming; depth soundings are only four feet on its west side.  The area is home to stonefish and sharks are often seen around the island, often in early mornings." 

This was a beautiful little park where you could see mountains, water, and just enjoy the beautiful outdoors.  We were all dressed up to go to the temple, but we enjoyed the scenery so much.

You really get a good idea of the many different terrains in this little park.  Look how steep these mountains are.

Soon, we arrived in Laie where the Mormon Temple is.  This temple is not one of our largest temples, but it is absolutely beautiful inside with small rooms that you move from one to another.  It takes about two hours to do a session inside.  We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful grounds, the sacred feelings we felt there, and the wonderful friendships of those who work inside the temple.

The top of the temple is in the shape of a square.  On each of the sides are friezes made of concrete and depict God’s dealings with Man.  The north frieze depicts the story of the Book of Mormon. The west frieze shows the people of the Old Testament. The New Testament and the Apostasy are depicted on the southern frieze of the temple, and the restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith is shown on the east frieze.

A beautiful reflecting pool is shown here as you look down the palm-tree lined street.

The grounds are immaculate with beautiful flowers and shrubbery everywhere you look.

 We were really hungry by now, so Beverly told us about a local shrimp restaurant that was basically a little trailer with a roof over an outdoor seating area.  She actually found it again for us since she and Larry had eaten there with the judges awhile back.  Joyce took both of these pictures, and I'm so glad she did.  It was really a fun experience.

She took this with her I-phone, but you can see how huge the shrimp were--and they definitely were filled with garlic, but very yummy.  Since we all had the same, we didn't mind.

On the way home, we stopped at another unusual rock formation near Laie--"hole in the rock" island.  Beverly again knew where this was because she said her son-in-law almost drowned here as a young boy.  Very scary!  Anyway, the hole was formed from the pounding waters of a tsunami clear back in 1946.

Oldest to youngest--Natalie and I are 20 years and 1 month to the day difference in age!  I went to school with her mother-in-law who was only two years older than I was.

Very windy there. 

Sorry, Joyce.  Much better picture of her in this.

Now, Joyce remembered a place she wanted to take us--Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.  Very interesting grave sites as we approached the Japanese Temple.  Joyce hadn't been there for 32 years, but remembered where it was.  I am so impressed with everyone's memories.  She said Jerry had shown them where it was.

This is known as the Byodo-In Temple and was built in 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.  It was built entirely without nails!  It is actually a small-scale replica of the over 200-year-old Byodo-in Temple in Uji, Japan.

Walking around to the entrance of the temple, are little streams  filled with koi fish.

I love taking pictures of others taking pictures.  This was so cute getting a picture of Joyce taking a picture of this:

 She called it, "Frog spit!"  Hah!

There was, also, a beautiful, friendly black swan.

Inside was an 18-foot hand-carved Lotus Buddha.  It is covered in gold and lacquer.

Next to the temple, is the bell house which has a three-ton brass bell.

We all had fun swinging the chair on this log to ring the bell.  It is supposed to bring peace and tranquility.  It really did have a beautiful sound.

Crossing the bridge, going back to the car.

On our way to the car, we saw this old stump that looked completely dead with a new little tree growing out of it.  We said, "There must be some sort of lesson involved in that."  I'll let each of you make your own lesson learned!

After we returned, we walked through some beautiful resorts down on the beach.

 I love how all the stores and hotel entrances are usually open to the outside with real trees and plants growing right up through the roofs.

 The plants are so different than you usually see anywhere.

The Royal Hawaiian has been around for a very long time, but it has so much charm to it.

 A real piece of art made out of sand!

 Native Hawaiian wildlife sculptures.

 Picture of one of the earliest surf boarders along with the old boards.

The doors of the hotel are all hand carved.

 Beautiful night scene of the big hotels along the beach.

A popular statue in Waikiki and one of the most photographed spots is the Duke Kahanamoku Statue, which is standing right on Waikiki Beach.  Duke’s bronze statue welcomes you with open arms and on most days, he is adorned with flower leis that people hang over his arms and lay in front of his feet.

From the web:  "Duke is perhaps the most remembered and respected Hawaiian surfer, a champion Olympic swimmer and a master of canoeing – a true Hawaiian hero and waterman. He epitomized Hawaiian athleticism and helped the surf sport reach unbelievable popularity. The Duke is credited with bringing surfing to the mainland and possibly even to Australia. That’s why he is also known as “The Father of Modern Surfing.”

Our dad enjoyed the rest by this statue.

This brought to the end of another great day!