Hawaii Part 2

The next morning the sun finally came out!  We checked out of our hotel and snorkeled some in Shark's Cove and saw more pretty fish.  As we were driving away from the North Shore we saw a beautiful rainbow.  The license plates are true!  So many rainbows.  Plus...Hawaii is the only place I've ever been where everyone has the same license plate.  I only saw 1 other plate and it was from Utah.  Crazy Mormons...taking their car all the way to Hawaii to BYU.  

We drove all the way to the north western point of the island and checked it out.  Not too much going on except lots of homeless tent villages and some military stuff, but it was still beautiful.

I must be missing pictures, but we then drove to the western side of the island and snorkeled at a beach all the way at the end of the highway.  We must have snorkeled for hours.  It was so fun.  Have I mentioned how much I love to snorkel?  Hahaha.  I love being out there with the fish watching them swim all over the reef.

Next, we headed into Honolulu and checked into the conference hotel at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  It was really our first time to explore Waikiki and we loved it!  It definitely has a different city vibe that the rest of the island doesn't have, but we loved it too. 

This is the pool and beach at our hotel.  It was so pretty.

On the days that Brian was working I would sit by the pool reading, then snorkel at the beach, then walk to McDonalds for lunch (coconut pies = love) and then walk back and repeat the whole process.  It was so fun and relaxing.  

Some days I would go for a run down the beach, or go out to dinner with Brian - but mostly I just chilled.  I really loved doing "nothing/whatever I wanted."

The open aired lobby even had parrots!

We stayed here for 4 nights and we were able to snorkel right off the beach every day.  Having gone snorkeling 3 other places on each part of the island I can honestly say it was just as good right here at Waikiki!  I even saw multiple sea turtles and all kinds of tropical fish along the reef.  It was so awesome.

Brian had an open afternoon after his conference so we headed over to Pearl Harbor.  We did the audio tour and I learned so many details that I either had forgotten or never knew.  For instance, I didn't realize that Pearl Harbor just just phase 1 of Japan's attack on the entire Pacific.  They had to destroy our fleet so we couldn't rescue the other islands.  Lots of other Pacific islands got heavily bombed and taken in the days following Pearl Harbor.

The memorial is beautiful.  These are the names of all those that are still buried in the USS Arizona under the memorial.  The names on the bench or those that survived that day, but who chose to inter their remains after they died later.  It is definitely a sacred space.

The ship still leaks about a quart of oil daily, many feel it is symbolic of the tears shed that day and after.

The USS Arizona is under the water here.

After our time at Pearl Harbor we found this Japanese Market beneath the Ala Moana shopping mall.  It was like walking into Japan!  It was so cool.  It was isle after isle of japanese food shops.  We had no idea what anything was, but roamed around and ordered something that looked good.  

I ended up with some noodle and chicken dish and Brian has a noodle and egg dish.  It was delicious!  We even came back for dinner the next night.  

These cute Hello Kitty waffles were stuffed with different flavorings and were a very yummy dessert!

Hawaii was such a great time.  It is such a neat mix of Polynesian, Japanese, and Military culture - 3 things that a girl living in Kentucky doesn't get to see very often!  Although we only explored one island, it sure was a great time and we'd love to go back some day.