So apparently Chelsea had chosen a trip to Hawaii for a high school graduation gift. What the crap? Back in my day I didn't go on any kind of graduation trip! I don't even think there was a gift of any sorts. But then again, my high school career wasn't what you'd call stellar, so I probably didn't deserve much, and that's pretty much what I got.
Anyway, we also decided to celebrate Chelsea's first year of college being done, her 19th birthday, Teresa's first year of college being done, as well as her being accepted into the Accounting Program. I was obviously the tag-along slacker with nothing but my charm and wit.
We flew out by way of Seattle. Now that is a grungy airport. (They did Cobain proud!). On the flight to Hawaii, there was a baby that SCREAMED, not just cried, but screamed for 5 of the 6 hours! We also flew right into a huge lightning storm. Chelsea was freaking out that the plane was going to get hit and go down.
We landed, got our bags and picked up a rental car and drove to Kailua to a rental property. It was 10:00 pm local time when we finally got there, so I was feeling the 2:00 AM time and couldn't even think coherently! (You know me, if it's past 9:30 pm, I'm trying to get into bed)
And I woke up at 2 am local time, wide awake, laid around and finally got up around 4. Once we were all up, we went down to Kailua Bay and walked around for a bit on the beach. We decided to go to the North Shore. We kept laughing because it was so early! We kept saying to Chelsea, "You're in Hawaii!" She was soooo happy.
It was fun to stop in at the Kahuku Grill for some delicious Teriyaki Chicken, and head up to Sunset beach. Chelsea and I did a bit of snorkeling at Three Tables. She was having a tough time with the fins and didn't believe me that she just needed to turn around and walk backwards! We cruised around a bit checking out the fish and such. The currents are pretty strong right there, so we bailed out, but not before Chelsea was on her bum getting nailed by waves shooting sand everywhere! She looked like she was wearing a loaded Depends! We stopped at Ted's Bakery for some desserts, too.
We had shaved ice at Aoki's, which is right next to Matsu Moto's, and from what we understand, no different. I had the ice cream and the sweet beans in mine. Yummy! And who doesn't want more fiber?!?!
When we went to Waikiki, we parked at the very end and went into the nasty public bathrooms to change. Oye! I had some homeless dude ask me, "Hey, uncle, go buy me a Subway sandwich..." Uh, no thanks. He followed me into the bathroom and I thought for sure I was going to get mugged!
It was pretty surreal being at Waikiki Beach; I've seen it in pictures and movies and tv shows, but to actually be there was weird! We got a photo next to the Duke, and went out with some Boogie Boards. It was great. A few days later we rented surfboards there and Chelsea learned to surf! It was awesome! I've never been on a longboard, so I didn't know how she should be positioned on the board. There was a surf instructor out there teaching a guy named Mark how to surf. So I saw how he had Mark and got Chelsea in the right place. The instructor was a crack up- he kept yelling, "Mark! Paddle like you want it!" and "Stand up!!!" We surfed for a couple hours and had a blast. Too bad we live in Utah, because I believe now that Chelsea has tasted the joy of surfing, she would be doing it all the time!
We went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Cool to see how pineapples grow, but that place is a tourist trap rip-off! And they have this pond thing where you can feed the fish. Ugh, what looks like a couple hundred koi fish going nuts trying to suck up all the food that people were dropping in. Nightmare in the making!
We drove the Pali Highway and went to the lookout place up at the pass. Super windy! But breathtaking views! And what's up with all the chickens and roosters running wild everywhere?
We went to La'ie, drove around BYU Hawaii, then went to the temple and into the Visitor's Center. That was cool. The plan was to go to the Polynesian Culture Center, but it started to rain, real hard, and the wind was blowing hard, too. We parked, went in, and decided to bail. Good thing- it never let up and would have been miserable. But we did get the BEST shave ice of the trip at Angel's. Ice cream in the bottom, then they drizzled sweetened condensed milk all up and down it and whipped cream on the top. Oh baby!
Chelsea and I also did some snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Kind of a rip-off to get in! $7.50 per person. We had fun checking out all the fish and trying not to get stuck in the coral. We stopped one time so I could clean my mask. I look at Chelsea and she is just treading water like crazy. I started laughing and said, "Stand up!" The water was only up to her chest. She cracked up.
So I went to Agnes' Portuguese Bakery one morning to get us their malassadas (Portuguese donuts), along with a Long John and a Chocolate Pocket. Holy cow! Phenomenal! We ate there a couple more times. I haven't eaten donuts in years, but they were so yummy, I couldn't not eat them! Plus, Teresa kept saying, "You're on vacation! It doesn't count!"
I ran a couple times right on the beach. That's a workout to do 5 miles in the sand! The other times I ran I did it on the streets. It was really nice to not be freezing while I ran!
We went to Peal Harbor. It was very interesting. I don't recall learning about how the Japanese took out so many airfields all over the island. The thing that was kind of weird was there were tons of Japanese tourists there. I just kept wondering what they thought about the whole thing. Oh well. When we were taking the boat to the USS Arizona, I commented to Teresa that the water looked pretty mucky. The Naval Officer out on the Memorial said that in the 45 years he's been there, the weather has never been this wet. He said it's usually like standing on a piece of glass there, but we could barely see 5 feet down! Shrug. He explained about how much oil they estimate is still down there and how much comes up a day (3-4 quarts). They figure at this rate it will take a couple hundred years for it to all come up. Crazy.
It was sad to leave. We had a great tome and it was real fun to do so many things with Chelsea. The flight left at 10:00 pm. Holy cow, who designed airplane seats? Obviously they never tried to sleep in them. Brutal. We had a layover in Seattle then went to Portland and hung out with Teresa's folks for a few hours. We stopped at VooDoo Donuts for the other girls. Marilyn made a yummy lunch/dinner for us. Teresa and Chelsea both took showers. I figured I'm greasy and have to get back on the plane. Heck, I'll just save my grease until the next morning.
So, we had a blast and will always be thinking of how we can get back. Chelsea and I will be thinking about trips to the coast and renting some boards!
