Haunama Bay

This is the spot where Matt and I went snorkeling. Actually Matt did most of the snorkeling because the water was kind of cold to me, but I really enjoyed the beach.

This is a popular spot to snorkel because of the reef that protects you from the waves, and there are tons of fish to see.

Manoa Falls

We went on a hike to Manoa Falls which has a small claim to fame as an area where some of the scenes from Jurassic Park were shot. It was the closest thing I have experienced to hiking in a jungle.Here are some more crazy trees.

We got pretty wet from the mist on the falls, but on the way down it started to rain and we were drenched. The rain was so warm that it didn't really matter.

Here I am soaked and of course more cool trees.

Pearl Harbor

We had the opportunity to go out to Pearl Harbor, which was really great. They have an audio tour that I highly recommend. It was really cool to see everything first hand.
Memorial statue--The Tree of Life

The USS Arizona Memorial

The USS Missouri

This is out on the Arizona Memorial. These are the stacks of the ship that are still above water.

These are the names of those who died on the ship below.

This is a model of what the Arizona looks like now underwater. After the ship was hit and sunk the naval men went down and took off all the gun turrets and scraps of metal they could use to rebuild the other ships that weren't completely sunk. I can't believe how resourceful they were, especially considering the tragedy.

This is the size of the anchor. It is huge and I guess I never realized it until seeing it in person.

These are some other replicas of military pieces, the size still blows me away.

Aquarium

This is a cute little aquarium. Let me just say though if you have been Sea World it will blow this little place away. It was cute though and had a lot of information about coral reefs and the colorful fish that live there.

Here's Nemo:

This shrimp really looks fake, like it is plastic because of the colors, but it is real!

I made Matt stand by this--Can you tell?

Honolulu Zoo

It has become a sort of tradition for Matt and I to visit the local zoo and Honolulu was no exception.

At the entrance they had this beautiful mosaic mural. It is really hard to see how intricate it is, but it was awesome.

Here is the montage of some of my favorite animals.

I can't get over the trees here. They are so beautiful and so different from what I am used to.

Watch out this guy is making a break for it.

This zoo wasn't huge, but it made it nice because it wasn't so crowded. It was so well maintained and the warm temperatures allowed us to see a lot more animals out and about.

Hawaii--Dole Plantation

I kind of have a bucket list in my head and it mostly involves places I'd like to travel. Hawaii was definitely on the list and it still is. I finally convinced Matt to go and we kind of went as an early 6th wedding anniversary. It was fabulous and I want to explore it again.

Here are Matt and I at the Dole Plantation. This is the only shot of my lei so enjoy. This place is fun because you get to watch the pineapple be cut and you learn all the tricks to recognize a ripe pineapple. Plus you get to taste all that you want.
So pineapple are really intensive to grow and each plant takes about 18 months to produce one pineapple. When looking for a ripe pineapple you should look for an even pattern on the outside. The pineapple should be firm with a white dot on the center bottom, which is basically the core.

They also have a big koi pond on the property which the kids feed. I've never seen fish jump all over each other like this.

Hawaii really is the rainbow state. We saw two while we were there. This one we caught from out hotel room.

This is the view from the hotel room, not too bad for a Travelocity deal.

More to come . . .