So I've only posted a few pictures here because I didn't want to overload you with a massively long post. Just know that I made a book out of our whole vacation and it had 150 pages! (That tells you how many pictures we had!)
For our 10-year anniversary we wanted to do something really special so we took a trip to Hawaii! Matt has been there before but it was my first time and I was so excited! We drove up to Utah and left the kids with the grandparents while we were away.
We flew into Oahu and stayed at the beautiful Beachcomber Resort that was right across the street from the main beach in Waikiki.
We were way up on the 26th floor and had views of the ocean, sunsets, and Diamond Head.
On our second day on Oahu we went up to Haunama Bay to do some snorkeling.
Haunama Bay is the crater of an old volcano and the coral reef is amazing there with some of the most beautiful fish ever!
We had so much fun exploring and spending ever spare second out on the beach. The city was so beautiful and the climate and smells of the island were amazing.
Our hotel was situated right in the center of all the night life and we had so much fun exploring and enjoying the music, restaurants, and everything else.
We had the opportunity to take a large city tour of Honolulu and one of the main stops on the tour was to Pearl Harbor. I have always wanted to go see it and I was very grateful for the opportunity.
Again, I have about a million pictures but will only share a couple. The memorial was so amazing and I highly recommend it to anyone going to Hawaii!
Matt's boss sent us out for an anniversary diner at Roy's in Waikiki and that restaurant was incredible. (It was also VERY expensive so I'm glad it was on his boss!)
I was excited to get a drink with an umbrella in it - you can't come to Hawaii and not get one! :)
This "paper man" was right outside our hotel. There were tons of different street performers but he was our favorite!
We took a day out and drove up the North Shore to Laie. We took in the 10am temple session and that temple was absolutely stunning!
Following our session we went down the street to the Polynesian Cultural Center. You CANNOT go to Hawaii and miss out on this place! It was so amazing and one of the highlights of our trip!
We got to experience so much of the culture and had so much fun doing all the activities.
We got to see the dancers, float the river, take in the music, and watch some great presentations.
We even splurged and participated in their evening luau.
They did a traditional pig roast and the food was AMAZING!
Matt and I both loved the smoothie the most though. We each had two of these bad boys! SOOO yummy!
They also put on a production that evening called "Ha: The Breath of Life" and it was a full play with music, dancing and FIRE! Matt and I were left breathless!
On our last day in Oahu we decided to go his Diamond Head. It's a large volcanic crater and has one of the highest points on the coastline so the views are amazing.
We could see almost all of Honolulu and Waikiki and it was a beautiful hike! (Even though we did it in our flip flops because we were not prepared.)
After Oahu we hopped a plane over to the gorgeous island of Maui. Our hotel here was directly on a private beach and we were out there constantly. In fact, we didn't eat one meal where our restaurant wasn't situated right on the ocean so we were really able to take it all in on this island! (We saved the best for last!)
Matt and I rented a Jeep while on Maui because we thought we might need it for some of our exploring. Our first day we took it out for a coastal drive and didn't get back to our hotel for 5 hours after that. It was so much fun!
We found all sorts of amazing views, cool blowholes like this one here, and saw tropical plants like you wouldn't believe!
One of the main things I wanted to do no the island of Maui was drive the Road to Hana. We got up super early one day and headed on our trip.
I don't even know how to type about the things we saw, the smells in the air, and the beauty that was EVERYWHERE on this drive! We lost count of all the beautiful waterfalls we saw. We parked the Jeep at every opportunity and got out to explore our surroundings.
There were lots of little hikes, beautiful parks, and amazing coastline.
We stopped at a few little local markets and had fresh bananas and produce. Our favorite was the homemade mango bread!
We could hike up to almost all of the waterfalls and there were only a couple where we didn't jump in and swim too.
This was a park that was famous for it's sea caves and black sand beaches and we spent a bunch of time here.
We explored the caves and even did a bit of cliff jumping and swimming in the natural pools inside the caves.
We also went on a hike down into a lava tube that was near Hana. It was so beautiful and amazing inside! This is a picture of the stairway leading down into it.
Our last stop on the Road to Hana was at the 7 Sacred Pools where we joined in with a bunch of other people who were swimming in the gorgeous pools.
We also took a gorgeous hike up the mountainside that took us through a bamboo forest and across some beautiful waterfalls. At the top we saw the most amazing waterfall that fell 4,000 feet! We almost got stuck in that bamboo forest for the night because the sun went down so fast and we couldn't see but luckily another hiker came back up the trail to find us and helped us down. (Long story but that is the short version! lol)
A couple of my friends had told me that I could not leave Hawaii without having a non-alcoholic Lava Flow. It was the most amazing drink and I had two of these things in one sitting!
Maui had some beautiful sunsets and we always had a front row seat for them!
On our last day in Maui we took a boat out to Molokini Crater for some final scuba diving.
We were able do some deep sea fishing, have a great BBQ on the boat, and go flying into the ocean off a slide that was on the side! Too much fun!
We also went out to Turtle Bay and got to see a bunch of sea turtles swimming about.
On our last night in Maui we ate at a restaurant with a gorgeous view of a beautiful sunset and it was a great way to end our trip. It was a fabulous two weeks!
We got home and the kids had left us notes on the front door of Grandma's house. It was sweet and we were excited to be back with them again.
They loved the souvenirs we brought them and they had been having fun with their grandparents the whole time too!
Matt and I will definitely be back to Hawaii and next time we will try the island of Kauai!
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