On our 9th day, we headed into Waikiki for a mini-vacation. We headed through the center of the island again to hit up some scenic spots on the east side. We saw some whales - and baby whales- off the coast of the lighthouse. We tried to find a lava tube to explore, but there was construction right where we would have had to park. When we got to our Outrigger Hotel right on the beach, we split up. Then we all met up with the Leclairs at dusk for an evening swim. The boys went straight into the ocean, while us girls walked the strip gazing into the super-expensive stores, goggled at the amazing tree right in the middle of town, and ate dinner at Duke's. I had a Duke's Mai Tai, and did not hate it. Everything in this area is so well taken care of... you'd think we were in Beverly Hills! Having the hotel on the beaches the best thing we could have done- it was so convenient! We all just came and went as we pleased. The girls shared a room with the Leclair girls. We upgraded to an Oceanfront room, and it was well worth it! From our balcony, I saw a whale, turtles, surfers, sunsets and even a submarine.
Day 10 was pretty much spent on the beach from dawn to dusk. Sunset in Hawaii is always around 6 or 7 pm... interesting, huh? The boys had so much fun other tubes. The girls spent a lot of time out surfing with Ryan. The boys LOVED playing football with Brady on the beach and in the water. After the kids got settled into the rooms with Papa Johns (!), us adults jumped on the Biki Bikes and took the long way to the Trump Tower for drinks. What fun!! You rent them for 30 minutes, and drop them off at a different station. The bar closed at 9, because of stinking COVID, so we went to the (literally) only place open past 9... McDonald's. Since was the only place open, the line was out the door. There were so many homeless people hanging around it too. I was on high alert, while Jason was at ease staring at everyone- so many were high as kites.
Day 11 started with a catamaran ride.
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
We rented out the whole boat to ourselves. The water was so translucent that we could see 30 feet to the bottom of the ocean!! We just laid there and felt like we were flying right above the water. Jimmy was having a blast!! Jack was not happy that he had to wear a life vest because he was under 12 years old. Eventually, he stopped ruining his once-in-a-lifetime experience to just accept it and enjoy it. He even lost a tooth on the boat! We saw flying fish. We saw two turtles. We saw a few dolphins. And then... we saw our Humpback Whale. The captain thinks it was actually two whales. It was like he new we were watching and he put on a show! We were in awe! You really get an appreciation for how large Diamond Head is when you are out in the water.
We spent the afternoon watching the Super Bowl - yes, the afternoon because of time zones, in the Leclairs' room. They like Tom Brady and are moving to Tampa next, so they were happy Tampa Bay won. That night, we listened to the ocean and watched a movie with the boys. We were exhausted. We were happy. We were perfect.
Day 12 was the last time we would wake up to theses views... Oh my heart!
We really were so dang blessed!!
We headed out of Waikiki and back to Christy's for our last full day. She and Evan took us north to Christy's favorite beach, Mokuleia Beach, for a beach cookout dinner. The drive there was beautiful. We stopped at some food trucks at the North Shore for fun, fruity, Hawaiian drinks. I see why it is here favorite... it is at the end of the road, where the mountains and ocean meet. Jason let Jimmy get in the water - I had to walk away because the I thought it was too rough and not safe. I picked up a pocket full of cool sea glass - beautiful colors, different shapes and sizes. I was only gone for 10 minutes and the weather turned - not turned - snapped. It went from BEAUTIFUL to a tropical storm in mere minutes. We barely ad time to get our belongings into the cars. The wind blew the sand at my legs so hard that I fell over at one point and my sweater was blown up over my head - all of my sea glass went flying away. I grabbed just a few pieces that landed right there, before I didn't want to deal with the painful sand anymore. What a bummer. As we drove away, and back into the mountains, we were free of the storm and ended up having a nice cookout on her lanai at home.
Day 13. Sniff Sniff. The morning was spent packing up and cleaning up. Our flight wasn't until late afternoon, so we headed to the Byodo-In Temple. WOW. Think about every movie you've seen with Hawaii in it. That's what the grounds looked like. We were deep in the mountains though - not near the ocean. The boys were amazed by how large the fish were. The Temple is really only one room, for visitors to see, so we were not there all that long. We decided to head back into Waikiki for our final lunch. We thought we'd just drive around and find an amazing restaurant. haha... We ended up in the projects. As Jaylee said “These are the most beautiful projects that I have ever seen... except for that dead guy over there!” So, Trip Advisor rescued us and sent us right back to where we had stayed in downtown Waikiki. And then, we were off to the airport. The boys and cried. I was so sad because I'm not sure that I'll ever be back. I'm not sure that any family vacation will ever be as good as this. I'm not sure that we'll ever spend two weeks together again and get along so well. I'm not sure that I'll remember it all. I am sure that I do not take any of it for granted!!!
I came home and told everyone- if you could go to Hawaii, it was the time to go! No crowds, almost everything was open, prices were so good. The biggest complaint was that we couldn't sit more than 5 to a table. It was a Hawaii COVID rule. In all honesty, it just made it harder on the waitresses because they sat us at two tables next to each other and they just had to walk back and forth. But, at least we did not give COVID to each other;)
Of course.. we came home to the left over blizzard snow, and then it snowed for 3 weeks straight, I think.
Here's one of the two videos Jaylee made, on YouTube...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g9tqpZBrGM
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