Sunday was interesting. We had to try really hard all day to go to church. There were several close church buildings but they were all surrounded by gates and no one ever came to them...maybe it was stake conference or something. Anyway, after a nice walk on that perfectly blue beach, we left the loft to head toward the North Shore where we'd stay for the next few days.
On our way, we stopped at Pali lookout. To say it was windy is a gross understatement! These Asian ladies were so funny giggling with their scarves, we had to get a picture. There were also tons of bees-a little scary! It was amazing to us over and over again that volcanoes (after millions and millions of years) could produce the richness of earth to support so much beauty-it was truly astounding!
When we finally arrived up north we tried one more time to go to church at the latest meeting BYU Hawaii married ward and thankfully they WERE meeting. We felt slightly out of place, but it was fun hearing so many accents and remembering 'young love'. This was a cool rock that we passed on the way up as well. Aaron was so busy trying to get pictures positioned correctly that sometimes he forgot to smile:)
Our plans for the North Shore changed a bit because of the rough winter surf. Shark's cove, famous for it's snorkeling, was being pounded with 15 foot waves Monday morning, so we reluctantly drove down to Turtle Bay resort. They had a nice inlet that was a bit more calm, but there was hardly anyone in the water and they had closed their snorkel rental because of the conditions. This was enough to deter me, but Aaron gave it a try and ended up snorkeling with several sea turtles for an hour. His 'friends' stuck their heads out of the water a time or two, so I got a peek to make sure they were real.
That afternoon we treated ourselves to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We referred to it as Polynesian Disneyland-so larger than life with incredible presentations from the different cultures within Polynesia. Aaron loved Fiji of course and had a fun visit with the performers who were natives. We also both enjoyed the Samoa presentation complete with coconut tree climbing, fire starting and dancing, and a lot of humor. The luau was delicious and immensely entertaining. We even got a slow dance on stage with others celebrating anniversaries. We were pretty exhausted by the time the night show began, but it was exceptional as well-following a boy and the breath of life. It's all run by members but it's no wonder visitors of all backgrounds consider it a must.
Tuesday kicked off with viewing the surfing competition that just happened to be going on close by. We're not really into surfing but apparently this bald guy, Kelly Slater is pretty awesome. After all, he needed 'protection specialists'.
Next we toured the Dole pineapple plantation where we took a train ride that didn't pass any pineapples (go figure!), gave a half hearted effort in the world's largest maze, and ate some really yummy pineapple ice cream.
Then since it was on the way, we also had to try Matsumoto's world famous shaved ice. I think I would have been more impressed if I hadn't been full of pineapple ice cream. Aaron loved it tho! Next we came to Wimea jump rock, which ended up being another sad spot because of the high surf. Aaron had watched videos of people jumping off into the water and was set on trying it out. Danger signs were posted everywhere but Aaron had to get a closer look-it's hard to see, but just above Aaron and to the left in the picture. 'The man with the hat' ended up being called back over the very loud, loud speaker for his own safety. So then we moved on to Wimea Gardens instead-a lovely walk up through countless labeled plants and trees to a cold but 'have to get in cause it's a once in a lifetime visit' waterfall.
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