Wiggle Walk

After church, I took Mom and the two little ones on a walk to look for deer. It was a beautiful evening. We got our wiggles out as well as found deer. I'd call that a successful adventure.

Soaking Up Our Last Hours

We left "paradise" today. It's strange to be home; a good strange. Deborah, Mom, and I sat outside the beach cabin for as long as we could before heading to the airport; soaking up the Hawaiian air and beauty. The view never gets old. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity to spend a week with some of my best friends, to see where my sister served her mission, and share in new experiences with my mother. 

Last day

I can't believe this is our last full day in Hawaii. We jam packed everything that was left on our list of "things to do". We started out driving to Wahaiwa to visit the Dole plantation. This was a snooze. I wouldn't go back. The train ride on the Pineapple Express was a HUGE waste of time and money. It was extremely slow and boring.The highlight of this tourist trap was trying their Dole whip.

We were very hungry by this point so we drove west to Hale'iwa and ate lunch at Ted's bakery to try their famous Chocolate Haupia Pie which was amazing! We also got lunch here and all agreed they should stick with pies.

This was going to be our day to explore the beaches along North Shore. Deborah and I had our swimsuits packed and we were so excited to chill and enjoy the waves. However, Mother Nature had different plans. So, we skipped the beaches and tried Matsumoto's famous shaved ice. Then, we took a 1 1/2 mile walk through a rainforest in the rain at Waimea botanical gardens. It felt like we were in the Garden of Eden.  The path ended at a waterfall where Deborah and I beat each other up for not thinking to bring our swim suits. It seemed we would never get a chance to get in the water this day. However, on our way back to the cabin, we visited Laie Beach again and went for a swim even though it was windy and rainy. Thank goodness the water was warm. We did a little body surfing and fooling around.

We eneded our outing at a restaurant called Flounders in the PCC. Shared a three M pizza and salad and brought home a slice of pumpkin cheesecake for each of us to eat back at the cabin. Best cheesecake ever!

Temple and PCC

Our day was bound to be wonderful because we started it off doing an endowment session in the Laie temple. Besides the Temple being beautiful, it was a spiritual experience sitting in between my sister and mom. After our session Deborah showed us the Temple grounds and the bench where Thavee proposed to her. We spent the rest of our day at the Polynesian Culture Center. Here we learned more about the Polynesian way of life and watched them perform many dances. The Ha, Breath of Life show was was my favorite part.

Sunrise

The bench that Thavee proposed to Deborah.

I love Banyan Trees

The tram that Deborah gave tours on while serving her mission here.