Tenth Anniversary Trip Part 1

January 2, marked 10 years of marriage for Matthew and me. For quite some time Matthew had been planning a surprise (for me) vacation to Hawaii for just us. On December 30th Matt surprised me when he walked in the house accompanied by his parents. We always enjoy seeing them. I can't say I was totally surprised because there were definately clues along the way, however the timing was a surprise. He just said that they would be celebrating New Year's with us. The next morning (Friday, December 31st) around 6AM Matt woke me and invited me to pack my bags so we could get away together. I must admit that he really had to prod me because I was quite tired and I was sad to leave my little ones. Not knowing quite where we were going I asked where? He said "How about somewhere warm?" How long? "How about a week?" was his reply. So I packed and we set off. We were happy to make the first flight (to Houston) and then despite his comments about attnding the Houston rodeo and stock show we boarded the plane to Honalulu :) We had an eight hour flight and then arrived around 8PM Hawaii time (4 hours behind St Louis.) We got a rental car and drove along the east coast of Oahu stopping briefly to walk along the beach. It was beautiful! We arrived at the condo (right on the beach), stopped for some groceries and quick take out, then headed back to enjoy the salty night air in our condo. Although we didn't see the new year in, we knew it was New Year's Day just about everywhere else so we opted for bed around 10PM.

Saturday , January 1st 2011 - This morning we enjoyed a relaxing morning. This is really what vacations are supposed to be! It was wonderful to not have laundry, or cleaning or anything else that needed to be done. We walked the beach enjoying the breeze, the palm trees, the sand, the warm air, and of course just being together. We also did a few yoga poses just for fun:)








After that we checked out the north shore. We enjoyed watching the surfers and the shops. We also made notes on when we wanted to do everything. We stopped and played in the waves for a while and then we also found a little bay type area where we were able to practice a little snorkeling. Later, we were amazed to see the amound of sand that can hide in your swimsuit :) We picked up some garlic shrimp from a little by the road RV/shrimp shack. We watched a little tv and relaxed some more. This was a perfectly leisurely day!

Sunday, January 2 - was our official anniversary. We woke to a beautiful sunrise!




We went to church at a local ward. It was a great way to get a sense of the kind and relaxed people. In Relief Society I was greeted with a shell lei and a kiss on the cheek. By this time I was starting to get used to hearing "aloha" everywhere.
After church we changed into comfortable clothes, ate lunch and then ventured out to find an easy hike. We drove a lot. We got to see some cool neighborhoods on the beach and got better at the highways but didn't find the hike until about 30 minutes before we needed to be off the trail. So, we didn't hike but got a chance to do it another day.

Monday, January 3rd - we went to see the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. This was a well done memorial. The exhibits, movie and tour really gave me a greater understanding of how it happened. It certainly gives a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the great sacrifices our service men and women made and continue to make for our country!




After the memorial we went to Honalulu and had lunch at a seaside restaurant that looked out over the ocean where cuise and navy ships come and go.




We continued on to Waikiki Beach where we swam and soaked up the sun.







Monday evening, we shopped in downtown Waikiki. There were lots of stores, hotels, entertainment, and food. We enjoyed the evening on the town!

Tuesday, we went to the La'ie temple. We were able to attend a session and then get some pics of the grounds. This is a beautiful temple, inside and out! I most enjoyed the close up mural version (inside) of the outside mural found on the top of the temple.







Following the temple we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We loved the Canoe Pageant, the island presentations, (so fun), the Luau, and of course the show at the end of the night. It is a new show only about 1 year old. It has fantastic dancing, including fire dances and a story line that follows the life of an island boy/man. If I could learn one dance it would be the Tahitian dance the girls do! My favorite moment of the night was when Matt and I got to dance together (all the anniversary couples were invited up during the luau for a special dance.) It made me think of our dance at our wedding reception. It was a special present! This was an all around awesome experience!