Aloha Honolulu

Vacation time! Wait, the probably needs more exclamation marks and caps. VACATION TIME!!!!

Matt's been checking fares for months and booked an amazing deal that allowed us all to fly to Hawaii. The Hawaii! With the palm trees and the beaches. We know, we know... we're from San Diego. But, trust us, Hawaii beaches are way better.

The flight over felt extra long because we were laid over in Phoenix for several hours.

 Are we there yet? 

But, it was all blue skies when we got to the island. For our first full day in Hawaii, we stayed in Honolulu. We started the morning by visiting the Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium, picking up some beautiful dresses for the girls and a koa wood ring for Matt. 

After the Swap Meet, we headed to Pearl Harbor. It was a sobering tour, mostly over the heads of the younger kids (which was for the best). Adelaide understood that a terrible battle had happened, and that the soldiers had been surprised with many killed. It was hard for her to digest why people could hurt each other on such a large scale, but in the end she was very proud of her grandpas that fought to protect the USA during World War II. And, she was glad we are friends with Japan now.

Eleanor is commander of this submarine crew. 

Forget the big gun, Eleanor will just

knock you out with cuteness.

After naps and recovery, we were back out walking the streets of Waikiki. And, who did we find just up the road? Roak and Tehri! Our vacation overlapped with one of Roak's work trips. So, we were able to meet up on the beach. Roak built big sand castles with Eleanor and Steven while Tehri helped Adelaide comb the sand for pieces of coral. So much fun! 

Our beach buddies! 

Walking through the fancy hotels! 

We enjoyed exploring Waikiki and crashing some of the fancier hotels to see their faux waterfalls, orchid gardens and tropical birds. Also, we made a game of counting the ABC Stores. At least nine in a two mile walk. Impressive. 

Our own hotel was a surfer joint, more functional than fancy, with the breakfast buffet provided by a Chinese restaurant. The buffet was very reminiscent of hotels in China and all three kids were thrilled to come down to rice congee, stir fry noodles and pancakes. A great breakfast combo, yes? 

Tomorrow, we're heading across the island with Laie and the North Shore in our sights. Aloha Honolulu! Thanks for starting our trip off so well.