Hawaii... Same Same But Different

Here are a few pictures of some of the interesting things that we saw while on our Hawaii 2014 trip!

This is the Wiki Wiki shuttle bus at the Honolulu airport. We hopped aboard at the main terminal & it brought us to the inter island terminal to catch our flight to the Big Island. I just love its name, the Wiki Wiki!

The license plate of our rental car... ZAM!

This was a little store that we drove by on the way to Akaka Falls. It was closed so we didn't get to go there but we all just absolutely loved the name. Same Same But Different! That ended up being our motto for the rest of the trip, everything was the same same but different!

 We saw this car parked at the King's Shops. It had a million bumper stickers on it & I just had to take a picture since it has the best bumper sticker ever, I Love Giraffes!

We saw lots of cool vegetation on the island such as...
these beautiful plumeria flowers that were growing everywhere!

palm tree roots, which apparently grow above the ground instead of below

more above ground roots, but on a different kind of palm tree

And this bush at A Bay that has names & dates & messages etched into the leaves.

We also saw lots of fun signs. 

Like this one... Beware of falling coconuts!

And this one... If in doubt, don't go out! 

This was at Lapakahi State Park where the water was ROUGH! And while we were there, a man & woman walked down to the water, put on their snorkeling gear & went out. I was a little scared for them, but apparently, they had no doubt because they went out!

This one was at the Lava Lava Beach Club

And so were all these fun beach signs.

This was a handicap parking sign that someone decorated with an interesting sticker!

And this was one of several signs regarding the feral cats that roam the island!

This little area by the Lava Lava Beach Club not only had a sign, but it also had little hut houses for the cats. If you look closely, you can just barely make out a cat laying under it.

We saw several of the feral cats around the island & they all seemed to be clean & well taken care of so the Advocats must be doing their job!

And here are some things I saw while shopping...

An ABC Stores shirt

A really cool shell ring

My name in Hawaiian!

And Addy's name too!

Hi Chew candy, YUM!

Shrimp Chips... Eww, that just sound disgusting!

These awesome lighters! Anyone know who the dog on the orange lighter is supposed to be?

Glass ball Christmas ornaments that are hand painted on the inside. Now that's talent!

And last but not least, spam flavored macadamia nuts! And again, ewww!

Hawaii ... Day 7 ... Kailua- Kona

Day 7 ... Friday
February 28, 2014

Friday was our final day in Hawaii. I had had a wonderful time but I missed my babies & my husband terribly & was ready to get home & see them!

I wanted to go to the beach one more time before leaving though & so that's how we started our day! A friend of Susan's had told her that the prettiest beach on the island was the one at the Mauna Kia Resort, which was just a couple of miles north of where we were staying. So we decided to go there. And it really was a beautiful beach!
(But I still think Hapuna Beach is the best!)

We spent about 45 minutes at the beach & then we had to head back to the condo to finish packing & check out.

We had about 5 hours between check out & when we had to be at the airport, so we decided to spend the day in Kailua-Kona, which is a town just south of the airport.

 The first thing we did in Kailua-Kona was eat lunch at a place called Splashers Grill. The restaurant had a great view of the harbor

and the food was delicious! 

I had a teriyaki burger with pineapple on it & the biggest onion rings ever!

And after lunch, we found a great Hawaiian shaved ice place.

Not only did this shaved ice have the Tahitian vanilla ice cream in it like my last one, but it also had sweetened condensed milk on top. It might sound gross, but it's not, it's delicious!

We took our shaved ices over to a little park on the boardwalk & sat & ate them while looking at the water.

Here's a view of the park.

And another one.

After we finished our shaved ices, we walked around the boardwalk & shopped. There were lots of little touristy mom & pop stores & of course there were a couple of the infamous ABC stores!

Before we knew it, it was time to leave the boardwalk & make our way towards the airport. We did stop at a few places along the way though, at the Salvation Army & at the Kona Hawaii Temple.

We arrived at the airport around 3pm, turned in the rental car & then said goodbye to the Big Island of Hawaii & this wonderful vacation as we hopped aboard our Hawaiian Airlines flight back to Oahu.

I watched the island disappear as we ascended into & then above the clouds. And then as I looked back one last time, I spotted the peak of Mauna Loa looming there above the clouds! How awesome is that!

Our flight back to Houston was pretty awful. When we got to the Honolulu airport we found out that it had been delayed by 3 hours. (And it really ended up being more like 4!) But we survived & made it home & even though the flight was terrible, the vacation all but made up for it! 

I'm so happy that I was able to go on this trip. Not only was it to one of the most amazing places on Earth but it was with 3 of the most amazing women on Earth & it was so nice to get to spend this time with them! I love you ladies! Let's do it again sometime. And by sometime, I mean soon!

Hawaii ... Day 6 .... The Kohala Coast

Day 6 ... Thursday

February 27, 2014

Thursday morning, I got Susan & Brooke to go out for a 3 mile walk with me!

But after breakfast, they were both tired & wanted to take a nap! So mom & I went back to the rocky side of A-Bay & walked around while they napped.

Look at how clear the water is there!

When the girls woke up, we headed north for a road trip around the North Kohala Coast. 

Our first stop was the Lapakahi State Historical Park.

The park contains the ruins from a seaside village that was built over 600 years ago.

Our next stop was a town called Hawi (pronounced Ha-vee) where we ate lunch and had a Hawaiian shaved ice!

I had strawberry with tahitian vanilla ice cream in it. Yum!!!

And then we walked around the town & shopped in all the cute little mom & pop stores.

Our third stop was in Kapaau at the statue of Kamehameha I, a great leader who united the Hawaiian islands.

The statue was made in Italy in 1880. On the way to Hawaii, the ship that was carrying the statue sank & the statue was lost at sea. But in 1912 it was found & placed here in Kapaau.

Our last stop on this road trip was the end of the road. Literally. The road ended at the Pololu Valley Lookout

which is yet another absolutely beautiful place in Hawaii!

You can hike down to the bottom but Brooke wasn't feeling well so we decided not to.

Instead, we headed back to Waikoloa & got there a little after sunset.

Brooke stayed at the condo while Mom, Susan & I went to dinner at Merriman's Mediterranean Cafe.

After dinner, we went back to the room & I went to bed. These long days really wore me out!