I was thinking that I would kind of work my way back in some semblance of order -- but then I realized that I can do whatever I want, I run this thing. So I said "forget it" ... I'm just going to hop, skip, and jump my way through whatever time I want. That means that I'm taking us back to October and November of last year. We went on a family vacation to Hawaii with my dad. We had been planning it since February, and we took 10 days... It was so amazing that when I came back I researched how easy it would be to get my PE license transferred over to Hawaii ($75 application fee, in case you were wondering) and was wanting to sell everything and move to the islands. John talked me off the ledge (lame), but I do think that both of us agree that we want to go back.
We planned this trip around my friend Selena's wedding. We didn't think we could handle an 8 hr flight with Colin from Chicago to Honolulu, so we cushioned a trip to Arizona around it so that it could be taken down to a 6 hr flight instead. I was terrified about the flight with our little 18 month old who didn't like to sit still and when cranky really enjoys screaming (not much has changed in 6 months). But shockingly, he was a freaking rock star. Seriously... he had a couple of minor moments, but he truly did better than we could have ever predicted. We brought his car seat on the plane (yup, we are those people.....) and he took a substantial nap, and then we were able to use his seat to store the incredible amount of stuff that we brought with us. We read through more books, watched more Frozen and Pitch Perfect than we knew what to do with - but we made it safe and sound.
Reading books with Dada and Grandpa
Grandpa carrying the elephant bag
We have arrived in Honolulu!!
Lucky us hanging more in the airport waiting for our flight to Kauai
Conked out after all the travels
We rented a condo at a resort on Kauai - 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom... ocean front. It was just incredible. I took some advice from my friend who had traveled to San Diego and looked up baby rental places on the island. So we had to bring nothing but a car seat with us -- we rented a pack n play, a stroller, and some beach toys. It was so great. Everything was there when we got to our room, and we had to do nothing! We were able to open the doors and listen to the ocean, we had a full kitchen so we went grocery shopping and had things for breakfast and lunches. Colin loved the balconies, and spent nearly every morning standing on them (he only threw my phone off once) and looking for all the roosters that run wild everywhere.
We were lucky (??) enough to watch most of the sunrises on Kauai thanks to Colin adjusting to the time change
Rocking the diaper on the balcony
Again, another beautiful sunrise
Chillin' by the pool
Colin took some of the best naps and most sound nights. The sound of the ocean with the open doors were better than any sound machine we could have had. It was awesome. We drove all over the island, went to beaches at the end of the highway, went through the mountains, took a helicopter ride (so nervous, but so beautiful), saw as much as we could in 6 days.
We road a train through a plantation
Got wind-blown on the train
Played at the beach in between the rain storms
Saw so many roosters - they were Colin's favorite
Went to a bird sanctuary with a brilliant view
Saw a lighthouse!
Pretended to be a lion at the lighthouse
Read books about turtles
Saw waterfalls
Wow... just wow
Took a grumpy baby on a walk
Let the grumpy baby run along the path so he could stop being grumpy
Saw a water spout
Took a helicopter ride!
Saw MORE waterfalls
And hidden beaches
And had to stop to see a crazy bridge
Cried at the bridge because he wanted to walk
That doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of Kauai. I took hundreds of pictures, and there truly isn't enough space on this blog to write about all the things we did or show all the amazing places we saw.
We had local beer (Kauai Beer Co), local coffee (Kauai Coffee Co), local rum (Kaloa Rum Co) bought a Hawaiian shirt for Colin to wear, took in some of the greenest greens and bluest blues. The roosters ... oh the roosters. They crow in the morning, chase each other around through the day. It's such a small island, but it was one of my favorite places I've vacationed. I wish we had spent a little more time relaxing, a little more time at the beach, but I think we took in a little bit of everything the island had to offer.
After our time in Kauai, it was time to fly back to Honolulu and spend some time in O'ahu. We also got to spend some time with Mike while we were there! It was great to see him, and he was a determined tour guide. Ha. He took the time to drive us around the island and take us to shaved ice, Waikiki Beach, lunch, you name it. We stayed at a condo in Ko Olina which shares the community with a couple other resorts - with golf cart access to everything. I think Colin might have found that one of the more fascinating parts of the trip --- car seat free!
We spent some time at Pearl Harbor. Colin had a little bit of a meltdown during the movie, but we were able to walk him around outside and ride the ferry over to the memorial. It was so overwhelming, and the video they show is just incredible. I know about the bombing of Pearl Harbor of course, but seeing real footage and hearing true accounts was intense.
Moana Hotel - where the rich and famous vacation
Waikiki Beach
Surfboards lined up and waiting
Lunch with Grandpa Mike
Too bad you can't hear through pictures - so just imagine the sound of a pterodactyl
All the names of the lost
Such an incredibly beautiful and humbling memorial
USS Arizona lies beneath
Isn't this just tropical paradise?
We went to a luau --- it was interesting, but will be happy to skip that next trip
Playing in the backyard of the condo
Making sure the coast is clear
Life talks with Dada on the beach
I loved our little vacation. It was worth the planning, worth the wait, and something I won't forget for a long time. Colin is such an experienced traveler already, it's awesome to see how well he adapts to new places and new schedules. Fun fact, he's not that good at adaptation at home but seems to thrive on it when we are in a new place. He even takes on time changes like nothing!
So if you don't hear from me for a while.. you might want to see if a PE license has been applied for in Hawaii... we might be new residents...
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