Hawaii - Oahu

Ah, Hawaii!  As I sit at my computer wrapped in my BYU comforter with 20 degrees outside, it already seems like ages since we were there but it was exactly one month ago, on December 3^rd, that we arrived.  

here we are at the airport waiting to go!

Beckie, Kyle, and Micah have been in their current apartment for over a year but it was our first time to see it.  What a view from their lanai!!!  

 

nighttime

 

daytime

 

 

 Here are other photos..... 

 

 this last one is looking into the living room from the lanai

Beckie was kind enough to relinquish her bedroom and she slept on the couch.  This apartment still has a teeny kitchen but it has two bathrooms (very nice for five people) and dining on the lanai was marvelous. 

It was great to be with Max and Luna.  

  

 

Don’t you love the car rental we got?  

 We enjoyed several of our excursions with the top down!

Visits to Beckie always mean delicious foods.  She made Mexican the night we arrived.  And, happily, there were lots of leftovers to enjoy in the following days.

She had to work on Thursday so Steve and I ventured out on our own to…….Wal-mart!  It is the least expensive place to find souvenirs and we also wanted to pick up a couple of things for Beckie.  But, the Wal-mart experience in Hawaii is just crazy.  SO many people! 

For dinner that night, we all piled into the VW and headed

 

for Waikiki and the Steak Shack that came highly recommended.  Mmmmmm – it was amazing.  As was the view.

 

 

Friday, Beckie and Steve and I spent the day driving all around the island of Oahu
 
 
 
  …. Enjoying the sights and sampling delicious food.

First stop, a pineapple whip at the Dole plantation.

 

 

Then, shave ice, garlic shrimp, and a little shopping in the North Shore area.

 

 

 

 We drove through Laie but didn’t do the Polynesian Cultural Center this time. 

We had to eat Mikes Huli Chicken on the wind-ward side

 and then we went to the beach.

 

 

 It was a wonderful day.

Saturday morning, we shopped a bit at the huge swap meet at Aloha Stadium and then Steve and I took a tour of “Shangri La” – the Hawaiian home of Doris Duke that houses the second largest collection of Islamic art in the world.  We were not allowed to take photos inside but here is a sample of what we saw that was located on the outside of the building. 

 

 And, here is the view from the house!

 

 

 Doris Duke is long gone but she left her home and belongings to posterity and the Honolulu Museum of Art coordinates tours.  It was amazing.  We returned to the museum in time for lunch at the café. 

On Sunday, before church, Steve and I visited another extension of the Museum – Spalding House which was the home of the founder of the museum.  It sits high up on Punch Bowl and has a stunning view of Waikiki.     Can you see Diamond Head?

 

 

We didn’t have a lot of time so we just strolled the gardens.

 

 

Next entry:  our trip to the Big Island.....