Aloha!

The last  week of July David and I had the joy of heading to Hawaii for a week, no kids, no responsibilities (kind of) and lots of sunshine. Matthew and Taylor stayed with GaGa and PaPa for the week and were sorely missed by us. That was the longest we've been away from home as a couple together, much less away from our boys.

Of course Mother Nature wanted to give us a scare and threatened us with Tropical Storm Flossie, but it only amounted to a night of rain, but nothing significant.
There is also a 5 hour time delay between here and Hawaii so that was interesting getting used to but pretty easy to do once you got there and heard the waves.



This was our hotel, the Aston Waikiki Beach. It was directly across the street from the beach, wonderful. All the buildings, especially hotels in Hawaii were all open and airy. Of course if it was the kind of weather it always is there I'd build my house like that as well.



The view from our room. There were many days that the door to the patio stayed open.

Our hotel served breakfast by the pool, which was a great way to start the day.

Some views.....



The first full day we were there we went to Diamond Head Park, which is the crater of a volcano. We ran there, not knowing that it would be about a 4 mile trip there, which also means you come back. It was worth it though. We, by chance, met an older man that was running as well there who's wife happened to be going to the same conference I was there for. Mr. Tom was a wonderful inspiration as he was 77 years old and completely kept up with us running, hiking to the top of the mountain, and back down. This weekend he will complete his 22nd Long Beach Marathon. You are never too old to do what you want. He was a great joy to get to know on our journey.

This is the view from the top...and a beautiful one at that. If you look really close there is a light house on the shore line. Below is a picture of it closer up on our run back home.

The view of Honolulu from the top of Diamond Head

Here is the light house that we saw from up top. Pretty cool to see as it was fully functional as well.

A relaxing afternoon on the beach

This was one restaurant we went to that was a seafood buffet but the cool thing was the HUGE aquarium in the middle of the restaurant.

There were various street performances each evening

One night we took a stroll through here, which is really a huge place and lots of things to look at. I think we got most of our souvenier shopping done here that night.

This guy was in the market and made Tiki's, but he was making them while holding it with his feet.

This is the Hawaii Convention Center. Not a bad place to have a conference. Most of my sessions were in the mornings so I was done in the afternoons. It was a 2 mile walk from our hotel, but was a great time to put my headphones in, and enjoy the scenery as I just walked along the shore the whole time. David went to Pearl Harbor one day while I was gone and thoroughly enjoyed the tour and significance of that. Alot of interesting facts he came back with

One night we went on a dinner cruise, which went out but still along the shoreline that you could see it. It was a neat experience to see the island from out in the ocean. There are alot more mountains than you would think but can't really see fully until you are out from the island.

Man, I love this guy.

Mai Tai's are the drink of choice in Hawaii, so it was a must at each meal.

The views from the boat...

The day that David went to Pearl Harbor, I got back before he did and planted myself right here with my book and was in my ultimate happy place.

This was our view from breakfast one morning. I think my coffee tasted better just by drinking it in this environment

Blowfish light

Another night we went to a Luau where they bused us to the location. FYI- That's the great thing about Hawaii is that we never rented a car the whole time we were there but still got to experience many of the attractions. Good hospitality there.
Here are some views on the way there. The movie, Jurassic Park, and the show, Lost, were all filmed along these strips of land.

At the Luau. We were nestled between the ocean and a high mountain. It was beautiful and one of the most entertaining things. They had all the traditional things of a luau. Not pictured here are the fire dancers and some of the traditional dances (my phone died half way through)

David trying to start fire with sticks. He got a spark.

Beyond amazing views everywhere you go. Some of these look like postcards and I was just in awe of this area of our world and the beauty of it.

The Pig in the Ground. (Note- The FDA will not allow you to eat the actual pig in the ground. They never let us have any fun).

Part of the ceremony of getting the pig out of the ground. David now has a new goal of cooking a pig in the ground, and yes, he's been researching it, and yes, you are all invited.

Another dinner of pizza and drinks. We walked everywhere so it was great that we had ALOT of time to visit and share quality time together. It was a wonderful time for us as a couple to reconnect, replan, and retreat.

We left on Sunday but did the red-eye flight (I now know why they call it that). Luckily the Cowboys were on so we got to watch it at the hotel bar before we had to leave.

Amazing land, amazing time. I loved learning about my profession and feeling encouraged and getting new ideas for my practice. But my favorite part was being in the presence of my best friend and continuing to learn more about him and his heart for this life, even after 9 years. It just never gets old loving him. And then my next favorite was coming back to my crazy boys...and getting ready for someone little man to turn 1!!