Hawaii - Day 4 - Swap Meet & Pali Lookout

On Wednesday morning, our adventures took us to Aloha Stadium to visit the swap meet.  We gave each kid $20 and let them shop to their hearts content.  They shopped for small gifts for friends & teachers and it was fun to see the souveniers they picked out as well as our moms.

 Jack holding some Jack fruit

 Literally 3 vendors into the meet, Hailey saw a plastic swimming frog that she wanted.  We tried to tell her that we could come back and get it after she looked to see if there was anything else she'd rather have.   She was set on getting that frog, so we turned around and went back.  Of course, the frog worked perfectly in and out of the water at the meet, but later we'd learn, that it must have wanted to stay there because we could never get it to work again.   But, at least, Hailey got the piece of junk, I mean souvenier, that she wanted.

 Kate was in her element while we shopping. I'd walk slowly behind her and she went in every booth to take a look.  She kept asking if she could do chores when we got home so that she would buy more. Jack kept his eyes peeled for something of interest, but ultimately was excited to just pocket the $20.   (It's so funny to see their different personalities show).

 Our moms looking at some possible purchases

 By the end....we were tired!

After the swap meet, we went to the drive-thru of Wendy's and headed towards the Pali Lookout.

This is a gorgeous part of the island with a ton of trees and this huge lookout where you can see both mountainside and coastline.  I believe this was the last battle of King Kamehameha and their enemies were driven off the cliff, but Hawaiian legend has it that the wind blows hard enough there that the warriors were carried back up and not killed.  It was definitely windy!

 These series of pictures crack me up  - especially Emily's hair

Picture out of order, but Kate in the element :)

After Pali, Jon took the older kids again to snorkel and I took the rest back to swim. 

That night, the adults and Emily went to dinner at The Monkey Pod, which was near our resort.  Lindsey stayed with the other kids and they watched tv, so it worked out great!

Hawaii - Day 3 - Dole Plantation

On Tuesday, we drove to the Dole Plantation.  It was another warm day on the island.  We paid to ride the Pineapple Express (definitely a pricey tourist trap, but hey, we were there and you might as well).    We paused to take a picture and I can't remember why Hannah was mad, but she was off to the side crying.

 There she is!  Mad that Jon was taking her picture.

After the ride, I took Sam to the van to nurse him and everyone else enjoyed some Dole Whip.  When I got back and got my Dole Whip, Jon took most of the kids through the world's largest corn maze.   They had lots of "cheats" in it, so if you didn't want to have it take hours,  you could follow the cheats.

This rooster was happily walking around

 Gotta love selfies that Hannah takes

After Dole, we drove to a nearby town and ate at L&L's Drive In.  It's a local chain.  My mom and I remembered eating there when we were in Hawaii back in 2000.  It was actually quite greasy, but okay.   Then Jon took the 4 oldest kids and went to a beach to snorkel and cliff jump.

I took both mom's and the 3 youngest back to our condo to swim in the pool and rest.  Hannah and Hailey absolutely loved the pool!  My mom and I were happy to swim with them and Diane was so kind to stay with sleeping Sam.

After swimming (and while waiting for Jon and the kids - who got stuck for 2 hours on the freeway because of a fatal moped accident), we all walked down to Aulani (the Disney resort).

There was a wedding going on and it was fun to watch for a few minutes.

What a good baby Sam was!  

When Jon and the other kids got back, we made dinner at the condo and spend the evening at the beach, pool and relaxing!

Hawaii - Day 2 - Pearl Harbor, USS Missouri & Ko Olina Beach

With the time change (and Daylight Savings), we knew we'd all be up early on Monday morning.  And, we were!  I think Hailey was up at 4:30.  So, we purposely scheduled our Pearl Harbor day for that morning since we knew we'd be up and ready early.  It was a warm, sunny day and we had a wonderful time!

We arrived and had just a few minutes before we boarded a boat to go to the USS Arizona Memorial.  I think the kids, especially the oldest ones, were really touched by the movie they show and the memorial itself. There is definitely a sacred feeling there!

 On the boat ride to the Memorial, Hannah was sitting right in front of me and the cute Asian lady next to her kept taking her picture.

 (On the way back)

 I had been to the Memorial two other times before this one and I felt like this time was a little different in that the oil that still drips up from the Arizona was coming up much faster than before.  It was constant on this day (rather than every few minutes).   The kids watched and watched (the rainbow on the water is the oil as it comes to the surface).

After we got back, I went to the van to feed Sam and Jon got everyone a drink and snack (it was hot!).  Then, we looked around the great museum they have there now.

After the Arizona and museum, we got on a bus and headed over to the USS Missouri - an actual battleship!  It is enormous!  We especially wanted the kids to see this as Jon's dad, Jack, served in the Navy during WWII and lived on a battleship (the USS Tennessee) for 3 years!   The kids did great and we walked around at our own pace!

The USS Missouri was the location where WWII officially ended.  The treaty was signed on the battleship!

We were tired, hungry and hot by the end of our tour and after getting back to our cars, drove to a burger joint called "Freddy's Bigger Burgers."  It was delish!

After lunch, we drove back to the condo and headed to the beach!  We were literally right on the beach and had a lagoon practically to ourselves.

Gorgeous Ko Olina Beach!