HAVIN' FUN IN THE SUN!

Aloha!
Dawson and I have been keeping very busy!  The last couple of days we've spent here have been amazing...
1st of all we rented a jeep. Which was totally awesome!  At first I was a little concerned about driving around the island, but the locals and tourists all told me it was "easy", "no problem", so I thought why not! So on Saturday, Dawson and I decided to cruise around the whole island.  Making stops here and there along the way with the top down and the wind in our hair.  So great!!!
Our first stop on Saturday was Hanauma Bay.  It is THE snorkle spot in Oahu.  It was beautiful, but the water was a bit chilly, and it was packed to the gills!  We saw a ton of fish.  I think I understand now why the locals don't particularly like the tourists.  Tourists come over here and do some really completely stupid things like, stand on the coral!  I couldn't believe it.  But regardless of the dumb people, Dawson and I had a blast.
After snorkeling, we jumped into the Jeep and took off toward some scenic points.  On the way to our destinations, as the wind whipped through our hair, the sky began to darken and the clouds began to build, I began to worry. But then I remembered the girl at Enterprise say that it was "easy" to put the roof back on so I drove on too our next stop.  Which was the Halona blow hole.  Not sure how to explain it, but it was cool to see.  When we arrived it started to rain, and the top was down!  I tried with all my might to close that dog gone roof. I really did.  But then I decided to ask for help.  Because the rain started to come down a little harder.  2 GROWN MEN took about a half hour to close that dang thing!  I felt like an idiot.  But after a lot of swearing (by the men), me laughing, and me telling Dawson to plug her ears, we got that stinkin' roof shut!  Needless to say, the rest of our 2 day Jeep rental was done with a closed roof... wasn't about to risk that again!

Another fun thing we did Saturday, was drive over to North Shore.  Which Dawson had an amazing time!.  She played in the gigantic waves (on shore of course, I wasn't about to let her step foot in the ocean. So she sat on the beach and let the waves rush in.) . When I say gigantic waves, I'm talking GINORMOUS!!! HUGE!!  Plus there were surfers, and it was totally cool to watch them!  This was definitely a favorite spot for us!

Sunday, we did our whale watch cruise.  This was the most anticipated part of our whole trip.  Sadly, we didn't get to see any whales... BUT we did get to swim with dolphins!  That was amazing!  Dawson did such a great job snorkeling!  The dolphins were incredible, and the sea life was amazing.  We had such a good time and made a lot of new friends,  mostly with the "captain" and the "ship-mates" because the other "cruisers" were kind of dumb and couldn't follow directions.  I've entertained the idea of taking Dawson for another shot at some whales, but the cruises get a bit expensive. So I'm going to wait till the next time we come back to the Hawaiian Islands!!  That's right, I said next time!!

Today, we spent the whole day at the beach.  Playing in the water, and making friends.  Tonight we met a man, who was helping his friend who does some cool graffiti art on the streets, that was from Grand Rapids! Particularly JENISON!  He grew up on Baldwin near Boulder Bluff!  WHAT A SMALL WORLD!

Now we are in the hotel room, and Dawson is itching to get on the computer.
We miss everyone so much!
Love you all!
Salina

The Most Tiring Day!

Yesterday was the most tiring day of all (So Far!!) Anyways we walked soooo much! A few minutes ago when we got breakfast (Starbucks Orange Juice and then 2 bagles YUMMY!) my mom said that her legs hurt from yesterday, I told her mine did too! Well of course they hurt i mean we did the Diamond Crater thingy mijig! And also walked all the way from our hotel (Wakiki Beach Resort) all the way to a really far beach called U.S. Army Beach Museum ( It was a museum with a beach as well.) It was a really long walk. Because, i had to carry the towels and my mom had to carry a not so heavy back pack but it was heavy at the same time! Ya sorry that was kinda confusing. Well we are having a BLAST!!!!***!!!! I miss every one so much even Bailey and Roxy oh fine I guess all the dogs B/C they are part of the family!
Well I hope it is wonderfull back home and everybody is safe!*!*!!*!*
I Love You all BYBYE!!!!!!!!
Dawson K8!*!*!

So Far, So Good!

Driving the Island!

Today we are renting a soft top jeep and cruising around the island!  I was told by locals and tourists that it's really easy to get around... Please pray that this bodes true!  I'm a little nervous, but I rented a vehicle that has GPS,  I believe this will help.  We are hoping to head out toward the east side of the island, making stops here and there.  One stop in particular is Hanauma Bay, which I hear is fantastic for snorkeling.  The island itself is 90 miles around.  We are looking forward to this adventure!

Yesterday's Diamond Head hiking trip was a lot of fun!  It was a bit strenuous, and there were definitely people hiking that shouldn't have been, they could barely breath.  It was a very steep climb, and my legs are hurting this morning!

The picture of Oahu that is to the side of this blog, pictures Diamond Head Crater. We climbed the summit of that, which then looks out over the ocean (which is breathtaking), and out over Waikiki.  I took several pics and have had a hard time uploading them to the blog.  I will continue to try:-)

We are having a great time here!

Love you all!
Salina

"Hiking"

Tomorrow morning we are hoping to get up bright and early for a morning of light hiking.  We are going to be heading to Diamond Head Crater, where we will be hiking a mile up and inside an extinct volcano!  Looking forward to taking many photos!

ALOHA!

Salina

B-E-A-U-TI-FUL

Hey this is Dawson! Beautiful is all that I have to say about, Oahu! It is so pretty. We have a perfect view of a Mountain out our window! It is so funny because, when u walk into a restaurant there are birds in there. (P.S. The birds are freaking me out here P.S.) One of the best things about this place is the PINEAPPLE!!!!!!! I Love Pineapple Soooo Much!
So as you read on my moms post we are heading to the Cheesecake Factory. We are soo trying to eat like Hawaiian's, let me tell you! !LOL! But I like the Cheesecake Factory! So much!
The people here are so nice! This one lady we were walking back to our hotel room and this lady at a store greeted us and said: "Hello". They are soo nice!
Alright so trust me I will be posting alot more Post's.
So  I have to get ready.
So.......
Goodbye People who read this................. Hello Shopping and Hello Cheesecake Factory!*!*!
Dawson
K8

Our 1st Day.

We started out our day with a buffet breakfast.  Dawson was in heaven with all the fresh pineapple!  I have to admit it was delicious! Our waitress was super nice and talked our ear off.  I was polite and didn't eat while she talked, but she insisted that I continue eating while she told me about her family and her life.  I was surprised that she didn't pull up a chair and enjoy breakfast with us!  Her name was Rita, and Rita rocked!
The rest of the morning we sat on the beach.  Waikiki beach was pretty busy, and the water cooler than we expected.  Dawson didn't like the salt water in her mouth or eyes... SO HIGH MAINTENANCE!  Just kidding!
For lunch we thought we'd try something very native to the land of Hawaii.  See pic:-)  For dinner tonight we are heading to Cheesecake Factory. We sure do branch out, don't we?
Also, I'm not sure why these pics are so gigantic.  So scroll down.  There should be 3 pics posted.
Until tomorrow.
Love and miss you all!
Salina

WE MADE IT!!

We are here.  Yesterday was a REALLY long day. Jumping from flight to flight was a bit much for an 11 year old and a crazy like me who is scared of flying!!  But now we are here!  I'm hoping to post pics later today.  For now we are going to grab some breakfast, get our beach bag ready and head out!  LATER!

Ok, so we are in the final stretch.  Bags are somewhat packed and the excitement is mounting!  The plane ride is freaking me out as always. I will however do my best in trying to keep it together!  Let's hope for a good nights sleep!

Less than 36 hours till we fly out! We got a lot to do before we go.