Julie and Joshua - 15th Wedding Anniversary

I've FINALLY finished posting everything from our 15th wedding anniversary trip, and put it all in chronological order. Sorry it's taken so long to finish. We've been back from our trip for a month now. But because we look at this blog as our family journal, I wanted to make it as detailed as I could.

Our trip to Los Angeles and Hawaii really was amazing! Josh and I had so much fun - The time of our life! We really felt like we were in paradise. This trip will always be a wonderful memory for us.

LOS ANGELES

LEAVING FOR LOS ANGELES

Joshua and I left on Thursday, June 18, 2009 for our most anticipated two-week 15th-wedding anniversary trip to Hawaii, with a side trip to Los Angeles first. Before we left, we met my parents at the airport. They were coming to watch our children while we were away. (The kids did many, many fun things with their grandparents and had their own vacation while we were gone. Check my Mom's blog HERE to see what they did.)

It was a little tricky getting off because just as my parents were coming in, we were checking into the airport for our flights. Josh dropped me off at my airport terminal first (there are 2 different Metro-Detroit terminals), then he drove to the other terminal to pick up my parents and give them the car & house keys and the minivan. Josh wished them luck and they left for our house where our kids were waiting for them. Then Josh checked into his airline. We boarded separate planes in different terminals. I got a free airline ticket back in January when I was coming home from Orlando in bad weather and involuntarily got chosen to get booted off the plane. But in return I got a free ticket, a hotel stay that night, and an airport food voucher. Not too bad... So I used the free ticket to fly to California. We decided the $600 for Joshua to fly with me on my flight wasn't worth the extra money since we found a $300 flight to L.A. on a different airline. (But we did fly together from L.A. to Honolulu and back.)

Our flights got into L.A. pretty late. We got a rental car and drove to Anaheim to check into our hotel, which was just across the street from Disneyland. We were so tired the next day, and slept in. Afterwards, we spent the day exploring Downtown Disney, and enjoyed the pool at our hotel. The day after that was a wet and drizzly day, and we spent it at Universal Studios Hollywood. It's much smaller than the one in Orlando, so we were done with everything in the park by mid-afternoon, so we decided to explore downtown L.A. on the way back to our hotel. We went to the Graumann's Chinese Theater which had many handprints and footprints of the stars. We also explored the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Towards sunset, we took a Hollywood Star's Home Tour up through the Hollywood Hills, Mulholland Drive and Beverly Hills. It was very interesting to see these gigantic, gorgeous homes. We saw Jay Leno in his car driving around the Hollywood Hills.

The next few days after that, we hit the Disney Parks -- Disneyland and California Adventure. We could walk there every morning from our hotel. I am a HUGE Disney fanatic (if you didn't already know) and neither one of us had been to Disneyland since we were teenagers. I've been to Disney World in Florida over a dozen times, but Disneyland is much farther away and always seems so far out of reach. So much had changed since we went as teenagers, like the addition of California Adventure, so it was practically a new experience for us. I love NEW Disney experiences, so I was psyched! We had a grand time exploring, running around, riding rides, watching shows & parades, meeting the characters, and staying at the parks from the time they opened until the second they closed -- This made our days very loooong.... But most definitely worth the time and fatigue!

It was sad to leave Disneyland, but we were eager for the next leg of our trip -- Hawaii -- which we thought was far more exciting! Early on Wednesday, June 24, we took a flight out of Los Angeles and headed for Honolulu!

Julie and Joshua at Universal Studios Hollywood

Julie at California Adventure's Paradise Pier.
The rollercoaster behind me is "California Screamin". A really fun coaster!

California Adventure is currently under construction for some new
rides and attractions coming next year.

In front of Grizzly Peak, a river raft ride at California Adventure.
This is us before we went on the ride and before we got really wet.

Joshua posing in front of a model of the San Francisco Bridge at California Adventure.

Our first ride at Disneyland was "Splash Mountain".
No lines, so we rode twice, but got soaking wet!
(I'm not exaggerating! We were wet for half the day!!)

In front of Sleeping Beauty's castle.
(This was my hairstyle the rest of the day because of Splash Mountain)

Joshua in front of the Indiana Jones temple.
We rode the "Indiana Jones Adventure" ride 4 times. Really fun!

The Haunted Mansion
(and still wet from Splash Mountain!)

Trying to escape from jail in Mickey's Toon Town

Inside Mickey's House in Toon Town, Joshua is singing
a song and playing a tune on the piano.

They've changed the theme on Tom Sawyer's Island to "Pirate's Lair"

Next to a treehouse on Tom Sawyer Island

On the swinging bridge in Tarzan's Treehouse

Leaving Disneyland ... sniff, sniff...
(On my head are some flashing Mickey ears that Joshua bought me for my birthday while we were waiting for the night-time "Electrical Parade. I wore them the next two nights we were at Disneyland too.)

DAY 1 in HAWAII

ARRIVING IN OAHU, HAWAII

Because of the time difference, we gained about 3 hours as we arrived into the Honolulu airport (6 hour difference from Michigan). It was 11:00 am, and beautiful outside. The mountains, and the ocean! We loved the scenery as we flew in. As we got off the plane, right away we could tell the difference in the climate, the culture, and the laid back and carefree atmosphere. Joshua and I decided on the plane ride over that we would do our best to relax and slow down too while we were in Hawaii. It sure took a load off our minds since both of us are naturally inclined to be anxious and stressed, especially me on vacations. I had spent several months researching Oahu, and coming up with a day-by-day plan. I wanted to make sure we did everything I planned. But I promised Joshua that I would try to slow down and pace myself, and I wouldn't get discouraged if we didn't do everything on my plan.

As we were picking up our rental car, one of the employees noticed on my driver's license that I had just celebrated a birthday. She asked if we were there to celebrate my birthday. We told her yes, but also to celebrate our 15th-wedding anniversary. She was so cute in her enthusiasm for our celebrations, and offered to upgrade us to a convertible or a jeep for no extra charge. WOW! We were more than happy to take her up on the offer! We had a choice between several jeeps and a sporty convertible, but we chose the 4-door white jeep.

It was so fun driving the jeep around Oahu

WAIKIKI

We drove to Waikiki to check into our hotel, but first picked up our reserved snorkel gear at "Snorkel Bob's". We wanted to have snorkel gear with us for the week as we toured the island and explored different beaches. After getting the right googles (Josh got perscription ones) and the right size flippers, we went down the road to check into our hotel, the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel (see my blog post about it HERE). While checking in, a member of the staff told us they upgraded our room to an ocean view room, instead of a city view. WOW! We loved Hawaii so far!! Everyone was so friendly and nice. And what a nice room! I wish I had taken a picture of it, and the view from our lanai was amazing. We stood on the lanai for awhile and enjoyed the scenery. Then we decided to get some lunch.

Downstairs was a Subway restaurant. We grabbed some sandwiches and took them across the street to the beach to eat. Then we walked up and down the famed Waikiki Beach enjoying the ocean and sunny weather, watching the surfers, and admiring the beach-front hotels. What a different world we were in. We loved it!

Really close to the beach was the renowned International Marketplace. We took our time walking through this open-air shopping area. It had over 100 shops and artisan stands and is a must-see while in Waikiki.

In the evening, we watched the sunset on the horizon. It was gorgeous! We went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We ate at "Duke's Canoe Club", which was on the beach. Duke's is named after Duke Kahanamoku, the father of international surfing and Hawaii's most famous citizen. We had a rail view at the restaurant, right next to the ocean. It was perfect!

Joshua on the Kapahulu Jetty
We watched body surfers jump off the jetty and ride the waves.

Julie on Waikiki Beach
Our hotel and Diamond head in the background

We sat and watched the surfers in the water

A plaque about Waikiki Beach

The International Market Place
We snapped a photo by a cascading waterfall which was under a century old banyan tree, original home of "Don the Beachcomber" restaurant - The very first Tiki bar & restaurant

Watching the sunset on Waikiki Beach

Beautiful!

Duke's Canoe Club, on the beach

And a statue of Duke Kahanamoku himself
There were always fresh flower leis hanging on his outstretched arms
(Read a short biography on Duke HERE)

DAY 2 in HAWAII

We spent the day relaxing in Waikiki -- On the beach and the checking out the Aquarium.

HOTEL BREAKFAST

We loved the breakfast in the morning. Each day, the hotel had a huge breakfast buffet set up next to the pool. When we checked in the day before, Joshua and I were each given a nice-sized complimentary cooler-bag to put our breakfast foods in. We also had the option of checking out chairs and towels at the buffet to eat our breakfast on the beach if we wanted. Or, you could sit next to the pool at one of their tables where there was a Polynesian singer and dancer to entertain the breakfast guests. It was always the same performers each day, and one day while we were talking to them, we realized that they were a newly-married LDS couple who also worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center. They were really nice, lovely couple, and super psyched when they realized we were LDS too.

Julie with the Polynesian performers who entertained during breakfasts each morning

THE WAIKIKI AQUARIUM

After breakfast, we walked a couple blocks to the Waikiki Aquarium. We saw so many banyan trees on the way. They are everywhere in Hawaii. Josh was fascinated with them, so I took a picture of him next to the biggest one we saw. When we got to the aquarium, we decided to take their audio-tour. It was very interesting. We learned a lot about the wide variety of fish from the surrounding Hawaiian Islands.

Joshua is so tiny next to this gigantic banyan tree

LUNCH AT TIKI'S BAR AND GRILL

We walked back to the hotel and got ready for an afternoon on Waikiki Beach. Before heading for the soft sand and warm ocean, we stopped first for lunch on the second floor of the hotel to eat at "Tiki's Grill and Bar", a really fun restaurant in the hotel. We loved the tiki and Hawaiian decor. It has a retro South Pacific allure with the charm of the old tiki bars from the 1950s and ’60s. We requested a table on the balcony, which had a wonderful view of the ocean. I ordered a pina colada that came in a coconut shell. I also got a Hawaiian Salad that had pineapples in it. Joshua got some fish tacos.

Entering Tiki's Grill and Bar

Loved the virgin pina colada!

WAIKIKI BEACH AND AN OUTRIGGER CANOE RIDE

After we were done with lunch we went to the beach. I relaxed in the warm sun while Joshua jumped around in the waves. He tried to persuade me into the water too, but I enjoyed laying in the sand. I overheard a group of girls next to us talking about Michael Jackson. They were saying that they learned on their hotel television that he had died that day. Eerie and bizarre.... We had just seen his house on our Hollywood Homes Tour only six days earlier, the one he apparently died in. This incident made Joshua and I remember of another Hollywood event that took place while we were on our honeymoon fifteen years earlier -- Anyone ever hear of a little incident involving OJ Simpson? The whole thing started when we were on our honeymoon, and we were clueless to it until we got back to Texas. Anyway, that was the only thing we heard people talking about the rest of the day on the beach.

After an hour or two of soaking in the sun, we decided to try an outrigger canoe ride. It's kind of like surfing in a canoe, and it's unique to Hawaii, specifically Waikiki beach. We learned that in old Hawaii, Waikiki was the playground of the elite, and canoe surfing was a privilege reserved solely for the ali'i, or Hawaiian royalty. To this day, Waikiki beach is one of the only places in the world where you can race down a wave on an outrigger canoe. We were feeling adventurous, so we decided to try out the sport of kings. We rode two waves. The first one was the biggest and fastest -- It was amazing experience! So fun to ride the waves this way!

Going out....
(Joshua and I in the middle towards the back)

HOE KA WA'A - "Paddle the Canoe!"

Trying to catch a wave....

Caught one and riding it out!

We rode the wave to shore, as the salt water splashed in our faces

TAKE-OUT AND MICHAEL JACKSON

We went back to our hotel room in the evening to clean-up for dinner. As we were getting ready, we turned on the television to find out more information on the death of Michael Jackson. Of course, it was all over, and on every channel. We were so fascinated with it that Joshua went out and brought back some take-out dinner and we ate and watched CNN and Michael Jackson music videos for the rest of the night.

DAY 3 in HAWAII

Today we decided to explore East Oahu. There was much to see...

HANAUMA BAY

We woke up early today, grabbed some breakfast at the hotel to carry in our coolers, and headed toward Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay is a crescent-shaped bay on the south-eastern end of Oahu and the main attraction here is snorkeling.The word hana means “bay" and the word uma has several meanings, one being “curved.” One translation of Hanauma is therefore “curved bay,” certainly appropriate. A big portion of the movie "Blue Hawaii" starring Elvis Presley was filmed on the beach beside this bay. The coral reefs in the bay are clearly visible through the turquoise waters of this sunken volcanic crater and it's become a designated marine preserve. It's best to go early in the morning before the crowds arrive because the parking lot gets full quickly. We had to watch a short marine and coral reef preservation video before we were allowed to go down to the bay below.

We went down the path, found a place in the sand to put our towels, adjusted and put on our snorkel gear, and got in the water. It was my first time ever snorkeling so it took me a little while to get the hang of it, but Josh was pretty good at it, like he does it every day. He stayed with me a little while in the shallow area to help me and give me tips, but soon we were out swimming around through the coral reefs. We saw lots of fish in many varieties, some were so tame that they would hang out near us. It was an amazing experience!

When we got tired, we headed back towards the beach. We laid on our towels and took a short nap in the warm sun. That was the life!! I could've stayed at Hanauma Bay all day, but we had more sight-seeing to do today.


SPITTING CAVE OF PORTLOCK

Just a few miles away from Hanauma Bay, we drove to the town of Portlock. At the edge of the town, next to the water, there was a short path down a steep, unnervingly constant slope. We emerged from the path onto a rocky, layered cliff with an incredible view of the ocean. What a beautiful sight! The Cave of Portlock is below the layered shoreline. Each layer represents a different volcanic explosion, and the waters are clear and blue. The cave is where the ocean is constantly chiseling its way inland. We watched as the waves would be driven into the cave, which would cause the ground to tremble beneath our feet, and then water and mist would explode out for an extraordinary display.

Joshua made me nervous as he climbed down the steep layered cliff

You can see the spitting cave at the ocean's level, below Joshua on the left

The water was being driven into the cave ....

.... and water and mist exploding out!

HALONA BEACH AND HALONA BLOWHOLE

As we continued going down the highway, we came to Halona Beach and the Halona Blowhole. Just to the right of Halona Beach there was a Japanese guardian statue right next to the road that is said to preside over the dangerous waterways. Just behind this statue is very steep ridge which we walked out on and were treated to a wonderful view of the Halona Blowhole and the beach below. Though this vantage point was more distant than the dedicated blowhole lookout 500 feet up the road, this perspective shows the size of the blowhole eruptions in relation to the people on the platform above it. I was feeling a little nervous on this ridge, like a strong wind could knock us right off, but it was a pretty neat viewpoint. I didn't want to stay for long...

The film "From Here to Eternity" was filmed at the Halona Beach below. Locals call it the 'From Here to Eternity Beach'. We walked down the short, natural boulder stair-step path near the road to get to the beach. It's just a small beach and the surf was high that day so we didn't get a chance to swim. Behind the bay was a tunnel into the rock that passes under the highway. We decided to walk through it, but at the end, the tunnel was so low that we would've had to slide on our stomach to get out, so we went back.

Julie on the ridge high above the water and Halona Beach

See the the ridge we were on? Pretty high! (taken from the Halona lookout)

Water spewing from the Halona Blowhole

Walking down the staircase to Halona Beach

Joshua on Halona Beach The waves were coming in strong today

SANDY BEACH

An ultra popular beach with locals for bodysurfing. The sandy shoreline is steep and the waves have a powerful shorebreak. Anyone who isn't experienced is likely to get pile-driven into the sand. We heard that this is the only beach on the island of Oahu that has an ambulance on stand-by at the beach. It was fun to watch the bodysurfers.


KAILUA BEACH AND LANIKAI BEACH

After lunch at "Teddy's Burgers" in the town of Kailua, we spent the rest of the afternoon on two of Oahu's most beautiful beaches. First was Kailua Beach which is a 2-mile stretch of delicious sandy beach that fits nearly everyone's profile of a beautiful, tropical paradise. This beach never gets monstrous waves, so it's great for swimming. We saw many people renting kayaks on the beach to take a trip over to the off-shore islands in the distance.

Beautiful Kailua Beach

We spent even more time on Lanikai Beach. This beach was a few miles to the east of Kailua Beach, and very similar to Kailua beach in that it was also seriously dreamy -- It had a tropical look that postcards and paintings are made of. Joshua splashed around in the water for awhile while I basked in the sun. We liked this beach better because there were a lot less people. We felt like we had the beach to ourselves.

There were some seriously huge, beautiful beach homes that backed up to Laikai beach. Someone told us that the homes in Lanikai are the most expensive on the island. What a view to wake up to each day! I would take full advantage of a home like that!

Lanikai Beach had stunning blue water and two idyllic off-shore islands called Moku-lua, meaning "two islands".

DINNER & FIREWORKS CRUISE

After going back to our hotel and cleaning-up, we drove down to the Kewalo Basin in Honolulu for a 2-hour sunset dinner and fireworks cruise on the Makani Catamaran. The Makani literally means wind, and the boat has a real sleek design and ripped through the waves fast and steady. It was pretty windy that night, and both Joshua and I wished we had brought our jackets. The owner of the boat was on-board for the cruise that night and told us that no expense was spared when the boat was being built. It is top-of-the-line. He said that the carbon fiber mast alone cost $400,000.

Our dinner consisted of several kinds of tortilla wraps, spring rolls, pasta salad, and fresh baked cookies. Then, after sunset, we were treated to a fireworks display over the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach. There were trampolines on the bow that Joshua and I relaxed in after the fireworks were over and as we made our way back to the harbor. It was a nice end to our fun day.