Hawaii Days 5 & 6

Day 5 Monday, February 24

In case you were keeping track, this is the FIFTH day we are in Hawaii and I still haven't been swimming! We really weren't thinking correctly when we planned our trip because even though everything we have done up until now has been AWESOME, I just couldn't believe it took us that long to get to the ocean and swim!! So this day we made up for it. We rented some snorkel equipment from some place at the mall and then headed to Mauna Kea beach because we heard they had great snorkeling there but because the only access and parking is through the Mauna Kea hotel, you have to get there very early to get into the beach. We didn't get there early enough, so we went to a beach down the road called Hapuna State Beach. This was a really nice beach. The state beach didn't have any chairs or anything but if you walk up the beach a little bit you hit another hotel that had chairs set out so we hung out there all morning. We were going to try to snorkel here but as I tried to get out past the waves (it was kind of a rough morning) I realized I was too tired to have to do that. So Ryan went out and I sat on the beach and relaxed. Ryan said he saw a few fish here and there but there wasn't anything amazing. 

After the morning here, we decided to try our luck again at Mauna Kea beach (to see if anyone had left) but they hadn't so we decided to go in anyway and get lunch/check out the beach. We had a good lunch on the beach and then hung out at their beach. This really did end up being our favorite beach. Plenty of chairs, umbrellas (which =shade for Ryan), and nice sand. Ryan napped on the beach while I laid out, relaxed, and walked up and down the beach. I thought I was working on my tan, but turns out I was just working on my sunburn! Whoops... 

BEACH!! FINALLY!!!

 Ryan doing his best avoiding the sun! This is at Hapuna State Beach where we didn't have an umbrella

 Pretty sure this is the State Beach again.

After our beach time, we decided to take a drive north to the Pololu Valley lookout. This is the valley that is really close to Waipio Valley but these valleys make it so you can't really drive along the coast all the way around... It was gorgeous, lush, and green again!

 On the way back, we stopped at the side of the road for some local ice cream. Then we went and saw the original Kamehameha Statue. 

We drove back to the hotel through "Cowboy Country" on mountain roads. Here you see yet another completely unexpected sight on Hawaii. Apparently, there are a bunch of cowboys up here in "cowboy country." It was like driving through the mountains or through the woods. It was such a gorgeous drive. The rolling green hills with the horses and then the ocean in the background. Amazing. 

 We also got a great view of Mauna Kea on our way home. You can see the observatory at the top if you look really hard (those tiny white buildings up there).  Also, as we were coming down the mountains and looking out into the ocean, we could see tons of whales out there. I love how you can just look out on the water and see whales all over.

 We made it just in time for our reservation at the hotel restaurant. We ate out on the patio so we could watch the sunset. The food was really really good, the view was spectacular, and the company was great! I was one happy woman! 

We headed back to our room and got cleaned up and again, went to bed really early! 

Day 6 Tuesday, February 25

This morning we had a reservation for "Breakfast With the Whales," which is a whale watching trip where they feed you breakfast on board. I should have known better, and ate before we went because their pastries and juice was not enough for me and I ended up not feeling too great while on the boat. It was about a 2 hour ride and half way through, I was done. We didn't have the best whale watching day. We saw quite a few whales but nothing spectacular (no breaches or really close whales). They did lower a microphone down into the water and let us listen to the whales, which was a pretty neat experience. I had never heard their "songs" as they call them before. 

This was probably one of the closest whales we saw. Pretty cool.

 Ryan on the boat

After the whale watching trip we decided to go shop for a wide brimmed hat for me since I was pretty sunburned. I knew Ryan really hated getting sunburned but I didn't know how much he really loathes sunburns in general, whether it is on himself or on me. He was so concerned for me the rest of the trip. What a good (and sometimes annoying) hubby! After I got a hat for the rest of the trip, we went and hung out by the pool. We ordered lunch poolside, which was delicious, swam, read, and relaxed. It was wonderful! We also had really delicious fruit smoothies poolside. I love eating poolside! It's so relaxing! 

Me at the pool with my protective hat :D

 Ryan and his delicious smoothie

We hung out at the pool for several hours and then in the afternoon (like 4?) a lady comes up and freaks out at us that we stole her spot because they had been reserving these seats with their towels and "towel clips." These seriously had been there since we walked past the pool on our way to our whale watching. It was a little ridiculous that she thought she could just save these perfect seats all day but not be there. Anyway, she yelled at us and then left. Ryan checked with the people at the towel desk and they confirmed she is not allowed to do that. She still didn't come back after about a half an hour, but I decided we should just leave since we needed to go get ready anyway. I don't like people who yell and want to create drama. That was our crazy event of the day...

So we went back upstairs and got cleaned up and ready. We drove down the coast and had dinner at this random place I found online called Ultimate Burger. It was a pretty delicious burger. Then we headed down to the Kona Temple to do a sealing session. The Kona Temple is so gorgeous--the palm trees, the view of the ocean, etc. I'm glad we took the time to visit the temple while we were there. I like to do a sealing session for our anniversaries because it just reminds me of the covenants I made when Ryan and I were married. I think it helps me to try a little harder to be a little better. I'm so grateful for the sealing power that allows our family to be together forever.
This was basically the only night we stayed up late so we were pretty exhausted by the time the session was over. We stopped for some ice cream at DQ on the way back to the hotel and then called it a night!