Hawaii Post at Long Last

Okay, none of these pictures are in any particular order. I'm just putting some of my favorites up and I'll try to make some comments without being too boring. This first picture is of a Black Sand Beach on Maui. It was cool to look at but way too crowded. This was the first place we went to that seemed crowded. Everywhere else we went we only had to share it with one or two other families. That was very cool to feel like it was all ours.
Okay, this is Hale 3 at BYUH. This is one of my old dorm rooms. I stayed in three different dorm rooms while I was single. We got this great convertible for the whole time on Oahu and Maui because both of the car rentals gave us upgrades. The first upgrade was free and the second was $10 more a day. It was so fun to drive around both islands with the top down. When we lived on Oahu for school we didn't have a car until our last year there and it was a green honda that was literally falling apart. We never knew if it would break down or not and it was given to us by my brother to sell. So this was a real treat.
This is Hukilau Cafe. A great local restuarant that has awesome food. You would never know it's in Laie unless you lived there. Doesn't look like much but it has the best breakfast around.
This is my favorite English teacher from back in the day. His name is Mike Marler. I worked on my thesis with him and he was the greatest teacher. It was really fun to see him again after 8 years.

I love this picture. Our first day on Maui we drove up to the Haleakala Crater. It is 10,000 feet up. The drive up was awesome. You get to drive up a winding road that is green and lush and then you drive through the clouds and above them. Once you get above the clouds the landscape starts to change into this dry, barren state. It is really quite remarkable. We parked at almost the top of the crater and then hiked down into it. It was a fun and challenging hike. All downhill on the way in and then very uphill on the way back. I think we hiked for around 2 1/2 hours. The view was beautiful.
From the top of the hiking trail looking down into the crater.
Okay, this is a Nene bird. This is Hawaii's state bird. It is almost extinct. It only lives in this huge crater and there are somewhere between 250-500 of them. It is a flightless bird, lives in this barren, dry place, and survives by eating horse dung on the hiking trails. And, this bird apparently does not understand the concept of hiding for survival. For these reasons Ben and I have decided that the ultimate insult is to call someone a Nene bird. :)
Okay, this was Ben and I's favorite spot that we found through a guide book. This is the Nakalene (spelling is wrong) blowhole. This is such a cool spot on the west side of the island. No one comes to this spot apparently. You have to climb down quite a bit of rocks to get to it but once you do you can totally explore the shoreline by climbing and hiking all around the rocks and hills. This was so much fun. So this picture is of Ben pushing the limits by looking out over the edge and you can see what happens to him in the next picture!
Ha! I totall saw this coming. I could see the big set of waves coming in but I really wanted to get this picture so I didn't say anything. :) I'm not sure he could have heard me anyway. The wind was blowing and the waves crashing on the shore were both pretty loud.

A couple took this picture of us on the Black Sand Beach. I'm not crazy about any of the pictures of us but oh well. I guess I have to have proof that we were both there together.
Our third day on Maui we went horseback riding at Mendes Ranch. The ranch was fun and the guides were very friendly and talkative. However, the horses were sad and tired looking and did not listen to us at all. Ben's was the worst. It was soo slow and completely ignored him. The ride was two hours. We rode up into the hills and then back down to the shore. It was really beautiful but Ben and I both thought we don't really appreciate animals when they don't listen. Ben said he felt like he was trying to direct a two year old.
This was taken from the terrace of our hotel. I love rainbows and we got to see so many! I think they are so pretty and they make me dreamy.
Here's another rainbow while we're driving. So this is what we were looking at when I called home to check in with the girls and my mom. The first thing I hear is my mom saying, "You owe me big!" I asked why and she said, "It snowed ten inches today and I had to shovel twice already!" I told Ben, we looked out our window, and started laughing hysterically. That might have been the best moment of the trip. :) Sorry, Mom. But I am so glad I didn't have to be in the last snow storm. It was SOOO MUCH better to be in 75 degree weather in my flip flops. Hee-Hee. I do owe my Mom big though. She watched Alexis and Audrey for eight days and never once complained about them. Not that I thought she would because she is the best grandma and has lots of patience but I wouldn't have blamed her for complaining! The girls loved having her here and they had so much fun with her. I didn't worry about the girls at all. Not once. I knew they were in the best hands that I could have left them in, besides mine own. And maybe even better than my own!
I took this picture for my friend Amy. She loves to take pictures of flowers and I just knew she would love this flower. So this is just for you! Pay no attention the car wheel in the background. (I took this picture at a gas station. I am sure people thought I was nuts)

I will post some more random pictures tomorrow. This post took me a long time so I am ready for a break! I hope everyone enjoyed it! I didn't put any of my waterfall pictures on but I will tomorrow.