We landed in Honolulu, gaining 23 hours...i.e. we landed into Hawaii setting our clocks back one hour and it was the day before. It was strange to not have jetlag...and to be back in America after 13 months of being gone.
Our whole goal with stopping in Hawaii was just to relax before coming home. The first night we spent in Honolulu at a hostel right close to Waikiki Beach. My friend Carina and her husband live in Honolulu so they picked us up from the airport. They greeted us in the Hawaiian way...with flower leis.
We went out to dinner and then they dropped us off at our hostel.
The next day we spent the day walking around Waikiki Beach and reliving some memories from our honeymoon.
This is a picture of us in front of the hotel that we stayed in almost 3 years ago. We had a great time reliving some great memories.
Kim is excited because this is her first taste of "Mexican" food. She has been missing Mexican food for the last year!
Later on in the afternoon, Carina came and picked us up to take us to where we would be for the next week. We had rented an apartment for a week that was connected to a mansion on Lanikai Beach (30 mins. outside of Honolulu. (We found it on www.affordableparadise.com, where there are various apartments and houses that people rent out, often cheaper than hotel rooms.)
Here was our front door. The beach is in the distance.
Not a bad view from the backyard.
This is a photo on the inside. We had to take a photo of the first time that we had American pizza again. (Papa John's pizza with garlic sauce was missed quite a bit in the last year.)
Our plan for the week was just to relax and hang out on the beach but we did have one day full of adventures. A few days before Kim's birthday, she decided to use some birthday money that she received to rent a convertible mustang and drive around the island.
Watch out everyone! Kim has not been driving much in the last year....and this is the first time driving on the "right" side of the road!
A brief snorkel in the famous Hanauma Bay.
We stopped for lunch at this take-out restaurant that we ate at during our honeymoon. We had mahi-mahi, pulled pork, and other Hawaiian favorites.
A stop at the North Shore, famous for its surfing and big waves.
A day of fun almost over...
A beautiful sunset on the drive home.
While Kim was shopping for her birthday, Jacob looked out the shop window and thought this dog was hilarious!
Carina and her husband, Mike, came and picked us up on Saturday for another adventure. We went to visit a Buddhist temple named Byodo-In Temple.
The building was amazing and the setting was beautiful!
On the way back to Honolulu and Carina and Mike's apartment, we stopped to have some Hawaiian shave ice. It was sooooo yummy!
Carina and Mike took us to their church and then we went to Cold Stone afterwards. We had a really fun day!
Kim's special birthday coffee drink....after a year without Frappuccinos (iced coffee drinks). It tasted wonderful! (There were several times when Kim just wanted to have a coffee shop down the street....)
Kim's birthday dinner at Formaggio's, an Italian restaurant with very tasty food. What a birthday!
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