The Big Island of Hawaii

We woke up at 5:00 in the morning to get ready to go to the airport. We checked in, returned our rental car, and waited for our flight to leave. We arrived in Kona, quickly got our luggage and got our new rental car. Unfortunately, we discovered that the rental company we got the car from has an extra charge for drivers under 25. That was annoying, but since it was only for one day, it wasn't a big deal.
We began by going to see the temple. That was a nice place to begin and really the only reason I wanted to go to the big island. We walked around the grounds and took pictures and then went to the City of Refuge. That was a little way down the coast and was a nice drive. The City of Refuge is an old Hawaiian settlement. In early Hawaiian culture, there were certain things that you did that was punishable by death (even simple things like crossing the shadow of a ruler). But, Hawaiians were fair. They didn't want to execute their people for such little trespasses but didn't want to anger the gods. No one could be killed on holy ground and so each person could flee to a city of refuge. If they made it before they were caught, they were safe and could live for a certain amount of time in that place of refuge until their sin was forgiven and they could return to their homes. While there, we saw about 8 or 9 green sea turtles. One was basking in the sun and the others we saw swimming around.
Next, we went north to the King's Shops where we saw some petroglyphs. They weren't extremely old, just from the 19th century, but it was interesting to see. From there, we went back to the airport to wait for our flight to Maui. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go see the volcano, it was too far away.
We had an hour and a half lay-over in Honolulu before arriving in Maui. We had a reservation with Budget, but they don't allow drivers under the age of 25. Too bad they didn't mention that when I made the reservation, so we had to go back to the airport. On the ride back, I prayed for a miracle, I prayed that we could find a rental company that wasn't too expensive and didn't have the underage fee, otherwise I didn't know what we would do.
I checked Thrifty, but they had a daily charge. Kandice checked with Enterprise, but all they had was a van that would cost $90/day. We say down nearby to check our options. We were only sitting there for a few minutes when my miracle happened. Just when it seemed like we had no hope, the guy at Enterprise told us that a car had just been returned, right then. We took it, of course.
We drove to our hostel. We had to wait an hour for the attendant to come so we could get into our room. While we waited, I was having second thoughts about our hostel. Luckily, we had a private room with a lock. The people are loud, guys were too close and the bathrooms, though they locked, were co-ed. I learned another lesson for hostelling: make sure girls/guys bathrooms and bedroom are separated, at least on different floors if not in different buildings like the one on Oahu, find out more about the atmosphere if you can, and finally go internationally affiliated if you can. Luckily, that hostel was only for one night.

Last day on Oahu

Another fun day! We finally made it to Diamond head. That was a long hike, but worth it for the view of the ocean and the island. We hiked up in flip-flops (can you believe it?) That is something I would do again if I ever get a chance to come back to Hawaii.
Later that day we went para-sailing. We went out into the ocean on a boat and once we got a little ways out, we went up. We were even dipped into the ocean before being reeled back it. I really had no idea what para-sailing was all about otherwise I may not have chosen to try it. I was expecting something more exciting, more exhilarating. So, now I know, para-sailing is not for me. It is too boring, but it does give a nice view. Too bad we didn't have a camera up there with us to take pictures of what we saw.Since this was our last day on Oahu, we knew we needed to take the time to get some souvenirs. We went back to the International Marketplace and bought some jewelry. It was really nice. We saw a man there with some parrots. He conned us into letting him take some pictures of us with the parrots for some money. I guess it was worth it because we got some nice pictures that would look great on a post card. We also stopped at a store for a few last supplies before heading back to the hostel. The next day was to bring an early flight to the big island.

Hawaii Trip

So, Day 5 was a bad, good, interesting day. It began like normal, I woke up early and woke Kandice up. That is when it turned sour. We were going to the University of Hawaii-Manoa to use the Internet. While we were looking for a parking spot, Kandice hit someone. We were turning right out of a parking lot, a van waved for us to turn out. I guess a truck swerved around the van as she turned out and we hit the back end of the truck putting a gash in the front fender of our rental car. Luckily, we had paid for insurance on the car and so we didn't have to cover the costs of the damage, but they almost gave us a heart attack when we called in the accident. We had to run over to the car rental and only then did they realize that we had paid for insurance on the car. Note for anyone renting cars while on vacation, make sure to include in your expected price at least a couple hundred extra for insurance (unless your insurance covers rental cars) because it is well worth it, just in case. But, they never include that price when they give quotes online, so you'll have to figure it out yourself.
Well, to say the least, we were relieved. We stopped at Walmart on our way to the north end of the island. I bought a snorkel and a few other things. Then we went to Matsumoto's Shave Ice. This place is famous for inventing Hawaiian Ice (don't call them that in Hawaii, though). They are really big, really cheap, and really good. I would definitely recommend this grocery store as a stop if you go to the island of Oahu.
Next we went to Shark's Cove. It took a long time to get my snorkel to work properly (note to self: next time, buy a more expensive snorkel), but when I improvised a fix, we went out a little way from the shore. We got to one huge rock and discovered that it was very sharp. I got a huge gash on my left hand (which did leave a scar) and several more cuts, 14 major ones all over my body. Kandice went back in because she didn't have a snorkel. I was so cut up that I was determined to get at least one good picture (with my under-water camera) for my troubles. I took a few pictures, holding on to that rock. After a while, I noticed something out of the corner of my right eye. It startled me because I wasn't expecting anything to be there. To my surprise, it was a giant sea turtle! I fumbled with my camera, afraid that I wouldn't get it ready in time, and managed to snap off a couple shots before it was gone. I wasn't sure if I got it and was happy to find the picture to the right. It was actually closer than this picture shows. I could have literally reached out and touched it.
After that incredible experience, I stood up on the rock and called out to Kandice telling her what I had seen. There were several other people snorkeling at Shark's Cove, but like Kandice, they had lost hope of seeing anything and gone in to shore. When they heard my story, they all headed out, but it was too late. The turtle was gone. It gave me a private show for my troubles, and I was more than pleased.
There was nothing that could have beat that experience, so we rinsed off and changed before going back to the PCC. We watched the other shows we had missed the day before. We even watched an Imax movie. Then we went back to the temple and walked around. The temple is very beautiful at night, and as always, very peaceful.
All in all, it was one of the best days in Hawaii up to that point and very unlikely that anything could top it.

Day #4

Day #4 was a long, but fun day. We left our hostel a little after 7:00 in the morning and headed up toward La'ie. We stopped at the temple and were given flowers by one of the missionaries there. We looked inside the visitor's center and spent a little time there. I love that temple. It is so beautiful, but then again, I think all temples are beautiful. Even the Provo temple (which I must admit was not beautiful when I first saw it), has beauty of its own and grows on the viewer. But then again, people have always said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Next, we went to BYU-Hawaii and walked around. It is a small, but clean and beautiful campus. It is definitely smaller than I expected. We went to the book store and looked around before deciding to get some lunch. I had been told about this restaurant on the north side of the island called Taste of Paradise. We went searching for it using the address I got off the Internet. We had a hard time finding it. We passed it before we even began looking on the side of the road. Eventually we realized that we were too far and headed back. They changed the name to Island Shack, so there wasn't even a sign we could follow, but we found it. It was really good. I had grilled mahi-mahi and it was to die for. I couldn't believe it, I really felt like I had a taste of paradise in my mouth.
After that, we headed over to the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center). We took a canoe tour and watched some island shows. I love Polynesian dance, it is is beautiful to me. My favorite is Tahitian, so when we saw that show and they invited people up, I took the chance to dance on stage with the other tourists. (The picture to the left shows Kandice and I with the Tahitian dancers. The girl on the right has the typical belt that adds to the hip movement, showing how hast they are really moving them).
We wandered around a little, got free tattoos, tried some Polynesian food and some a few more shows before heading over for our dinner. The dinner was great. We had entertainment and real Hawaiian food. There was something called a Taro roll that was really good. If you've never tried taro, I would highly recommend it. They also had marinated raw fish (see right). I've liked raw fish before when I've had it, but that was disgusting. I think the texture got to me, it was different than the raw fish I had before, too slimy for my tastes. The guava cake was awesome, though. (Notice that in the picture above, my tattoo is showing. Of course I got one saying Tahiti!).
I didn't mention this, but we also got these free flower leis with our dinner/show package.
After dinner, we wandered around some more, checking out the pictures that had been taken of us and deciding not to take them, and then walking around the gift shops. I got to try blowing a conch shell for the first time. That was really cool.
Finally we went to the show. That was great, too. We were asked not to use flash photography, but Kandice's flash accidentally went off. Luckily, it gave us this great picture! I really enjoyed the Samoan fire dance.
After the show (which was called Horizons, by the way), we took more pictures. On the right you can see me making the usual Hawaii sign. We had an incredible, but long day and our day wasn't over. We headed back to Honolulu, but it was very annoying because first there was traffic, than construction, and next, a car behind us lost control and ran into the wall of the tunnel we were driving through. It really freaked Kandice out (probably because she was the one driving). All in all, it was an eventful day.

Day 3

Happy Lei Day! That's right, in Hawaii, May 1 is not May Day, it is Lei Day! From my hosteling experience in Hawaii, I have come up with a few tips, in case anyway is interested in the experience.
1. Bring small locks for all you luggage and keep the luggage to a minimum (as in one large back pack and a few smaller things you can carry)
2. Bring a larger lock for lockers in which to store stuff
3. Bring your own sheet (or sleeping bag if you want)
4. Keep things organized so you don't have to repack at every stop
5. Make sure the hostel is NOT co-ed (I almost learned that one the hard way)
6. Make sure the hostel has a security door for the night
Now, for my day. Since May 1 was a Sunday, we went to the University Branch church meeting not too far from the hostel where we were staying. We were stuck for a while afterwards because the parking lot was not large enough and many students just parked wherever they could fit in (including right behind others).
After that, we spent a little time at our hostel before heading down to the beach for Lei Day celebrations. There was an ethnic music show that was great!
It was mostly children dancing, but very enjoyable. Then we walked along the beach. It was nice to soak up some hot Hawaii sun and just enjoy the beauty of Hawaii. I'd heard before how beautiful Hawaii was, but just like sunsets, pictures can never do it justice. It's one of those things you have to experience for yourself.