the final hawaii post--finally! (Part 3/3)

Thursday:
This was the first full day of no sessions/workshops for Max so we took advantage by waking up early and heading to beat the crowds at the Pearl Harbor Memorial. I was a little stressed because I had wanted to get tickets in advance and we weren't able to, so I wanted to make sure we got there in plenty of time to aboard the Arizona Tour at a decent time. We ended up having plenty of time to walk around and see the other exhibits/museums while waiting for the next available tour to start. As we walked around I remember everyone being fairly quiet...As you can imagine, there wasn't a lot of giggling and running around by anyone. It was a somber place, as it deserves to be with the weight of what happened there and everyone was paying their respects....

Waiting in line for our tour to start :)

We waited in line for our tour to start and once we were allowed in, we were ushered in to a theater where they played a short documentary about the events that happened in the Pearl Harbor Attack. Following the documentary, we were put on a ship and taken over to location of where (parts of)  the Actual USS Arizona Ship remains.

remains of the ship destroyed by the attack

One distinct thing I noticed (and realized other people were commenting on as well) was the strong smell of oil... You can see oil still leaking in this part of the water from the original ship. (Pictured below)

the entrance of the pearl harbor memorial

beautiful memorial built on top of the remains of the Arizona Ship.

Remnants of the Arizona... Sad to think of how many bodies of  US soldiers still lie under those waters

I am so happy we took the time to visit the memorial and if we ever make it back, I would love to check out the other tours offered there as well. 

Once our tour was finished however, we pretty much had the rest of the day free to do as we pleased so we hopped in our rental car and decided to explore more of the island since we were already out and about. It was nice to get out of the city of Honolulu and see what else Hawaii had to offer. We somehow ended up finding our way to Lanikai Beach. We didn't really know much about this beach or the quaint little town it falls in when we got there but we were swept away by the white sandy beaches, bright blue water, and crazy views. (After this trip, we discovered that Lanikai Beach has actually made  various rankings of the world's best beaches--and for good reason!!) We found a good place to sit and enjoy the view for quite a while before checking out the rest of the town, Kailua. The shopping was great, they had major stores, along with cute little local shops and the town was kept so beautiful and clean. We asked the locals where to go for lunch and we were pointed in the direction of Crepes No Ka Oi. I had never had a crepe before and was excited to check it out. We were happily surprised to find them being super savory and really delicious! I had a veggie crepe and Max had some meaty/cheesy/herby concoction and we both ate them up pretty quickly! 

pulling up to the beach...such a beautiful day!

a nice view if you ask me :) 

Following some more shopping , we headed back to the hotel, checked in with the kids via facetime, and then went to a stellar dinner at Duke's right on Waikiki Beach. We were able to enjoy an amazing sunset there for our last full night in Honolulu. The food was great (I finally got scallops, which I had been (and still am) craving throughout my whole pregnancy!!) but the view was even better :) 

final night sunset at Duke's on Waikiki Beach

Friday: Nothing too exciting went on other than shopping ALL. DAY. LONG. Now, if you know me, you would not think this would be an issue at all, but spending all day on my feet at 22 weeks pregnant was not exactly ideal. However, since we had to check out at our hotel at 11am and our flight didn't leave until 10pm that evening, we didn't have much of a choice. Had it been nice out, we could have laid out on the beach soaking up the last bit of sunshine before heading back to Minnesota, but it was a cloudy/rainy day so we walked the streets of downtown Honolulu, then made our way to Ala Moana Center, the largest open air shopping center in the world :) We were a little out of our league here since we walked by stores where I wouldn't have been able to afford ANYTHING in, but it was still a fun experience to check it all out. Eventually though the day went on and we did make our way back to the airport to make the long journey back home. It was a long night of flying and we arrived in Minnesota Saturday afternoon tired, but ready to see our kids!! They were also happy to see us (thankfully!!) and once we made our way back to our house, we sadly packed away our summer clothes and said hello to our winter attire once again. 

Hawaii was an adventure we will NEVER forget and we are so grateful for the opportunity to have been able to go and have a kids-free getaway before #3 joins the picture :) Thanks to everyone who helped out in any way taking care of our home, our kids, our Mickey dog, and everything else! We couldn't thank you enough!!

peace out, honolulu! --until next time!!~