Hawaii Part 2: Pearl Harbor, Koko Head, Lanikai, Lai'e

Jaime's favorite movie is "Pearl Harbor," and we're both interested in historic sites, so Pearl Harbor was a must visit on our trip. She'd been there before, but it was new to me. I have no idea what I was envisioning, but this was not it. It seemed smaller than I'd expected. It was interesting, though, to learn about the area and the history there. I'm always inspired by stories of people responding to tragedies - it's at those times that my testimony of our divine nature is strengthened. We are not merely mortals, but spiritual beings destined for something greater.

The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial is definitely the highlight of the site. 

While we were at the memorial, Jaime realized we were there with some of the Utah Jazz players. I wouldn't have even noticed them, except that they were considerably taller than everyone else.

After Pearl Harbor, we headed to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. We were riding the bus, and there wasn't one that dropped us very close to the cemetery, so we had to do a bit of walking...uphill...in the heat. It wasn't awesome, but we made it and it's a beautiful place. It's inside of a crater, so the mountain rises up on all sides. 

The next day, we went to pick up our rental car. Hallelujah! The public transportation in Honolulu is pretty good, and you can get most everywhere fairly easily, but nothing beats going straight where you want to go with no waiting and no stopping.

We headed out of Honolulu, but we first stopped to climb the Koko Head Crater. Thomas recommended this hike to me, so we put it on the list. I had no idea it was nearly vertical! It was really hot that day and the trail is in full sun, but we just laughed and went for it. The trail is stair-like, with railroad ties as steps.

It was a tough climb. We stopped several times to rest and rehydrate.

One section of the trail is a bridge, so you're walking on ties with nothing backing them - just the abyss. There were children on this trail. People are nuts!

1,048 steps later...the payoff was huge! This was probably my favorite hike because it wasn't too crowded and the views were out-of-this-world. Seriously, I've never seen anything so beautiful.

We found a spot to rest and we didn't move from that spot for a good half hour. I wanted to milk that view as long as possible.

The summit overlooks another crater...and the end of the world.

We finally started back, and it's possible that the way down was just as bad as the way up. Up was tough just because of the exertion required to ascend that quickly. Down was tough because of the balance and agility required to descend that quickly, with nothing to hold onto. My quads were burning by the time we hit the bottom.

One of my favorite parts about this hike was that Thomas had specifically mentioned it and related it to the gospel in one of his emails. It was fun to imagine him hiking this same trail. Here's what he said about it:

"This week I have thought a lot about the work I'm doing here and how I strive to do the best I can but I feel as if I am not successful in all things. But then I remember that we are not expected to be perfect but only to do our best and to lay it all on the altar and be “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father”(Mosiah 3:19)" If we have done so, then we are where we need to be. Another thing I was thinking about was yesterday in Sunday School, we taught about repentance and I read a quote from President Spencer W. Kimball in regards to keeping the commandments that said, “First, one repents. Having gained that ground he then must live the commandments of the Lord to retain his vantage point. This is necessary to secure complete forgiveness.” When I read this I thought of when we hiked Koko Head a couple weeks ago and how difficult it was and I related that to the process of repentance and how as we got through the process of repentance we are climbing the mountain to the “vantage point” or eternal life. And I related the commandments to not roadblocks or restrictions but as the railing along the path and the cliff edge at the top and how the commandments are here not to hinder us but to help us maintain this vantage point. They protect us from falling back down to sin and spiritual death. Jesus Christ's Atonement is not a one-time admittance but infinite. If we choose to “hop the railing” because it seems more fun or a better view from outside the safety zone and fall off “cliffs” or slide down the mountain, we can repent. If we go through those simple steps of repentance; Recognize, Feel sorrow, Stop, Confess, Make Right, Forgive others, and Keep the Commandments, we can again climb the mountain back to that “vantage point” and learn as we do so. I have fallen many times when I have gone over the “railing” but have never been denied the opportunity to once again put in the work and climb once again to the top. I know that it is only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again."

We had lunch nearby and tried some mochi ice cream, which are ice cream balls covered in a sticky rice dough. They were not good. The ice cream inside was pretty hard but then the outside was super chewy. It was really weird.

From there, we headed up the windward side of the island, our final destination being Lai'e. I loved this side of the island. During our time on O'ahu, I decided if I were to live there, I'd live in Kailua. It's a good size town, close enough to the city but not as crowded. And the dramatic green-covered cliffs were breathtaking.

We stopped at Lanikai beach to soak in the....clouds for a while.

On our way to Lai'e, we stopped at North Shore tacos, one of the restaurants Thomas had recommended to me. I found out later that it was right across the street from the apartment he'd lived in while serving in the area. It was so fun to see his area and imagine him walking the streets, sticking out like the white giant he is.

We met up with Jaime's friend Megan Goodman in Lai'e but not before we gave ourselves a little tour of the town - the temple is definitely the highlight! I didn't realize we were close to it, until it was right there on the hill! It brought to mind the verse from Matthew, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Hawaii Part 1: Waikiki, Manoa Falls, Diamond Head, Ala Moana

When setting my new year's resolutions this year, I realized I was only three states away from having visited all fifty of the United States. I set a goal to hit the remaining three before I turned thirty in November. Originally, Hawaii was going to be the crowning jewel - a trip spanning my birthday and Jaime's. It ended up making more sense, though, to go in October when I had more time off from work.

One day in the spring, I was at work and got an email from a Hawaii newsletter I'd subscribed to, alerting me of a flash sale from United - flights to Hawaii out of Cincinnati and Salt Lake City for less than $400! I put our dates in, bracing myself for a price increase, but the price stayed the same! I called Jaime and told her we had to buy our tickets right then. We weren't planning to buy them until late summer, so it felt very spontaneous but I wasn't about to let this deal get away from me. We bought our tickets for $375 each - about $500 less than anything I'd seen before!

The bummer part of this was that we were flying out of different places so we both had to fly alone. We were able to coordinate our arrivals to within an hour, though. We checked into where we were staying then set out to find some food. My friend Rebecca had told me about these places that had sushi on a conveyor belt, so we had to check it out. The sushi was only ok, but the experience was fun! We walked along Waikiki beach for a minute, but we were both exhausted and it was already very late at home, so we went to bed pretty early that first night.

The next morning, we got up early and headed up to Manoa Falls. It was a bit misty that morning, but the greenery was out of this world. It's amazing how almost every inch was covered in green.

We were the only ones at the falls when we arrived, so we relaxed for a bit and read on our phones. I love reading the scriptures in beautiful places God created! It makes me feel closer to the Spirit.

That afternoon, we headed over to hike Diamond Head. This hike was much more crowded - it's a tourist hot spot - and more difficult. The ascent is steeper and longer, but the views are stunning! That day I logged the highest number of steps on my pedometer that I've ever done - 26,230 steps.

The trail leads up to the point of a crater, which is right on the coast. The crater extends back inland.

We stopped at a local Hawaiian restaurant to try authentic Hawaiian food. This was the first of probably three different attempts to like Hawaiian food. Here's the deal: it's gross. We thought maybe it was just the first place, but we weren't really into any of the stuff we tried. Some of it was edible, but overall it left a lot to be desired. The picture here doesn't show it, but so many of the Hawaiian places served what they called "plate lunch," which was just some kind of meat with white rice and macaroni salad. Every time. I don't know what their obsession is with macaroni salad, but it's not even one of the top five best kinds of salad.

Food victory for the day: Leonard's bakery. We got Portuguese malasadas, which are pretty much fried bread, sometimes filled with custard or jelly, and covered in sugar. Yum.

We made our way back to our room, changed, then headed to Ala Moana beach to watch the sunset before grabbing dinner at a nearby restaurant. This place is so gorgeous. Everywhere. The beaches, the ocean, the mountains, the plants. It's nuts.