ALOHA!!!!

After a long day of about twelve hours in the air and several layovers, it was so great to find Mom/Gramster cheerfully waiting for us at the baggage claim in Honolulu. My mom and I fulfilled so many of our dream, or "bucket list" items on this trip, starting by going to Hawaii in the first place! I would have loved to have gone with Rhett too, but he didn't have enough leave saved up and kindly volunteered to keep the kids going in their first week of school. The first thing we wanted to do was leave crowded and not so pretty Honolulu in our rear view mirror, so mom got out the GPS and the drive became more green, lush and beautiful the farther north we drove. We arrived at Liahe at night and went right in our "Coco Villa" at the Tiki Moon. My wish is our whole family could go there together someday and stay right there at the Tiki Moon.

One thing on my bucket list has always been to rent a red mustang convertible, soooo. We did - on the Big Island of Hawaii. The rental place gave us a great agreement and mom and I drove around the island with this great engine under us and the top down (though that is not as fun as it looks on a cool evening). Our main purpose was to take Garrett to school at BYU - Hawaii - a great school with a peaceful feeling on the campus. So here goes!!!

The Polynesian Culture Center

On Saturday we arrived right as the PCC (Polynesian Culture Center) opened, and stayed until it closed, taking in every show, custom, and dance that we could watch and learned. We beat our bamboo sticks and sang a song in FIGI, watched a warrior climb a coconut tree in Samoa, and watched the "Haaka" dance in New Zealand. Mom was totally loving every minute of the experience, and so was I! The people are absolutely gorgeous BYU students from every island in the pacific, and mom and I felt a little naughty being so giddy with half-dressed men all day. My excuse is that I'm looking for my future son-in-law. Even the students from the mainland can get jobs at the PCC as restaurant workers, boat rowers, and even dancers if they are dark enough. Garrett is actually trying out this week as a New Zealand warrior. I think this is great and I hope he learns some dances! At the very least he can put on an aloha shirt and serve at the Luaus.

Getting Garrett in school

We arrived Thursday night and Friday morning Garrett was excited to go to the BYU-H orientation and get settled in his dorm. With help with Mom's gps, we learned that the "Hukilau Cafe" used for part of the filming of Adam Sandler's "50 First Dates" was just a few blocks from the school. I was more than excited because I really like that movie, so took lots of pictures of the outside and the food. Whatever they served I would sware was authentic Hawaiin fare, because we could have spam and eggs, vienna sausage and eggs, macaroni salad and eggs, etc.

Of course even better than the Hukilau were the Laie Temple grounds. We were up early Friday morning due to time clock settings, so we walked around the grounds and made plans to go to a session. We saw students and locals coming and going.

This lovely student started the orientation by teaching a hula dance. Most of the freshman stood and just stared at her and didn't dance at all, and at the end she said "good job guys" with enthusiasm. There are about 500 - 700 entering freshman. Garrett says most are returned missionaries and many married couples. I was so proud of Garrett for jumping right into the social scene and making friends the first day. After talking with him on skype tonight, he is happy to have friends from so many different countries. The beautiful girls from Sweden and Russia also helped ease the transition. We joked that he is a "mini UN". He is assigned to Hale 4 (pronounced Hahlle) So the dorms are pretty ghetto with no air conditioning, but who cares? You're in Hawaii. His RA met us with a broken nose from a surfing accident (so he said), and all the RA's looked a little rough at first. I also worried when some jerky guys from Southern California back from a golf trip said some jerky things to Garrett. I didn't need to worry long because he is meeting the people that are like him and appreciate him for who he is. The food is cooked by Asian cooks, and Garrett says he has rice and asian food daily, with not much choice in food. Mom and I tried the food and it was not so great. Fortunately he has a good salad bar with fresh fruit.

Mom!

I was really grateful that mom agreed to let me take photos of her. To me, she photographs beautifully from every angle, and it's not easy for her to have her picture taken, so these were a gift to me!

We had all the essentials for a good breakfast in our room!

Sunrise and Moonlight in Laie

Path and view at the Tiki Moon Villas in Laie.

The Tiki Moon Villas

This was the quiet, serene, and Hawaiian feeling place we stayed in Laie across from the Polynesian Culture Center. We were so lucky that the pictures in the internet photos even come close to how pretty it was! Mom and I took walks on this beach, called "Bikini" beach each day and it was mostly deserted. Our little bungalow and the gardens were so cute, and we did all of our own cooking!

The Hilo side of the Island

On our way to Volcano National Park we stopped at Puhani beach, which is known for it's black sand and sea turtle nesting. As we stood on the sand, I spotted a sea turtle just a few yards away swimming to shore. He stuck his head and neck out of the surf and evaluated me with an ancient look, and eluded the camera! I was able to get a picture of the black sand though!

From the black sand beach we drove up in elevation to Volcanoes National Park. The Kiluea volcano and crater is still active, but no lava was erupting during our visit.

Part of the park is a rain forest with a lava tube...

Here is the steaming crater, which glows red in the evening! The next day we headed out again the two hours from our hotel to the city of Hilo, which gets rain daily, and took dozens on dozens of pictures of flowers and tropical plants. Mom did the best at photographing each plant. I'm including a few favorites, like the lobster claw plant below, and the orchid garden.

HAWAII!

Hawaii has so amazing trees! This one was in the World Botanical Garden on the big island.
The story of the two rocks in this cove is of two lovers that were protected by the goddess Pele. Everything in Hawaii has a story!

Mom and I at Ahaka falls. I think it's over 400 feet, and feel to a deep pool below. I love those waterfalls!

Our last night we went out to dinner at "Huggos" by the ocean in the city of Kona. Mom and I waited for an hour for a table at sunset, and it was a very romantic mother/daughter moment:) I had the best Mahi Mahi, and mom had the best salad! I was so grateful for getting to go to the big island and for it's unspoiled beauty and all the different climates on one island!