Demiter 2 Plus More!: March 2015

This was the first vacation that Matt and I have taken since our honeymoon. Jim and Sharon came and watched the kids for us while we were gone for 8 days.
Matt and I agreed that we needed some time away together and we had been talking about Hawaii for the past 2 years so we finally booked our trip. I was very excited to go but also nervous about leaving the kids for an entire week.
Grandma and Grandpa survived and the kids loved spending time with them.
Matt and I had the chance to relax and recharge. We came home refreshed and ready to tackle life's responsibilities.

This is Ke Ike beach. The studio where we stayed was only 1 house back from the beach. The first few days in Hawaii were overcast and we had some rain showers. A storm came in one night which caused the waves to be huge. Every time they crashed on the beach it would cause our studio to shake.

We visited a beach called Kawela Bay and there was a huge Banyan tree there. It is supposedly a spot where part of Pirate of the Caribbean was filmed.

We took the opportunity to visit the Temple and complete an endowment session together. What a wonderful blessing to have this experience in Hawaii!

We spent an afternoon at Pearl Harbor. We took a tour on the Bowfin and the Arizona. It was very interesting to learn so much US history!

The Polynesian Cultural Center was a lot of fun. We learned about the different polynesian islands and their cultures. In the afternoon they have a canoe pageant and each island is represented.

I lost track of how many bags we ate! I think it was at least 3 bags each of the macadamis and Hawaiian chips.

Our first stop when we arrived in Hawaii was at Matsumoto for shaved ice. I made the mistake of getting the beans. We returned the next day and I declined the beans which made my experience much more enjoyable. We made quite a few trips to Matsumoto.

Another favorite in Hawaii are the shrimp trucks. We ate at 3 different trucks so we could determine which was our favorite. Kahuku famous shrimp was the best and they had the most run-down spot. It just goes to show that looks don't always matter.
We picked up fresh produce at a roadside fruit stand and we were spoiled with bananas and pineapple. What we get back home will never compare. I even tried fresh coconut water!
Fresh Ahi was purchased on the side of the road and we grilled it for dinner on 2 different nights.
At Cafe Haleiwa I had banana pancakes which were amazing. We found this spot on a website and were so glad we tried it for breakfast....twice!

A few locals told us about Laniakea which is also known as "Turtle Beach". We decided to go for an evening walk and got lucky enough to see a turtle sleeping on the beach. It definitely made Hawaiian experience complete!