Friday, August 29, 2008

Alo-------ha!

Nathaniel has been dying to take me to Hawaii because it has always been one of my dream destinations. This summer, he made that dream come true! We got back about a week ago from our Hawaiian paradise. We had the time of our lives! Here are some pictures of our stay...
We stayed on Oahu in Waikiki at the Moana Surfrider, Westin Resort. This place opened in 1901! Nathaniel and I are suckers for old architecture, we can't get enough of it (many of you may remember that Nathaniel proposed to me at a gorgeous pre civil war plantation home in Louisiana). So, the second we saw this place, we knew it was where we wanted to have our stay. You can't really tell from this picture, but there are wooden rocking chairs lined up within the Veranda. We occasionally enjoyed sitting in these rocking chairs to relax and people watch, Waikiki is certainly home to some characters :)
Our mornings were filled with tourist attractions but our afternoons were spent on the beach located just outside the back coutyard of the hotel. That large green blob in the picture that looks like several trees is only one tree, the famous Moana Banyan tree to be exact.
We frequently dined (or just drank Pina Coladas and Strawberry Daqcuiris!!), and enjoyed live Hawaiian music beneath this tree. The atmosphere was magical!
Nathaniel and I each received a lei upon our entry into the hotel, it was very exciting.
We went to the Dole Plantation...
And had pineapple ice cream!
Nathaniel really likes pineapple.
I enjoyed the fish.
We rode the pineapple express and enjoyed beautiful views of the agriculture. Honestly, the Dole Plantation is on my most gorgeous sight seeing list. The views were breath taking!!
We toured the Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States. We love that old architecture!
We hiked to a few different waterfalls.
We visited the Laie temple (it's pretty far behind us in this picture), which really looked like something out of the Book of Mormon.
We went horseback riding up a mountain...
To here!
We were driving and happened upon this beautiful ocean view, which isn't hard to do in Hawaii, I couldn't resist the photo op!
We visited the USS Arizona memorial and Pearl Harbor, a very humbling experience.
We experienced the Polynesian Cultural Center!!! This turned out to be one of our most fun and entertaining events! The Polynesian people are absolutely hilarious, we were laughing the whole time. This is a photo of the canoe pageant. Each island of Polynesia had a canoe, I believe that this is Aoterroa's canoe. Aside from the canoe pageant, you could expeience each island of Polynesia within the park. Every island had their own area in which their villages were recreated, they would dance and sing and explain their culture. Following their presentation, you could taste their cooking, play thier games and such. Seriously, everyone was so funny!

Here is a picture of us at the Figi presentation.
Following the day festivities, the park held a massive luau. They gave us these leis upon our entry to the party!
More pineapple for Nathaniel! Dinner at the Luau.
Entertainment at the Luau. Following the Luau, we were led to the last of the festivities. We came to a theater with stadium seating where we viewed their production. Amazing.
This is Hanauma bay, where we snorkeled. You can see how shallow the water is and all of the coral reef beneath it. This was an experience! I had never been sorkeling before and so the first time I went under I thought I was going to suffocate!!... But I got used to it and we saw beautiful coral, fish, and even a (very poisonous) sea snake. Oh ya, that reminds me, Nathaniel saw a sea turtle in the ocean just outside our hotel when we were swimming. It was a foot away from him!
Us Snorkeling. The mask is falling off my face :) I can't figure out the face that Nathaniel is making!
More snorkel gear. We got fried at Hanauma bay, you can kinda see it on Nathaniel's feet. We are still peeling!!
We went to the sealife park. This place was gorgeous, it was not enclosed at all. The park is on the edge of the North shore, so the backdrops were natural- no walls. There were beautiful ocean views no matter where we were in the park. We saw fish, sea turtles, sea lions, and my favorite... Dolphins!
This is Nathaniel doing the dolphin swim! We both got to do this. The dolphin turned over on it's back, we held her fins, and she swam across the water! Dolphins are very fast, I had no idea.
Okay Dolphins have got to be one of the kindest animals in the world. They just seemed very happy and fun loving!
The more time Nathaniel and I are married, the more I see his love for animals. It was like being at the Sealife park with a child. The look in his eyes the whole time we were there was priceless.

Well that's it, I have highlighted our favorite memories of the trip! I am so grateful for the opportunity to have gone.













24 comments:

Lisa Payne said...

rachel! I LOVE these pictures! I'm so jealous that you guys were able to go! seriously! You're gonna have to give me more details on EVERYTHING! And next time you go to hawaii, jared and I should come too! :)

Mandy & Logan said...

Great pictures! Love the hotel! ;) We need to plan our trip with you now!

Marisa and Rob said...

Rachel!!! I love the pictures, they are beautiful!!! I'm so glad you got to go, it looks like you guys had a blast!!! :) I'm glad everything is going good for you, everything is going good here, just busy being a mom and wife and loving every minute of it!!! O'ya I went to finely to visit becky and I saw Jenny!!!! She is doing so good, I need to give you her home phone so you can call her about school, she told me that she gave you her cell phone, but she never uses that.

Also I read all 4 books of Twilight in one week and loved it!!! I'm so excited for the movie!!! :) Well I hope you have a great weekend, I better get some sleep we just go back from the Lake and I'm so tired. I will be posting a new post tomorrow before church, so check it out!!!

Marisa and Rob said...

Sorry one more thing.....I love you blog!!! you have done a great job on it!!!! :) Good Night!!!

Brooke and Mike said...

Love all the pictures! I can't wait to hear all about it. You guys look like you covered the whole island. Good Job!!! ps Awesome job on figuring out the picture uploads.

Heather said...

Rachel, love your new look and pics on your blog! You two are gorgeous.
We are SOOO jealous of your trip. Someday we will go back, it has been almost 14 years!!!! Glad you two kids had a great time.

Brad and Jamie Porter said...

Ya Ya Ya you have figure it out, I am so glad. Hawaii looks so beautiful and I am so jealous Um I miss you :)

Alissa Mott said...

I am SO jealous! You are a lucky girl! You guys look like you had so much fun and your pictures are great, you guys are such a georgous couple! We miss you!! Lets plan a date night ok? and also- a girls dinner or something so we can all get together!

Maryjane said...

RACHEL! oh my goodnesss I am so jealous of your trip! It looks like you guys had so much fun! Ty and I went over spring break and were dying to go back we should totally do an allen/bowyer family trip there!! haha anyways i cant wait to move into my new house and be pretty much neighbors with you!!!

sls said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I can't wait to go someday. I like the pictures too, they are beautiful.

Emily Moffat said...

How fun! That sounds like a dream vacation! I'm so glad you got to go Rachel. And how fun for your first trip there to be with your sweetie! I think you've struck the tropical chord in all of us--who doesn't want to go to Hawaii? :) Glad you enjoyed it!

P.S. Congrats Nathaniel on your American Idol audition! I hope you walk a little taller these days--that takes guts to do!!

Marisa and Rob said...

Hey, about the whole sewing thing.....I'm not very good, my mom had to teach me again, when I went home over labor day weeked!!! :) You should have saw me, it was so funny!!! But now I think I can do it!!! I'm glad you like the things I do in my house. I get neverous that people don't like it!!! Have a wonerderful week!!!

Joe and Maegen Cruz Family said...

Way cute blog! It looks like you guys had so much fun in Hawaii!

Kristy said...

Rachel you look so beautiful! I am so happy for you! I don't know if you heard but Robin is also married. It looks like I'm the only one left from our Sign Language class!

katielizabethawkes said...

miss rachel! i'm so glad you found me in blog-land! your pictures are beautiful....i'm quite jealous. And i love your blonde hair! how fun for you.

The Bowyer Family said...

haha i'm going to ottawa university! its a big school in kansas that has a university here! its just off of cooper and pecos! and yep i changed my major from journalism to english! i start student teaching in january too!! i just had my first student teaching interview yesterday!!

Staci said...

Just saw your blog on Emily & Jacob's sidebar & thought I would say Hi! My husband & I grew up/went to school with Nathaniel:) Glad to see things are going good & I'm JEALOUS that you guys got to go to Hawaii!

mindy said...

hey! its mindy riggs {Hermann} here... just wanted to say hi and let you know i found your blog & you two are SUCH a gorgeous couple!!!

Lisa Payne said...

oh i tagged you :)

Unknown said...

Hey! So you guessed right! This is Tresann Van Drew....soon to be Dawson! hahaha looks like you are having a lovely time! I absolutely loved hawaii when my family went! How did you find my blog?

Hiatt Family said...

Hey guys! I saw the link to your blog on Brick & Malinda's. I love all of the Hawaii pics! I'm so jealous! I'm glad you guys are doing well. It will be fun to see what you're up to.
Love,
Anjane'

Unknown said...

Really Rachel? Nothing exciting has happened since Hawaii???

I THINK NOT!!

BLOG, GIRL, BLOG!

Aileena said...

no way. Nathaniel-you kind of look like my brother in these pictures which is so funny, because I always called you brother! Its so good to see you guys so happy, and having fun. And I LOVE pineaple to. Dole Whips are the best! I could eat that for the rest of my life, and be in heaven.

Rebecca said...

Rachel!!!! It made me so happy that you posted pictures of the classroom. There is something about all the calendars and bulletin boards in k/1st grade classrooms that I just love. After looking at your pictures, I realized we need to take more pictures at Allen events! I love you!