Pavlas Family Adventures: Hawaii

Monday, January 11, 2010

New Years in Kauai

From Oahu, we took a 25 minute flight to Kauai, dubbed the "Garden Isle" of Hawaii. It has definitely earned that name...I have never seen so many shades of green in my life. Most of the scenery looked straight off of a postcard, painting or a movie. It was all so picturesque. The beaches in Kauai are very different from Oahu, and in the winter months they can can be especially dangerous. So we didn't hit the beach as much as we did in Oahu. Instead, we explored the island as best we could with a car. What we couldn't see by car (only about 20% of the island is accessible by car), we saw on a helicopter tour and boat tour. We saw some incredible things on the helicopter ride, one of which was the so called "Jurassic Park" falls that was featured in the movie. It was beautiful. We also saw parts of the Na Pali coast, which is the northern coast of the island that is all cliffs. We also decided to do some horseback riding, and much to our surprise, Adam rode his own horse! A year ago he would have been terrified, but he got up there without a second thought. We drove up to the north shore and visited one beach that looked okay, but within 20 minutes a storm started coming in and everyone took off, so we took the cue and left as well. One thing that everyone told us, if there isn't anyone on the beach, there is a good reason. Rather to be safe than sorry I guess. Shane was even able to sneak in a round of golf at the Princeville golf course, which was something that he really wanted to do. After our boat tour of the Na Pali coast, we drove up to the Waimea Canyon (dubbed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific). We had flown over it in the helicopter, but it was different viewing it from the ground. Our vacation was wonderful, and we hated to see it end, but alas, the real world was calling....

the scenery was beautiful

Adam with his horse and guide

the "Jurassic Park" falls

flying over part of the Waimea Canyon

Hanalei

waterfalls everywhere

picturesque lighthouse at the northern-most tip of Kauai

on the beach with all the lava rocks behind me

Adam playing on the beach

Shane and Adam on the boat

Na Pali coast

The captain let Adam "drive"

Adam at the Waimea Canyon lookout

Shane playing golf in Princeville

fun in our hotel pool

Christmas in Oahu

After braving the cold Sakhalin winter last year, we decided to spend Christmas in a warmer place. Hawaii was the chosen destination, as it was only a 7 hour flight from Tokyo. Actually, our flight there was just shy of 6 hours, but our return flight was a little over 9, but whatever. Neither of us had ever been, and it was definitely on our list of places we would like to go, so we booked it. My parents and brother decided to join us for part of the trip, and it was really great to see them. I didn't really get to spend that much time - quality time - with them when we were all home in August. Anyway, we all met up in Honolulu a few days before Christmas. A friend of mine in Sakhalin had recommended a really nice condo/time share hotel (Marriot Ko Olina Vacation Club) on the west coast of Oahu, and it was fantastic. The man-made lagoons were perfect for Adam to swim in without us having to worry about the currents. The weather was near perfect, with only 1 day with clouds and a few sprinkles. When we weren't laying on the beach or playing in the water, we visited other parts of the island. We went up to the North Shore to see the enormous waves, visited the Dole Plantation, went snorkeling, went to a Luau, and even went parasailing. Needless to say, we had a great time in Oahu! My only regret is that we missed out on seeing Pearl Harbor. We went, but unbeknownst to us, there are only 4000 tickets to the Arizona Memorial per day, and they were all sold out by 7:20 am....we arrived at 9. Next time, we will put it at the beginning of our trip instead of the ending....

Here are a few selected pictures from our time in Oahu...