Our Week In Hawaii (Feb 2016)

On our way to Honolulu: We arrived at 2:30 am!

Our rental house on the North Shore (remember this view so you can compare it to the storm surge we experienced at the end of our stay)

Iolani Palace in Honolulu: 

This was the residence of King Kalakaua and his sister and successor, Queen Liliuokalani (who was also held prisoner here during the overthrow of the monarchy)

Receiving Room at Iolani Palace: 

Where guests would be greeted by the King and Queen

Main Staircase of Iolani Palace

 Oliver's favorite thing about the North Shore, Windmills!

Our visit wouldn't be complete without Matsumoto Shave Ice

From the North Shore looking toward the South...again notice how calm the water is!

Carson turned 10 during our stay! We ate at Joe's Seafood Grill for lunch (Carson had fish tacos, one of his favorites) then we also made tacos for dinner which was followed by a vanilla cake roll and ice cream.  During the times we made it back to our rental house, we sat on the deck watching whales play out in the water.

Dole Plantation: We wandered the grounds and rode the train out into the fields learning about the history of the plantation and how pineapples are grown.  Every tree, plant, and shrub is labeled with its name making it easy and fun to learn about what you see around you.

Beautifully colored Gum Tree

Outside the Dole Plantation

Every night on the North Shore there was a beautiful sunset.  They almost always looked similar to this photo.  One of the nights I even saw the infamous green flash!

Waimea Valley

 

Kualoa Ranch Kahaluu, HI

We decided not to do any tours this time around but this area was very beautiful!  Lots of nature tours although one of their most popular is the Hollywood tour as many movies have been filmed here from 60s Elvis movies, to Jurrasic Park, to 50 1st Dates. 

The beach outside our rental house.  As you can see the ocean is calm here and the beach and coral is all exposed.

 The last night of our stay we heard the rumbling of the waves growing progressively throughout the night.  It shook the house every time a wave would crash.  As the sun rose we got to see how big the waves had grown all due to a storm surge farther out to sea!