Hawaii Part II

We are now in the Honolulu airport waiting for our flight back to Massachusetts (via San Francisco). It was a fabulous trip. It already feels like a dream. I wanted to share some more pictures in a post today and then hopefully finish tomorrow.

Friday, after George's meetings, we headed east from Waikiki to the Nuuanu Pali lookout. We could see green cliffs stretching to the beautiful, blue ocean.



We stopped for a few minutes to see the Byodo-In temple, an exact replica of a 900-year-old temple in Japan.



Next, we drove to Kualoa ranch where we had reservations for an ATV tour of the mountains. The views were breathtaking - and the ATVs were fun too! Lots of movies have been filmed in these mountains including Jurassic Park.



We finished the day with a picnic at Koala Beach, across the street from the ranch. Our view included a little island known as "Chinaman's Hat."



The next morning, we caught a quick flight to the island of Kauai where we would be staying in the town of Lihue for two nights. We grabbed some of the famous Saimin noodles for lunch before driving a few miles north to the town of Kapaa. Here, we had reservations for a kayaking trip. We kayaked a few miles up the Wailua River. Then our guide led us on a one-mile hike to Secret Falls where we took a little swim before hiking and kayaking back.



We finished the day with dinner at the cutest little place ever, called Kalapaki Beach Hut, right on the beach near Lihue.

Tomorrow, I'll post a few more from pictures from our last two days. I'll see my kids in less then 24 hours! I can't wait! (I do wish I could skip the twelve hours of flights ahead.)