Adeline stayed home in Richmond, first with Rob's parents for the first 5 days and then with my mom for the last few days. We had never been away from Adeline overnight, so we were a little anxious to leave her for so long. Luckily, our parents generously agreed to stay with her and keep her routine here in Richmond, and we knew she was in good hands.
We left early on Saturday morning with a flight to Dallas, a quick layover, and then a direct flight to Honolulu.
It was a long trip, and we didnt get to sit next to each other for the longer flight, but we were excited to get there. We arrived in Honolulu around 3:30pm local time.
We rented a car and headed to the North Shore of Oahu to Turtle Bay Resort.
It was a beautiful drive up the west side of the island.
Turtle Bay was a really nice because there were always activities going on, including snorkeling, bike rides, and music by the pool. There was also a surf competition starting during the week, so many surfers were there to practice.
This was the view from our room:
We quickly changed and got ready to eat dinner by the pool. We made it just in time for sunset!
We walked around the resort and explored a little after dinner, and then headed to bed early. We were totally exhausted!
Of course, we woke up around 5am because of the time change. Once the sun came up, we ventured out for some breakfast.
Our friends Laura and Daniel recommended this little local place called Ted's, about a 5 minute drive from Turtle Bay. We had amazing breakfast sandwiches there almost every day we were in North Shore. We took our coffee down to the beach and enjoyed watching the clouds roll away.
We spent the rest of the morning at the beach next to the resort.
Rob decided to do some snorkeling. I really wanted to join him, but the water was too cold for me!
Here's a view of the resort from the beach
Rob snorkeling
When the tide is low, you can see how much coral is out there.
We spent the afternoon at the pool.
From this view near the pool, we could watch surfers practicing for their competition
They had a fun waterslide:
Rob watched the Superbowl while standing near the pool bar. It was nice to have the game on in the early afternoon, and I got to enjoy the sun and a book while Rob watched the game. Perfect!
We had another early dinner and went to bed early!
The next day, we decided to drive to some of the nearby beaches (after breakfast at Ted's, of course!)
After lunch in Halewai, some storms rolled in. We stayed inside for most of the afternoon.
We headed back to Halewai in the evening for shopping and dinner.
While eating dinner, Courtney, (from the TV show "The Bachelor"), walked by. She got some takeout from the same restaurant and then probably headed home to catch the latest Bachelor episode! I wasnt brave enough to take a picture of the front of her.
The next morning, we said goodbye to Turtle Bay and the North Shore:
We drove down the east side of the Island towards Waikiki and Honolulu. The drive was absolutely breathtaking. This picture shows you how the road literally hugged the coast.
We stopped at various points along the way
Once we arrived near Waikiki, we stopped to see Diamond Head Crater
Next, we headed to the Kahala Resort to visit Dolphin Quest. We were given a very generous gift of a dolphin experience and we arrived a few hours early - we were so excited! The Kahala is beautiful, and we enjoyed lunch on the beach
Dolphins and Turtles live in a habitat at The Kahala, which is one of three Dolphin Quest locations. Five male dolphins live at The Kahala.
Check out these rooms on the lagoon. Wouldn't it be awesome to step out on your balcony only a couple feet from the dolphins?!
We had the amazing opportunity to meet and play with two dolphins:
Hoku
and "Noa"
We started in the shallow water with Hoku. We learned how to feed him fish, touch him gently, motion for him to do different tricks and moves, and just generally how to play with him.
Here we are feeling how he blows air out of this blow hole:
It feels like a giant sneeze!
Hoku likes to splash!
Next, we went to a deeper pool to swim and play with Noa. Noa is a little younger than Hoku, and very playful!
We were with these three young Japanese girls who did not speak English and they were very cold! They huddled together most of the time!
Here we are swimming with Noa and he is working hard to swim the same speed as us. He isn't used to swimming so slow!
Here we are motioning for Noa to swim backwards.
This was really the highlight of our trip. It was so much fun and just so amazing to interact with animals in that way. We stayed at Dolphin Quest for a long time that afternoon, just watching the dolphins play with their trainers.
The flowers at the Kahala were beautiful!
Finally, we arrived in Waikiki Beach at the Hawaii Prince Hotel; our home for the rest of the week.
Waikiki is much different than the North Shore - it's more of a city on the beach. We were on the 22nd floor of our hotel!
Here's the view from our room:
We took a walk along the beach that afternoon
I was up early the next day to walk to the convention center and hang our poster:
My boss, Matt, and I presented our poster about walking recovery after Stroke to a group of medical professionals.
We got to see some other new technology while we were there
It rained some on Wednesday, but we were inside all day anyway... plus there were tons of rainbows! I think we saw 6 in one day!
I think there was a pot of gold in that boat..........
On Thursday, while I was at the conference, Rob went to Pearl Harbor. He lives military history, so he had a great time. He even learned one detail about Pearl Harbor that he didnt already know!
This is random, but this is the best food I think I have ever had. It's called an Acai Bowl, and the bottom is filled with pureed cold Acai, which is similar to blueberries. It's topped with granola, fruit, and honey. I've tried to re-create it at home, but it just wasnt the same.
My conference ended on Friday around lunchtime, so Rob and I spent the afternoon at the beach and walking around Waikiki.
We rented one of these "aqua-cycles" and rode it in the ocean. We saw enormous sea turtles! They were literally 3 feet in diameter!
In the evening, we watched fireworks over the ocean. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful vacation!
We were sad to see our trip end, but we were VERY excited to see Adeline!
Here we are in the Honolulu airport, waiting to board our first flight.
We had layovers in LA and Charlotte, so it was a very long 16 hours until we were home. We arrived home around 9am on Sunday morning and we hadnt slept at all - we were totally exhausted but so happy to be greeted by Adeline and my mom, who made this adorable sign!
Of course I immediately dressed Adeline in her hula girl outfit. She was very happy to see us.
While we were gone, she became very independent, and has started dressing herself. Unfortunately, she also put a shirt around her ankles....
On Monday, I took the day off to recover and catch up, and Adeline got her first real haircut! She did great, and wasnt afraid at all!
We are SO glad to be home. A huge thank you to our parents, who took such great care of Adeline and our home, and made it so much easier to be away. We love you!
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