Benji and I just got back from a mini vacay in Hawaii. Only 5 days... FIVE DAYS!! Thats too mini :( However, we made the best of it! We're blessed to have such great friends, Gary and Tiffany, to let us stay at their home and even use their car. Oh my, can you imagine the amount of money we saved?? I bet hotels in Hawaii costs an arm and a leg! btw, I had no idea we were going to Hawaii. Benji's such a sweetie bear!!
Anyhoo, I thought i'd share my first Hawaiian experience with you :)
Believe it or not, our friends have pet turtles! No, not the teeny tiny ones in those little glass cases, but huge, zoo lookin turtles! This guy loves veggies and fruits.
Benji actually struggled holding him. He's all "Hurry babe!!"
Gary took us to his favorite restaurant in Waikiki, , You cook your own food! Benji had steak and fish while I went with teriyaki chicken. And who knew grilled pineapple would taste so yummy! Oh, and heres benji catchin a wave ;)
This pic was taken outside our room. You can see the little turtle villa below! Btw, thanks for the lei Tiffany and Gary!
Here are a few photos at Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately the Arizona memorial was closed down due to renovation. Can't believe the ship is still down there with the whole crew :(
In the last pic, the stones each represent the submarines that were attacked or vanished during the war.
Here we are at the Dole Platation! Theres Benji attempting to "borrow" a pineapple. lol. For some odd reason, I never knew pineapples grew like this!! how odd. There was also a koi pond where you get to feed the fish. But the best part of the Dole plantation was the DOLE WHIP!! It is what it sounds like. Whipped pineapple :D I wish I could have brought this back home!
Here's Benji strutin his stuff at Turtle beach! The turtles come up on shore to sun bathe. We saw a turtle on its way but it just took forever!! so we left. lol
Matsumoto's shaved ice! Claims to be the best shaved ice on the island! Theres no comparasion to a snow cone ppl! Look, Benji's favorite actor Tom Hanks visited Matsumoto's too!
We had to experience a luau during our trip. Paradise cove seemed to be a popular one. There were many fun traditional activities. I learned how to make the flower headbands. Did you know flowers on the left side means you're taken and right means single?? The traditional dances were breathtaking! The last picture was towards the end of the night. We used all our beverage coupons. lol
On our way to the North Shore. These photos were taken in from the car. So beautiful!
At the beach. This is where I filmed my youtube vid for a meetup.
btw, Benji almost stepped on this woman's castle!!!
At Jimmy Buffett. That Nacho volcano was a hit that night! Every table had this dish!!!! Check out the background. you would have never known this was indoors with no windows! The band rocked too.
At the Macadamia nut farm! So awesome, even Obama loved it!! lol. The whole place felt soothing and relaxing. We got to crack nuts and sample all kinds of foods! Nuts, coffee, popcorn, chocolates. yummmmm.
Benji goofing around. I love the last pic!
Giovanni's shrimp truck. It was good, but not as good as I expected.
Met up with the coolest Hawaiian locals!!! Thank you Maryrose, Danielle, and Adrianna for your hot spot recommendations! We met up at Macky's shrimp truck and had a wonderful lunch. OMG the coconut shrimp was the bomb diggity!!!!
Heres a pic of Benji and I after he went boogie boarding. He said his nipples were raw afterwards. lol
Our last spot was at Zippys!! A local fast food hot spot that all Hawaiians recommended!! Benji had the Korean chicken and I had the spaghetti. Gary had some kind of yummy whatchamacallit. It was a great place to eat for our last night in Hawaii.
Thanks to Gary and Tiffany and all the locals, Benji and I had a memorable time in Hawaii. The people, the food, and the beaches... I know one day i'll be living there. Okay, i'm off to cry now.
MAHALO!!!
