Our family has had the chance to travel quite a bit over the last few years, so our kids are really excellent travelers. They know how to get around in airports and are generally pleasant and content even if the day is long. This trip was no different. We left early Saturday morning, flew from Salt Lake to LAX. Once we reached LAX, we had to show our id, travel plans, and vaccination cards in order to get a wristband to skip quarantine in Hawaii. Hawaii was still partially locked down for Covid-19, so we had to jump through a bunch of hoops, but it all worked out. Then we flew to Honolulu. During the flights, the boys worked on their homework and watched movies. The 5 1/2 hour flight seemed long to me, but they really handled it well.
The one who didn't have such a great flight was Jonathon. He had been feeling ill all that morning. About half-way through the Hawaii flight, he ran to the bathroom. Poor guy had to throw up on the airplane. The boys had been sick with a stomach bug the previous week, but we thought we had escaped. I guess not. Luckily, after that he felt much better and was able to go the whole rest of the flight without problems. He took it easy on his stomach the first two days there, but the bug was over fairly quickly.
After we landed, we drove to our hotel near Waikiki Beach. It was already getting late, so we just grabbed some food from the local food trucks and took it back to the hotel. Our hotel had a balcony that looked out at Diamond Head, which was really cool. We were all pretty tired, even though it wasn't that late in Hawaii, so we went to bed. We decided that we were going to try to keep with our regular sleeping schedule as much as possible since we were only going to be gone for 5 days. It actually worked really well, even though we were all up before 5 am every morning.
The next morning we got up and had breakfast out on the patio. It was a gorgeous morning, and the hotel breakfast was lovely.
It was a Sunday, which was tricky and not ideal for traveling. It was also our only day in Honolulu, so we felt like we had to do a few things, but we really wanted to make sure that we also made time for church. We were all up so early that we decided to hike Diamond Head first thing. After breakfast, we headed over the extinct volcano. You drive right into the middle of the crater and start the hike from there. It was absolutely beautiful and so lush and green. Jonathon and the older boys went ahead, while I stayed and hiked at Hyrum's pace. It was actually a really great time to talk to Hyrum and encourage him. Partway up the mountain he started asking me questions about the war that was happening in Ukraine. We talked all about Russia, Ukraine, and the history that contributed to the war. He asked lots of questions, and it was a really good discussion. We finally caught up to the other group near the top and took pictures at the overlook.
By that point, I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I didn't want to risk throwing up on the extremely narrow trail, so I headed back down while Jonathon and the boys finished the hike. They got to go through a tunnel and up a bunch of stairs that led to bunkers used by the military. They had a great time and all made it to the very top. By the time I made it back down to the park, I was feeling much better. I think the extreme humidity combined with the fear that I had caught the same stomach bug as Jonathon made me a little jumpy, but luckily, I was fine the whole rest of the trip.
We had some time before our next activity, so we went and bought some malasadas (Portuguese donuts). Our piano teacher served her mission in Hawaii, and told us we had to try them while we were there. They lived up to the billing! They were amazingly delicious! The are basically like jelly filled donuts, but the filling was so yummy. We got coconut cream and passion fruit and split them. So so tasty! We all loved them. With the little time that was left, we went down by the beach to wade in the ocean. Waikiki Beach is beautiful, warm, clear, and calm. Unfortunately, it was also very crowded. There seemed to be a lot of Spring Breakers there which meant tons of girls in skimpy swimsuits. It definitely made us uncomfortable, so we didn't spend long there.
Our last stop in Honolulu was Pearl Harbor. We got the audio tour so the boys could learn a lot while we were there. We walked through the museum and listened to all the stories and narration. Hyrum didn't like it because he said it made him sad. Then we took a boat out to see the memorial. It is a very reverent place to go. We could see the U.S.S. Arizona under the water. What an absolutely horrific tragedy Pearl Harbor was. So many men and women lost their lives so suddenly. The white wall with all of their names carved into it was a solemn reminder of that fact. It might not have been the most fun place we visited, but I am so glad that we could take our boys there to teach them important lessons from history.
After Pearl Harbor, we drove to Laie where we would be staying the rest of the week. It was about an hour drive, and we were all getting pretty tired. We arrived at our hotel around 6:00, which was bedtime for us. We grabbed some Chinese food and ate it out on the patio. Eating outside is definitely something I could get used to! Then we headed to bed.
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