Day #2 - Hawaii Five-O

Our first full day in Hawaii! Amazingly, we all woke up really early - like 5:00 or something like that. Sarah felt jipped because by her calculation she went to bed at midnight Arizona time, but woke up at 5 Hawaii time. She was convinced she only got 5 hours sleep! We played that game a lot on the trip. "What time is it?" Anyway, those of us at the house sat around in our pajamas for a while looking out at the rain, starting to understand why everything is so green and the air so humid. We had been warned to expect rain every day, but it was still a little worrisome. Cereal, toast, yogurt, baloney-rito for breakfast. Everyone on their own. Waited for the hotel people to get there (Mom, Jennifer, Zack, Jeff, Jeanette, Ross). Planned to visit the Dole Plantation - we were all anxious for a Pineapple Whip. It's a dessert, not a weapon. Still had a fairly heavy misting of moisture during the drive which took us up/over (not sure) the northern part of the island past Turtle Bay resort, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and Haleewa. The plantation is, of course, inland. It would be difficult to have a plantation on the shoreline. The terrain was very different - even saw what looked like pine trees. We headed for the gift shop and each went our own way. Emma saw a cute little quilted purse that she wanted. So I went with her to find it. Once she picked one out, she put it on her arm. I noticed that she was picking up little things from the shelf and inspecting them very carefully. What are you doing? I asked. She looked up at me with all the rational thinking in the world and said, I need to buy some things to put in my purse. Although I understood completely how she was thinking, I took advantage of the moment to explain to her that she already had plenty of things to put in her purse. It was an opportunity for me to see down the road at a 15 year old Emma, shopping for a purse and all the essential items to go inside. It scared me a little. So we kept walking past all the little things a 4 yr old would want. Most of us went on the tram tour - which was kind of boring - and Jeff, Alisha, and Jillian went through the maze. We did enjoy the yummy pineapple whips. On the way home, we stopped in Haleewa for some lunch. Unbeknownst to us, it was traffic jam day in that little town. And with one road in and out of town, well, let's just say one could jog through town quicker than drive. We found a little eating place, ordered and ate outside, staring at the traffic jam on the main drag. Food was kinda nummy, but the atmosphere was wonderful. Did a little browsing, and then joined the other jammers on our way home. It's hard to get frustrated in a Hawaiian traffic jam - I mean, come on, you're in Hawaii! Again, the surf was beautiful! I'm ashamed to say I don't remember what we did when we got home, but I'm sure it involved shopping, eating, snorkeling and sleeping. We stayed up a little later that night, but we still wanted to get some sleep for Friday - big day at the PCC. Funny that it doesn't "open" until 11:00. Stay tuned for Day 3, and any other details that I forgot about Day 1 or 2. Hope you are enjoying this. And if you aren't, well, sorry...