Ko-KO-nut

Well, as it turns out, I found a post I never finished from before I left on my mission. This is part of our experience at Hawaii.  I am not going to try to finish it.  That would be too hard to remember details.
Here's what I had already written:

Hey everyone!
Um, I find myself with a very impossible task of trying to talk about our trip to Hawaii. For one thing, it was two months ago, so I don't remember everything as clearly, but also, how do you tell people about such an amazing place? How do you describe the color of the water, or the sunset, when its like nothing you've ever seen before? You can't really. True, cameras can capture images, but they can't capture what the other senses experience- those things that fill you with wonder.Wow- poetic, aren't I?Let me show you what I mean.See this sunset? Gorgeous right? But you can't even feel the perfect sand between your toes, smell the salt air, or hear Hawaii's soundtrack: the waves.
You can see what we saw- because we took pictures- but you've got to go and experience these things for yourself.So- to give you some ideas, I'll tell you what we did- and you can decide if you want to go and do them, too. Thank goodness I wrote in my journal everyday. I guess I can just pull some excerpts from it.

DAY 1- Friday 7/23
Jason Robbins dropped us off at the commuter terminal. We had a really quick flight to LA, and had a short lay over before getting on a plane to Hawaii. I sat two rows behind my family because my ticket was purchased a day or so after the others.
Karen was waiting for us at the airport when we landed. She had taken a non-stop flight from New Jersey to Hawaii.
It took a long time to get our luggage and two rental cars (a Lincoln town car and an Impala) - so we didn't get to the rental house until late. The rental house was pretty cool- lots of space. Mom and Dad had their own suite in the back of the house. Karen and I shared a queen bed with Kristen on a mat at our feet. Carl got his own queen bed, and Eric and Lora had their own room as well, of course.

DAY 2- Saturday 7/24
We went to see the USS Missouri and the Arizona memorial. We spent a lot of time wandering around the USS Missouri. Mom and Dad loved the tour they gave us, but us kids were not entertained. We explored for ourselves. The ship was like a huge maze- I definitely would have been lost if they hadn't put up arrows to point the way- but even then, I was never sure where I was heading or where I'd already been. We didn't spend much time looking at the history and stuff like mom and dad did, but we quite enjoyed running around.
We found a poker table with chips in the rec room and since we didn't have cards to play with, we invented Rock Paper Poker. It was pretty awesome.
Oh- a really cool moment for me was when we saw a spotted ray right by the ship swimming at the surface. It was only there for a moment before it started sinking deeper- so we didn't get a great picture of it- but it was the first really cool wildlife we'd seen.
When we were done with the USS Missouri we had to get back to the other side of Pearl Harbor to make the boat ride to the Arizona memorial.
I don't know what I was expecting, but I was a little disappointed by the memorial. Maybe it was because it was hard to tell what you were even looking at- all you could really see from the memorial were the parts actually sticking out of the water. But this aerial picture that my dad took is cooler than anything I saw- I don't know how he got it (its probably a picture of a picture, or a model)- but I love that you can actually see the ship.
In the afternoon we went back to the house, changed into swim suits and went in search of a good beach. We found one that was perfect, and beautiful. The sand was courser than any sand in California (which I like, because it rinses off easily) and it was a beautiful color. The water was wonderful! We actually spent the most time in the sand, though. Karen, Eric, and Lora dug two huge holes in which we buried Eric and Carl. Karen also make a cute little sand castle. I was excited to find some beautiful sand crabs- they blended in so well that you couldn't see them until they moved.
There was a really funny moment when Lora got out of her hold because there were a few crabs, and Kristen jumped into it (not knowing about the crabs). I started laughing and said, "she didn't even see the crab!" She screamed and was out of that hole faster than lightning.
Dad and Carl both got stung by a jellyfish. There were little pieces floating around in the water. Carl didn't know what it was, so he picked it out of the water, but dad never say the piece that stung him. Neither of their stings were too bad, though.

DAY 3- Sunday 7/25
I discovered my new favorite way to eat pancakes. Nutella and bananas. No syrup- it no longer appeals to me.
We drove a long scenic route to the Crouching Lion, a restaurant on the North Shore, and we stopped on the way at Pali, the windy cliffs. It was ridiculously strong wind and we were all in skirts, so it was a really interesting day, and I'm sure people saw more than they planned for. It was hilarious.

Day 4- Monday 7/26
Mom, Dad, Eric, and I hiked Diamond Head, the old volcano where the military built bunkers to defend Pearl Harbor. We went in the morning, making me get up earlier than I would have liked, but I was really glad I went, it was awesome. The hike was easy, though the 200 steps really wore everybody out. But the view was amazing (despite the clouds and light drizzle). You could see the beautiful turquoise blue waters of Waikiki that all the classic advertisements feature. (The second panorama at the beginning of this blog was from Diamond Head- but the clouds make the blues a little duller).