How was the food?
The picture above is the answer. Pizza was one of our meals, so I was completely satisfied. There was a Round Table Pizza about a mile away from where we stayed. They don't have these in UT, so we took full advantage.
For another meal, we had some delicious, authentic ramen. We went to a huge mall in Honolulu called the Ala Moana Center. There is a little village food court called the Japanese walk which is where we had this tasty meal. Andrew and I ate every bite. (My brother in law served his mission in Japan and knows where to find the good stuff.)
My dad's colleague invited us to a fancy dinner. It was requested that we wear aloha attire. Who knew that was a thing? We had unlimited prime rib, although for most of us that just meant 1 helping. Thanks Rob, for taking one for the team and getting the meat sweats.
We had a scrumptious cherry dessert to top off our prime rib and Simon was in heaven because he got to help make the fire. It was like magic.
I can't gloss over these quotes my mom made at Mahaloha Burger. "I would come back to Hawaii just for these! These fries are the best I've ever had." My mom ordered the Parmaroni fries and clearly had no regrets. The burgers were juicy too.
Popsicle's were a staple in our freezer for the duration of the trip. I've learned that they sell these popsicles at Costco. They're called melona bars and I'm in trouble having them so close to me. There are a variety of flavors: mango, strawberry, banana, melon, coconut. I think my favorite was the banana with melon coming in a close second.
Esther had her fair share of these popsicles and the back porch was quite sticky by the time we left.
We didn't take pictures at every meal, but clearly we were starving the whole trip. Andrew got to have some seafood (and I happily declined the invitation), so I think we were all content.
What are some things you want to remember?
Andrew is a huge Jack in the Box fan and made going there a priority. After snorkeling, we had a second breakfast at Jack in the Box. We realized that all of our fries were forgotten and had to turn around. This took quite sometime. Andrew told everyone in the car that he was going to ask the employees to make him a shake for the inconvenience. Sure enough, Andrew walked out giddy with an extra order of fries (on-top of our 3) and a large shake. I didn't realize that I had been craving a shake, but it was oh so good and I was no longer upset about the long detour the turnaround caused.
We got leis at the Polynesian Cultural Center and James heard the word, "Aloha." He says "Hello Ha" and its adorable. We brought some leis home as souvenirs and he often puts one around my head while saying, "Hello Ha." One of his new favorite things to pretend to do is fly on an airplane to Hawaii.
At the PCC, we were taught the traditional New Zealand nose greeting and told to try it out with our neighbor. My dad loudly told the woman sitting next to him, "my wife is over there" and refused to do it. I can't stop laughing about this.
In the car, we had a conversation about DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and my dad made some pretty drastic statements. Basically, I think we all know what he wants if he's ever put in that situation.
See, we aren't making it up. The beach was heavenly.
Can I see some more pictures?
I didn't think you'd ask.
The timing of this trip wasn't ideal for us financially. We're trying to save up for baby girl and weren't planning on doing much (if any traveling) this year. My parents were generous and helped cover a lot of the trip. (James' airfare--he is no longer free, housing, and some meals.) We really appreciate them for making this trip possible!
In the words of my mom, "I could go on and on..." But really, what a wonderful experience we had in Hawaii. (I'll spare you from more Hawaii posts, but know that I have enough material to write a book about it.) There is talk of going to Maui next and I fully support that idea!
