Hawaii Anniversary Trip!
George stayed with Brian’s parents and my parents planned a camping trip in the mountains with our kids for the week. They took them to Mount Kid Campground and they had a BLAST! (Camping post coming next!)
Brian and I left at 3:30am on Saturday August 12th. Our flights were early but that also meant that we got to Oahu at 3:00pm (their time..7pm Calgary time) It was a long day of traveling!
Both flights were great. We flew to L.A first and then caught a connecting flight to Honolulu. The view was remarkable!
Immediately we were amazed by the intense amount of vegetation! The trees were so lush and dense. Everything was absolutely beautiful!
Instead of a hotel in the busy city, we rented a little studio house right on the North Shore (This was the best decision we made!) We were right accross the street from VLand beach and away from all the touristy stuff. It was heaven!
We had a pretty relaxing afternoon. We walked the beach and had THE BEST fish tacos of our lives. We were hooked!
Sunday morning we woke up and went to church. It was such a cool experience.
We found a ward that wasn't full of tourists so we could get the real deal of church in Hawaii. We realized after the 3rd “Aloha” from the pulpit that we were supposed to say it back and anytime a speaker said “Aloha” or “Goodmoring”, the entire congregation would say it back!
It was also so cool because this particular sunday was one family’s last Sunday (They said they were moving to the mainland) so after the final prayer, the family went to the front and the entire congregation sang a Hawaiian farewell song to them all in Hawaiian while standing up. They placed lays around their necks and every person stood in a line to say goodbye and give them a hug. Talk about a ward family! Cool for us to watch!
After church we passed the Dole Pinapple plantation and decided to stop in and walk around.
What a cool place! I had no clue how a pineapple grew and it did not dissapoint!
In Hawaii, there are literally chickens walking around EVERYWHERE. Its like our bunnies. Now “Hei Hei” in the movie Moana makes sense!
We tasted the very best pure pineapple juice and shared a pineapple ice cream and it was all so delish!
I had no idea that a pineapple plant will only every give you 3 pineapples its entire lifetime and that they took years to even get one fruit.
Seriously though.. look at how beautiful all the trees and plants are! And look at the tree trunks in the last picture.. they look painted but its really just the bark.
Our busy day did not stop there. We were headed to Hanauma Bay to go snorkelling but because the parking lot was full, security wouldn't let us in so we kept driving until we saw this lookout. We parked the car, got out and explored. HOLY COW, I will NEVER get tired of the ocean. We could have sat there all day long! The Lava rocks are so cool to see.
After an hour we were able to get into Hanauma Bay. I did to expect myself to struggle with snorkelling at first but I totally did. It took some getting used to breathing under the water with snorkel gear on but once I did, it was fun and really cool to see! The fish aren't scared of you at all. They swim all around you, it was amazing.
We decided to finish off the day we would take a back road around the island to get back to the north shore and even though throughout the week we made a point to travel around the entire island, this was by far my favourite drive.
Monday morning we woke up SO early, local time. The time in Hawaii is 4 hours behind Calgary time so when we were waking up at 5am local time, it really felt like we slept in until 9am. The time change was perfect for us while we were there.
We had heard of a nice hike called “Hamama Falls” from a local and decided to try it out on Monday morning. Of course, I am out of shape and was exhausted by the top of it but it was with every step with Brian by my side seeing this beautiful island!
We could not believe how humid it was. It was CRAZY! From the moment we stepped off the plane, we felt sticky. This hike was literally in the middle of the mountain. It had rained the night before and everything was super dewy.
When we got to the top there was a gorgeous waterfall with a swimming hole in it. The water was cold and fresh. What a view!
Brian even went in the falls.
On the way back down, we literally got caught in a tropical rainstorm. We hid under a large tree and watched the rain fall in what felt like buckets pouring down onto us. Such a cool experience!
We headed back to our place, stopped for lunch at the local food trucks (which were always so yummy!) and had a nap that afternoon! Seriously, a nap! lol I never thought Id see the day. It was incredible!
A few months back we had hired a photographer in Oahu to do anniversary photos for us on the beach and so we did that Monday night and I'll share those pictures in a sappy anniversary post to follow!
Tuesday was a crazy day. Our photographer told us about a hike called “Kokohead” aka. “The stairs of doom”. They were built during WWII with bunkers at the very top of the mountain. Originally a railroad track that went straight up the mountain and now people climb them for the experience and amazing view at the top. We had to try. As we climbed them, we could hear gun shots going off in the distance from a nearby shooting range. It was surreal climbing this from WWII while listening to shots being fired.
The climb is vertical. Brian was a champion.. I on the other hand, made us stop 100 times because I felt SOOOOO sick. The incline, elevation and complete exhaustion made me feel super nauseous but we were determined to get to the top!
By the time we got to the top (Over 1000 wide “stairs”) we were drenched in sweat. Our legs were Jello and collapsing was a real worry but the view was just as spectacular as we were told!
Going back down was much faster but almost more difficult. Our legs were shaking so much it was hard to keep balance. Using every last ounce of energy we had not to fall over. This one spot was almost like a bridge. Under it was a 40 foot drop (The hike is not maintained at you do it at your own risk). I cant believe Brian took a picture, terrifying!
We had a few near misses but made it down safely and checked Kokohead Stairs of doom off the list!
We passed by Pearl Harbour on our way back to our place and went in to look around. The vibe there was surreal. It almost seemed quiet and respectful. It was sad and made you feel grateful for every soldier who risked their lives and lost their lives for all of us.
We finished Tuesday off with a quiet sunset at our beach. This beach was amazing, it was never full and every time we went to watch the sunset, we were the only ones there. Talk about Paradise!!
Wednesday was a day we had been looking forward to for a few weeks leading up to our trip. We had bought tickets to the well known Polynesian Cultural Centre and were so excited to go! But first, we had to try the snorkelling at Sharks Cove because all the locals told us that was the best place to go and they were right! It was by far, the best! (Minus the part where someone literally stole my new sandals from the beach.. that walk back to the car felt like I was walking on lava barefoot)
Check out our Sharks cove adventure here...
snorkel from Brian Reed on Vimeo.
Swimming though a school of fish was unreal. It was incredible to be able to see 100 feet down into the clear blue waters and to really see and appreciate how clear and beautiful the ocean is!
We visited the Temple on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Centre and it was just beautiful.
This amazing man standing by my side truly is the love of my life and I am so happy to be married to him. He makes my world such a better place.
The Polynesian Cultural Centre was a full afternoon/ evening of fun! They kept us so busy that we were exhausted by the end of it! It was amazing to see all the cultures, all their traditions and feel apart of them for that short time.
The beginning show was all on canoe's while each culture did a traditional dance. It was INSANE hot while sitting there but the amazing pineapple drink helped!
We visited each culture from Tongan, Fijian, hawaiian to samoan and much more and they were HILARIOUS! We were laughing all afternoon!
This one guy climbing straight up a Coconut tree in probably 10 seconds was amazing. I think everyones jaws hit the floor when he did that.
At 6pm we went to our luao where they presented us with lays and had a Hawaiian dinner buffet ready to go with full dinner entertainment! We were really impressed!
We weren't aloud to take pictures or video of the night show but I snapped just a picture of the stage before it started and you can imagine how incredible the evening show was with how amazing this stage is!
Our 10 year anniversary was on Thursday! I woke up to Brian more madly in love then ever! (Sappy I know.. sorry, not sorry!) We had booked a Zip-line excursion for Thursday morning and off we went! Neither of us were nervous, just excited to zipline!
We were in a group with 6 other people, all of who were family and we had tons of fun with them. Our tour guides were awesome too which really made the whole experience that much better!
The view as you Zip-line down was fun. We were over a farm area so there were lots of banana trees and macadamia trees too. To start, we rode in big ATV’s to the top of the mountain. From there, there were 8 separate Zip-lines down the mountain some ranging to be even a kilometre long. You hooked up to one, went down it and then hooked onto the next. It took about 2 hours total.
We even got a little crazy on the last zip-line…
Check out our little Zip-line video here...
zipline from Brian Reed on Vimeo.
Wednesday afternoon was bliss. We went to Sunset beach and just played in the water. Im kinda feeling addicted to the ocean. Just swimming in it for hours with Brian was a dream come true. The water is so warm and comfortable. Not even hard to get into! I could have swam in the ocean all day.
And the best anniversary gift ever was that we saw a turtle on the beach!! My life felt complete! I wanted to see a turtle sooooo badly while we were there and we did! He was 39 years old and about 189 lbs (the officer told us)
Because we could never get enough of what felt like our own private beach and the sunset, we ended a perfect 10 year anniversary cuddled up on the white sand and watched the sun set together. (I LOVE YOU BRIAN REED!!!)
Can you spot the mini crab? There were so many of them coming out from the sand as the sun went down.
Friday was NERVE WRACKING! We had two too many fears for me to conquer that day! First was swimming with the sharks! I really didn't think I could do it but Brian makes me feel brave and safe and so we did it! The moment we got out into the ocean and saw the cage that we would be jumping into, I felt better. It looked safe enough. When the boat stopped, all the sharks started swarming the boat. It was pretty cool to see. We were in group one to jump in. There were three groups and each group got to go in for 20 minutes. We jumped in and looked down and immediately saw probably 10 sharks swimming 3 feet away from us. It was SOOO COOL!! I never once felt scared. They were Golopogus sharks so we humans are too big to eat… but obviously don't put your arm out of the cage I guess lol thats not too big for them! They were between 10 and 12 feet long and although they stayed around us the entire time, they never really seemed interested in us. It was an incredible experience and I would without a doubt do it again!
Watch our little Swimming with the Sharks video here...
Shark swim from Brian Reed on Vimeo.
After the sharks we rushed over to “Pacific Skydiving” .. yes you read that right. Brian wanted to do it so badly and I didn't want to hold him back and I knew he wouldn't do it without me (That’s not our style.. we make sacrifices and stick together!). He bought the tickets for us to do it fully knowing that there was a 70% chance that I would NEVER EVER do it. He was willing to risk it and try.
I was a NERVOUS WRECK! Even just writing this down makes me feel like I want to puke. The feeling and emotions I had were unimaginable and a truly a whole new level of fear and nerves. We each met our guide who would be hooked to us and tandem jumping with us. I honestly was such a wreck. I could hardly speak.. trying to listen to his instructions on how to jump and what to do, it was all a blur.
My guides name was Rick and he was super nice. He made me feel better when he said that he had over 3000 jumps under his belt and about 2000 of them were tandem. The plane was just a little thing.. the door stayed open the whole time. I reluctantly got on the plane (while holding my face and shutting my eyes). Sitting in the plane across from Brian I could not breath. I was trying to stay calm but felt like I was going to pass out. I started hyperventilating. Rick (being literally attached to me) could tell and started to try to distract me by showing me all the places on the island out the plane window. He told me I had to calm my breathing because if I pass out, I could break my legs when we land because it’s my job to hold my legs up as we land on the ground. It took EVERYTHING in me to try to gain even the smallest bit of control back.
Brian was nervous too but holding it together and feeling the adrenaline pumping through! Brian and his guide jumped first. I leaned back and told Rick that I physically will NOT be able to move forward or jump out of the plane. My legs were numb my heart was pounding and my palms felt like waterfalls. Rick told me that I didn't need to do anything, he grabbed my forehead and pulled my head back to his shoulder and he jumped. HOLY CRAP!!!! I had my eyes shut for most of it. I tried screaming but you're falling free fall with no shoot for 60 seconds. You jump out of the plane at 14,000 feet in the air, way above the clouds and if you open your mouth.. it dries instantly. Basically I just prayed we would make it to the ground alive. Once he pulled the shoot, things got better. It was beautiful and cool to see the ocean, the ground, the mountains from the sky. I saw Brian flying in the distance and that made me feel better too.
We made it! We landed pretty smoothly and naturally, I hugged Rick before I hugged Brian.
I mean, lets be honest here… its our 10 year anniversary and Brian’s throwing me out of a plane…. should I be taking any hints?? All kidding aside, I cannot believe we did that. I STILL cant believe we did that. That is crazy and sooooooo not like me but Brain wanted to try it so badly. When I was a little girl and was influenced by someone else and made the wrong choice, my Dad would always say “If ________ jumped out of plane, would you!?” and so if you insert Brian’s name in there Dad, then yes, I guess I would! Im glad we did it, Im glad its over and I think it will remain a once in a lifetime thing for me lol.
If you want to see the whole video of the jump, click on here... (This is mortifying for me to watch lol Humiliating and every time I watch it, It get all the nerves rushing back in)
Pacific Skydiving Oahu August 18, 2017 from Brian Reed on Vimeo.
We finished our crazy adventurous day with snorkelling again at Sharks Cove and watching the sun set at VLand beach. That could never get dull.
We were so wiped that we fell asleep at 7:30pm that night. Saturday morning was our last walk to the beach. We sat there hand in hand and watched the waves crash up onto the rocks and sand one last time. We soaked in the memories of the more amazing week together and vowed to make more time of each other, take more trips alone together and to truly appreciate each other so much more.
We packed up the little studio place, swept up a pound of sand on the floor that had made its way in throughout the week and bid farewell to the north shore until next time. We had to return our rental Jeep that afternoon and be to the airport by 6pm. We stopped one more time at “Ted’s Bakery” for breakfast and then ate our very last Shaved Ice (Canadian shaved ice is terrible compared to theirs… and I love shaved ice!).
We drove to the west point and went a little off roading in the Jeep through the volcanic rock on the beach before we needed to bring it back and although I was nervous about it, it was so much fun!
Our very last stop before returning the rental car and heading to the airport was Waikiki. We explored it and even though it was pretty.. I am SOOO thankful we did not stay in the city. I am so happy Brian booked a little place on the North Shore away from all the crowds and tourist beaches. It was perfect and just what we love.
The plane ride home felt Sooooo long! We were so excited and anxious to see the kids. Our plane departure was at 1:30am Calgary Time. We flew from Honolulu to San Fransisco and landed there at 6:30am Calgary time. We had a 3 and a half hour lay over there and then got on a connecting flight to Calgary and landing in Calgary just before 12:30pm Sunday afternoon. We were so completely tired (we only slept about 3 hours total on the flights) but we were beyond excited to see the kids and could not wait!
The second I saw them, I ran to them and immediately started crying.
I was so happy we all were safe and back together. My kids called me “Grandma” by accident and out of habit of the last week for the rest of the day.. we all got great laughs out of it.
As I think and look back to our week in paradise. I am in awe of all the hands that put together this amazing trip for us. Brian’s parents watched our dog, George and my parents took our three kids camping! This alone trip would never have happened without their willingness to do that. THANK YOU SO SO MUCHTO OUR PARENTS!!!!! We have created some pretty spectacular memories and moments that we will remember for the rest of our lives. It truly felt like a second honeymoon. Just as exciting and just as many belly butterflies! I feel so so lucky to be married to Brian. 10 years has gone so fast and I couldn't imagine my life without him! I love you Brian Reed.
Stay tuned for the sappy 10 year anniversary photoshoot and post!