Hawaii: Part 2--a day of hikes

We had each kid help plan a day of this trip.  This was partially done to help my relieve my stress level, but ultimately it ended up being a great way to make sure we got a variety of types of activities.  If one day's activities and food didn't suit your tastes, then you got to make your day exactly the way you wanted it!   It honestly was brilliant and I wished I'd thought of it before earlier trips.   It took a lot of the pressure off me trying to plan things to make everyone happy and I loved that the kids were good sports and never complained if something wasn't their favorite.   We are definitely doing this again for future trips!  

 Day #2 was planned by Cami and Garrett...and I hear Lucie may have helped a little too.  It included a sunrise hike, that involved getting up well before the crack of dawn, so we figured we may as well make this our first full day in Hawaii while our bodies were still confused about what time it is.   Spending sunrise and sunset on the beach was pretty awesome!  See below for Day #2's fun:   

TUESDAY, MAY 24

• Rolled out of bed at 4:30am.  Hawaii is 4 hours behind Utah time, so it wasn't as hard as it could have been.  However, we'd awakened at 3:00am the previous morning to catch our flight to Hawaii, so we were pretty exhausted! 

• Drove to Turtle Bay Hilton and hiked to Kahuku Point  (about 1-1/2 miles or so)

• Watched the sunrise
  
  
  
  
  
  

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•  After the sun rose, we just enjoyed being on an empty beach together, even if it was filled with sharp rocks that made nervous. 
  
  
  
  
  
• A few of the kiddos discovered some tide pools and started finding all sorts of great little critters.   Adam was totally in his happy place at those tide pools! 

• After thoroughly enjoying our first taste of a Hawaiian beach all together, we headed back to house to grab some breakfast

• Drove to Diamond Head State Park -- the hike wasn't that exciting, but there were lots of stairs and spectacular views overlooking Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean at the top.

• Eat lunch at Koko’s Northshore (great pork)  and shopped for souvenirs

• Hike to Manoa Falls (1.6 miles RT, rocky trail, sometimes muddy, elevation gain, but not too bad)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Dave’s Ice Cream at Rainbow Country—we had read good reviews for this place, but were a little surprised and disappointed to find it located inside of a convenience market (hence all the liquor signs behind us). 😂 The ice cream was a little above average, but nothing special.  
  
  

• After those adventures, we headed back to the house for a bit,  packed up our dinner and had a picnic at Waimea Bay Beach Park.  We just chilled there at the beach, watched the sun set, and then watched as someone brazenly was breaking into someone's car right in front of us.  (We called the cops, but didn't confront him).  For the record, Lucie likes Hawaii!  

• After a long day of 3 hikes and watching the sun rise and set, we were happy to head back to the house for showers and a gummy worm taste test planned by Cami and Ellie
  
  
• Thanks for planning an awesome day, Garrett, Cami, and Lucie!