We flew out of Travis Air Force Base just north of where we live. While waiting in the terminal, we took a little walk to the air museum there. We just saw the outside because we wanted to make sure we got back to the terminal in time.
When we flew out, we got to experience flying on a C-17 cargo plane on the way there and back. It was kind of a cool experience. It was nice being able to throw some blankets on the floor and sleep and walk around all we wanted, but it was also loud, so they gave us earplugs.
When we got to Hawaii, we stayed with some of our best friends, Tim and Sumbel, at their apartment on the BYUH campus. It was so nice to see them and their son Leo and finally meet their daughter Emily. We spent the week having fun with them. That Sunday was Stake Conference for them. We happened to be there the day our former stake president, President Meha, was released and our former bishop, Bishop Compton, was called as the first counselor of the new presidency. That was kind of neat to be there for that as well as to see a few friends at stake conference that we may not have seen otherwise.
Leo at Turtle Bay Resorts
Emily
Being in Hawaii, of course one of the first things we did was go to the beach. Adam and I took Leo while Sumbel stayed home during Emily's nap and Tim was at school. Adam and Leo spent at least a half hour throwing pods from nearby trees into a river leading into the ocean. Unfortunately, it was raining the entire time we were there, so the water was really murky (not to mention any sewage spilloff that may have occurred). Because of that, we weren't able to do the one thing we really wanted to do...snorkel :(
One of the best parts of being able to go back was attending the Laie Temple. We moved away right before the rededication after major renovations, so it was the first time we had been inside for like 3 years. As always, we had an amazing time there.
Adam and Tim decided they wanted to go on a hike in the mountains behind BYUH, so Sumbel got a babysitter and she and I had fun going to Hale Iwa, on the North Shore, to do some window shopping. Tim and Adam came home from their hike a little wet.
The last day we were there, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center with Tim, Sumbel and the kids for about half the day. We watched the canoe pageant, took a canoe ride, went to a few villages and got rained on a bit.
We were fortunate to be able to spend a little time with our friends Ramana and Aruna and their daughter Celina, who was born a couple days after we moved away, but it wasn't nearly enough time. At least we got to see them before they moved back to India in August. Here's Adam spending "quality time" with Ramana :)
Other than that, we stayed in a lot because of the raining, flooding and flash flood warnings we had the entire time. Oh, and we ate...a lot. There were a lot of things I had been craving for a while that I missed not being in Hawaii. We stopped at my favorite fruit stand on the North Shore for some guavas, papayas and a pineapple, got some malasadas from the truck at the Laie Shopping Center, got me a Ted's Bakery Dream Cake (best cake ever) for a late birthday celebration, got some mochi ice cream at the PCC, went out to eat at Leonard's at Turtle Bay, went to the Hukilau Cafe and made carne asada tacos. The only things I didn't get that I really wanted were kalua pork, lau lau and shave ice. I guess we'll just have to make another trip soon :)
Despite the rain, it was an awesome trip and we were sad when it ended. On the way home, we spent about a day and a half trying to get a flight out of Hickam Air Force Base. We finally decided just to take one that flew into San Diego and rent a car to get home. That was okay with me because we got to see my brother, Seth, for a second and visit with my mom for a couple hours before driving home.
At Hickam AFB
On our flight to San Diego
