DAY 4 continued.......

Second hike of the day.....Manoa Falls

It had been raining non-stop for 2 weeks prior to us being there so it was very muddy and wet.

The trail to the falls was so amazing

Stopping for a water break

I love how they actually had steps to go up the mountain

A little waterfall on the way up to the big falls.

I don't think the picture quite does it justice. It was so pretty. I couldn't fit all of the falls into the picture. They actually don't let you swim in that pool anymore because 10 yrs ago there was a massive rock slide where 30 tons of rock fell from the top of the falls. I don't think anybody was hurt but the pool is off limits.

It was definitely worth the hike...a favorite part of our trip.

On the way back down. Not sure what I was looking at. If  you look close you can see a walking stick in my hand. This is highly recommended by the locals and coming back down we were sure glad we had them. Did I mention it was very slippery and wet.

These roots made up the stairs on this part of the path....amazing how mother nature helped form the way.

We couldn't resist when we saw this vine....when else would we have the chance to swing on a real vine in the jungle.

Looks like a pro

After the hike. So hot and sweaty. If you look close you can see the sweat stain on Antione's shirt. (sorry babe). It was very humid.

Later that night at sunset, looking at Diamond Head.

Breathtaking!!

All dressed up for dinner at House Without a Key.

View was incredible. Price was expensive. Food was disgusting. But I still recommend it to anyone. Going there to watch the sunset while listening to  Hawaiian music, and watching the beautiful Hawaiian hula dance is so fun. Just don't have dinner. They have a separate seating area, which is actually closer to the front, where you can just have drinks, desert, or puupuus (Hawaiian name for appetizers). 

This is my Aunt LaRene, my dad's older sister. We took her out to dinner here because it is one of her favorite places in Hawaii to eat.

The Hawaiian musicians and the beautiful hula dancer.

A little later...same view of Diamond Head. WOW

One of my favorite shots....Heaven on Earth!

Another beautiful hula dancer. These women are stunning.

I must say the service there was great....they make it a point to take your picture and even add the little flower on the table for a nice touch.

At the end of of a looooong wonderful day. We look stoned but I promise we are just very tired.

Sitting on the back porch just enjoying the warm night air....and each other.

Romance was in the air. I couldn't resist!

10 years!!! (well, in 2 days)

10th Anniversary-Hawaii 3-14-12, DAY 4

  We drove up to the Lion Arbitorium where they have all these beautiful native plants and flowers.

 So cool. Never seen anything like it

 This flower just says Hawaii

 We had to get some pictures with us in it.

 Does it look like Antione is holding up the hut....that's what he was going for.

 The trees were amazing

 I loved how there was so much green and then you would see pops of color from all the flowers.

 Great view of the rainforest

 This was so crazy because we went off the main path and got a little lost. I had to take a picture of Antione coming out of the thick of it so you get an idea of what it was like. Thank goodness we found the main trail again after a short while.

 Jada would love this

Weirdest plant or flower I've ever seen

This is what we were hiking up to

Kissing under a waterfall in Hawaii=PARADISE!!

Poser

Looks like an upside down red pineapple.

Love this purple flower on the water lily

We may have gotten carried away with taking pictures of the flowers but they were just so pretty! These aren't even half of them.

10th Anniversary-Hawaii 3-13-12, DAY 3

This was a beautiful view of a bay on our way to North Shore.

The Pali Cliffs

China Man's Hat

Looking down the beach when we were stopped a park.

Another view of the Pali Cliffs from the same park

All along the beaches down the North Shore, there were these great looking trees.

The roots of these trees came right up out of the ground

So beautiful

This area of Hawaii if where several movies and TV shows have been filmed....Lost, Hawaii Five O, Jurassic Park, The River just to name a few.

 I couldn't resist taking this picture of Antione who stopped to give a few pointers to this cute little boy who had Downs Syndrom....what a guy!

Another beautiful view at another beach.

Looking down the other side.....gorgeous.

What a great picture

Ugh.....not so much

And another beach

Each  one more beautiful than the next

Antione caught me off guard

These are actually some kind of pine trees, it was so interesting to see this time of tree in Hawaii, but the beach here was gorgeous none the less.

This beach was amazing! The volcanic rock looks like waves.

Same beach, different view.

The volcanic rock up close.... not easy to walk on.

Wading out in the water

One of our favorites on North Shore....Waimea Bay looking down.

Old temple ruins. So beautiful with the ocean in the background.

At the temple ruins site, this is an altar where people would leave fruit, money, leis, and even rocks wrapped in leaves as gifts to the Gods, There was also many of these things, especially rocks wrapped in leaves left around the temple site. So interesting.

A little closer up

 On the beach at Waimea Bay. Look closely to the right, that man standing there is Antione. This picture looks like a post card with the beautiful white church tower, among the green trees and the blue sky, in the background. Absolutely gorgeous!!!

Now this is what I call a vacation!!

It turned out to be a beautiful day but it was still a little too cold for me to get in the water. So I just enjoyed the sun and the sand!!

We took a walk down the beach and down at the far end was all this crap that had washed up on the shore. We were told it probably was from the Tsunami that happened last year in Japan....crazy!

I love the feeling of the sand betwixt my toes

This was a pond at the Dole plantation that had so many large gold fish in it.

They would just fight like crazy for the food when you throw it to them.

Me at the Dole Plantation (Antione didn't quite get the right angle)

See, that's a much better angle

Aboard the little train the took you around the pineapple fields at the Dole Plantation.

This is the kind of stuff we saw when on the train

Beautiful view of this resevoir at sunset. The picture below was the view off the back porch from the Manoa Valley Inn. Does it get any better than this