Flashback Friday..

I have been thinking of this all month, but not able to post it because I was in need of the new software for my scanner so my Windows 7 would recognize it…

It all started with Macadamia Caramel Nut Clusters from Costco..  that and the fact that Merrill’s parents took a little trip to Hawaii.

I wanted to be there with them.

We went 8 years ago..  I still miss it.

We stayed on Oahu for the first three days.  They weren’t your typical laid back vacation days either.  We left Turtle Bay in the morning, and didn’t come back until bedtime.

Turtle Bay

We did find a shack on the highway (it was literally a shack) that served freshly made pizza and pasta, and shave ice..  of all things.  But it was THE BEST FOOD WE HAD THE WHOLE TRIP.

Laie Temple

(Don’t you LOVE Merrill’s shirt?  SO appropriate.)

We saw a lot of sights while we were there.

- Pearl Harbor

- The punchbowl (and Dixon would be proud..  “The solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the alter of freedom…”)

- Diamond Head

- The International Market

- Waikiki Beach

- The Dole Pineapple Plantation (mmmm…  pineapple ice cream…)

- BYU Hawaii campus

- Laie Temple

- Polynesian Cultural Center  (one of my favorite stops.)

Haleakala

We took off for Maui and stayed at the Maui Marriot Beach Club on the north shore for the rest of our vacation.  That is where we really got to kick back and enjoy the island.

This is also where the memory comes in with those nut clusters..

The first Sunday there,  we went to church (cutest babies there..  chubby, dark skinned, and black haired..  I was already baby hungry!) and then enjoyed a walk along Ka’anapali Beach.  We eventually got to the old whalers village where there are statues and stuff..  shops to look in.  Somebody discovered the Haagen Daaz ice cream shop.

Bless their soul for eternity.

They were giving out FREE samples of Macadamia nut brittle ice cream.

If I weren’t already in heaven…

We made frequent walks to the old whalers village for this ice cream.

I even paid $5.50 for a pint of it at the resort shop.

Thank heavens they had it at the Albertson’s when we got home..  that made the transition back to “real life” much, much more bearable.

The rest of the food sucked.

We even tried hiking through all the resorts to get a bite to eat at this burger joint up by the road only to discover it was a bar, and Clint was underage.  But we didn’t feel disappointed for too long.

We soon noticed a dead rat at our feet.

Johnny’s didn’t sound too great anymore.

We sent Jackie in to sweet talk Dixon into taking us to Lahina to hit up the McDonalds.

You see, we figured we were safe going there.  You go to church on the other side of the earth and it is the same there as it is here, why would Mc-E-Dee’s be any different?

It was. 

And it was awful!

We learned our lesson and bought us some groceries in town.  There was an interesting lady outside of the Safeway who was on a very important phone call.  She taught us all a few new words.

We spent most of our time on Maui on the beach.  Merrill and Clint got all into the art of body surfing.

(Merrill will probably attach me with his fake gun over this little ditty..  but I LOVE this pic!!)

We were pummeled by huge waves and got more than our share of souvenir sand in our shorts.  It was January and the waves there at that time are incredible!

But this one is my all time fav…  we were all running.

We also took turns (fought) over who got to play with Sophie and all her rolls.

We visited Haleakala, a huge crater, that took us up and above the clouds.  That was really cool. 

Before we knew it, it was time to go home.  We crammed all 11 of us (+luggage) into our 8 seater minivan and made our way to the airport…

It was a sad parting.

But we knew it would be followed by more fun.  The 2002 Winter Olympics would be coming soon, just on the other side of our mountain, practically in our back yard.

And the year 2002 went on and  blessed us more than we could have ever imagined!