Pearl Harbor & North Shore

We woke up early this morning (I'll just stop mentioning that now) and went to breakfast with Mom and Uncle Derek. From there we parted ways and meandered around downtown Honolulu before heading to Pearl Harbor. We left in plenty of time due to traffic concerns and got an earlier tour than we expected. Cha ching! You watch a 23 minute movie about the attack before boarding a boat for the U.S.S. Arizona monument. The movie was really informative and had actual footage from that day which was just amazing considering it happened in 1941. 

The monument is build over the wreckage

A warship today

Oil is still leaking from the wreckage

You can see the hull of the sunken ship

The names of those killed that morning

The flag flying about the monument 

The monument from afar

It was really cool to see the monument again now that I can really appreciate it. I'm not sure that 17 year old Jenna (that was the last time I was in Hawaii) really understood the tragedy of that day. We spent more time around the park listening to an audio tour before heading out to the North Shore.

The PERFECT Hawaiian vehicle

We've been loving life in the convertible Jeep. It is perfect for the horrendous roads of Honolulu (seriously, the roads are in terrible shape here! It is insane!).

A cup reading "Let it Snow" HA!

We stopped in at my favorite coffee chain, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on our way to the beach.

Look for this in your stocking this year, everyone ;)

We passed by the Dole Plantation so we decided to stop in. Oh my goodness this is worth doing. The pineapple ice cream admittedly doesn't sound great but it is!

Yum! Pineapple Whip with sliced pineapples?! YES, please!

Jackson mocking me.

I was unaware that pineapples didn't grow on trees!

Jackson mocking the selfie taking folks behind him. HA!!!

The view from the front of the plantation was just hideous ;)

It was a really neat place to visit

Our first out-of-state license plate!!!

We finished at the plantation and finally got on the road to the beach. We stopped in a little surf town for lunch. Jackson ate at a pig place. I chose a Cajun food truck which was superb! 

OMG. Jackson is GORGEOUS!!! 

He loves the JEEP

We stopped at a beach to see turtle but alas none were present. Bummer.

So pretty!

Larger waves

The sea was angry...

Surfers showing us how it is done

The tournament was delayed due to "lack of waves"

We watched more surfers and waders from the beach holding the tournament for a bit. Then Jackson could not take anymore and got in himself. Siiiigh.

You can barely see his head on the top left

"AHHH!"

Wipeout

Swept away

Getting ready to get slammed

SLAM!

I was amazed at how young some of the surfers were. This little guy couldn't have been more than seven and he was rocking it out there all by himself.

Starting them young

He'll be in the competition in no time!

What continues to amaze us is the landscape here. The ocean and the mountains mix so seamlessly with such gorgeous greenery. We just love it.

Lovely view, even with late afternoon clouds

The mountains kept us company on the long drive across the island

We got back from a big day of exploring and settled in for the night. Lucky for us Mom and Uncle Derek went for pizza and brought us one back. Thanks again, guys! Yum! Mom and I are going on a photo tour early tomorrow morning and Jackson is taking surfing lessons. Yes, you read that correctly. Thankfully he is fully insured. Please pray for him.