Lyon Arboretum, Byodo-In Temple, PCC

I didn't take pictures with my camera the day we arrived or our first full day because we hung around the house and took it easy for those of us (Bry, Emma, me, Ryan, Jan) who were adjusting to the time change and as a break for those who just spent a few days in Kauai (mom, dad, Pat, Snows).

Photo dump #1 (Tuesday, July 21)
The arboretum was one of my very favorite places to visit. I absolutely loved it (with the exception of the mosquito swarm we encountered towards the end).

Arboretum

Weird roots

More weird roots

This blue ball (and others exactly like it) turned out to be an omen of the mosquito swarm ahead that ate us up and followed us part of the way back down the trail. I ended up with 15+ bites from that nasty encounter. Evil, evil mosquitos.

Tree frog! Can you see it?

On-the-road scenery

Byodo-In Temple

At first Landon was unsure about this experience of ringing the gong.

Then he realized it made an awesome sound.

Haha - Emma's face. Oh, baby.

Black swan which I didn't even know existed.

More On-the-Road Scenery

I love the ocean.

Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC)

One of the signs for a part of the PCC representing Aotearoa.
I hadn't realized how big the PCC was before we went. It's BIG.

This man's name is Kap and he was such a fun performer to watch that we attended the show a second time later that week.

He also happened to have crazy huge muscles.

Husking (is that the right word?) a coconut. He was done so fast.
He continued on to turn the coconut meat (?) into milk. It was amazing.

See that guy up there? He went up even further, practically to the top. Amazing.

Dinner show at PCC - Tahitians. Woot!

Hawai'i is BEAUTIFUL

I haven't been to Hawai'i in over 15 years and didn't remember much. Going back was so great and I absolutely loved the week we had there even with getting mosquito bites on my arms and legs and a really bad sunburn across my back and shoulders. It was wonderful.

Bry, Emma and I flew into Honolulu where we stayed in a house with members of my family (mom, dad, brother, sister & family, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jan). It was so nice to be together in a house so that we could commune together in different rooms. Also, the property was touching beach which we could see and go to. Beautiful.

I took 800 pictures and was extremely pleased that my camera battery lasted until the last day of the trip since I forgot to bring the battery charger. Clearly, I won't be posting all of the pictures I took but I'll be posting a lot and section them by day(s). Pictures will be posted soon (really this time since they're already on my computer).

House pictures

Here are just a few pictures. I should have gotten the outside and the bedrooms but this is what you get. Ha. Hopefully some day I'll get everything organized and then you'll get better photos. I should also get some of the front sometime soon.

Opening the front door for the first time as a homeowner.

Entry: Living room, dining room.

Stairs and hallway by the entry.

Through the dining room is the kitchen, nook and family room.

Photo of the nook and kitchen taken from the family room.

Half bathroom downstairs.

Garage

Master bedroom has 2 medium walk-in closets (door to 1 pictured).

Master bathroom is a 5-piece with the tub left of the sinks and shower and toilet to the right through a door.

We made sure to move in the most important thing first. ;)