Around the Island

I have a lot of things to blog about from our trip, but I've taken a little break to just enjoy time with family, and I'll catch up later :). 

My parents were really excited to show us around Ohau, and bring us to some of their favorite places. And we did just that over a couple of days. Our first stop one day was to the Dole pineapple plantation, which was in the middle of the island. 

We wandered around the pineapple maze, and found our way around the different corners. In 2008, it was named the largest maze in the guiness book of world records…fortunately we found our way out!

We took a train tour of the plantation and learned the history of the plantation, and  about the different crops grown which was everything from pineapples, bananas, sugarcane, cocoa, coffee, and tea leaves. It was a really pretty place!

The boys were excited to get air brushed tattoos, and then we all enjoyed a bowl of Dole whip - pineapple ice cream. It was a fun way to start the morning.

About 10 miles down the road, we reached the north shore. Wow, it was gorgeous with pristine beaches, beautiful turquoise water, and big waves. The views of turquoise ocean on one side and lush, green mountains on the other side was incredible. 

We first stopped at a beach that is known for seeing sea turtles, and we saw a couple of them swimming in the water.

Next we drove through one of the main towns on the north shore, Haewei, for a snack and to visit some of the shops, then had lunch at one of my parents favorite bakeries for lunch to eat delicious crab sandwiches.

We stopped at another beach park to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Every few miles was a new small beach town with a park and untouched beach access. It was incredible!

The last stop of the day was at the Valley of the Temples. Byodo temple was a replica of an actual Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, that was dedicated to the Japanese people that inhabit Hawaii.

Another day, we visited a place on the coast called the blowhole, because as the name implies, it  creates a blowhole, when water rushes in through the rocks. What was even more impressive was the bay below. We walked down the rocks and admired the beauty for a few minutes, and even say a sea turtle floating in the water.

What a beautiful place to explore and fun days!