Why, Hello Paradise!

Hawaii...  Day 1!
Yes friends, that's right, Hawaii!!!  Friday July 13th Travis and I boarded a plane and headed to the lovely island of Oahu to join my parents, Emma, and Emma's friend Natalie who had been there since Tuesday.
After feeling slightly rushed getting to the airport we learned that our flight had been delayed an hour.  When we finally were able to get on the plane we sat on the runway watching a huge rainstorm roll in over the Oquirrh Mountains.  The wind was crazy and was rocking the plane.  The clouds were ominous and we weren't sure we'd be taking off any time soon.  The pilot came on the intercom and informed us that we would be hanging out on the runway for a bit waiting for the storm to pass.  After only about 15 minutes we were informed that the storm front had passed and we had been cleared for take-off.  Yea!
We flew to San Francisco.  Luckily our connecting flight had been delayed 2 hours, so we hadn't missed it because of the original delay.  The San Francisco was nuts and we were grateful for the shuttle that took us directly to our connecting gate.  We got on our next plane and 5 and 1/2 hours later we arrived at the Honolulu airport (11:00 p.m. Hawaii time, 3:00 a.m. Utah time).  My parents came and picked us up and whisked us away to the incredible condo in which we were staying.
We took a brief tour of our home for the week and then went straight to bed.  Got to love some jet lag, I was wide awake at 6:00 a.m. the next morning.  The only one awake.  So, I took my book and made myself comfortable on the couch out on the balcony enjoying the breeze under the palm trees and the view of the ocean.  Seriously THE most beautiful place!
My parents figured we'd be tired, so we spent the morning, Saturday July 14th, relaxing.  Our development was next to a Marriott, or Hilton, or something fancy like that, and the Disney resort Aulani.  Four private lagoons have been built for these developments.  We wondered down to our perfect lagoon and spent the day exploring the water (Travis loved the fish he found in the water), climbing on the rocks, and laying in the sun.
After awhile it was time for an adventure.  I had wanted to swim in a waterfall this trip.  My mom did some research and found there is a waterfall in Waimea Valley.  We loaded the car and took off.  We got to Waimea Valley and walked through the botannical garden.

Beautiful scenery!

Travis even torments me in Hawaii!

We've all grown to love Hibiscus because of my dad's Hibiscus at home.  These yellow ones were gorgeous.

Travis off exploring.  He found a pretty white Hibiscus bloom that he gave me.

We found a banyan tree which fascinated Travis.  He immediately climbed in and said, "Hey Sarah!  Does it look like the tree is eating me?"

Somehow he made it out in one piece.  Who knew there were Travis eating trees in Hawaii???

We started seeing these cute little birds all over.  A couple days later we learned that the are Brazilian Cardinals.

We came across a wedding, so what did the Emma, Natalie, and I do?  Well, we insisted that we watch!  Dad and Travis got tired of waiting and went ahead without us.  Mom decided to stay with us.  We crashed a wedding (from a distance).

The bridesmaids and groomsmen

The dude with the beard is the groom.

Here comes the bride!

We didn't stay for the entire ceremony.  We got bored after we had already seen everything and realized we couldn't hear anything going on. What a beautiful place for a wedding though!

Now, where's that waterfall?

There it is!  Hooray!  So pretty!

My mom and me

When we got there my dad had already been in the water.  I'm convinced the man was a fish in a past life.  He couldn't stand to wait for us.  Travis and I listened to the lifeguard's speech and then headed in.  The water was cold, so it took a minute.  But, after finding my courage somewhere I just went for it.

Emma, Natalie, and Mom didn't want to swim, so I left my camera with them.  There were several pictures of this little guy, this one was my favorite.

We made it to the other side.  Then we just had to wait for our turn with the waterfall.  I think I remember the lifeguard saying the water is 70 feet deep, so I kept pretty close to the rocks.  I love water, and I'm a good swimmer, but I understand and respect the power of water so I am cautious.

Here we are!  I didn't want to go in the waterfall because I wasn't sure I was strong enough to pull myself inside.  That water was coming crazy hard and fast.  Dad had tried earlier and got about half way.  I figured if he didn't want to try again I was safe just standing next to it.

After swimming around for a bit we made our way back to the shallow end.  That made my day!  Who doesn't want to swim in a waterfall in Hawaii?!  Hello!  Talk about the perfect Hawaiian experience.

On the way out we ran into this guy.  He did not have his big fancy tail feather, but I couldn't resiste a few pictures.  I love peacocks.

Here's a female peacock.  My theory on why the male peacocks are pretty colors with big feathers:  They just don't have the same confidence as a female.  They need the extra boost in self-esteem.

Ok, so I swore to myself I would remember the name of this tree, but in typical Sarah fashion I've forgotten.  I think it was something about cannonballs, which would make sense based on the shape of the fruit.

Here's one we found on the ground that had been cracked open.  Interesting...

This bird is rare (thus the bands around the legs) and there was a whole sign about them (we saw several all in the same area) but, once again, I've forgotten the name.

What did we need to finish off the perfect day?  Shave ice from Matsimoto's of course!  YUM!  Travis, Mom, Natalie, Emma, and Dad.  Hang loose!

I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend our first day in Hawaii.  SO HAPPY!  Prepare yourself for a gazillion more pictures.  That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I did download 250 pictures onto my computer yesterday. :)  I've started using my pictures as my souvenirs and I never want to forget the fun things I do.  So, hopefully I've documented this trip well.