Friday, May 30, 2014

Multnomah Falls

Our friend Michael came to visit us over Memorial Day Weekend and we decided to head out to Multnomah Falls for a short hike.  I had been to Multnomah Falls once before but only briefly.  The Falls are fed by underground springs from Larch Mountain, there are numerous trails around the Falls that have wonderful viewpoints, waterfalls and other things to see.  There are trails for all type of hikers beginners (like us) and long rough hikes for the more experienced hikers.

Below are some photos from our hike:


Wahkeena Falls


Peace, Columbia River Gorge
Fairy Falls


These are either Ecola Falls or Weisendanger Falls.  If anyone knows post down below!




Dutchman Falls, I think?
 I actually didn't cross that log in the pics above, just faking it! Makes for some cool shots though!




Multnomah Falls


Memorial Day weekend is probably one of the busiest times at the falls, look at that traffic!! Good thing our hike was over and we were headed the other direction!

Happy Friday everyone!! Have an amazing weekend!

-Diana

**All photos were taken by my husband, John :)

Oahu, Part 3

On the last leg of our trip we visited Pearl Harbor, did a ton of snorkeling, hiked up to Diamond Head and ate frozen treats.  It was such a fun trip and I can't wait to go back!

Me and the famous Crossroads of the Pacific Sign.  Apparently back in the day all the boys in uniform would take a picture with this sign to send back home :)


Remnants of the sunken USS Arizona.  It was so interesting to see the sunken ship where it sunk in 1941.  In the picture above you see parts of the ship poking out of the water in all it's rusted glory. 

The memorial.  A ferry takes you out to the memorial that sits right above the USS Arizona.  If you stare down below you can see the ship.
The inside of the Memorial is all open and at the very end there is a room with names of the men who died aboard the ship.

Red, white and blue. Memorial from a different angle.


Snow Ice from Frost City.  When we told everyone we were going to Hawaii they raved about the Shaved Ice but I'm so glad our friend Eileen introduced us to SNOW ICE.  Hands down one of the best frozen desserts I have ever had.  They shave ice cream and pile it up like the picture you see above and garnish it with fruit, mochi and jellies.  It is AMAZING, super light, refreshing and fluffy (yes, fluffy)!  This dessert is definitely a must!!

Of course we also had to try the Shave Ice at Matsumoto.  They had a bunch of wonderful tropical flavors.  The big difference between this and a regular snowcone is you have the option to add condensed milk to it, which makes it very creamy and yummy once you get to the bottom half of it.

North Shore, I love all the rock formations

Turtle Bay Resort

North Shore

I love me some fruit!  Had to stop by the fruit stand to get some delicious goodies.

Hanauma Bay.  We stopped by to snorkel here one day, it was well worth it! Beautiful and clean but a very busy location so you definitely need to get here early to make it worthwhile.

Angry snorkel faces.  What!?

Highlight of my snorkeling experience, a TURTLE!!

We also went to a luau, it was pretty cool.  We made lei bracelets, had drinks, delicious food and watched a cool show.

Loved driving through here.

Beautiful Views.

View of the city from Diamond Head.

Diamond head.  Can you see the crater!?  Pretty cool it was formed from a volcanic eruption over 300,000 years ago.  

Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon on Waikiki

Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon on Waikiki
Aaaaaand, that's it, hope you enjoyed these!  Feels good to finally post these after almost a year!!

-Diana

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Oahu, Part 2

Part 2 of our Oahu trip.  As I mentioned in our previous post we took several drives along the oahu coast line.  There are several hikes and scenic spots along the way and the view is always so gorgeous.  Below are a few places we stopped at:

Halona Cove

Halona Cove/Blowhole - I don't have a good pic of the blowhole only a video

Makapuu Point Lighthouse, the lighthouse is not pictured, the lighthouse itself was not very impressive but the view was!

Views from Makapuu Point

Me, just enjoying the views

We stopped by Tropical Farms - Macadamia Nut Outlet, where they had tons of different flavored macadamia nuts and samples galore.  Pretty awesome and delicious.

Chinaman's Hat from a distance

Road views.

Polynesian Cultural Center.  They have the most amazing evening show there, I would definitely recommend it!

We got the evening show + buffet package, I was pretty impressed by the entrance to the large dining hall

The center is split up into different "islands", you get to experience Samoa, Tahiti, Hawaii, Fiji, and some of the other Polynesian Islands.  Each island has its own show and they teach you different things from each culture.  Above is a marriage ceremony re-enactment.

Can you spot the climber?