Hawaii, Part III: Pro surfers, beach hopping and a Hawaiian rain forest

While we stayed on the North Shore, we went to the world-famous Vans Triple Crown of Surfing competition, ready to see the huge waves Hawaii is famous for in December. We were lucky enough to see some of the pros practicing on the famous Banzai Pipeline, the heaviest and most deadly wave in the world, but the 10-12-foot waves came the morning after we left. USA's Kelly Slater won the competition that morning.

BEACH HOPPING 

Clay and I agreed that our favorite day in Hawaii was the day we had no agenda and went from one beach to another. The weather was 80-degree perfection and it felt so good to soak up the sun, especially having come from blizzardy Utah and knowing that's what we'd be going back to. 

We had to go back to Turtle Bay Resort, where my dad sent us on a surprise honeymoon. I thought we were going to California until we were on our way to our hotel after our reception and my dad broke the exciting news that we were actually Hawaii-bound. It was by far the fanciest resort I've stayed in, and the breakfast buffet with a full spread of fresh tropical fruit and made-to-order omelettes was unforgettable. We decided to start saving up in hopes of staying there for our 10-year anniversary. 

We watched some people surf the waves at Turtle Bay. 

WAIMEA FALLS

Hiking was on our list of must-dos in Hawaii. We loved the scenic walk through the beautiful Hawaiian rain forest, Waimea Falls. Next time, we want to do several hikes. Four days just wasn't enough! 

HALEIWA

We loved re-visiting the quaint little town of Haleiwa, where we last visited in 2006, during our honeymoon. We ate at Thai Opal, where the owner walked up to us, shook each of our hands, then went through a list of things (like cilantro, pork, tofu, etc.) to find out what we liked and didn't like. He said, "I'll take care of you" then walked back to the kitchen to create a custom meal for us. It was fun to have the restaurant owner choose our meals for us. They were really good -- especially the cilantro-lime lettuce wraps. 

 A cool church at the edge of town

A re-take of a photo we took when we were here 7 1/2 years ago. The bench is much more dilapidated than our marriage.