To Duvall and back

We had been missing the Horne's in Washington and I had an engine/transmission to pick up there, so we braved the winter mountains and drove over. Overall the roads were ok, a little ice and snow in the Blue Mountain passes of Oregon and at Snoqualmie pass in Washington.  Coming home there was fog in Oregon, very strange driving in that! 

The Horne kids are fine, Amos is getting big and learning a lot in school.  Maggie and Audrey have dance class and loved the Olympics on TV.  Wardie is getting independent, he seems pretty easy going but does assert sometimes too. 

Pulling the engine went well with Eric's help.  The automatic transmission will make driving one car easier for the un-initiated drivers.

 

The weather was rainy and gloomy everyday, you get what
you expect sometimes.  The sun came out the next day.

Maggie, Audrey and Ward playing fairy princess.

The Grange restaurant had a nice play area and good food.

Ward mixed the business or eating with the pleasure of toys.

Amos and me with a big catch.  The car is a "72
Austin Marina, same engine and transmission
for an MG!

Eric added the brains and strength when needed.

Family Home Evening

We have FHE with the Iverson's most weeks, so we haven't been going to the empty nesters.  Liz made a new assignment chart, and we are on it!  This week Levi did the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den.  Cindy had our activity, so we each received a post-it with a name on it.  We had to ask questions until we could guess who or what we were.  It was fun, Morgan got that she was a chicken with 3 questions.

Waimea, Sunset Beach and the North Shore Big waves.

We next moved to the north, near Waimea, and stayed at the Backpackers Plantation Inn, a step down in the nicety department but a good location.  The surf was up, up so big that Eddy's Big Wave competition was cancelled and the beaches closed for swimming for two days.  Hard on us but we got in some good sun and had fun just watching.  We spent some time in Haleiwa, went to the Waimea Valley and saw the Dole Plantation on the way back to Honolulu and the airport. We had a great time, had good food and were a bit more tanned when we were done.

Big waves on the north shore.

With Randy and Patti Thompson at Sunset Beach.

Waimea Falls, a short walk into the Valley.  Nice gardens and trees.

Dole Plantation was a nice stop, not out of this world but
nice.

Sunset in Haleiwa, after dinner at Joe's.

Laie- Polynesian Cultural Center, BYU-Hawaii

We next moved to the north east coast and Laie.  Here we stayed in an ocean-side villa, the Ocean Breeze at Tiki Moon Villas.  Small and comfortable, right on a nice stretch of sandy beach with smaller waves, this was ideal for us.  Right across the highway was the Polynesian Cultural Center, a fun and interesting collection of island cultures and night show, with luau.

 

An endangered Monk seal on the beach near our villa.

Cindy on the beach in front of our villa.

 

 

 

Shrimp truck for dinner, very good but a little like the Dominican Republic too.

 

The Hawaii Temple is near the campus of BYU Hawaii.

Mural at BYU-H, the campus was small but looked like
a good place for college.

The Polynesian Cultural Center, a fine afternoon and evening.

Tongan dancers during the canoe parade.

Pearl Harbor

We had an educational and sobering visit to Pearl Harbor.  The history review and the ships were  good to see, we appreciate the sacrifice of our men and women even more.

Meg in the submarine Bowfin.

Mighty Mo, the battleship Missouri.

Hawaii Jan 11-24, 2014 Waikiki

Meg, Cindy and I had a nice winter break with two weeks on Oahu.  Meg found the direct Allegiant flights from Boise, the non-stop flights made it nice.  We started out staying near Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.  The weather was good and people watching exceptional, tourists from all over.  We visited a good high school friend and his family ( Tim Olderr) and had fun catching up. 

We climbed Diamond Head, a nice smooth trail for the views and drove around the south east island one day.  Another day we went to Pearl Harbor and then drove up the west coast to the road's end.  We had a good stop that day at Ewa Beach, no crowd at all.

Waikiki and Diamond Head

Turtle Head at Waikiki Beach

The trail.

Ready for the Diamond Head Beach.

Blow hole along the east coast.