A Buddhist Temple, a Mormon Temple and Where They Filmed lost! (Day 5)

A Buddhist Temple, a Mormon Temple and Where They Filmed lost! (Day 5)

Kapena Falls

We decided to go on a short hike to see Kapena Falls where they filmed parts of the TV show “Lost”. It was NOT marked so we were the only ones up there and found such a beautiful area (thanks to that kick butt book!) Long story short, we had to “blaze” our own trail but it was so worth it and so dang fun to see where parts of “Lost” were filmed. I think we with all the mosquitoes there, our family donated at least a gallon of blood- mostly from poor Kayla! Marisa and I practiced running like the “others” were after us. It’s a good thing they didn’t cast me…

(You like the trail we are blazing?)

(Save me from the Black Smoke Monster!)

(Picture Sawyer swimming??)

Another waterfall (I cant remember the name)

Punchbowl Cemetery/Crater

We went to Punchbowl Cemetery with this AMAZING view over Honolulu! Look it up on google if you are interested, but basically it is the memorial ground for historical Hawaiian royalty and 45,000 soldiers who have died in war in the Pacific. All their names are carved out on the stones leading up to the main chapel area. Its quite beautiful!

(See the names on the walls?)

(Statue at the opening of “Hawaii 5-0”)

Byoda-In (The Buddhist Temple)

This is a scale replica of the temple at Uji, Japan that is over 900 years old. This Buddha is 18 feet tall and thought to be the largest figure carved since ancient times. We decided to go visit it in “The Valley of Temple”- I mean when will we ever chance to go visit a Buddhist temple right?

We had to ring the giant bell before entering.

Then the kids were able to light the incense by the statue as a manner of honor and respect. It was a beautiful area and neat to go show respect for another religion different from ours.

LDS Temple in Laie

Definitely one of my favorite temples!! The weather was so perfect and it’s only a couple of minutes from our house. The view from the temple goes directly out to the beach. It’s quite stunning. We also went through and enjoyed the visitors center.

(Marisa in heaven with all the Books of Mormon in many languages)

Laie Point

We took Jonathan and Diana to see the cool hole in the rock. Then we hung out at our beach, had a pot roast dinner (thank you Bob!) and played Crazy Uno while listening to the sound of crashing waves. Great day!

Storm

Aquarium, Ala Moana, Pearl Harbor, and Sunset beach

Aquarium, Ala Moana, Pearl Harbor, and Sunset beach

What a busy and fun day we had today! We woke up to thunderstorms…AGAIN, so we said, “Hey- this would be a great day to spend in Honolulu”. So, we headed down and met my brother Jonathan and his friend Diana.

Waikiki Aquarium

It was a pretty small aquarium but the kids really liked it. My favorite thing was the huge tank of moon jellyfish. It took about an hour to go through.

Ala Moana

The largest open air mall in the world with about 300 stores and restaurants! We went to “Islands” for lunch and did some souvenir shopping as well as window shopping. Tyler and Alayna got to ride in the convertible with Jonathan and Diana!

(Godiva store)

Pearl Harbor

I have been wanting to go see Pearl Harbor forever!! I was so excited to see this. I was so glad we showed the movie to the kids so they could visualize and appreciate what really happened. We didn’t take the boat out to the USS Arizona because it was hot and crowded, so we decided to come back right before we leave back for home. Kayla said this was her favorite place of the day, even over the shopping!

(Standing on the world)

(The USS Bowfin)

(Memorial to all submariners lost during WWII)

(Anchor from the USS Arizona)

(You can see the USS Missouri in the background and the USS Arizona Memorial)

(Memorial to those who died- we were surprised at how many kids)

We took the historic H3 highway through the gorgeous mountains on the way back to our house. We also stopped at “Uncle Bobo’s” for pineapple and strawberry snow cones!

Sunset Beach

We planned to go to a beach nearby but everything was pretty crowded, so we ended up at the famous Sunset Beach. The kids did some boogie boarding and we got to watch TONS of surfers catching waves which was so cool to watch! We want to go back.