This guy was recently fired as the logo from NBC, and decided to retire in Waimea Falls, Hawaii.
Greg was very happy starting the day off. It wasn't the good breakfast or the company. It wasn't the great scenery or the good weather. It was the parking! Ample parking. As long as there is a great parking space with plenty of room he is a happy camper. Give him multiple prime parking spots and he is a kid in a candy store.
Heidi told us to pose for a picture. Greg just did the first thing that came natural to him......this was the result. As you can tell I was quite amused.
The falls were awesome, you can tell by the pictures that this is a beautiful place.
I really don't know what is going on in this picture.
I don't know how to swim so Greg was staying close to make sure I was safe. What a great friend. I can always count on him.
I really don't know what is going on in this picture.
I don't know how to swim so Greg was staying close to make sure I was safe. What a great friend. I can always count on him.
Ok Ok. I can swim. We were looking at a bunch of huge turtles that were right there a few feet away. The waves would push them up and a couple of times they got pushed right into our legs. It's wild seeing so many turtles so close. Especially that size, they were huge.
If the turtles are not right next to the shore you can hang out and watch for their heads to pop up. The day we took these pictures there were dozens of turtles on this stretch of beach "Lonny's Beach". We didn't have to look long or very hard. Standing right on the shore Greg and I could see 8 or 10 turtles, within 15 to 20 feet of the shore.
After the turtles, we went and snorkeled on the other side of sharks cove. I used all of the film in one underwater camera and wanted to go get another. While I was in Foodland (across the street) grabbing another underwater camera the rain started coming down hard so Heidi, Staci and Greg packed up and headed for the car. I was a little bummed. We decided to pick up some groceries for dinner and head back to the condo.
This is where we were snorkeling, Shark's Cove...it was a rocky beach so Heidi sat on a big rock and enjoyed the scenery/people watching.
When we got back we made spaghetti and played some Farkle! It was a good game. Greg started out killing it and it looked he would easily run away with the game. He started getting all tough and cocky. He jinxed himself. The game got interesting in the second half. Heidi had been lagging waaaay back in last place for the entire game and all of the sudden she pulls a 1500 point straight! A few turns later she scores 2500!!! I think by this point I was gaining on Staci, Heidi was right behind me and Captain talks a lot (Greg) was in last. Staci and I played a bit of chess at the end and wound up tied. We had a roll off. I can't remember what the outcome was ;)
Sunday -
We headed out to goat island first thing in the morning on Sunday. I wanted to get a bunch of sea shells to bring home for Ella and Kaiya. I had big expectations before we got started. I had visions of huge conch shells and sounding my triumphant call to Heidi and Staci who were at the beach. Heidi is taking the picture from the beach. You walk out to the island at low tide, the deepest areas are only 2 feet or so. Greg and I looked for a good hour or so. I ended up with a pocket full of some ok shells but nothing what I expected. I was laughing at myself (or was that Greg laughing at me at this point realizing my hopes for a load of sea shells was laughable). It was a bit of a trip on the opposite side of goat island. You are standing on coral and rock, a kind of shelf is the best way I can describe it. The waves crash hard and are pretty substantial. It somewhat feels like you are in the middle of the ocean. It gets nerve racking. If a few big waves came while Greg and I were on that part of the island, we would have been hoping for a helicopter rescue. It was a bit of a rush when you just stood and looked out. Greg had the stomach to walk to the edge of the rock....no thanks, not me. A few feet back was plenty tough guy enough for me.
This is the church we attended in Laie. It is Greg's family's home ward. Church in Hawaii is definitely the coolest place I have attended church. A place where you can rock flip flops to church and no one looks twice is my kind of place.
One of my favorite things is when a anyone steps up to the podium. Everyone start with "Aloha", the congregation all replies with "Aloha". It is a resounding greeting back from the congregation. I was thinking......what is stopping us from doing this in the mainland?!?!?? I mean, I don't know about you but I may be "sick" a few less Sundays a year just because of that.
It really is a nice thing. It seems to connect everyone and make the words or the talk less formal and simply more personal....less preachy and more sharing. That's just my take, I may be wrong but I doubt it :)
Greg's cousin spoke at church. He is preparing to leave for a mission. It seemed like he was excited where he was at in his life.
This is the view from the steps outside the door to the church building. The picture above shows the door that this view is from. Pretty sweet to walk out of church and see this.
We enjoyed lunch with all of Greg's family at Papa Oles.
The Vreekens (plus Greg and Staci)
Creepy, weird, funny faces
Laie Temple
We went to the temple after church. We visited a few days earlier but at night. We wanted to see the grounds and take pictures during the day. Pretty girls, pretty scenery.....good way to start the pictures at the temple.
All of the temples and the surrounding grounds are beautiful. I love palm trees, I have for as long as I can remember. The combination of the two for me is the best. Just something about it-doesn't get much better.
This tree in front of the temple is apparently a spot for couples/families to scratch there names in the leaves. I think Staci saw one of the sister missionaries do it and took up on the idea.
If you look real close there is big black bee at the bottom of this leaf. I'm not sure if they have a variety of bees in Hawaii. All I saw were these huge, all black bees.
BYU Hawaii is right next to the temple. We drove past and took some pictures. Heidi wanted to show Kaiya where she would be trying to get into college in about 9 years. It would be fun to have one of our kids attend BYU Hawaii! Perfect excuse to visit the islands!
I'm not sure what Hukilau means but it should mean great Sandy beach, or Boogie boarding beach. This is a great spot to Boogie board. We went to play in the waves there Sunday afternoon.
I saw my share of Hawaiins fishing while we were there. However I didn't see anyone holding a fishing pole. The Hawaiins don't hold the pole. They stick their poles in the sand and hang a bell in the middle of it. When a fish bites the bell rings, dinner is served. They just hang out on the beach and enjoy the sun. Along with a beer or 2 or 5. If I did take up fishing, the pole in the sand with a bell strategy would be a must.
Greg celebrates a successful run for Staci.
If you want to feel like a kid, go boogie boarding. I felt like I was 8 years old again riding that boogie board. Awesome!
Greg took us up to the "The Point". Greg and Staci were a little more daring then Heidi and I and went out to the edge of the rock. The view was beautiful.
In Hawaii it seems like you can fit so much more in one day than you can in Washington. I'm sure the time change helps, getting up at 5 or 6am. Also not having kids, jobs, or any responsibilty may help just a tad. We would talk about the day and go over what we did and just about everyday we couldn't believe how much we fit in. The days were long which was perfect for vacation fun. We decided to go stop at Sunset Beach and watch the sunset. We stopped at Ted's Bakery (a local favorite) and got a drink. Staci wanted something hot. Greg and I went in and looked for something good, thinking why would she want something hot? I got a smoothie for Heidi and I. We got to the beach and found a good spot to watch the sunset. The wind was blowing a little and the temperature was going down. Perfect for a hot drink. At this point I wish I would have got a hot chocolate!
This is why it's called Sunset Beach. Not sure if I have seen a nicer sunset. Definitely not in a better place. Get this.....we were sitting there watching the sun go down and Heidi says "this is the first sunset I have ever watched" , I was shocked. Maybe it's just me but I figured that most folks our age have seen the sunset 10, 20, maybe 100 times.
I have no idea where she has been hiding while the sun goes down but I'm glad I got to share her first sunset with her :)
After sunset I was walking to the car and I looked over and spotted Greg's uncle and two of his kids. I pointed him out to Greg, we chatted for a minute and told him to stop by our condo that night.
At the condo we BBQ'd some NY steaks and some fresh veggies. When Greg and I were at the BBQ (out by the pool) we met a family from England. They were staying in Hawaii for about a month. We enjoyed our dinner along with some treats that Staci made. They were fancy smores, I think she called them smore buddies. Gregs uncle came over for a few hours and talked banking and business with Greg and we called it a night.
