Pineapple Palooza! (Honeymoon pt. 2)

On Wednesday, Jason and I went to none other than the Polynesian Cultural Center – rated the #1 attraction on the island of Oahu. At the PCC, you really get to know the culture of not only Hawaii, but the other Polynesian Islands of Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Tonga. Each island has its own section at the PCC with natives of that island making Poi, teaching cultural games and dances, reciting history and songs, or giving us lessons on how to get milk from a coconut or even climb a coconut tree.

Waterfall

Making Poi

Where Germaine’s Luau gave us a general perspective of Polynesian culture, the PCC is like a mini Disneyland of scheduled attractions. Mine and Jason’s favorites were definitely the Samoan and New Zealand exhibits. This was my third time seeing the Samoan exhibit and let me tell you – it never gets old! It’s sort of like 30 minutes of stand up comedy from a Samoan demonstrating the many uses of a coconut – and at the very end of his act he climbs to the top of a coconut tree in just a matter of seconds. I guess what Jason and I loved most about this exhibit is experiencing firsthand how Polynesian people are so hilarious. New Zealand exhibit was a lot more serious. We enjoyed listening to their beautifully harmonized songs and crazy dancing – including the Hakka! In the afternoon a parade of rafts floated down the middle of the PCC and Jason and I got to see all the other Polynesian cultures we missed dancing and chanting on the rafts while they passed us. It only shows once a day, so make sure to get there early and get a good seat in the shade!

New Zealand

Samoa (he caught me taking a picture of him)

So, he posed for me ;)

Starting a Fire

Coconut 

Climbing the Coconut tree

Down the street from the PCC is our sister school, Brigham Young University – Hawaii. A lot of the students attending this university work at the PCC to pay for the expensive cost of living in Hawaii. In fact, because the majority of the students at BYU-H are from Polynesian islands, the PCC was built to allow the students to earn money and pay for their schooling while educating the public about their island cultures.

BYU-I Campus

A little further down the street is the Laie Hawaii Temple, which is absolutely breathtaking! There is a bus that takes you from the PCC to the BYU-H campus, and then to the temple’s Visitor’s Center. At the Visitor’s Center you watch a short film and get to know more about how the early latter-day saints settled Laie, Hawaii, founded a church sponsored university, and constructed a temple. Jason and I took some time to enjoy the serenity of the temple grounds and found a spot to sit and talk. It was perfect.

 Thursday was probably my favorite day in Hawaii. We did something I have actually never done before from my three previous trips to Oahu. We went to the DOLE Plantation!! This was probably our longest bus ride yet, but that’s because we took a city bus instead of a tour bus.

At the Plantation, Jase and I took the Pineapple Express – which is a small train that takes you through fields of pineapple, mangos, coffee, sugar cane, chocolate, and so much more! Did you know that pineapple grows underground? I didn’t! When we got off the train, they gave us each a piece of fresh pineapple to taste . . . and it was to die for – even Jason liked it and he’s not a fan of fruit!

Rows and Rows of Pineapple

Not so sure...

Hmm....

He likes it!!

Next we walked through a lush garden showcasing many of Hawaii’s well known plants and vegetation. This was just a peaceful place to walk through with Jason holding my hand and both of us enjoying the tropical plants and flowers. There is one walkway that is just FULL of all the different species and colors of Hibiscus flowers (Jason’s new favorite flower). Fun Fact: Hawaii’s state flower is the Hibiscus, but which one? It’s actually the one with the yellow petals and the maroon center. During our walk I thought I felt something tickling my leg, but I just ignored it – turns out a small lizard was sneaking up my leg and I didn’t even notice until Jason told me.

My Favorite :)

Me with all the Hibiscuses

Bird of Paradise

For lunch Jay and I had grilled ham n’ cheese sandwiches with fries and a slice of delicious grilled pineapple. Sooooo good! Later, I got pineapple ice cream! It was a little tart, but REALLY good! I also scrambled for a quarter in my purse to get a pineapple gumball! I was going pineapple crazy.

Pineapple Ice Cream

The DOLE Plantation also has the largest maze in the world! But it’s not your typical go-in-and-find-your-way-out maze. It was more of a scavenger hunt, which I liked. It was still pretty challenging. Jase and I found one of the eight places, and Jason wanted to give up. Oh, but I was not giving up yet. I said, “Let’s just find two more and then we can leave” and we ended up finding them all (after an hour and a half). Somehow the record of completing the maze is five minutes!

Inside the Maze

We finished!

Upon leaving the plantation, Jason and I bought bright yellow DOLE shirts and our post card to add to our collection (don’t worry – we’ve been collecting them along the way at each stop in Hawaii). Back in Waikiki, Jase and I went to dinner at the Hard Rock Café. I thought it would be fun to get Pina Coladas . . . but we were a little pineappled out. The Café was really cool. There was a huge wall full of guitars and the sitting area that we were in was outside. While we were waiting for our food, it started sprinkling a little bit. But when it rains like that in Hawaii, you just don’t care. 

The Big Blue and a Luau Too! (Honeymoon pt. 1)

Ahh, the Honeymoon. Jase and I went to Oahu, Hawaii for about six days. We left Sunday morning and arrived at beautiful Waikiki Sunday evening. We were pretty worn out from the trip and didn’t really have time to do a lot, so Jase and I took a stroll around the main street by the beach and I introduced Jason to the ABC stores (my favorite).

Airport

Monday, we took a long taxi ride to Hanauma Bay – one of the most well-known places to go snorkeling. I had been there before and wanted to make sure Jason went and was able to explore some of the marine life. The state of Hawaii requires every guest to watch a short film about safety and preserving the life of the fish and other creatures. Jase and I waited in line to rent our snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, and fins) and we also bought an underwater camera‒ the pictures didn’t come out to great though. 

Hanauma Bay

Snorkeling was amazing! After I practiced using my gear a little bit, we swam further out and immediately saw fish. We saw fish of all different colors and sizes. I personally didn’t see a huge variety because I didn’t go out very far, but when Jason did a little swimming around on his own, he was sure to tell me about all the awesome fish he saw.

Snorkel!

Jason snorkeling

After spending a couple of hours at the Bay, when took a very long bus ride home (we went the long way home). For dinner, Jason and I went to The Cheesecake Factory, which is walking distance from our hotel. I ordered pasta and Jase got pizza. Don’t make fun of us, but we were too full for any cheesecake. But we did get a Pina Colada in a pineapple! Delicious!

On Tuesday, Jase and I went to Pearl Harbor. This was another long bus ride, but we were on a tour bus which meant no stops and more comfortable seats. Again, I had been there before, but it was such a long time ago it was like going for the first time.

We took a short ferry ride to the Arizona Memorial which is built above and across the actual sunken Arizona Ship‒ so you can look over the railing and see parts of it just below the surface of the water. It’s amazing that the ship is still leaking oil. You can see little puddles of liquid color floating to the surface of the water. At the very back of the memorial there is a wall with all of the names of people who served on the ship. It was pretty surreal to stand over an underwater cemetery of so many men that lost their lives in defending our country from the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Entrance to the Arizona Memorial

On the Arizona

A part of the ship 

Some of the Oil that still leaks

The Memorial Wall

 Next, Jay and I took a short ride to the Missouri or “Mighty Mo”. This ship survived the war and was brought back to the U.S from Japan. We went inside this ship and it felt like forever until we got out‒ we didn’t realize how large the ship was below the decks. It was pretty neat to see how the men and women lived in such tiny spaces.

In front of a section of the Mighty Mo

Where the men and women slept

One thing about this ship that kept getting to me, and it’s kind of silly, was each time I saw a mailbox. I’ve thought before about how I would feel if Jason was in World War II and our only way of communicating was through letters. I can only imagine how those men and women must have felt so lonely – or even today with our soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. It just became more of a reality to me to be on the ship. When we passed one of the mailboxes, I said to Jason, “This is where you would seal your letter to me, kiss it, and send it.”

From Pearl Harbor, we drove through Punch Bowl Cemetery where many soldiers were buried. I hated seeing the grave stones marked “Unknown”. It’s heartbreaking. We then drove through Honolulu and saw things such as the capital building and where Hawaiian royalty used to live. Jase and I both fell asleep (mostly Jason) on the ride home.  

Punchbowl Cemetery 

Royalty 

Later that evening, we hopped on yet another tour bus and went to Germaine’s Luau! It was right on the water and we sat on the sand (you didn’t have to, we wanted to). We both thought it was really interesting to find out that a king a long time ago had a tree planted for each of his children and when Germaine’s was built, it was against the law to cut them down‒ so there are palm trees growing through the stage.

Before dinner, Jason bought a tiki cup that he really wanted for his collection and we got our non-alcoholic tropical drinks. After we watched how they pull the cooked pig from the ground, which is very interesting, we sat and waited to eat. The pig was actually really good! I was a little nervous to try it, but it was my favorite thing I ate.

Pulling the pig from the underground oven

The show was great! The thing we liked most about it was that other than the amazing dances from each culture or island, it was also very interactive. Jason really enjoyed the men’s dance from Aotearoa (New Zealand). They had tattooed faces and looked at the audience with big, beady eyes and stuck out their tongues like they were insane. Germaine’s also had all of the girls – who wanted to – come on stage and learn the Hukilau. Did I go on stage to dance? Duh!! Jason said I looked scared, but I definitely wasn’t! At one point they acknowledged all of the honeymooners and I looked like a baby standing up compared to all the other newlyweds. We both just really enjoyed this luau and would definitely recommend it. 

at last.

The Detroit Temple

After a long, nine month engagement, Jason and I were finally married on August 13, 2011! Our wedding day was absolutely perfect! We were married in the Detroit Michigan Temple on a Saturday morning. When I walked into that room and looked around at our families and church members who all meant so much to me, I immediately started crying. I was so glad that I had Jason next to me and his hand to squeeze. During the ceremony, I could hardly look at Jason kneeling across from me because both he and I were just bawling our eyes out with tears of joy, happiness, and love.

After we hugged everyone and thanked them for coming to support us and crying some more, Jason and I signed our marriage license and walked out of the temple as a married couple with giant smiles on our faces and excitement in our hearts. Waiting outside were our loved ones waiting to take picture upon picture and cheer for us as we exited the temple. If I have ever felt like a celebrity in my lifetime, it was definitely the day of my wedding. But isn’t that how it’s supposed to be— for the bride to feel like a princess? Well, I certainly did.

Our first picture as a married couple

We took photos at the Detroit Temple with Jean Smith and we were filmed by Rex Warner. Jean was such a fun photographer! She was so cute and easy to work with. I just know that we are going to be very satisfied with her work and I promise to get her pictures posted for everyone to see as soon as we receive them. Rex is a friend of mine and Jason’s who has done wedding films before and his work is just great! We were very happy with the way our video turned out that we ended up showing at the California reception.

We then proceeded to the place of reception: Plum Hollow Country Club. Doesn’t the name just sound like a place from a fairy tale? The club was absolutely beautiful inside and out. We rode around on golf carts and took pictures throughout the course. I had so much fun with the bridal party!

Our bridesmaids were Brooke Koster and Betsy English (two of my roommates from school that I just adore) and Jessica Cowles. Our groomsmen were Chase Renick (a buddy from Jason’s mission) Ryan Schoessow (Jason’s good friend from high school and church) and my older brother Sam. Jason and I had so much fun getting to know each of these people even better as we all hung out that weekend.

We had a small, ring ceremony on the patio of the club for the friends and family who were unable to watch the temple ceremony. Here, Jason and I said a few words to each other about why we fell in love and what we look forward to in the future. I cried, once again, when I saw that my friends from high school (some of which I haven’t seen since graduation) were all there to support me.

We were very blessed that the weather was on our side that day. We had heard there were supposed to be some showers throughout the day, but I never saw one drop while I was outside. It was clear to me that God was watching out for us because as soon as our outdoor ceremony was over and we all sat down to eat, it started pouring! It honestly looked like a hurricane outside. It was a miracle that our timing was so perfect.

The reception was so much fun! The food was amazing, as well as the cake. While we were cutting the cake, I had to have someone take me step-by-step on how to cut it which was a little  embarrassing. My dad, Brooke, and Chase gave speeches that were very heart-felt and so sweet. Jase and I danced to Jack Johnson’s Better Together and each danced with our dad or mom. Our bridal party and parents were then introduced and started up the dancing. I have always loved dancing so once I was up, I never sat down. I loved dancing with my high school friends again and everyone else that was there. I just had a blast. And our dj, Marc, was amazing!

As our guests started to leave and Jason and I became more and more exhausted by the minute, we said our goodbyes and left in our limo. Jason's parents set us up for our first night as a married couple at The Henry Hotel, which used to be a Ritz Carlton! It was absolutely gorgeous! In our room, we were surprised with chocolate covered strawberries (my favorite) and sparkling cider. Our wedding day was beyond perfect. I could not have asked for anything more. I’m so grateful for all the effort and time and thought that was put into such a great day. This will be a day that I will never forget. Thanks Mom and Dad!