June 2009

White Water Rafting:

We went white water rafting with some friends, Rebecca and Sean Humphress, and their family. It was a one night camp out and 2 days of rafting. The canyon was pretty and white water rafting was an exciting way to see it.

Jp and I mid-way down the rafting run.

The put-in point for the river.


Sean and Rebecca rafting ahead of us.


The group: Jp, Natalie, Sean, Rebecca, Sean's sister and her fiance.




Selling the Jeep:

We decided it was time to sell our jeep cherokee while it was still in good running condition and get something with more power to better pull the boat. Jp put it on Craig's list and sold it in less than 24 hours and for only $400 less than we bought it for 5 years ago. It was a good vehicle and we have lots of good memories with it. It was a bitter-sweet feeling turning the keys over to the new owners.

Our New Truck:

After extensive research, we decided to purchase a 2006 Lincoln Mark LT to replace the Jeep. It rides smooth like a Lincoln and is a powerful truck. It pulls the boat like a dream. We are so excited to finally have a nice vehicle.

Hawaiian Vacation:

Vacation Mantra: "The Beach is Free."

We went to Hawaii with Jp's parents. We stayed in a beach house on the North Shore of the main island, Oahu.

Jp at the beach across the street from where we were staying.

Dad, Mom and Jp walking down to Hanauma Bay.

Me with Hanauma Bay in the background. As you can see, we arrived there first thing in the morning to make sure we got in.

It was windy, so we never put up the umbrella. The snorkleing was ok. At one point, I could've reached out my arm and touch a sea turtle. I am so glad we got in and were able to see Hanauma Bay; however we all agreed that Waimea Bay is the best beach to spend your time at. (And that beach is truely free.)

We stopped at Matsumoto's, in Haleiwa, for their infamous shaved ice. Dad was the smart one of the bunch and got the regular type, everyone else decided to get one with sweetened condensed milk on top. I wouldn't recomend it...it was wierd.

We all got different flavors, so we tasted a bite of everyone's.

The best flavors were raspberry, cherry and grape. They had the strongest taste.

One night we splurged and ate at Roy's Restaurant. I ordered steak and everyone else ordered seafood. The presentation of all plates were very fancy, and the food tasted great.

We made most of our meals at the beach house. One morning we decided to have "Spam and eggs. " It was pretty tasty. Spam is a hawaiian staple, so we had to try it.

Our main hang out at Wiamea Bay.

I love this picture...JP, the ocean, sand and a flip-flop.

Me at Waimea Bay.

Our view of the horizon.

It was sea turtle season while we were there. Every 1/2 hour or so there would be a sea turtle or two swimming across the bay to another beach to lay their eggs. We also saw dolphins one morning for a couple hours. There were at least 30 of them. They swam pretty close to the shore at times and other times they were entertaining us with acrobatic twists, flips and jumps. They put on quite a show. There was a lot to see at Waimea Bay.

We burried Jp in the sand one afternoon. The sun was getting in his eyes, so we gave him his sunglasses and then I couldn't resist putting my pink visor on him. I think he looks good in pink...

Jp and I rented scuba gear and dove at Shark's Cove. This is us before we went under.

Jp's mom was snorkleing while we dove and took some cool pictures of us underwater. Here Jp is checking out the reef.

Jp and I hanging out on the Pacific Ocean floor.

This was our last day in Hawaii. By this time our umbrella was out of comission (due to the wind), so Mom had to use her sarong as a cover up so she wouldn't get sunburned.

It was a great vacation where we pretty much did nothing but hang out on the beach and bob in the ocean.