Dad's Christmas Trip!

Christmas has come and gone and so has an entire year. It's crazy! My Dad's trip was a lot of fun and very busy busy busy! Since it was his second time (this year) we did a little less touristy things and did more island adventures and just hanging out. Christmas was low key but we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Formaggio in Kailua with a huge bowl of Lobster Mac and Cheese. Can't go wrong there! His trip seemed to end just as fast as it started but it was definitely a fun time and I am glad I wasn't here celebrating Christmas alone!

Here is our 2 week adventure in photos:

Here he is, Mr. Aloha himself.

I made him dress up, however I did not make him purchase.

Dad wanted to see every sunrise on Lanikai. While he made

a valiant effort, a few times that need to enjoy vacation

in bed set in.

However, this was his first of the trip:

Dad's first real experience up on the north shore.

AND his first taste of a Loco Moco, which he loved,

of course. Meet, gravy, egg, rice. Who wouldn't?!

Thank you Ted's Bakery.

Also while up on the North Shore, we ran into

these little guys at Hale'Iwa beach park. It's a little

known secret, mostly just by locals, which means the

beaches aren't crawling with tourist and these dudes can

just relax in the sun.

Apparently 300 feel is the legal limit when it

comes to how close you can stand to the turtles. This was

information I clearly didn't know before hand.

We also consumed several calories during dinners

at the other Ted's... Teddy's Burgers. I think if

they had one of these in Billings, he'd be broke and

800 pounds.

The dream, which we didn't get to last visit, was to

golf in Hawaii, but more importantly, in Hawaii in December.

Royal Hawaiian Golf Course came to the rescue and we

snagged a tee time for one golfer and his personal caddy.

The whole course was absolutely beautiful and while

I didn't care to pick up a club myself, I really enjoyed cruising

around in the cart and seeing the scenery.

(The view from the club house. Truly amazing!)

On Christmas Eve we attended the Sheraton Aloha Bowl

which was Southern Miss vs. Nevada. It was a really

fun game, beautiful weather, and exciting to attend

by second bowl game. After checking out the "selection" of

players, I instantly became a die hard fan for Souther Miss

and what do you know, they won!

Christmas rolled around and while it was quiet and

relaxing for most of the day, I did have to

work that morning. Which wasn't bad because everyone

(mostly) is happy on Christmas day so it was just fun to feel

the Christmas spirit at work. After work, I changed into my

Christmas outfit and set out back down to Kailua where

we did have one gift to open from my sister

Emma and a few other little gifts and cards I received from

family and friends. I will officially have peanut M&M's

to last a life time!

(Christmas tree, Hawaii style!)

Dad had to get his fix at the Turtle Bay pro shop so we

spent some time there. As you can see, we both value golf

very differently :)

We spent one evening enjoying a Luau and Dancing at the

Polynesian Culture Center. I think I have seen their night show

about 15 times now and I swear I could see it 15,000 more.

Before dinner we got to walk around the PCC and

see some of the villages and go on a canoe ride.

He also tried his luck at eating Spam, which is on most menus

here in Hawaii. They love it, and I am honestly not sure

why. Being as picky as he is, I thought for sure he wouldn't

but much to my surprise, he ate his hole meal. He won't

eat Thai food but he loves spam? Ok Dad :)

We did several hikes while he was here, which was awesome

for me because they are on my Hawaii bucket list.

Our first hike was to the Makapuu light house. It's a good

hike, all paved, but a nice incline with amazing

views once you get to the top.

Another hike we did, which was also an incline but not

so leisurely as Makapuu, was the Koko Head hike. It is a

1200 feet rise in elevation, hiking on 1,000 railroad ties,

pretty much straight up. It is an intense hike to say the

least! But after two hours of climbing, stepping, breaking,

drinking, and climbing some more, we made it to the

top and oh my was it worth it! The view of Sandy's, Hawaii Kai,

Hanauma Bay, and Diamond Head were worth the

sweat and pain!

And what better way to end the day than a sunset at

Hawaii Kai.

We did a lot while he was here, but made sure to leave

plenty of time for relaxing and enjoying vacation!

It was a fun trip and I am glad he was able to come one

last time before life takes me somewhere new!