Aloha!

We took off on April 22nd for our last big trip before Baby Lockridge comes. Honolulu for 10 days!!! Here are the highlights of our adventures...

On the plane ready for some beach time and sunshine!

On Sunday we hiked to the top of Diamond Head. It was a pretty good hike (so many stairs!) but we both made it and we're impressed with the great views.

We enjoyed a couple days exploring the North Shore. We visited Turtle Bay, stopped at a couple of beaches on the side of the road, saw some sea turtles and then found this great roadside fruit stand where Dave got a coconut and I got some fresh pineapple. Yum!

We hiked back to Waimea Falls and swam in the lake up to the waterfall.

One of my favorite things about Hawaii? Banana and macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup!!! We watched an episode of "Man v. Food" on the Travel Channel and he went to a place in Waikiki and ate a plate full of frisbee sized pancakes. We checked it out and apparently that's just the size of their pancakes...Good thing we shared!

Another highlight was our visit to Spitting Caves. Dave has a coworker who lives on the island with his family and they took some time out to show us around the local places. This is a cliff that sucks water back into a little cave and then "spits" it out. The goal was to time your jump to the exact time when the cave is spitting so that you get a really soft landing.

It was a good 40+ foot cliff, into pretty turbulent waters and then a climb back up the 40+ ft cliff. Dave and John did it twice!

Dave timed it perfectly and apparently it really was a pretty soft landing. (I obviously abstained from the cliff jumping this trip, so I was the official photographer.) Also, you can't see in the pictures but there was a huge sea turtle right by them as they waited for the waves to push them back on the rocks. I was yelling and pointing trying to get them to see it but it was a bit loud. It was so close they probably could have reached out and touched it!

On the climb back up. They both came back excited, a bit out of breath, dirty from the climb and looked at each other and said, "Let's do it again!"

Another highlight for me? There were penguins at our hotel! When we checked in we were upgraded to a better room in a better tower and our balcony overlooked these penguins. You'll have to take my word for it-- they were so cute!

We didn't let a flat tire slow us down. Here is our fun yellow jeep and Dave taking action and changing that big tire. I'm so glad to have a husband who knows how to fix things. We weren't there for long before we were up and running again.

Another highlight: the Outrigger Canoe Club! John and his family are members of a private beach club in Waikiki. They invited us to spend a couple of days at the club and Dave got to go outrigger canoe surfing twice. The first time they went out in a four man canoe and got to ride some of the biggest waves of the year.

Our last day in Hawaii we drove up into the rainforest and found this great look out spot overlooking Waikiki and Diamond Head.

It was one of the best vacations ever! A great mix of relaxation and adventures. We did a lot of things that we didn't get pictures of (like Dave stand up paddle surfing!) and we also got cleaned up and went out to a nice dinner every night. With the help of friends we found some great places off the beaten path and loved every minute that we had together. Thanks to the Akana family for their hospitality and Aloha spirit!

We came home just in time to mark the official 7th month of pregnancy and the 3rd trimester! Woo hoo! Ready or not Baby Lockridge is coming!!!