Knee Surgery

On the 27th of January I had a long awaited knee replacement.  

It has been a little over two weeks now and I can tell that I am getting better but it sure is taking a lot out of me.  I have had good days and not so good days but with the Physical Therapy that I am doing at home and at the office, my range of motion is improving.  I think I need to be patient because healing takes time.  At least I am on this end of it and am getting through the pain.  A knee replacement is not for the faint of heart!  HAHA!

Pride and Prejudice to get me through a hard day...

So many have come to visit, bring food, bring flowers, text , or just pray for me.  That has been such a blessing!  Rick is the BEST caregiver I could ask for.  He is so good to me!  I LOVE HIM so much and could not do this without him!

 

Kauaii

We left our beautiful home on West Oahu and grabbed a flight to Kauai.

We were able to each get a car and then drove to Poipu to our rental for the nest week.

The home is a bit older but is very accommodating for each of us.  DeeAnn and Kathy each have a room and a shared bath on the main floor.  I feel that Rick and I got the nicest room in the house.  It is on the second floor at the top of the stairs.  It is nice and large with a good sized bathroom.  Brad and Ruth took the smaller room on the second floor.  Brad was happy to get it because it had a TV.  

After getting unpacked we drove over to Kieki's Restaurant.  We were all really hungry.

Because Rick and I were close to celebrating our anniversary they brought us out a complimentary Hula Pie.  It was gigantic and we all shared some bites.  Unfortunately, there were some rancid macadamia nuts sprinkled on top so we had to eat around those.  It was a nice evening together.

The next morning after a nice walk through the neighborhood, we all went over to Paco's Tacos for some delicious breakfast.  I for sure wanted to get some banana mac pancakes with coconut syrup before we left Hawaii.  Well, this was the morning!  We all had such delicious meals and enjoyed our pancakes for dessert!  This restaurant is so nice because we were able to sit outside right next to the golf course.  It was such a pretty morning and fun to watch the golfers and roosters pass by.  One rooster kept trying to get closer and closer to our food even jumping right up to Ruth and I.  I just shooed him away.   I know I'm a meany.  Rick wanted to feed him, of course.😐

After lunch we all went our separate ways.  Rick and I were excited to get to the beach.

I was afraid to get in the water because there were signs all over warning us of dangerous jellyfish.

People were all swimming in the water but I was fine just sitting on the beach reading.  Rick spent about forty minutes snorkeling all around.  He found FIVE eels in his adventure!  

After our beach time we stopped by the pool by the house to do some swimming.  It also had a nice hot tub that we enjoyed!  Kathy and DeeAnn joined us for a bit while we were there.

We decided that for dinner we would grab a pizza and some pop and head over to Lawai Beach for a sunset dinner like we have done in the past.  Kathy and DeeAnn wanted to join us so we ordered two pizzas and four cans of root beer.  Can you believe we paid NINETY PLUS DOLLARS for two pizzas and four cans of pop??  Just wow!!

But we had a good experience and the pizza was good so I guess we shouldn't complain.

It was kind of cloudy on the horizon so our sunset was a little anti climactic but we still had a fun time!

Funny thing...After we all had gotten our fill of pizza we had three pieces left.  A girl (one of three) sitting close by came over to ask if she could have a piece of pizza.  Of course we said she could have it, and even gave the other two pieces to her friends.  They gladly took it but had said that they had been playing a type of a dare game game to see if the girl would really ask us for a piece of pizza.  We all had a good laugh about that!  On closer inspection we found out that they girls were from SLC and on vacation for a week.  They were all nurses and good friends.  Huh?  Small world, isn't it?

As we were leaving the beach the parrots started coming in.  Rick had gone off to get the car but did get to see them when he picked us up.  It is a strange phenomena that these birds just after sunset come from the west part of the island an perch in the trees on the south end. Cool to see!

The next morning we had a fun time siting around the breakfast table.  Brad was regaling us with stories as he is want to do.  We all enjoyed listening and talking!

Rick and i decided that we would head up to the North Shore toward Hanalei.  

We stopped at a little shopping area and got us a couple of shaved ices.  Rick wanted to eat so he ordered a hula dog.  Can I just say that the shaved ice was THE BEST THING EVER!

Mine was grape, cherry, and lemon lime.  There was also ice cream in the bottom.  Oof!  It was so good and ever after I wanted to come back to Jojo's to have another just like it!

Rick had a coconut and pineapple if I remember correctly.  He liked his, too.

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of his Hula Dog.

We then went to Hanalei Bay Beach and enjoyed getting in the water.

The waves weren't nearly as strong as the ones on the south shore (because of the bay) so it was really enjoyable.

After a while the rain started coming so we napped in the car then headed back toward the food place.  I got some chicken in a barrel and Rick had some teriyaki chicken from L&L BBQ.  We both enjoyed our food.  

After eating we made our way back to Kapaa where I got a massage.  Rick just kinda hung out for the hour.  He found a place overlooking the ocean with a good view.  By the time the massage (which was very nice thank you very much) was over it was pouring rain.  Rick met me just outside the shopping mall and we headed back to Poipu.

The next morning after our morning walk we drove back toward Kapaa to go on a bike ride.  We rented some e-bikes and rode on the path next to the ocean.  I think it was only about nine miles round trip but it had some pretty views.

On the way back we stopped at Wailua Falls.  It had been raining so they were full and beautiful!

That evening we met at Duke's there at Nawiwili Bay.  We all got the buffet.

Again because of our anniversary we were comped a Hula Pie.  This one was perfect and as you can see we ate every last bit!

Here we are just a few days short of our THIRTY SEVENTH anniversary!

What a wonderful thirty seven years they have been.

I married the BEST man I could have ever hoped for!

I am truly blessed!

That night we all sat around and watched a movie called "The Million Pound Note"

I couldn't finish it because I was too tired but I think everyone enjoyed the show.

The next morning we all drove over to the Grand Hyatt for their breakfast buffet.

Oh man!  It was expensive but so delicious.  I don't know why but I sure do love breakfast buffets!  HAHA!  It was filled with with all kinds of goodness!

Right there in the hotel lobby there were four different macaws.  One Scarlet, one hyacinth, and two blue and yellow.  They were just sitting there on their different trees so we could get a close up of them;  So cool!  The ground of the Grand Hyatt are so majestic with dramatic views of the ocean.  So beautiful!  I looked up the price to stay a night and it was over a thousand dollars...PER NIGHT!  Yikes!  That is clearly for the rich and famous....or those wanting to go into serious debt for a weeks stay!

Not gonna lie, though!  I do LOVE staying in luxurious places!😆

Thank you Mr. Marriott!

Here we are with our buffet meal.

After breakfast was over we sat around just talking.  It was really nice!

The Grand Hyatt's view...

After the Hyatt experience, Rick and I drove to the Spouting Horn

It's always nice to see.

 That afternoon, rick and Kathy took a helicopter flight over the island.  They really enjoyed it and felt like it was a really smooth flight.  This was Kathy's first time on a helicopter.

While they were gone I read and napped.  Not gonna complain about that:)

That evening, Kathy joined us as we grabbed some chicken sandwiches and went back to Lawai Beach to watch the sunset again.  deeAnn decided to go out to eat with Brad and Ruth.  Funny thing is they ended up at the same burger joint that we had gotten our sandwiches from.  We had purchased a sandwich for DeeAnn since we thought she was going to join us.  She didn't so we gave the sandwich and fries to a couple sitting close by.  They were very thankful for it!😃

It was a beautiful sunset.  The parrots came again shortly thereafter!

The next day Rick had an early morning scuba dive adventure.

After he returned we met with everyone at Brenneke's Beach Restaurant for lunch.

I think everyone was happy with their meal except me.  The nachos were terrible!

Ruth shared some of her fries with me and that made it better.

We then all went over to the swinging bridge in Hanapepe.  

After going across the bridge and getting pictures we went over to the harbor to get on our Sunset Cruise. 

Oh wow!  The boat was nice enough but the waters were rough and from the very beginning DeeAnn and Ruth hated it.  I'm sorry it was such a rough time for them.  Ruth was having some scary issues with her heart and could barely get off the boat at the end.  She had to walk slowly to the car and then went right to bed when she got home.  While on the boat we did get to see a  number of whales in the area so that made it nice.  The ride back was much smoother than the ride out...

After the boat ride Rick and I stopped to get food for Sunday.

The next morning was church.  We found it odd that all of the churches in the area began at 8:30.

Well what we didn't know was that the 8:30 meeting is for all of the tourists that come each week.

The regular meetings begin at 10am.  I can see the wisdom in this because even with just the visitors we went clear back into the gym.  Can you imagine having to have that many visitors each week.  What a great thing the church has done to help relieve the local congregations of such an influx of people each week.  As for us, we were able to partake of the scarament and had a wonderful testimony meeting with those visiting the island.  It was great!

After church we had our own Sunday School back at the house talking about the things that we had learned in the previous Come Follow Me lesson reading.  After a nice nap we had a good dinner together.

That evening we enjoyed watching the movie The Hundred Foot Journey.  I love that show!

The next day was our final day in Hawaii.  We were able to get a late checkout from our house.  That was nice because our flights didn't leave until 9PM.  Rick and I enjoyed the last few hours at Poipu Beach.  This time I DID get in the water!  It was so lovely and warm.  We were in the kiddie area (very shallow) and the turtles were coming in to get dry.  I think by the time we left there were fifteen turtles that had come in.  It is super cool to see such interesting features up close.

Oh yeah!  We each got a shaved ice before leaving....and yes, Rick got a Puka dog, as well!

 It was a great trip to Hawaii and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  In fact before leaving for Hawaii I was worried that two weeks was gonna be too long.  By the end I thought to myself the tif I didn't have responsibilities back home I could even stay a few more days!  HAHA!  I think Hawaii does that to people!  Back to real life!

Oahu

On January 5th, Rick and I and Brad and Ruth and DeeAnn and  Kathy Mouritsen took off on a Two week trip to HAWAII!  I had been a little nervous thinking that the two weeks was too long to be away from home but we enjoyed ALL TWO WEEKS!  By the end of the trip we both felt we could stay longer even....but unfortunately we have responsibilities at home.😉

We left SL at about 9 am and arrived into Oahu a little after noon.  We each got cars and set out to find a place to eat.  We found this little gem, the 604 restaurant, next to Pearl Harbor and had a good lunch.

We then drove an hour north to find our Airbnb.  We stopped at the grocery store to load up with food for the week.  DeeAnn really found us nice home to stay in.  We have never stayed on the west side before and it was kin of a ways from everything but we really enjoyed the newness of the home and the cute little neighborhood.  We felt very safe there.  We were surprised at  how much homelessness there was on this side of the island.  It's kinda sad.  We saw people digging through dumpsters and garbage cans.  I can't understand that mentality.  Luckily if you have/want to be homeless than Hawaii is a good place for that.  You wouldn't have to worry about freezing temps.

After getting settled into our home we enjoyed relaxing, snacking on foods and just hanging out.

The next morning we went exploring the area.  We were also anxious to find a beach.  After grabbing some KFC we met DeeAnn and Kathy at Makaha Beach and enjoyed hanging out there for a few hours.

The waters were quite rough but I thought I'd get in with Rick anyway.  After a few minutes a big wave caught me and threw me under the water.  I lost my favorite sunglasses!  Ugh!  I then got out and was happy to sit in my beach chair and read my book!

After a few hours at the beach we went back to the house and drove over to the swimming pool in our subdivision.  There were some cute kids swimming. One of them was only three years old and she swam just as good as a little fish!  It was so cute to watch.  The pool was pretty cool water so we ended up int he jacuzzi.  Bliss!  We had been waiting for DeeAnn and Kathy to join us but they took their sweet time and arrived just as we were ready to leave.

That night we joined everyone for dinner at The 604 Beach House right close to our home.  Surprise!  It had the same exact menu as the 604 in Pearl Harbor.  That's ok, though. We enjoyed dinner and talking about our day.

The next day was Wednesday.  We had set a Temple appointment for later in the afternoon so we decided to stop by the Dole Plantation on the way.  The others had gotten there before we arrived.  I think they were all pretty much ready to leave by the time we arrived.  Rick and I enjoyed walking around the Plantation gardens.  We enjoyed the pretty foliage and even spied a lot of little geckos.

When it was time to go we each got us a dole whip.  Man, it was good!

After leaving the plantation we met DeeAnn and Kathy up on the North Shore to watch the big waves and the surfers.  There were a lot of both!

Next, we drove the rest of the way to Laie to get to our temple sealing session.  We went to the session with the rest of our crew.  Afterward, the others left and Rick and I stayed on for an endowment session.

It's strange that I did not remember too much the layout of the temple.  It was different than I had remembered.   

When we got out it was dark so we had to get a night picture!

Beautiful temple!

Mot of the food trucks were closed down by the time we got out of the temple but luckily, we found this Pizza truck.  

This pizza looks ginormous but although it was big it wasn't as big as this picture makes it look.

But I will say this...it was a good'n!

The next day was Thursday and Rick had set up an excursion to swim with the dolphins.  Kathy wanted got come along.  We got up early and drove over to the harbor right there on the west side of the island not too far from our home.  The day was a bit cloudy and chilly but the sun came out which we were grateful for.  So beautiful!

Rick ready enjoying the ride!

Kathy and Rick vested up and ready to get in the water.

We saw dolphins right off the bat swimming in front of our boat.  They are so cool to see.

We did not stop to swim with these but made our way out to deeper (and rougher) water.

When we saw there next pod they were in 3,000 feet water.  We all jumped in and I was right there with the leader while Rick hung back with Kathy.  While some got a glimpse of there dolphins we three did not.  They swam away before we could get to them.  All the meanwhile our guides felt like nazi's yelling at us to look down, look down!  I was looking down but never saw a thing.  We came back up feeling like the crew were not very good.  Anyhow...

We went looking for the next pod.  We found some more so back in the water we went.  Kathy was really tired because it was really rough water and hard to swim in.  Even with fins.  Rick stayed with her while I swam for all I was worth trying to get to follow the leader,  all the while with the man on the boat yelling look down, look down,again!  Oh, I hated it and was starting to get seasick from the rolling waves.  We swam quite a ways in this rolling water to get to where the pod was.  Still no luck.  They swam away before we could get over to them.  I decided that was it for me.  I was not getting back into the water.

We came upon the next pod of dolphins and Rick jumped in while Kathy and I stayed on the boat.  Luckily he was able to see about eight of the dolphins and I think he was happy.  I do not care to do that ever again, though.  I love being on a boat but this was not fun.  After the group got back on board we headed over to a more shallow spot to do some snorkeling for about thirty minutes.  It was fine.  Once you have been to places like French Polynesia, Fiji, and even Cancun area.  Everything else is just, meh.

We were in about forty feet of water and I like to be closer to the coral and wildlife.  But still, it was good.

After snorkeling we all got a sandwich, chips and a drink.  Probably the best part of the whole experience, haha!  Once we got back to the house, Rick and I decided to head to the pool.  I got to read while Rick swam a bit.  It was great!

I can't remember what we did that night but I'm sure we had a good dinner with everyone, haha!

The next day was Friday and we drove up to the North side again.  We met DeeAnn and Kathy at a historic town called Hale'iwa.  We stopped at a shrimp truck to get some food.  I wasn't too hungry so I ventured across the street to see if I could find something light.  I thought an empanada would be good.  It was except it took THIRTY MINUTES to get it!  i got one for Kathy as well and there plan was to take it over and eat with the others.  They got done well before our empanadas were ready.  I was miffed!

It took there joy out of eating them!  I can laugh about it now but come on...why!!

Can you tell how much we love them?  HAHA!

Next we ventured over to HI bakery...more food!  I got two huge cookies and do you know I ate them     BOTH!  They were good and it appeased my madness!  Can you see how happy I am?😂

Although we could have spent more time in this cute little town we had to get on our way to be able to get to the Waimea Falls.  We paid our entrance fee and hike for about thirty minutes on a paved path to get to  the falls.  DeeAnn insisted I get a picture in the big leaves!  I'm glad she did!

On our way up...

The falls in the distance...

We made it.  The girls did not want to get in so I borrowed Kathy's water shoes (Chaco brand, I have to get some) and we got int her water.  It was really chilly but actually refreshing after our walk. 

DeeAnn was good enough to get some pictures of us while we were in the water.  

Rick swam all the way over to the falls but I stayed close to the shore.

It was a nice experience. 

On the way back we stopped at Waimea Beach to see the sunset.

It was beautiful!

Oh where did we eat that night??  Again I don't remember.😑

The next morning was Saturday.  We hung around the house a bit that morning and then made our way to Honolulu to get to the Swap Meet.  Since I had lost my sunglasses at that first beach I was excited to find some new ones.  We found a place that had some that I liked so I bought two pair!  I also was in need of some new Hawaiian sandals.  I bought a black pair and a blue pair.  

We then met Brad and Ruth over at the food court to eat, yet again.

There was a Philippino food hut so we stopped to get something there.  Rick picked up some bbq sausages and a drink.  

I knew we were going to eat dinner in a couple of hours so I got a plate of noodles and ate a few and gave the rest to Rick.  It was a good plan!

After the Market we drove over to Pearl Harbor which was literally a five minute drive from the stadium.

I really wanted to get there...just to remember.  It is important to never forget!

We watched the twenty minute film and then left.  No Arizona visit this time.

Our next plan was to meet up with everyone at a restaurant on Waikiki Beach called Lulu's.

the menu looked good so we made a reservation.  I was super excited to see the sunset at that famous beach.  We parked and then walked by this banyan tree.  We had to get a picture:)

We had a little time before our reservation so we walked along the beach.  It is such a pretty place.  My goodness!  That sand was super deep and not easy to walk through but...worth it!

I got my feet wet!

Here are a couple of pictures of my cutie patootie!

So when it was time we walked across the street and found Lulu's.  It was above an ABC store and was an open air eatery.  When we walked in the noise was almost unbearable.  There were a lot of people and it was a bar and everyone was talking loud and enjoying themselves.  My first thought was, "Oh no, this is gonna be bad  We will not even be able to converse with each other."  Our waiter, the dreadlocked, tattooed, pierced, Cain came up to take our drinks.  He could barely hear us.  We got our drinks and boy were they pretty...and yummy!

DeeAnn ordered some appetizers, pulled pork nachos and buffalo wings and we were happy.  We noticed that people were watching the screens and cheering.  There was an NFL game on; the Green Bay Packers against the Chicago Bears.  There were people for both sides cheering.  This is when it got fun.  We got into the game.  The Packers were ahead but the Bears were climbing.  Our food came and we started cheering for one of the teams...the Bears because, "why not"?  Anyway, we loved our food, we loved the game and watching all of the fans and we cheered the Bears all the way to a victory!

Here is a picture of us watching the game.

During the game I kept watching my clock to make sure that we didn't miss the sunset.  That's one thing i did not want to miss.  We'd finished our dinner but were still watching the game.  Rick and I snuck out and ran across the street to watch there amazing Waikiki sunset!  I had seen it when I was a teenager and the beauty of a sunset in that place has always stayed with me.  I have seen it a couple of times since, with Rick.  That's the best way to view it...with the person you love standing right next to you!

After the sunset we went back to see the ending of the game and then headed back towards the west part of the island.

The next day was Sunday.  We found a church not too far from our Airbnb.  It's always nice to get to church...especially in Hawaii!

That evening we made a lasagna dinner with salad, and bread and fruit.

A real feast!

That evening, DeeAnn, Kathy, Rick and I played card games.  It was a great way to end a Sunday. 

The next morning we got packed up and as we were driving out saw this beautiful rainbow.

It was a good send off for our group and our time there on the island.

Leaving Oahu...