Warrens in HAWAII

Hi Friends and Family!
PCSing overseas is a lot of work, but I finally have all my stuff in Okinawa in a house I can call my own (well, not really) and now I feel settled enough to blog. Please don't make any assumptions from my delay, I will be on the ball now about updating my blog weekly with our latest adventures and proof (pictures).

Well, in February while we were waiting on Jonah to go to SERE school, we decided to be spontaneous and hop on a flight to Oahu, Hawaii! We had a lot of fun staying at the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay and exploring some of the lesser known (better) parts of Oahu, including the North Shore.

One of my favorite things we did was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Luckily, this was relatively close to the USMC base, so went a few times here to swim with all the fishes. There was such a variety and it was amazing to me how close all the fish were to the shoreline, it was unbelievably easy. Although, Jonah did talk me into swimming out past the reef to the other side. In-between my lookouts for sharks, (eek!) I was able to see some larger fishes.

Interesting story. We also scammed some scammers to get free tickets to a luau. We were told we could attend a meeting and recieve free tickets to a luau, whether or not we bought the product. Convinced by my husband, we attended an hour-long meeting in which we were pressured into buying something like a timeshare. Refusing as politely as we could, we were then questioned on our financial decisions and told that we were not risky enough to ever be successful financially.  This coming from a scammer in a tacky Hawaiian shirt. Later, we would go home to google this company finding out they have changed their name countless times to avoid lawsuits and have been banned on the Better Business Bureau. Well, we persevered and kept our cool and FINALLY were allowed to leave with our free tickets to Germaine's Luau!! Yay! We definitely earned our $140 prize. That night after some bbq and a few Mai Tai's we were enjoying ourselves and were proud to have scammed the scammers (evil laugh).

The next day we decided to rent body boards and take them to North Shore for some swimming. After scanning the waters, I made a wise decision to take pictures of Jonah attempting to do said activity. This picture shows how big the waves were on North Shore in the winter. The waves and current will take you under for a few somersaults and then spit you back out with just enough time to gasp for breath before doing it all over again! However, North Shore was GORGEOUS and our favorite part of the island.  There is a town called Hale'iwa that is both quaint and charming, with gift shops and eateries. To me, North Shore is more what you picture in your head when you think of Hawaii- slow-paced natural beauty. Downtown and Wakiki Beach just doesn't compare.

We got the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor together and really enjoyed our visit. This photo was taken on the USS Arizona Battleship Memorial. Behind us you can see the USS Missouri Battleship. We toured the USS Bowfin Submarine as well.

There is an incredible beach on Bellows Air Force Station, near MCAS Kaneohe Bay, that is picturesque. We visited this place the day we were leaving. We collected some sand here for my sand project. One of my friends from Bible Study at Whiting Field had a collection of different color sands in glass jars and bottles, each from a different beach they had traveled to together. I thought that was a neat idea, especially since we will be traveling to quite a few different beaches during Jonah's military career.

The Cabanas at Kaneohe Bay are the place to stay if you're looking for inexpensive lodging. It might not be the best place for kids, because you don't have a bathroom in your hotel room. You have to leave the room to go to the communal bathroom, which is sort of like a locker room with showers, toilets and sinks. But the rooms were very clean and comfortable. The view is.... INSANE. I was surprised to leave my simple hotel room and within 100 feet I could take this view in. You could watch different aircraft coming in to land at MCAS Kaneohe Bay and the beach was pretty secluded, with the exception of a few campers. I would definitely recommend this place if you're feeling less luxurious and more adventurous.

We love and miss you guys and next week I'll post about our PCS across the World to Okinawa : )