Konichiwa Honolulu!

Hey everyone! So we finally made it to Kwajalein, and we are tired but so happy to be in our new home. We flew from Detroit to Dallas, then did an 8 hour flight from Dallas to Honolulu. We spent two and a half days in Honolulu then flew 5 hours to Majuro (the capital of the Marshall Islands), then another 1 hour flight to Kwajalein! Whew...I'm tired just recapping it all. Since we have done so much I'm gonna break up the blogs into a Hawaii blog and a Kwaj arrival blog.

We only had 2 and a half days to stay in Honolulu so we were determined to make the most of it! By the time we arrived in Honolulu we had been up for about 18 hours, and then had to deal with all of Sadie's quarantine paperwork at the airport before even getting to our hotel. In case anyone is thinking about shipping a dog internationally through Honolulu...don't. It was a huge pain, and when it came time to confirm that she was getting shipped to Kwajalein, the airline had her listed as going to HOUSTON in DECEMBER. No worries though, we finally got everything sorted out and I'm happy to report our dog made it safe and sound and didn't end up as someone's delicacy in Thailand, as were my fears.

We were also suprised at the number of Japanese tourists there. For being an American state we definitely felt like the minority. It definitely made people watching and walking anywhere interesting to say the least. There was all kinds of crazy outfits going on, and nobody walked on the right side of the street, so anytime you walked anywhere you had to dodge oncoming traffic or get knocked off the sidewalk. It made for interesting sightseeing, and we decided instead of saying Aloha to everyone you were better off saying Konichiwa!!

Anyway, we got to our hotel around 4 in the afternoon and desperately needed to eat, however, no restaurant was open in our hotel at the time (how is that possible?) so we ended up spending our first dinner in Honolulu at the famed local eatery...Panda Express. Depressing...yes. We did get to meet up with our friends Jon and Angela at their hotel for a free happy hour so all was not lost. We redeemed our second day by going to Waikiki Beach, then having the best dinner out at Roy's (Thanks Jones for the suggestions). Here are some pics of Waikiki and our dinner out.


Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head

More Waikiki Beach



Dinner at Roy's and our delicious drinks below

The next day we went and toured Pearl Harbor. That was the one stop I was determined to make while we were in Hawaii. We signed up for this all day tour because we heard it sells out quickly if you just show up the day of. Come to find out our tour left the hotel at 6am and spent the whole first half of the day picking up passengers from other hotels then driving around downtown Honolulu being shown historic sights, such as President Obama's elementary school and where our tour guide's daughter had her second marriage. It were these secret stops that were really hoping to see. Finally, we did get to Pearl Harbor, and the tour was very cool. We first rode over to Ford Island and saw the airstrip that Amelia Earhart crash landed on and were Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck took off from in Pearl Harbor the movie :) Then we got to tour the USS Missouri. That's the battleship where the Japanese surrendered in WWII and where Tomahawk missiles were fired during the first Gulf War. I have to say, I was suprised by how big battleships are. I thought because I'd seen so many pictures that I knew what to expect, but the battleship was bigger and cooler than anything I could have imagined. The Missouri was stationed on what was "battleship row" and right behind where the USS Arizona sunk, so you could really imagine what all the ships looked like moored there at the time, and how horrifying it must have looked when they were sinking. We got to board the Missouri and stand on the deck where the treaty with Japan was signed. We sat on the bridge and saw lots of seriously big guns. Very, very cool. After the battleship we toured the Pearl Harbor museum that had live footage from the day of the bombing and a real Japanese torpedo discovered in the harbor after the bombing. Our last stop was supposed to be taking a boat out to the USS Arizona memorial, but the winds picked up and the navy closed the tour out of safety concerns. We were pretty disappointed we didn't get to go to the memorial, but we got lots of good pictures, and we plan on going back when we pass through Hawaii again. Here are lots of pictures from the USS Missouri and of the Pearl Harbor memorial.

 Me with some very large guns!

 View of the USS Arizona memorial from the deck of the Missouri

 Me checking out Pearl Harbor

 Deck where the peace treaty with the Japanese was signed

 Actual spot of the signing...

 View from the Bridge of the USS Missouri

 Johnathon on the Bridge

 Me in the control seat :)

 Our attempt at recreating the "Wars End Kiss" the matching outfits was an added bonus!

 The USS Missouri and the USS Arizona memorial

 The USS Bowfin submarine

I found the Marshall Islands on the map!

For some reason the computer wouldn't let me enlarge the photos so I will have to add the bigger versions to Facebook! Sorry mom :) Next up...our first Kwaj Blog!

Mackinac Island

Aannnnnddddd....here's our Mackinac Island blog! I think I've been hearing about Mackinac Island since Johnathon and I first started dating, and every time we come back to Michigan we say were going to go and then never do. When I say I've heard about it, I mean Johnathon says the same two things every time: there's NO CARS and they have the BEST FUDGE ever!!!  With a teaser like that who wouldn't want to go, right?! So Johnathon and I along with Brad, Deanna, my mother-in-law Karen, Paul, Jenny, Ethan, and Avery all boarded the Arnold Ferry and made our way to Mackinac! I went into the day with a plan to get some quality photos, and I decided the ferry ride was a great place to start! Armed with a quality photographer (Ethan), Johnathon and I made our way to the top deck of the ferry for some photos of the Mackinac Bridge and Lake Huron. Sadly the sun decided at that moment that it needed to come out, and the wind and waves were out of control, so our boat pics are a little sub par, but hey...can't win 'em all. Here are the better of the boat pics:

Ethan and I on the boat...he had better sea legs than I did, and could stand no problem!

It was a little windy...and bright

The Grand Hotel as seen from the Ferry

Mackinac Bridge

After we got to the island our group decided the best way to tackle the island was to divide and conquer. Johnathon, Ethan, Karen, Paul, and myself decided to do a bike riding tour of the island. Seeing as Deanna is 8 months pregnant, she and Brad decided the island was best viewed on a carriage ride with Jenny and Avery, as opposed to huffing it the 8 miles around on a banana seat bike. Probably a good decision all around.

I'll be honest...I was nervous to get on the bike. I know some fool somewhere came up with the  saying "It's just like riding a bike...", but I hadn't been on a bike since probably '99, and I was a smidge nervous I would make a huge idiot of myself. Not gonna like, the first 50 yards were a little touch and go, but I finally got on track and we were good to go from then on!

Ready to start our bike tour!

Feeling more confident post bike ride!

 The weather was perfect for bike riding, and there were so many great houses, nature, and historical sites along the way. I was sad to discoverer when we got home that a house on Mackinac could be yours for a cool $2.9 million. I told Johnathon if he could start inventing something awesome to support my dreams of a summer house there, that would be just great :) He thinks I'm kidding....anyway here are pictures of one of the cool old houses and the British landing beach:

British Landing Beach

my attempt at a selfie with the beach in the background

Karen and I taking in the water/beach

Ethan climbing around on Devil's Kitchen rock formation

Toward the end of the bike tour, we came across these really cool trees that were screaming "CLIMB ME AND TAKE PICTURES!!" So we pulled over for an impromptu photo shoot. Sadly I was way to short to jump up to this one branch, so my husband...ever helpful...decided to give me a boost. Only his "boost" stopped short of getting me completely up the tree, and he found my struggles so funny he left me hanging there...literally.

Please note the look of pure glee on Johnathon's face

Natural tree climber right here

The photo I was originally going for

After the fail attempt at "Tree Climbing 2013", we made it back around the island, and met up with the carriage ride group for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was left for touring the town and visiting the fort at the top of what I can only describe as my personal Everest. Seriously, that was one steep hill, and getting to the top of the fort was a real struggle. I'm gonna blame it on all the fudge consumed. Here are lots of photos of the town (these are for you mom), and the fort (these are for you dad!).

One of many pretty bed and breakfast inns

I could of sat here all afternoon

Street view of downtown Mackinac Island

View of the fort form the bottom of the hill....

the halfway point...looking up

I was in fine form when we reached the top

The views alone were worth the trek!

copyright-Johnathon's photo work

After we got to the top of the fort, we walked around and scoped out the weaponry...

Tried on the traditional clothes....

Kept a lookout for Indians, invaders, and tourists...

 And by the end, we really felt like the soldiers that were stationed there....

After a long afternoon on Mackinac, we took the ferry back and decided to relax and watch the sunset in Petoskey. The whole family went down to the Petoskey pier, and the boys spent their time looking for the mythical Petoskey stones (still not sure they're real Paul!) and skipping rocks on the water.

The boys trying to find just the right stone

As it got closer to sunset, Paul, Jenny, and Karen stayed back with Ethan and Avery to let them play on the shore, and Brad, Deanna, Johnathon and I walked down the pier to catch the sunset.

Petoskey lighthouse at the end of the pier

the sunset was so beautiful I swear we look photoshopped

Brad and Deanna

the love of my life :)

God is so good!

Our trip up North was so much fun...as evident by all the pictures! I loved spending time with our Michigan family, and seeing all the beauty that Michigan had to offer. So many good memories!