Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Hawaii

FYI...this is a PICTURE OVERLOAD post! They are not in any particular order or organized very well, but here they are! We had a fabulous time in Hawaii with Colin's family (minus a sister). It was beautiful weather and the sights were spectacular. We saw tons of whales and dolphins jumping in the ocean and went to some spectacular beaches. It was fun getting to see Brayden boogie board and develop through the week. He went from being cautious to freaking us all out by playing in the waves at the beach. And from not wanting to swim without his floaties to being a little daredevil and diving without any floatation devices and even attempting a back flip off the side of the pool.

We even got to kayak out to Captain Cook's Monument (British territory) and go snorkeling. That was the highlight of the trip for me. What a great experience to see all the fish and coral under water. We even found a fresh coconut and got to see a group of dolphins in the middle of the bay.
Colin and I at Hugos on the Rocks.


This was the first full day in Hawaii and by far the funnest day at the beach. The waves weren't too big. We must have stayed in the water for several hours.


Colin and I snorkeling at the monument with the underwater camera Laura and Justin let us borrow.



I had to post this picture. We tried to do an underwater picture in the pool and I was having a hard time not blowing air out of my nose. Oh and note: I can't open my eyes because of my contacts. :)


Last night in Hawaii


Of course, a couple of self shots.



About to leave the hotel to go to the airport. Now that airport was another story...stay tuned.


Dressed up to go out...to walmart. ;)


Brayden wanted to be in the picture too!


This was the first beach we stumbled on. It was GORGEOUS! This was a replica of a historical Hawaiian hut. Made for some pretty pictures!



You can see the hut in the background. This is looking at the lagoon and beach, which the island in the background. We saw a couple turtles there which was really neat. The water was super pretty too.


Not the cutest picture, but us with Brayden.


Colin and Brayden in the water.


After I went to bed one night, Colin and Jason decided to sneak into the hot tub, which was closed for the night. On the way out there, they saw this owl smack into a glass door a couple of times. Poor guy! They ended up helping him out into the open (and taking some pictures in the mean time).


Fresh off the airplane.


Last night in Hawaii - at the pool.


So Saturday we go to get on the airplane and last minute, we find out our flight is canceled. The next flight? Sunday at 1pm. So frustrated. That put us home to Albany about 2:30am, with Colin and I having to work at 8am. I called United Air and got nowhere with them. They refused to pay for hotel, taxi, everything. Oh, but they DID give us a $75 credit for a future flight. Whoopie! Anyway, Colin's dad called right after me and thankfully was able to make them give us a 10:30pm red eye flight on another airline. We get to the airport about an hour and a half early. PLENTY of time. Come to find out United hadn't paid American Airlines for our ticket. Which meant we couldn't get on until they got payment. An hour and a half later, we finally got confirmation and had to literally run to the plane. Everyone was waiting for us, but at least we got on the plane! We were home the next day to Albany at 12 noon. And we've been recovering ever since!