Hawaii! Our first plane adventure with Elsa was wonderful. On Thursday night we headed out to Hawaii. In the airport we had two great surprises, first, an upgrade to first class, and then getting to take a picture of Elsa with the Stanford Women's Volleyball team.
Elsa slept in Arne's arms for the flight and was super peaceful. On arrival in Hawaii, we were greeted with leis at our hotel, The Kahala and headed up to our room to sleep.
We stayed at the hotel beach during the day (private, quiet, and no waves) and practiced swimming with Elsa.
Then we headed out to Waikiki and enjoyed the sunset.
Next it was off to The Stan Sheriff Center to watch the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team crush Nevada in 3 games.
On Saturday, we had a wonderful brunch and Elsa got to show off her bikini.
The morning was once again spent playing in the sand.
After our midday nap, we headed up the coast for some garlic shrimp, ocean swimming, and watched the Blue Angels do a show over the Marine Corps base.
After the show, we met up with my cousins in Kailua and enjoyed a lovely dinner in their new home.
Sunday morning we met up with Mike & Nan and their family for brunch at our hotel. Then we headed out to the Kuli`ou`ou Valley for a hike up to the ridge. Unfortunately, we missed the turnoff for the ridge and ended up going up the valley. It was a beautiful but hard hike. Elsa was a great hiker on her daddy's chest.
That night we headed over to Mike & Nan's house for his birthday dinner. It was wonderful to see their home and have a bouncer for Elsa to play in.
For our last night, we got room service desserts!
Monday morning we toured our hotel, learning that it include the set for the bar in Magnum PI.
After play in the ocean, we stopped by Diamond Head on our way to Pearl Harbor.
After a short stop in Pearl Harbor and then the Dole plantation we headed up to Waimae Bay to play in the waves. They were huge and wonderful.
Then we had dinner in Haleweia and watched the sunset, before headed back to the airport and home to California.
Elsa was a great traveler and we will need to take her on more trips!
