Hawaii Surf Trip 2016

(Written by Jason)

Mike Pacada and I were freshman roommates at BYU-H.  We often talk about how our freshman year could not have been more fun, and we got in a lot of surfing - every chance we got.  Life is a lot busier now, but it was time to get out again.  Mike was turning 30 in the Fall and his wife proposed he go with a friend to Hawaii, so he asked if I was interested. That was an easy question to answer.

I arrived in the afternoon on Tuesday, and stayed until Saturday night. We stayed at Shaefer's place (Mike's younger brother).  It was a perfect place to crash.  We had a great time the whole week, and got lots of surfing in. It felt great to get back in the ocean.  I was a bit rusty, and my ribs definitely got sore. Our go to places were: Ehukai (sandbar near Pipe), V-lands, and Goats.  I have often said that surfing is by far the hardest sport I have ever learned, but probably the most rewarding.  Nothing else really compares to riding a wave.  Too bad Utah is so far away from the coast.  Every day, for five days, our schedules were open so we would surf until tired or hungry, refuel, surf, etc.  

Ehukai:

The Point:

Visiting 7th Hole

Pounders:

Goats:

Almost every day for lunch we would get poke from Foodland, which was shockingly good and hit the spot!  Wish it was so easily available here.  In the evenings we hit up some great restaurants in town, along the North Shore and near where Shaefer lives. We also went to Ted's, of course, and Hukilau Cafe for breakfast. The BEST place we ate was a Ramen restaurant in town. They make the noodles from scratch right in front of you. It was cheap, and so so good! We ate their twice.

Hukilau:

We, of course, had to stop by campus and check out our old stomping grounds - only to find out they had completely torn down Hale 6!  We couldn't believe it.  The new Hale's are amazing, and big, and lots of them.  The caf didn't disappoint and was EXACTLY the same.  We paid one morning to eat there, and it was fun.  It was weird seeing all the students and suddenly feeling kinda old compared to the 18-22 year-olds. We spent some some time in the library doing work stuff that we each needed to get done, plus it had some nice AC and Wifi. It was great to walk around campus and it brought back some really good memories.  We stopped by Turtle Bay Resort a couple times between sessions to relax and rest.  That is such a cool resort.

Turtle Bay:

By the time we got home each evening, we were spent.  We would be out by 9:30 pm every night. It certainly wasn't a rest and relaxation type of trip, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Mike and I had a great time, and had lots of time to discuss and talk about pretty much everything during our drives and meals.  Hopefully we don't wait so long until the next trip!

(Written by Emily)

While Jason was gone, this is what was going on back at home:

Jason left really early Tuesday morning, so Camry came and stayed the night with us Monday night. That night we watched Designated Survivor together while Jason finished packing up. I took Jason to the airport at 4:30 am Tuesday morning. Tuesday night the boys and I met up with my friend Amy for dinner at Malawi's. While we waited for her to arrive, we explored the Provo Beach Resort. They loved it. After eating some yummy pizza we browsed Called to Surf. We love that store! After coming back home and putting the boys to bed, Amy and I made double chocolate oatmeal cookies for the neighborhood "boo" thing-a-majig. . Then we watched "The Choice"...yet another tear-jerker by Nicholas Sparks.

On Wednesday, Kim and Kyle met us for dinner at Wild Zucchini. We came back and played with the boys for a bit then put them down for bed. Then we watched the Secret Life of Walter Smitty.

On Thursday we went to Alpine and hung out with Grandma and the Riverton cousins (Max and April were busy working on moving stuff out of their house.) It was Fall Break for Charlie. We played in all of the leaves in the yard and frosted Halloween cookies (more pictures in the October post). Then we had lunch. After coming home and napping Colson, we went to a brand new park by the Orem Library. It is absolutely amazing! I was totally impressed and the boys had a great time. That evening I vegged by myself and watched Nashville.

On Friday we were back with the Gruber cousins and Grandma at the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. It was the scarecrow festival so we had a great time seeing all of the scarecrows. The kids loved seeing it. The Light of the World section was FINALLY open and it was just beautiful and amazing! It was very touching and left an impression. Towards the waterfall the booth and kiosks were open with good; which is always a fun treat. It is pretty good food, too. There were even bouncy houses and slides set up for the kids to play on. They were in heaven. After coming home for Colson's nap, we picked up some pansies to plant. It was crazy trying to round up the boys at the nursery, but they had a good time. That night I watched Nashville some more.

On Saturday we went to Midway for Bryan's bike race. It was great weather and lots of fun. There was a scarecrow festival at the Homestead so we walked along that. Then we went swimming at the World Mark Resort and had dinner. Before we knew it, it was dark and time to head home for bed. No surprise here, but I watched Nashville some more and organized a few things. (I already posted pictures from this day in the October post).

Then Sunday morning was here! Hurray! We went and picked up Jason from the airport and made it back in time for me to teach in Primary.

We definitely kept busy and did a ton of fun things! Keeping busy is the ultimate key to staying sane while Jason is away. We are glad to have him back!