Brandi's Visit

My cute sister, Brandi, came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. I was so happy to have her here. In fact, shortly after we moved here I found myself at the "From Here to Eternity" beach, swimming in the waves and weeping because I wanted to share it with my sisters so bad. I know how much my sisters would love it here. We, as a family, have always been water people, loving to boat, ski, tube (down a river or behind a boat), scuba dive, snorkel, jump off things like bridges and rocks into water, and just plain swim; in Hawaii you can do pretty much all of these things. It breaks my heart that I can't share this beautiful place with my sisters more often. So, as you can imagine, Brandi's visit was a dream come true!

While she was here we went to a lot of beaches (she wore me out). We even visited one beach that was new for me and Zac. One of the beaches is close to the Halona Blowhole. Below the parking lot is a little cove that stays protected most of the time, making it a great place to swim. The bonus: rocks to jump off! The beach is famous for a romantic kiss scene in the movie, "From Here to Eternity," starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. I've heard the beach called many names including the "From Here to Eternity" beach, cockroach beach and Halona Blowhole Park beach. We, as a family, call it Cove Beach. It's one of our favorites!

I also took Brandi on the (paved) hike up to Makapu'u Lighthouse. On Wednesday mornings a few ladies in my church ward meet to walk together to get some good exercise and to chat. For the hike down, I took her down the side of the mountain to see the tide pools and the dragon nostrils (blowhole) me and the boys had found earlier. Brandi was a little overwhelmed by the steepness of the climb, but she was a good sport anyway.

Dragon's Nostrils:

The waves were huge that day! They crashed beautifully over the rocks created quite the show. We (or should I say I) sat in one of the tide pools and watched the power of the ocean crash nearby. Stunning!

The last picture shows the terrain (behind Brandi) we had to climb back up to get to the path. Once we reached the pavement, Brandi shouted out, "I did it! Aaron won't believe it!" I'll bet he would, he knows how awesome you are, but props to you Brandi! I love you. Thanks for a wonderful visit!