Hawaii, Day 3: Pancakes, Sea Turtles and Hula Dancers

One thing I am so happy we did was some research. We knew our time in Hawaii would fly by so we wanted to waste none of it with things our guidebook did not label as "the best." We hiked the best trails, snorkeled the best beaches and ate at the best restaurants. One of these restaurants was a little hut on the beach called Gazebo. It was hailed as having the best view and best mac nut pancakes on the island. By staying on California time (going to bed shortly after sunset and waking shortly after sunrise) we were able to get there before it opened and didn't have to wait in the long line that had already formed when we were done. Check out my plate of banana macadamia nut pancakes and pineapple! Do I even need to go into extra detail about how delicious this breakfast was or how great the view was?

.

After breakfast we pulled out the snorkel sets we had bought at Costo and drove to beach stop number one, Kaanapali Beach and Black Rock. This was how we did all our snorkeling-- read about the good spots, found them, parked the car and hiked to and hopped in the water. The highlight of this day was seeing 5 sea turtles swimming around with us. Dave was so close to one he could have touched it! Dave also saw an eagle ray and more colorful fish than we could even find in our "Fish of Hawaii" guide.

.

Dave was happy to stay in the water all day swimming with the sea life. I snorkeled for a while, but also enjoyed laying on the beach and getting through my book.

.

Our vacation package came with luau tickets. This night, we chose a luau at the Sheraton on Kaanapali Beach, the same one we had been swimming and snorkeling at all day. The food and drinks at the luau were excellent. The show was pretty cheesy, but exactly what we were expecting. A highlight was being invited up to the stage with all the other anniversary celebrators and honeymooners for a special serenade and slow dance.
.

The main course of dinner was this pig that had been roasted in the ground all day. We were called to eat with a conch shell blow and then watched these Hawaiian men uncover our pig and get it ready for us.
.

After dinner and before the show we watched our third sunset.

.


This one was cool because at Black Rock a guy comes out each night to light tiki torches, toss a lei into the water, pray and then cliff dive into the ocean.

.

Day three was packed with good food and unusual sightings. (Sea turtles! Cliff divers! Fire dancers!) This gorgeous sunset was a great addition to it. Day three was perfect.
.