U2 concert!!!

The next weekend after we got back from Hawaii was the U2 concert in Raleigh, NC. I don't know if we'll ever have the opportunity to see U2 in concert again and it was such an incredible show. We normally don't buy t-shirts at big concerts like this because they are so expensive and you've already paid for the tickets and parking, etc., but for U2 we did! And I can honestly say it was worth every penny we spent on tickets, parking ($20!!!) and the t-shirts because they are such an iconic band. We had a great time and thankfully because of our new camera we were actually able to take some pictures of the band too!

Meeting Roy Williams!!!

On the way home from Hawaii we had a layover in San Francisco, CA. When we got to our terminal there was nowhere to sit, so we're looking for somewhere to put our bags and sit until we board. When we put our bags down Chad saw Roy Williams standing a few feet away! At first he didn't want to draw attention to him so he just went over and said hello and got his autograph. But then we saw other people asking for pictures, so we decided to ask for a picture too! He was so nice and gracious about it - and thankfully I was wearing my Carolina sweatshirt too! That made the trip even better.

Hawaiian Vacation

This year for my 30th birthday we were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate it with my Mom and her husband Mike in Hawaii. What better way to ring in such a milestone birthday! Thankfully we were able to stay with my Mom & Mike for the majority of our trip and that helped us save lots of money (THANKS!!!), plus Mike knows so much about the islands that he was an amazing tour guide for us! We spent the first few days on the island of Oahu then the majority of our trip on the Big Island. We were able to drive around the entire Big Island and see all the various scenery that Hawaii has to offer.

My absolute favorite part of the trip was snorkeling! It was so amazing to see so many fish and sea turtles just swimming around and the water was so clear and beautiful. We also had the opportunity to try stand-up paddle boarding for the first time and both Chad & I never fell in once! It was an amazing trip and thankfully we had our new camera to capture all that we experienced there. The next few posts are some slideshows of our pictures from our trip.

Hawaii pics part I

We spent the first 2 days of our Hawaii vacation in Waikiki Beach on Oahu. We rented a car and drove up to the North Shore area to see some of the famous surf breaks like Pipeline and Waimea Bay. We also stopped at the Pearl Harbor memorial and ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe in Honolulu. We were also able to walk to the Waikiki Aquarium from our hotel. We crammed as much as we could into that one full day!

Hawaii pics part II

The majority of our time in Hawaii was spent in Hilo on the Big Island where my Mom & Mike live. Our first stop was Rainbow falls, then we went to the volcano on my birthday, lava fields and visited some libraries. We were fortunate to be able to drive around the whole Big Island. On our way to Kona we saw sea turtles at Puna lu'u black sand beach and saw Southpoint the southernmost point in the US. Hawaii has such varied geography and it was very interesting to get to see the whole island.

Hawaii pics part III

I really enjoyed the Kona side of the Big Island. We were able to stay with some friends of my Mom & Mike's - Ed & Mariko. We went to the City of Refuge, the best snorkeling at Kahalu'u beach park, exploring downtown Kona and of course stopping by the Kona library. On the way back to Hilo we completed our drive around the Big Island and stopped at a Hilton hotel to see their animal exhibits, we saw the huge Parker cattle ranch, Waipio Valley, Laupahoehoe Point where the 1946 tsunami wiped out a school and Akaka Falls.

Hawaii pics part IV

Our last few days we spent in Hilo - we visited some more libraries, went to the Hilo Zoo and downtown Hilo. We also did more snorkeling, stand up paddle boarding and kayaking too. Then we flew back to Honolulu and spent one last night in Waikiki Beach before flying back home. We had such a great time and got to experience so many cool things! Here is our last batch of pictures.