Hawaii Day 4

 

The gang standing outside of the Dole Plantation before our tour.

 

Dole has a massive ranch and an even more massive amount of land that they operate within to make their products some of the freshest.

 

I bet you didn't know that most pineapples have a red color to them while they are growing.? It's because of the dirt from the ground.

 

 

Ms. Lisa, Mom and Ms. Angel waiting patiently for the Train.

 

Mr Cliff and Ms. Ruby styling and profiling before boarding the train at the plantation.

 

Ms. Caroline holding a mighty juicy pineapple before heading to the train!

 

Ms. Lisa, Mom and Dad aboard the train at the Dole plantaion route.

 

Me and Nique looking as fly as ever,

 

The first part of out tour took place on this train for about 20 minutes to discuss all the carrying types of food they have and try them all.

 

Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Nah Na. Lol

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Look at all the pineapple being grown in the fields. Sad to say that all the pineapple seeds are planted by hand, as well as being picked to be shipped to other parts of the country.

 

I think it is safe to say that Morgan had a great tine.

 

We took a moment from the tour and bought some ice cream from the souvenir shop. Some had regular vanilla while others tried the pineapple ice cream.

 

Time to head to the garden and check out all the amazingly beautiful flowers and stop from some camera shots.

 

Ms. Caroline

 

Mom

 

Mr.Cliff

 

Ms. Ruby

 

Yours truly!!

 

Nique looking good.

 

Marissa will not be out done by anyone. Always ready, willing and able to pause for a picture.

 

Anyone up for a banana?

 

Mom and Ms. Lisa.

 

Niue and Mom

 

Mom and Dad

 

Ladies, calm down, he is only 16.

 

 Marissa dn Mr. Melvin.

 

Ms. Carline

 

Mom

 

Birds of Paradise.

 

Taking a moment to include myself in this blog. The hard part about being the photographer is that you seldom get to be in the photos.

 

This was an interesting looking tree.

 

Nique with his new Honu tattoo on his arm.

 

Ms. Caroline is getting tatted up in Hawaii.

 

Once we left the Dole Plantation we went and grabbed lunch at a local food tuck park along the North Shore.

 

Everyone went different places but I went to Giovanni's and had the half garlic shrimp and half lemon-butter shrimp. It was delicious.

 

After lunch we stopped by the North Shore beach to enjoy a little sand on our feet. It was nice and refreshing.

 

Here's Morgan, looking like she was born and raised here in Hawaii.

 

Nique climbing around on some coral.

 

Mom, dad and Ms. Lisa are enjoying the Beach. I have no idea why Ms. Lisa has this one leg thing going on in this picture.

 

Ms. Caroline finally made it to the beach, she has been looking forward to this all trip.

 

Check out Mr. Crab on this coral. He was enjoying a nice stroll in the park, unfortunately it was short lived because moments after this picture, a big wave came and knocked him off his path.

 

It doesn't get much better than this.

 

Or does it, we spotted what we thought was a large floating rock which turned out to be a sea turtle. It was massive in size but had no problem swimming up to the shore and interacting with the guest. He was putting on a show.

 

Check out the view of the island from the North Shore. Their are spectacular views all over this place.

 

Mr. Cliff and the girls walking back to the Vans after enjoying some waves.

 

After leaving the North Shore, we passed this line and were all wondering, what they were selling that had people waiting in line this long.

 

Turns out it is a little spot called Matsumoto Shave Ice and it is a North Shore hot spot. They apparently have the best shave ice on the island and in Hawaii, maybe even the world. So you know what came next.

 

 

I jump myself right in line because we were not about to leave the North Shore without trying the best shave ice in Hawaii.

 

We all got in line and decided that this was not the time to share. Every man for himself and God for us all.

 

The signature shave ice order at Matsumoto comes with a scoop of ice cream, shave ice on top with 3 flavors of your choice, topped with condensed milk.

 

Dad, Nique and I just went for the regular shave ice with three flavors, but how oh so delicious it was. It was definitely worth the 15-20 minute wait.

 

Mom and Ms. Lisa both tried the signature shave ice and they were extremely pleased with their choice. Big shout out to Ms. Lisa's daughter, Morgan, for informing us about this place.

 

Funniest part of the trip home was when dad decided to stop and get gas for the van and we pulled up to what was marked as a gas station but looked like a mix between a car wash and a mechanic shop. They did indeed sell gas and filled us up very quickly. The people are very trusting down here, because they allow you to fill up your tank then let you get back in your car and pull around to another door to go inside and pay for it.

 

Dad got a little turned around and went inside the mechanic shop instead of the gas station because he had a hard time understanding what the men were saying. They were all locals and talked extremely fast. It was hilarious.