Hawaii- Kualoa Ranch

So I realized that I didn't blog yesterday. Sorry about that...I completely forgot. I've been sort of busy at work and then sometimes I just don't feel like typing. But I'll try and pick up where I left off on my Hawaii trip. On Saturday we had a full day tour to Kualoa Ranch on the North side of the island. Kualoa Ranch is owned by one family and it is also known as Movie Row. This is the part of Hawaii where they film all the movies and the TV show LOST. They filmed Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, Mighty Joe Young, 50 First Dates, and Pearl Harbor at this ranch. It was so cool! This was probably my favorite day. It was a blast! The ranch is absolutely stunning, breathtaking, and beautiful!

Because we were there the entire day we got to do four different tours with each being an hour long. So the first tour we did was the Jungle Expedition Tour. It's what it sounds like. We hopped into a jeep and drove into the jungle. We had the best guide. He's name was Robin and he was awesome! He found out that my friend and I are huge LOST fans so he pointed out to us all the spots where they film the jungle scenes. He told us that we missed them filming there by a two weeks. They were there two weeks before our tour and they were coming back the next week. I was so disappointed. They were there on the island filming just not at the ranch. Robin was telling us that sometimes they have to hold up their tours for up to 30 minutes waiting for them to finish filming a scene. Oh, to think I was where Matthew Fox has been!! *Sigh* :-) So here is a jungle shot that you might recognize on the show if you watch it.

So the tour just took us deep into the jungle and it was really just a cool ride up the mountain and down. Our guide would point out the different trees and flowers that were unique and it was a great experience. Now on our way up the mountain he stopped the jeep for us to look out over the ocean and there we saw a fisherman's pond that is over 600 years old. That was awesome. Then he pointed out to a really long pier that went out over the ocean. This was the pier that Drew Barrymore ran down crying on 50 First Dates. So here is a picture of that if you can make out the pier.

After our jungle tour we went on an Ocean Voyage Tour. We took a small boat across the fisherman's pond and after a short walk through the trees we found our way to the catamaran that we would be riding around Chinaman's Hat. That was a great experience! It was so much fun. First of all the dock that we had to walk on to get to the small boat is the same dock where on LOST Locke blew up the boat! So here is a picture of that! So cool!

The ride on the catamaran was so fun. He booked it out to Chinaman's Hat and it felt like you were on a roller coaster. Then on the way back to land he went so slow so we could see the sea turtles swimming. That was so cool! After the Ocean tour we broke for a buffet lunch and then we did our Horseback riding tour. That was nice. My horse's name was Cookie and he was beautiful! The ride was uneventful but the views were stunning. After the horseback riding tour we went on an ATV driving tour! That was may favorite part of the day, I think. We couldn't go over 10 mph but I sure wanted to. It was first time driving one and I was really nervous about it but it was so fun that I would love to own one. Where I would drive it...I have no idea but I would like to own one. This was also where we got to into the actual valley of the ranch. This is where they do the bulk of filming for most movies but it is also the most spectacular view I have ever seen. It was so beautiful here. The picture's really don't do this place justice.

There are cows just roaming everywhere. It's cute. The road behind us is the road where they filmed 50 First Dates. You know the scene where Drew Barrymore gets out the baseball bat and starts chasing Rob Schneider? That's the spot! I can't wait to watch the movie again so I can see all the places I've been in that movie. They also film alot of LOST scenes there as well so that was really cool. I could have stayed in that valley forever. It's beautiful. There are just no words to describe it.

The ATV was our last tour of the day so after that it was time to board the bus and head back to the hotel. It was about a 45 minute ride back and so after we got back to our hotel of course we hopped in the hot tub for another couple of hours. I recommend after a long hard day to jump in a hot tub. It's just the perfect ending to any day. Then we got cleaned up and decided to find something to eat close by so we just went a pizza place in the village. It was good.

The next day (Sunday) we decided to go parasailing and snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. This was a great day as well. I made the mistake of calling my mother the day before and telling her our plans for that day. She was not amused and made me call her when I was through so she knew I made back to land safe and sound. I had never been parasailing and even though it was unbelievably scary...it was the best fun I've had.

Snorkeling was alot of fun. It took me awhile to get the hang of it but once I did, it was alot of fun. The colors of the fish were so vibrant and amazing! I couldn't believe all the different types of fish we saw. We were only there for a couple of hours and when we came out of the water for a rest we realized that we only had 30 more minutes before the shuttle came to pick us up. So we decided to go back out in the water for a little longer when we heard this couple say that they just saw some sea turtles. So they pointed out where they went to go see them and we found them!! It was amazing! I swam with sea turtles. It was by far the coolest thing. Here is a picture of us snorkeling.

So we did that for the rest of our time and then we headed back to the hotel. After another few hours in the hot tub at our hotel we decided to go eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp. That was a great place to eat. I think I like the atmosphere of the place more than the food. It's named after the movie Forrest Gump and had all sorts of memorabilia from the movie. After that we went back to the hotel to go to bed early because the next day we were being picked up at 6 am to go to Pearl Harbor. So I'll pick back up there tomorrow.

Tonight I'm going to my parents for dinner and to watch NCIS with my mom. That is our favorite show so we have to watch it together. Hope you all have a great evening!