Over the weekend we decided to rent a car. We were lucky to get a convertible for just $35 a day. We headed up to the North Shore and our first stop was the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Their claim to fame is their "world’s largest maze". Unfortunately, we didn’t go since walking was limited for me. So we just browsed around their gift shop. They had a snack bar with soft serve pineapple ice cream. When we saw it we knew we had to get some. We decided to just share one cone because it was $4.50.
If we were to go back, we would definitely get the pineapple split. Sure, it costs $10.50 but when you consider two people getting their own cone, it’s worth it. When we saw it we were shocked how big it was. There was this guy who got one and as he held it you could tell he was slightly embarrassed because it was so huge! Devin just had to get a picture of it.
After Dole, we went to the North Shore where there is a small tourist town that wasn’t too busy. We had lunch at a bakery with the missionaries. When Devin saw them he decided to offer to pay for their meal. They said thanks but they eat there for free since it is owned by members. What are the chances? I told Devin later that he should have asked them to get us a cookie since they don’t get charged. I was half kidding. So we sat and chatted asking them about things we should do and where to eat. On the Food Network we had seen a shaved ice place that served their cones with vanilla ice cream or beans (weird) and was supposedly the best place. We asked the Elders if it really mattered where we got shaved ice and they were very convincing that there is a difference. So we got a snow cone with vanilla ice cream on the bottom. The result? Not a fan of the ice cream and the shaved ice tasted just the same as the one we got at Diamond Head. 
This is just a random picture on the North Shore. I was trying to get a picture of the pretty green mountain but it took a little too long to get the camera out. So this is one of those "hold the camera high up over your head, aim behind you and hope you get something" pictures.
During the rest of our drive we made a stop at BYU Hawaii just to see what it looked like. Everything was closed so there wasn’t much we could look at on the small campus. We drove up to the temple. The drive to the Hawaii Temple is one of my favorites. You turn down this street which is lined with palm trees and beautiful flowers that frame the temple perfectly. Just driving up the road you know that there is something special about the building.
Other than that, we spent most of our time checking out nearly every beach on the way back to Waikiki, trying to find one that stayed shallow for a while so you could see if there were any critters (ie sea urchins). Seems like that type of beach just doesn’t exist there. There is not a lot of shore line and they always drop off relatively quickly. But we did find a beach that ending up being our favorite. I’ll make sure Devin posts an entry about that soon.
That pineapple split is out of control! It looks hilarious!