Hawaii Withdrawals

On the first day, we arrived at Honolulu around 11 A.M. We spent most of that day taking care of business (i.e. the car rental stuff, grocery shopping, checking into our hotel). When Kristen and I got time for ourselves, we walked to the beach outside our hotel and chilled there for a bit. 

Day 2:

Day 2 was dedicated to driving around the island to look at a few beaches and take a few tourist-esque photos. We ended up spending some time at Halona Blowhole Lookout. There, Kristen and I swam for a bit and then climbed some of the rocks to explore. Not gonna lie, we sang a lot of The Little Mermaid songs that day.

It was also Father's Day, so at night we headed to a nearby sushi restaurant and celebrated! (The sushi was glorious, in case you were wondering.)

Day 3:

The morning of the third day, we hiked up Diamondhead and enjoyed the view. Afterwards, we went to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling! 

Day 4:

So, I forgot the name of the first waterfall we hiked up to, but all I know is that the hike was long, narrow, muddy, and completely worth it. I'm not much of an outdoorsy-typa-girl but even I could still appreciate all of Mother Nature's beauty that day. Afterwards, we went to Waimea Valley, where there was also another waterfall that we could actually swim in. 

Day 5:

I'd like to refer to this day as the "Cultural Day." In the morning, we spent some at at the Iolani Palace, listening to a self-guided audio tour. I love history, so this part was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my trip. I highly recommend anyone visiting Oahu to visit the palace and to take their time on the tour! There were a lot of interesting, albeit a little sad, facts about the palace and the royal family.

Afterwards, we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was kind of like a theme park, but just no rides and more educational? They also offer luaus at this place, and the food was amazing. Just another reason to love Hawaii.

Day 6:

We hiked in the morning at the Makapu'u trail, but Kristen and I went off course to venture down into the tidepools. The lady we spoke to on the phone the day before warned us not to go down there because people have apparently died on the trip down, either because the offcourse trail's a little tricky or because of the high tides and strong currents. The hike down was pretty terrifying at times (but, then again, I'm just scared of heights) but so, so, so worth it. The tidepools were just really pretty and so refreshing to swim in after the hike. Because we didn't bring any bathing suits, we ended up just swimming in the tidepools in our workout clothes. If I could go back to any moment in Hawaii, this would be it.

After that, we all went paddle boarding at one of the local beaches. Paddle boarding, as I came to realize, is a lot harder than it looks like. And that's probably because I'm the most uncoordinated person I know. It was a lot of fun though and I'd definitely do it again - even if I did fall off my board three times.

Day 7:

Okay, no photos here because I didn't bring my phone with me, but we went ziplining! The view was great, the feeling was exhilarating, and the instructor was really cute. 10/10 day for me.