Diamond Head

Posted on December 19, 2012 by sandersnm

Earlier in the week I ran in the rain…today I hiked in the rain, strong wind and with a bunch of tourists. I hiked Diamond Head (Leahi..which means brow of the tuna in Hawaiian), which is a very popular tourist hike on the southeast side of the island (I strategically chose to hike this during the week so there would be less tourists). It was very different from a normal hike since it used to be a strategic military lookout in the early 1900s (no artillery was ever fired during a war). There are still tunnels, metal stairs and mounts for observation equipment in some of the places. I enjoyed this hike and the tunnels were pretty cool, but I can cross this off my list. There are a million other places to go hiking on the island with better views and less people!

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Cookies!

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It wouldn’t be Christmas without baking a few cookies.

Chicken and veggie pasta

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Mom and Tom..you would be proud….last night’s dinner!

Running in the Rain

Posted on December 17, 2012 by sandersnm

It’s been a pretty gloomy day here in Honolulu. But by about 3:00 pm this afternoon it looked like it was kind of clearing up, so I decided to try to go for a run outside. I went to Ala Moana Beach, which is about two miles from where I live, but by the time I got there it had started raining pretty hard again. I decided that I needed a run regardless…so running in the rain it was! It turned out to be an excellent decision…at the end of my run I was rewarded with a beautiful rainbow! My first since moving here :). Definitely made my entire day!!

Stretching before my run. This is the first beach I went to on my first trip to Hawaii…holds a special place in my heart!

Pretty nice view for a run.

Waikiki in the distance.

Definitely worth running in the rain for!

Bellows Beach Park

Posted on December 16, 2012 by sandersnm

After our hike yesterday and our super delicious Mexican food, we went to hang out at the beach for a bit. We went to Bellows Beach, which is incredibly gorgeous with it’s beautiful turquoise water. It is located on the east side of the island on Waimanalo Bay. Warning signs tell you to watch out for the Portuguese Man-of-war…which further strengthens my lack of desire to ever get in the ocean!

Looking through the Ironwood trees at the beach and ocean.

Amazing

Happy Hanukkah!

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Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail

Posted on December 15, 2012 by sandersnm

The first hike! After getting all of my ducks in a row per se (license, buying a car, unpacking, etc) I finally got to relax and enjoy Hawaii today. We went on a pretty easy two mile hike on the southeast corner of Oahu. The views were stunning and the ocean was unbelievably blue. Not a bad way to spend my first Saturday here.

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Not exactly tex-mex but seriously amazing veggie nachos!!

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Life on Queen Emma St.

Posted on December 14, 2012 by sandersnm

I arrived to a great apartment that already feels like home after three days. I definitely think that the wonderful Christmas decorations helped make it feel like home. After sending Josh pictures of my mom’s Christmas decorations and four Christmas trees (which are ridiculously beautiful..her house looks like it belongs in a magazine), he took it upon himself to decorate the apartment so I would feel more at home. He did an amazing job (which you can see below) decorating a tree, hanging little stockings, putting a wreath on the door and even going as far as getting decorative Christmas throw pillows. I am so incredibly appreciative of all his hard work!