On Saturday, a few of my coworkers and I volunteered at BGCH’s biggest fundraiser of the year in Ko Olina. We took a few of our awesome kids as well. It was a beautiful event!
Last night, Josh and I went to watch the sunset at Sunset Beach. I had heard it was a pretty phenomenal sight to see (as so many things are in Hawaii), and it definitely did not disappoint. First, the beach itself was huge and incredibly beautiful. The houses along the beach were amazing (and now if I had a bazillion dollars, I would choose this as the place to purchase a home). There were a few people surfing, swimming and stand up paddleboarding as well as, other people that were there to enjoy the sunset. I would say this sunset is the best I’ve seen in my life and was jaw-droppingly beautiful. I’m not sure the pictures can do it justice!
Along with the adventures that I’ve already blogged about, Bailey, Kyle and I spent time hiking, going to the beach, eating tons of good food, enjoying the pool and touring Oahu in general. We had such a great time and I miss them already!! I’m so thankful they were able to come visit and I got to spend such quality time with them :).
On Saturday, we hiked Tripler Ridge to Haiku Stairs. This is a hike that Josh and I both wanted to do, but hadn’t done yet (we’ve both hiked the stairway at night/early a.m. but not hiked to it then down it during the day). Since Bailey and Kyle were here, we thought it would be a great time to go so they could join in on the fun. Josh’s friend Tony also volunteered to come and be our tour guide since he had just completed the hike a few weeks before. It turned out to be one of the BEST hikes on the island yet. It took us about six hours to complete from start to finish. We hiked from Tripler hospital up the mountain on the ridges and back down the Haiku stairs on the other side of the island to Josh’s car (which Tony and Josh had staged the night before). It was EXTREMELY muddy and we were covered by the time we were finished (Bailey and I maybe slipped and fell a few times…). The views were unbeatable from the top and the pictures can’t even begin to do them justice. With the views, came a few scary portions along the ridge. We definitely put Kyle’s fear of heights to the test, but he made it the whole way without any issues! It was such an awesome way to spend a Saturday and we could not have asked for better weather!
Today, we went out for our second round of snorkeling at Shark’s Cove on the North Shore. Neither Josh nor I had been snorkeling here, so we were excited to go and check it out. From everything we had heard, it was a million times better than Hanauma Bay. It definitely did NOT disappoint! We saw tons of beautiful fish and coral and got to swim with a sea turtle. It was significantly less crowded than Hanauma Bay as well, so we basically had the area we were snorkeling in to ourselves. Plus, I continued to conquer my fear of the ocean :). I compiled all of our video footage into one video (it’s long but great footage of the turtle!).
We ventured to Hanauma Bay last Friday so Bailey and Kyle could snorkel and see all the beautiful sea life. This was my second time here, but this time I really got to explore and enjoy snorkeling myself (last time I was on a field trip). We saw some amazing things! TONS of beautiful fish (some were HUGE) and Bailey and Kyle saw an eel! It was the second time using our Go Pro and I got some pretty cool videos (some of them ended up being corrupted…still learning 🙂 ).
Hanauma Bay Video 1
Hanauma Bay Video 2
Hanauma Bay Video 3
Hanauma Bay Video 4
Hanauma Bay Video 5
This evening, we all headed to the Paradise Cove Luau. It’s one of the more popular luaus on the island and Bailey wanted to go to one while she was here….this worked out well for me too as it is something I wanted to cross off my list! We had fun relaxing and enjoying the food and entertainment. Success!
On Saturday morning, Josh and I got up super early to head up to the North shore to go shark diving in a cage. It has been on my list of things I wanted to do on Oahu for awhile now and on a whim on Friday, we decided to sign up for the 6:30 a.m. tour with Hawaiian Shark Encounters….and it was AMAZINGGGGG! We left from Haleiwa and traveled about four miles off the coast and saw about five or six Galapagos sharks that were about eight feet long. They were extremely curious about the boat and the cage and were fearless when it came to venturing close enough to see what was going on. The guide was telling us that there have been a few generations of Galapagos sharks in the area due to fishermen feeding them from their boat. It was an incredible experience and so amazing to be so close to them! Pictures and videos below! The waves were really big, so we got tossed around in the cage quite a bit. Once again, Josh had to be the photographer and videographer so I didn’t get sick all over him (and everyone else). We purchased a GoPro for the occasion and it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made!
Videos:
Shark Encounters 1
Shark Encounters 2
Shark Encounters 3
Shark Encounters 4
Shark Encounters 5
I love this picture…and it didn’t even begin capture how beautiful the sky was. The fact that it contains the end of the day to the beginning of the night to stars and then pitch black is exquisite.
Today, we ventured to Wet’n’Wild with the kids for our last field trip. It was a LONG day, but I had a great time riding the rides and hanging out with the kids and staff!
365 Days Of Hawaii 