Hawaii Loa Ridge Trail

Posted on August 21, 2013 by sandersnm

On Sunday, Josh and I hiked Hawaii Loa Ridge trail. It was about four miles roundtrip and was a pretty good workout. The first portion was mostly flat and you dip back down into a valley area. Then the last section is super steep with stairs and a good workout for your legs. The view of the windward coast was beautiful (as always on these hikes) and we had great weather for the day. Great way to spend our Sunday :).

Diamond Head.

Koko Head in the distance.

Josh hiking along.

Pretty valley…the picture doesn’t do it justice.

A tree…growing in the air…

Hiking up the numerous stairs..

The beautiful windward coast.

Honolulu.

Hawaii Kai.

The sun shining off the trees…beautiful.

A Walk in the Country

Posted on August 19, 2013 by sandersnm

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!

The beautiful set up.

Windward clubhouse staff and kids.

Gorgeous sunset!

The event in action.

Maureen, Jenn and I enjoying our shave ices!

Sunset Beach

Posted on August 17, 2013 by sandersnm

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!

Walking with our chairs to watch the sunset.

Beautiful houses!

The beach is huge!

Surfer and swimmer.

The clouds were incredible.

Josh was forcing me to take multiple pictures. I was over it.

Stand up paddleboarding.

Moon!

MCB Hawaii

Posted on August 13, 2013 by sandersnm

When Bailey and Kyle were here, Josh showed them the Marine base. Even though I had been on base numerous times, I never stopped to take pictures of some of the pretty parts. I decided to be a tourist too and took some pictures while we showed them around.

Helicopters

Helicopters flying over the ocean. Loved this picture with the sun.

Cousin Fun

Posted on August 9, 2013 by sandersnm

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 :).

Lani Kai beach the first day….first of many beach trips for them.

Pretty sun shining through the clouds.

First açai bowl!

Bailey and her giant smoothie from Lani Kai Juice.

Makapu-u Lighthouse…at the top of the trail.

Bailey and I at the top of Makapu’u Lighthouse trail.

Hiking to Manoa Falls.

Manoa Falls from a distance.

Bailey and Kyle at Manoa Falls.

Bailey in the bamboo forest.

Sushi! They were venturesome. Kyle tried sushi for the first time.

Bailey’s favorite açai bowl from Diamond Head Health Cove.

Our matching bracelets from the North Shore.

The Hula Pie from Duke’s. Incredible! Seriously ridiculously good.

Bailey and I having smoothies in Chinatown.

MCBH Marina

Image

Shark’s Cove

Posted on August 4, 2013 by sandersnm

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!).

Shark’s Cove

Hanauma Bay Round Two

Posted on August 4, 2013 by sandersnm

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

Bailey and Kyle preparing to snorkel!

Shark Encounters!

Posted on July 28, 2013 by sandersnm

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

Arriving at the cage. There was a bird hanging out…refusing to leave.

Sharks swimming around!

The shark swimming under the cage.

Heading back to the harbor!

Atlantis Submarine

Posted on July 23, 2013 by sandersnm

On my last Monday field trip for summer, we went to the Atlantis Submarine in Waikiki. I was actually pretty excited about this, because they go about 100 feet under water to the reefs below to check out the marine life off the coast. The water was pretty cloudy, but it was still awesome!