Josh’s parents were in town last week so we decided to explore Kaneohe Bay one day and visit the sandbar. After looking at it for the past 8 months, we decided it was time to actually see what it was all about. Josh and I rented paddle boards and his parents kayaked. It was the perfect day and just stunning!
A few weeks ago, my cousin Krista and her husband Don came to visit. We went on many hikes, ate a ton of food and caught a sunrise. Highlights below!
My friend Lindsay and her fiancé Channa came to visit last month. We did a variety of fun things, but the most memorable was our hike. It was an insanely windy day but we persevered and were rewarded with quite a show by the rock bridge. The waves were huge and so powerful. The videos below don’t even capture it!
Just like we started last year, we began 2017 with a hike. We forced my mom to do Koko Head (and she lived!). It was an incredibly clear day so we were able to see Molokai and whales. The perfect way to set the tone for the year!
We started 2016 with a hike so we decided to end it with one as well! It was a beautiful day so we headed to the Northwest part of the island to hike to Kaena Point and then spend the afternoon at Yokohama beach. It was a morning filled with animals — plenty of whales on our way to the point, albatrosses in their protected environment and we saw five Hawaiian Monk Seals at Kaena Point (one of them in the water deciding whether or not to come in). We spent the afternoon enjoying the beach and relaxing. A great way to end 2016!
I finally made it to Waimea Bay! My family visited the week after Christmas and we left early to make it up to the North Shore on time. The benefit of this was that most of the beaches were empty on our drive up.
Last weekend we went to Kaena Point with my mom and we were lucky enough to see three Hawaiian Monk Seals. Since there are only about 1300 left, this was quite a treat! There are estimated to be about 25 on Oahu so we felt pretty lucky to see three of them!
This past week Paige came to visit! She was our first visitor since we moved back and we had a great time doing a ton of fun things on the island.
We spent her first whole day on the North Shore. Started with sky diving, enjoyed some shrimp and corn from the food trucks, saw some turtles, and had shave ice. After all of that, we were even able to muster enough energy to head into Waikiki for dinner.
Sunday, we went on one of our favorite hikes — Kuli’ou’ou Ridge. We’ve hiked this multiple times and this was the first time we ended up covered in mud.
After our hike, we went to spitting caves to see what the waves were doing. They didn’t disappoint!
During the week, Paige entertained herself with Pearl Harbor, visiting Kauai and some yoga. The next weekend we went on an ATV tour at Kualoa Ranch, which was a BLAST. This was our first time doing this and we can’t wait to do it again! The weather was beautiful and we had a great tour guide.
Last weekend Josh and I went to La’ie Point for the first time. We snapped a few pictures before it started raining on us. Hopefully we can go back another time when it’s bright and sunny.
Only about four months late in posting this, but Josh and I went back to Hawaii for his spring break in March. After a long flight, we got some poke and then crashed.
The next day I volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club. It was so wonderful to see how much the kids have grown and for them all to jump up to ask to be in my group for the field trip. Oh how I missed them! After a day full of volunteering, we headed to the Farmers’ Market for dinner.
Friday I was off for a day at the beach with the kids. Unfortunately it ended up being a rather rainy day so we headed back a bit early. After volunteering, we tried Uahai Island Grill for dinner (new place for us!).
On Saturday we met up with my dear friend Jenn in Diamond Head for some lunch and an açai bowl. We decided to drive around the island and dream about where we would live when we moved back on day. We finished the day with my favorite, shabu shabu!
Sunday we headed up to the North Shore to watch the waves. First stop, was Giovanni’s for shrimp. After stuffing ourselves, we sat on the beach and watched the waves and just relaxed. We tried Tokoname (recommended by our Airbnb hostess) for dinner — another new place for us!
Monday was my last day to volunteer and we spent it at the clubhouse doing crafts. Always so hard to say goodbye! For dinner, we met our friends Tia and Mark to catch up!
Tuesday I finally had some time to hike (and it was of course raining). To wait out the rain, we had Lanikai juice for breakfast and just relaxed. After being stuck inside, we ventured out for lunch at Buzz’s Lani Kai. It finally stopped raining, so we did a quick hike to Makapu’u Lighthouse. I’ve done this more times than I can count and it never gets old.
Wednesday we got to hike the Pāli Puka! This had been on our list when we lived there but we were never able to complete it. The views were absolutely gorgeous (helped that we had a perfect day as well). For lunch, we went to Kalapawai cafe in Kailua then home to shower for a night in Waikiki.
On our last full day, we hiked up to Lanikai pillboxes. It was SUPER hot and incredibly crowded. We treated ourselves to a poke bowl as a reward for lunch and went to hang out on the beach. We packed up to leave on Friday and then went to the Farmers’ Market for dinner to meet some friends.
On our last day, we packed up and checked out of our Airbnb. Our last meal was shabu shabu (of course).
And with that, another Hawaii trip in the books! A hui ho!
365 Days Of Hawaii 