Hawaii Trip Part 1

In August Greg and I visited Honolulu, Hawaii to visit the island as well as Brea Hiatt and her husband Brint. It had been such a long time since we had seen them and I was talking to Brea one day and she said we could come visit. I thought it was a brilliant idea, but never thought we would be able to pull it off. We made it work and go to visit the Island of Oahu for 1 full week! We arrived on a Wednesday night in August. I want to thank my dad for the tickets for the airline flight. Without that we never would of been able to go. Once we arrived, Brint and Brea met us at the airport to pick us up. We drove back to their apartment to drop off our stuff and then decide how we were going to start out our trip. Once we got settled, they took us to dinner at one of their favorite places. It was a Ramen place. It was the best Ramen I have ever had in my life. After dinner they took us on  a tour of downtown Waikiki. I could smell the ocean and feel the breeze and it felt amazing. The only thing that I didn't really like was the humidity. It did a real number on my curly hair. After the walk we went back to where we were staying and settled in for the night. It was so nice of Brint and Brea to let us stay with them. We really appreciated it!

Thursday:
Our first full day in Hawaii Brea took us around some of the island to a beach called "Sandy's Beach". While we were there way off in the distance there was a ship in the ocean. Then Brea informed us that Pirates 4 was filming just off the island and that very well could be the Black Pearl. It was way off in the distance but I really think it was. I got some pictures but they are kinda far out...

Its small but its there...

This one is a little better...

After we spent some time looking at the ship we went down to the beach and laid out our stuff and got ready to enjoy the sand, the water, and the sun. The sun felt amazing and the sound of the waves crashing made me realize that I was actually Hawaii!

Hiding form the sun haha...

Awwwwww :)

Crashing Waves!

Excited for the Ocean

Later that day once we were able to meet up with Brint, we went to go get shaved ice at a place called Shamazus (sp?). It was so good! Shaved ice is the new ice cream in Hawaii. Greg and I split the shaved ice and we had trouble finishing it. This thing was huge. We had half strawberry and half mango and then added condensed milk on top of both sides. It was so YUMMY!!!

After we ate the monstrous shaved ice we then decided to go to dinner. They took us to another favorite restaurant. It was called Teddy's Burger. It reminded me of a 50's diner with a modern twist. The burgers were huge and very good. They had a special sauce that was on the burger and it was amazing!! The burger was way to big for me to finish but I kept eating it because of the sauce. 

Friday:

On Friday we went to the North Shore to go snorkeling at Sharks Cove. On the way there we stopped at Waimea Falls and the Dole Plantation but we decided to come back at the end of the day.Waimea Falls was absolutely gorgeous. It was about a mile hike to the end where the falls was. It was very lush and green with lots of flowers.

After Waimea Falls we went snorkeling and it was amazing! The water was clear, a little chilly, but right when we got in the water we landed on a  school of fish, not sure what kind they were but they were pretty. Once we were done snorkeling we had a little camp and had hot dogs and chips. It was yummy! The North Shore was absolutely beautiful and had a different feel from Waikiki. The air was more crisp and had a fresher smell to it.

Getting started ... It was a bit cold

School of fish we found right away

Awesome dude!

 Tunnel that was found while snorkeling

Saturday:

Saturday went spent the morning learning how to surf! We went down to Waikiki  with Brea. They had extra surfboards for us to use so we didn't have to pay for them. We were thankful for that. It was really flat that morning but it was still a good learning environment. My arms were so sore and tired by the end. Other people making surfing look so easy and let me tell you its not. Its exhausting but it was so worth it. We ended up going on a sunset surf on Monday night. It was beautiful and romantic to watch the sunset from the ocean. By the end I was able to stand up on a small wave. It was only for a few seconds but it still counts! I would definitely go surfing again if and when I get the chance :)