Hawaiiiiiiiii

We just got back in town after a little fun in the sun!! Hawaii is a nice easy get away from Seattle, and there's so much of it to see, so we've been trying to hit up each of the islands. This time we went to Oahu! I was a little nervous about trying out this one because all I really knew about it was that there was the biggest city in Hawaii there. Usually when we go on these kind of vacations we try to steer clear of large groups of people. Luckily, turns out there's so many different areas of the island! We were actually staying about 30 minutes west of Honolulu on the south western corner of the Island at the Marriott resort there. The resort was fully equipped with a full selection of pools, spas, and it's own little lagoon beach right out front. Soooo it was perfect for us. We got in late Tuesday night. Wednesday we wandered around the resort grounds, enjoyed the pools and beach for a while, and did lots of relaxing.

One of the things we definitely wanted to do on this island was visit Pearl Harbor. It had a special meaning to me having spent several years in the Navy, but it was even more important to Ryan whose Grandfather was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. He was stationed on the USS California which was one of the ships that was destroyed. He was presumed dead for several weeks before they discovered that he was alive and had been working as a rescue diver pulling bodies out of the harbor. Although I never met him, it was amazing to be standing in the same place where he was a part of such a tragedy and survived. 

Since we we already near Honolulu for the Pearl Harbor outing, we continued on to spend the rest of the afternoon/evening there. We had to go check out Waikiki Beach so we walked the whole thing at sunset. It was quite beautiful, but it was sooooo busy. I can't imagine what it's like at the prime time of the day. It was fun to see it though and see the big city in the background and the mountains beyond that. It's a really neat contrast to it all.

After a day in the city, we decided to do a day of the complete opposite. We went towards the north shore and started out with a serious workout of a hike! I had found this hike on a website that said it was 4-5 miles. I was thinking it was 4-5 miles total…turns out it was like 5 miles up a mountain…then turn around and go 5 miles back down. Whew…what a workout! It was beautiful though with great views of the coast as we climbed, then great views of the valley from the top. Did I mention that it was a crazy workout?! I was pooped!

After the sweaty hike we cooled off on a few beaches on the North Shore and even caught a few surfers riding some pretty massive waves! The north shore is also awesome for the shrimp trucks and shave ice which we took full advantage of!

Saturday was another amazing relaxing day! We wandered around the beaches near our hotel and the nearby shoreline. Did a lot of reading and swimming and soaking up the sun! This is was vacations are made for. Luckily our resort grounds were super amazing with so many places to explore and lots of beverages to be consumed.

Sunday, our last day, we had a few last things we wanted to get in! First up, surfing! I'm not sure I'm going to be a pro at it anytime soon, but it was fun trying. There was a guy taking pics of us while we took a lesson, and I swear I got up and rode a few waves, but he didn't get so many pictures of that. Oh well, it was a lot of fun anyways!

After that, apparently I didn't learn my lesson the other day about how rough some of the hikes I looked  up really were. We decided to go on another hike up to the top of the crater. When I read it, it said it was a tramway that was a series of 1100 steps to take you to the top of the crater. I figured, how hard could it be to climb a few steps…we climbed to the top of the Columbia Tower (tallest building in Seattle) in just over 10 minutes! Turns out these steps were a little different. They were railroad ties that were a lot taller than a normal step and further apart…and it was soooo hot out. Also, I was a genius and decided it was a good idea to walk up in flip flops. It was a tough climb and towards the top we were dripping in sweat and I couldn't even keep my flip flops on, so I finished it off bare foot. Luckily, the views from the top, again, were amazing! We ended up on the top ridge of the crater with views of the coast and the city and surrounding mountains.

After all that we were exhausted and headed back to the resort for a sunset swim and dinner overlooking the beach and lots more relaxing before we had to get ready for an early flight the next morning.

We had such a great time and it's so fun to see what all the different islands offer. Next up, the Big Island, perhaps? In the mean time, we have several other trips in the works for the next few months. I love fun adventures with my handsome husband!