Hello from Hawaii…or should I say aloha! we are so excited to be here and I simply cannot get over how beautiful it is! Since I woke up at 5:30, I figured I’d provide an update on our trip while I let Tyler sleep a little longer 🙂
Our trip started off a wee bit stressful as we could’ve left the house earlier than we did (oops) and I have never seen BWI security so packed. Tyler and I looked at each other in a panic when we saw the line. We lucked out because Clear check had ambassadors going through the lines offering a free 30-day trial to bypass the long security line. We jumped at the opportunity and after about five minutes had our finger prints and eyes scanned and were able to jump the line. God is good because without this we may have not made our flight. We got to our gate as it was boarding and were quickly on our way!
We had a layover in San Diego and then were on route to Honolulu. After a boring six hours with no TVs on flight, we made it to paradise. If you’d like to read about my favorite travel tips, click here. When we arrived, we picked up our rental car and headed straight for the Japan Village Walk for some grub. Tyler has been here before so he already knew about some great spots. The Village Walk is an open market with food vendors serving sushi, poké, ramen, mochi and more. We tried a pork-filled steam bun, takoyaki (balls made of wheat flour, octopus, pickled ginger and green onion — amazing), sushi and sesame mochi. Everything was so good!
After getting food we went to the grocery store to pick up some snacks to bring to our friend’s house that we are staying with. We caught up with him and we’re exhausted, but we forced ourselves to stay up as late as we could to adjust for the time difference (six hours behind here).
The next morning we woke up at 6 a.m. ready to go! We drove through Haleiwa and up the North Shore. The ride was beautiful and the mountains here are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We went to the Sunrise Shake for smoothie bowls and one of the best coffees I’ve ever had. After that we went to Pipeline and watched some surfers in action.
We then did hiked the Pillbox trail, which is short and steep (we we’re definitely sweating!) and got to take in its amazing views. After the hike, we cooled off at Waimea Beach where I got pummeled by a few waves haha. I wasn’t expecting water up to my shins to be able to knock me over, but the current on the North Shore is no joke. The beach was stunning!
After a few hours at the beach, we grabbed some grub at Pupakea Grill. This was some of the best food I’ve ever had! I got the spicy tuna poké bowl and Tyler got the Hawaiian bowl that was filled with poké, kalua pork, Okinawa sweet potato and more. We were in heaven!
After lunch, we went to Shark’s Cove to do some snorkeling. The water here is very calm but the reef is very sharp and difficult to walk over. We got to see the cute little guy below and enjoy some snorkeling with views of fish and the underwater reef.
After snorkeling, we drove to downtown Haleiwa and walked through some shops. I got to stop in North Shore Goodies to get their amazing peanut butter (my favorite food) that Tyler brought home for me the last time I was here and have been obsessed with ever since! After walking around the shops, we went back to the apartment to get ready for dinner. We grabbed dinner and drinks in Kailua, which is charming and beautiful with views of the mountains. After dinner we were ready to call it a night! 😴
Today we’re visiting Waikiki and I’m so excited! I hope you’re having a great week!
– Morgan