Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Aloha

      It's been a while since I last wrote but there's good reason for that. In fact the reason was a nice little trip to visit my husband in port at the beautiful Waikiki, Oahu,  Hawaii! It was an amazingly, absolutely perfect visit. Rejuvenation, relaxation, adventure, inspiration, comradely and just plain fun!

     We stayed at this low-key little hotel, 2 blocks from the beach. Granted it was no high end resort but it safe, clean, pool, breakfast, a great view & only 2.5 blocks from the beach-what else could you ask for? Instead of going to all the tourist hot spots or taking exuberantly priced guides we set out on our own and had extremely memorable experience.

     Not only did we visit the beach by daylight but we sauntered down to the sandy shore after hours as well. The water was so incredibly clear with a multitude of aqua variances.At night the moon illuminated it's waves and there were no tourists to battle with as the water lapped over your feet. We ventured to Chinatown and ate a restaurant where NOTHING was in English. I'm not sure what we ate but it was delicious. The whole area was it's own little world: a world in a world if you will. Saw the oldest house in Honolulu; a cute little one story surrounded and dwarfed by the skyscrapers but thankfully preserved as a historical site. We saw a traditional Hawaiian Luau and partook in traditional Hawaiian cuisine. We stopped at oodles of notable restaurants and such like Hokoluni( cupcake shop featured on Cupcake Wars), Moose McGillicuddy's ( visited by Man v Food) and of course Hard Rock Cafe.

     We set out on a hike that was further inland and many tourists didn't venture there. It required ropes and heavy traversing but after several hours, muddy shins and scrapped ankles we made it to the waterfall. It wasn't a trickle either; it was a gigantic, beautiful, surreal part of nature.Time paused when we came across it. We have came out a little battered but it was all worth it. At one point we stumbled upon a Buddhist temple the size of a small mall. We'd never seen anything like it in size or ornate detail. We'd walked to Queen's beach where the locals would hang out and surf.We visited the surf museum and saw not only the history but novelty as well. In this little hidden treasure there stood the real life creation of the Silver Surfer surf board certified by Stan Lee.  We hiked to the top of Diamondhead. From there you could see everything; to downtown to the east side beach. The crater looked otherworldly and prehistoric.








On our last day we embraced the essence of Hawaii and took to the surf. Proudly we each caught some waves and on the last day saw an abundant quantity of rainbows in what is known as the land of rainbows. Plumerias bloomed everywhere and Banja trees dotted the landscape.


     It's impossible to layout every detail of the trip even though that's the podium it deserves to be put on. I wish ya'll could know how it felt and feel those experiences but I hope this bridges that gap if even just by a smidgen. And the thing was we did it on a budget. We saw TRUE Hawaii and I truly, completely and wholly believe it was far better than had we drained the bank on tours been stuck amongst a crowded pack of tourists. It was genuine and I couldn't ask for more.

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