February 16-20, 2016

I've always dreamed of visiting Hawaii. Climbing volcanoes. Scuba diving in the ocean. Hula dancing by the beach. 

My friend, Jess, works for University of Michigan and had the amazing opportunity to attend a Bone Marrow Transplant conference in Honolulu. When she asked if I wanted to come along, I couldn't say no! My job is very flexible and allows me to work from other locations, so with the purchase of a flight ticket, my dream came true. I'm so thankful for Jess and her generosity in letting me tag along! 

I left Tuesday morning after President's Day and touched down in Hawaii in the mid-afternoon. You could feel the sea breeze brushing your face and a beautiful garden awaited in the middle of the airport! I also enjoyed my first authentic meal of poke :)

As the cab driver brought us to the Ala Moana hotel, he enthusiastically educated us about Hawaii. He pointed out the monkey pod trees in the distance and told us about his two lovely daughters and how much he loves them (d'aw). When we arrived at the hotel, excitement filled our hearts as we set out to explore!

Light rain drizzled on our heads. Apparently it rains (even if just for a few minutes) every day in Hawaii, similar to Florida. So, for our first day, we simply window shopped at the Ala Moana Center next door instead, visiting famous shops like the ABC Store and Honolulu Cookie Company. Jess savored her first poke bowl and I enjoyed my first sushi burrito!

The Ala Moana Beach Park lay just a few minutes walk away from our hotel. It's very peaceful and serene, surprisingly undisturbed by tourists. 

While Jess attended her conference, I had the chance to venture around Honolulu on my own, visiting the famous Side Street Inn for their pan fried porkchops. It's a cute family owned restaurant, literally located on a side street. I also discovered the Nijiya Market, with authentic and fresh Japanese food! So much bento!

Jess and I heard rave reviews for Lanikai Beach. "Lanikai" means heavenly sea, and it truly lived up to its name. The bus ride to get there took 1 hour and then we walked through quaint neighborhoods with storybook houses to get to the beach. We embarked upon the fabled Pillbox Hike, which should have taken 15 minutes for the average 7 foot tall professional athlete, but took closer to 40 minutes for us. We did take a few pit stops to take pictures, of course! At every rise in elevation, I couldn't help but marvel at God's creation. So gorgeous!

Just 10-15 minutes away from our hotel lay Waikiki Beach. It's a much more touristy area, bumping with activities, people, and great food! I stopped by the beach and US Army Museum before seeing a long line of people coming out of Marukame Udon, the place to go if you want "the perfect bowl of udon." Oh my gosh. It was amazing. They roll and boil the udon noodles fresh, it's extremely affordable, and they have a tempura bar with every kind of side dish you could want! I got the Niku Ramen with a shrimp tempura, inari sushi, and tempura fried chicken on the side. Absolutely amazing, no regrets. If you visit Waikiki, you must eat here!

We finished off the night by seeking out the best Taiwanese shaved ice in Honolulu. Yelp led us to Frostcity, a quiet shaved ice place with quirky decorations and games to hang out with friends. Together with Jess and her coworker, we sampled strawberry, green tea, and nutella. Sublime!

The Michigan winter months haven't helped my Vitamin D intake, but going stand up paddle boarding for the first time with Jess definitely helped! We didn't realize how large the boards would be and decided the 30 minute long walk to the beach while carrying the massive boards and paddle wouldn't be feasible. Luckily, our Lyft driver was extremely cool and had a rack on top of his car to help! After paddle boarding, we went to Chinatown and ate at Pig & The Lady. So flavorful and delicious!

To end our amazing trip, we snorkeled at Haunama Bay (also my first time)! Unfortunately for me, I felt really sick and had a headache all day, so swimming a few feet above coral and beautiful fish wasn't as lovely as it could have been. Before we headed back to the airport, our wonderful cab driver from our first ride requested to take us to the beach one last time to catch the sunset. So sweet. Mahalo, Hawaii!