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20130305-203125
March 7 2013

Aloha Vacation!

My trip to Hawaii was full of activities and rejuvenating beach time. I love staying busy and getting the most out of my trip and that’s just what we did. (I count laying out on the beach for a few hours a form of staying busy.) 😉

Hawaii bound!
Hawaii bound!
goods
The goods for the 9 hour flight

Lee and I made sure to plan activities (you know, like mad libs, music time, eating time) for every hour of the plane ride. Nine hours seems scary but with our chocolates and treats, it went by pretty fast!

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Are we there yet?

When we arrived, my cousin Joey and his fiance Alexis greeted us at the Honolulu airport with fresh lays.

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We wasted no time getting into the Hawaiian spirit.

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Mai Tai time!

We stopped by their lovely apartment to drop off our things and get comfortable with our home for the week before heading to Mai Tai Bar for drinks and appetizers. We ordered shrimp, edamame, and a large salad for the table.

jet lag who?

Afterwards, we headed back to the apartment to chill out in the hot tub and enjoy the night before heading out to explore the bars at Lewers Street. (Jet lag who?)

View of the courtyard
View of the courtyard
The city view of Honolulu from the porch
The city view from the porch

Getting to Lewers Street where the night life is was about a mile walk. Since we burned so many calories, we had to reward ourselves with a few drinks 😉

crazy tree along the route
crazy tree along the route

The next morning, we awoke at 7 AM Hawaii time and were surpsingly ready to rock and roll. Lee and I went for an hour walk to get some light cardio in since he’s not supposed to run after his ACL surgery just yet. Then, we went to Walmart to load up on snacks and drinks. (Waikiki is a pricey place- thank goodness for Wally World.)

;

We lived off these delicious snacks along with chex mix and cereal. Super healthy, huh?

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I also picked up some of this just because it looked cool.

When we got back to the apartment, we enjoyed the porch views and then got ready to head to the beach with Joey.

my lay still holding strong the next day
my lay still holding strong the next day
being lazy after swimming and laying by the beach
being lazy after swimming and laying by the beach
We watched volleyball and played botchi ball.
We watched volleyball and played botchi ball.
I snapped this picture on our walk home from the beach and volleyball
I snapped this picture on our walk home from the beach and volleyball

That evening we went to a sushi go-round for dinner and followed it up with crepes for dessert.

So tasty
So tasty

Monday morning, we woke up at 7 AM again ready to start our day. We went for a 2 hour walk around the city and came back to do a little porch hanging and pool relaxing.

I snuck in this picture of Lee
I snuck in this picture of Lee

Then it was off to snorkel but not before making a slight detour.

The Bounty Huntah'!!
The Bounty Huntah’!!

Yep, we drove by Dog’s house. Success. Joey also gave us a tour of the south eastern tip of Oahu.

pretty views
pretty views

Then it was time for lunch. We needed to fuel up before snorkeling of course.

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We went to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. No sea turtle sightings but we saw some cool fish.

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We got back to the apartment and brought in Joey and Alexis’ favorite nearby sushi restaurant for dinner.

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My sashimi bowl

Then the four of us we went out to party rock at LuLu’s.

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Joey and Alexis – our fab hosts

On Tuesday morning, we had a relaxing start at the pool and hot tub and then headed over to Duke’s for a breakfast buffet.

Plate 1
Plate 1
Plate 2
Plate 2

Then it was beach time. That night, we got to attend a luau.

switching beaches
switching beaches
a rainbow at the luau!
a rainbow at the luau!

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Lee got chosen to do a lil' dance
Lee got chosen to do a lil’ dance
learning to hula
learning to hula

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Dinner at the luau
Dinner at the luau
And my favorite, the dessert
And my favorite, the dessert
Dancers at the luau
Dancers at the luau
I snuck a picture of our picture
I snuck a picture of our picture

After the luau, we walked down the beach to conclude our evening. The next morning, we were ready to get a real workout at the gym. We did the elliptical and some free weight workouts and finished up with a little yoga outside. Next it was on to the popular local market to look for some souvenirs for our friends and family.

We tried some "shave ice"
We tried some “shave ice”
Then we got lunch plates, a popular item in Hawaii
Then we got lunch plates, a popular meal in Hawaii

That evening, we went on a sunset cruise.

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A rainbow sighting while at sea

On Thursday, we went for an early morning walk on the beach and then hiked Diamond Head.

The view
The view

Afterwards, Lee and I headed to the beach but first stopped to get some Teriyaki chicken and a salad to split.

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A little sunburnt

We hung out on the beach for the majority of the day and even found Santa!

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Violin-playing Santa Claus!

That night, we grilled out at the apartment with friends.

Chicken, salad, and grilled pineapple
Chicken, salad, and grilled pineapple

We went out that evening to a little bar with live music and walkd to some other cool bars as well.

Friday was our last day and we were determined to pack more fun activities in for the day. Lee and I went for a shorter walk that morning and then went to breakfast with Joey before going to the beach for the remainder of the day.

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I even got to paddle surf at the beach. It was really enjoyable. We came back to the apartment later in the afternoon to pack up and clean up before heading out to our last dinner. And boy, was it quite the lavish meal!

Shabu Shabu (Japanese hot pot)
Shabu Shabu (Japanese hot pot)
Acai bowl
Acai bowl
Taiwan shave ice
Taiwan shave ice
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This stuff was awesome!

The Taiwan shave ice was so tasty and very light too. (The English major in me would like to point out that the Hawaiians use the verb ‘shave’ as an adjective but whatevs it’s island life!)

One of my favorite parts about this trip was how active Lee and I were the entire time. Waikiki is a walkable city so we literally walked just about everywhere we could. If you get the chance, definitely visit this fun city!

Mahola Hana Hou Hawaii, Joey and Alexis! (Thanks again Hawaii, Joey and Alexis!) 😀

A grocery shop before the snow Chowin’ on some Chos

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