I spent my last three days hanging out with my good friend Torrey and his girlfriend Siri. Torrey and I go back to Kindergarten and I was super excited to see him and meet Siri who he'd met while living in HI. When I told him I wanted to come visit, he was very inviting. When I told him I wanted to hike and snorkel and see "real" Hawaii, he said OKAY! And boy did he deliver!!! I have fewer pictures of these days because I was having too much fun visiting :) I decided it made more sense to turn them into one (long) post.
T&S picked me up at the airport, we enjoyed Acai bowls and we drove to the West Side. I had been up the North shore on Saturday's tour. By the time we were done, I'd seen basically every part of the island that one can get to! Snorkeling was first on our agenda. I had borrowed a pouch to put my phone in to keep it dry but still be able to take pictures. These are the best I got...
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| the beach |
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| where we put in |
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| my suit, I think |
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| water |
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| I couldn't figure out my phone's issues so got several screenshot looking things |
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| actual picture of the ocean floor |
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| there were lots of snorkelers out but we'll say this is T&S |
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| we saw lots of fish and a couple turtles - they could be in this shot - who knows! |
We were out maybe 45 minutes. It was an adventure and now I can say I did it. I was terrible at getting in and out with the flippers and waves and all. Siri was very nice about it and said it was a pretty tough place for a novice. Apparently Torrey forgot to tell her I was a newbie!
From there, we kept driving up the coast until the road ended. Then we got out and hiked! We ended up at a Nature Preserve at the very western most tip of the island. The only way to get there is on foot.
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| That's all coral! |
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| It was REALLY hard not to put sone in my pocket!! |
We stopped and got shaved ice on the way back to their house. It's a Hawaiian staple!
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| Tired and happy!! |
We ended the evening enjoying beverages and snacks on the lawn with their neighbors. They live in a former staff house of a larger "estate". They're basically all one big happy family! It was great!!
The next day, Siri went off to work and dropped us at a bus stop closer to where Torrey and were going to hike. Saved quite a bit of time sitting on a bus!!
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| Here we go!! |
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| Started out easy |
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| I thought this was bad! |
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| couple nice views before we headed down |
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| there's a ROPE to help you get up and down! |
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| this is actually fairly flat, though wet and knotty |
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| bottom of heart attack hill |
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| this is actually headed down |
So our hike didn't end up like we'd planned. The trailhead was VERY steep, wet and slippery, and took incredible balance to stay on our feet. I made one wrong step and my knee SCREAMED at me. And not it's normal screaming. I sat for a few minutes but decided to be a smart adult and turn around. We only had about .25 miles to the waterfall but I really didn't want to get stuck down there or hurt myself even worse! So we turned around. Up was actually a whole lot easier than down!! By the time we got up, the screaming knee had shut up but the opposite ankle was a mess, probably from favoring the other side.
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This is a pic T took of the waterfall when he was there in March.
It was probably 20 times fuller today! Oh well!!
At least I am still walking :) |
On our way back to the house, the bus put us right outside whichever building has the famous statue in front of it. Seriously should've written this 2 months ago!!
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| hot, sweaty, muddy, but still a tourist! |
That night T&S took me to a local restaurant that was quite yummy! Then they took me to a Don Quixote store. Wow!! So much stuff!! It had everything!! From aisles of souvenirs (of course I bought more!!) to fresh meats to housewares. Seriously everything!
Tuesday was my final day in Hawaii. I had woken up Monday with a cold though I didn't let it slow me down. Tuesday morning Torrey had a thing and I volunteered to just stay home, sleep in, and pack. I had a LOT to fit in to my little suitcase and one carry-on!!
Tuesday afternoon Torrey and I ventured not too far to the Palace for a video and an art museum and general wondering around cool historical Hawaiian stuff.
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| A church |
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| where apparently people were getting married |
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| outside of the art museum |
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| statue of one of the queens |
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| the Palace |
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| church down the street |
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walking back to T's house, he says, "oh yeah, Obama went to school there"
really?! that's an afterthought!!?!? |
We got cleaned up, picked up my luggage and met Siri for dinner at a local pub. Yummy. They took me to the airport and I flew home! Okay, it was a nightmare flight with lost luggage, canceled connections, etc but whatever. I'm home. I went to Hawaii and had an AMAZING time!! I can't wait to go back!! Oh and to go visit T&S in Japan maybe!!
