Hawaii

James birthday was quickly approaching and we still hadn’t firmed up our plans. The weather was looking a bit dreary in California and accommodation options not so great. I can’t quite remember whose idea it was but someone came up with the bright idea to head to Hawaii. We looked at flight and accommodation options and decided we were never going to get this close to Hawaii again so why the hell not.

We flew from San Jose airport to Honolulu early one morning, leaving the truck in the airport carpark. 5 hours later, we arrived in a tropical paradise! The weather was warm, the people were smiling, the beaches were beautiful. It just so happened that we got to Waikiki in the morning and got ourselves a nice big breakfast on the beach before we could check into our hostel. The location was perfect however the hostel would leave a lot to be desired. We had a private room which is normally fine for us 30-somethings however it was in a shared apartment with two other rooms of 6 people. One toilet and one shower. And the 6 other people had clearly never learnt social skills and manners or just didn’t like to use them. It was pretty grim so we decided to spend as much time as we could, outside of the room.

The first day, it became quite apparent that we would need a car if we were to get around quickly and easily. There were bus options but to get somewhere such as Pearl Harbour, it would take 90 mins one way, instead of the 20 minutes in a car. The rest of the island wasn’t very accessible via public transport either so a rental car was our best bet.

The car took us to some amazing places. We headed to the North Shore on James’ big day and had a surf lesson at the Jamie O’Brien experience. This surf school is adjoined to an incredibly fancy hotel called Turtle Bay resort, somewhere we can only dream of staying. The actual session was incredible. The break was pretty much private so we just had a few of us beginners on there and for both of us, it was the most waves we’d ever caught. It was so worth it to see the smile on the birthday boy’s face.

Having worked up an appetite, we stopped at Ken’s Fresh Fish, recommended to us by the school and got ourselves some Ahi Katsu. I still dream of that dish months later, simply delicious and tastes even better when you have the Hawaiian beach as your dining room. Another lunchtime staple for our time here was the most delicious poke bowls. We are both obsessed with these and couldn’t wait to try them in Hawaii. Our dreams of opening up a poke bar on our return are still very much on the cards.

We were able to snorkel at some incredible dive spots too. One in particular was swarming with green turtles. These things were huge and would come up to the beach to rest and lay eggs. Unreal to see them in the flesh and literally tripping over them as we got into the sea. The other site was Hanauma bay where you had to have a ticketed entry of around £30 per person. The reef recovered so well here during covid when they had no visitors so they’re doing their best to limit the entry now. For us, the snorkelling was ok but there was so many people who didn’t understand about coral and were just kicking around and chasing the wildlife. Not cool.

The final mention in this blog goes to the pineapple dole whip. James is a man who will openly confess his love for ice cream and wouldn’t bat an eyelid at eating an ice cream once a day for the rest of his life. The introduction of pineapple whip into his life, is a moment I will cherish. With his newest Hawaiian shirt and the biggest grin on his face, this is an ice cream that he will never forget.

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