September 26, 2016

Hawaii Day Eight *Kapalua Coastal Trail*

Friday, September 23 2016


Today was absolutely my favorite day in Hawaii so far! After, of course, the annoyance of having to drive back to the airport to return our Ford for a Buick Verano. 


Please work.


For breakfast we found a promising joint called Kihei Caffe and went there for a bite to eat.


The back of the restaurant and our eats

We weren't sure what we wanted to do with the day so we headed back to the cottage to do some research.  In the Maui guidebook I found a hike in Lahaina (less than an hour away) called the Kapalua Coastal Trail and we decided to give it a go.

Drive to Lahaina

Some scenery


The trail was more of a walk than a hike although they do say it is non accessible. Even though it wasn't the most secluded trail as there are condos all along one side, the views of the pacific coast on the opposite side are breathtaking and I couldn't get enough of the beauty. The pictures (taken on my old crappy point and shoot) don't do it justice by far.






We found some tide pools tucked away and decided to take a little dip.  The waves were a little strong and the rocks were sharp and slippery and even though I had my water sandals on I didn't venture far from this spot:

Brian went to the middle of the pool (not pictured) and he was in bare feet!  
Good thing he didn't step on a sea urchin.

Exploring
We didn't do any cliff jumping but it looked like fun.

We parked near Onelea beach and after our hike we went down to the sand and jumped in the ocean.  There were tons of rocks under the water the right side of the beach so we moved over to the left and found a nice sandy bottom.  We had SO much fun jumping and playing in the waves and we didn't even have boogie boards.  The beach was very uncrowded and there weren't many people in the water. Maybe they didn't know it was less rocky on the left?
Oneloa Beach

We started getting hungry around 2:00 and had run out of water so unfortunately we had to leave the beach.  We went to the nearby deli for a quick drink and snack and then drove back to our cottage.  I knew we had to get up early tomorrow so I wanted an early dinner and after we showered we went to Coconut's Fish Cafe.  Apparently they are famous for their fish tacos. 


We split the fish and steak tacos and got the coconut shrimp app as well. 


I just can't get on board with corn tortillas (they kind of taste like porta-potties) so I didn't love the tacos but Brian thought they were pretty good. Now we've got to get some sleep because we have something really fun planned for tomorrow!
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September 25, 2016

Hawaii Day Seven *Travel to Maui*

Thursday, September 22 2016
Happy first day of fall!


This morning was all about getting that almond croissant and then packing to leave for Maui. 

Too good

A few more patrons this morning
Oahu was fun but we are both excited for a change of pace and a change of scenery!

 I reserved a ride to the airport with Hawaii 23 and they arrived early which was perfect.  We were dropped off with enough time to move nine pounds of luggage from our carry-on bag to our check in bag (carry on had to be under sixteen pounds), get patted down (I forgot I had a bobby pin holding my shirt together. ) and have some lunch.

Our plane:


The plane ride wasn't terrible but I am so happy no more wooziness from planes and elevators for six days!!!

After we landed we took the shuttle to Hertz and got our Ford Fusion.  

Do we really need a car pic? I think yes.

The car that was just not meant to be.
We had a little time before we could check in to our rental so we went to a tiny farmers market and bought a few things at the ABC store.

I bought a papaya and an apple.
And this! Oops.

 We then drove the short distance to our residence for next six days.  

The building in front is our rental.
It's very nice to have our own parking spot in front of the place and a key-less lock for the door. The cottage is perfect and has absolutely everything we would need including a full-size fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer/dryer, grill, wi-fi, etc.

Nice welcome note and chocolates!

Our stuff is everywhere already, oh well. 
It's 92 degrees here today so it was pretty stuffy when we walked in the door, but luckily there is a air conditioner in the bedroom.

After we got unpacked Brian wanted to get dinner and said he found some great options for us. He described the first one, Nalu's, as "Hawaiian, and-" I interrupted him and said, "Let's go!" and so we went. 



Nalu's did not disappoint. Brian got the Ahi club sandwich and I got the crab cake salad. 


 Both were really good and we will definitely be back again for some breakfast or lunch or dinner (or all three?) at some point.
When we finished eating we drove around for a while and then found a place to park and watch the Hawaiian sunset.
After taking in the beauty we made a quick stop at the grocery store for some Ben and Jerry's and went back to the cottage and put on The Revenant. I only watched until the bear scene and then I went to bed. 

We don't have anything scheduled tomorrow besides returning our rental car (it stalled at three stop lights! Not cool dude.) so it might just be a chill and relax day, but we will see!

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September 24, 2016

Happiness Diary #36

Every day I share:


1) A random photo of the day
2) Something I ate that was delicious
3) A meaningful event that happened or a task I was happy to accomplish
4) Something I was grateful for or that made me happy. 


Saturday (9/17/16)
1) Photo: Brian about to take the first bite of Loco Moco, a Hawaiian dish with rice, hamburger, egg and gravy.  He really liked it. 
2) Garlic shrimp
3) We had a super full day of naps and getting massages and eating and shopping and going to the block party and walking to the beach.  Brian also went to his conferment ceremony and got a lovely necklace.  Hawaii is pretty sweet though I'm still trying to get over this jet lag!
4) I am grateful for not fainting at the mall. 

Sunday


1) Photo: CPCU class of 2016
2) Escargot Brie pastry appetizer 
3) We swam in the ocean and it was WONDERFUL. 
4) I am grateful it is so windy here in Honolulu. It would be miserably hot walking around without the wind!
Monday


1) Photo: Paddle boards for my yoga class!
2) Island Nachos from Island Dining
3) Faith: "I think for me today is going to be a healthy eating day."
Brian: "Yeah, me too...except the opposite."
4) I am grateful I went to my yoga class today even if it wasn't quite what I was expecting. 

Tuesday


1) Photo: The names of the men who died on the U.S.S. Arizona. 
2) Snow Factory #23 (strawberry and lychee)
3) Today was Pearl Harbor day and it was fun though I was still dealing with some migraine pain. I'm really glad we made it out there though, it would have been a shame to miss such a historic landmark. 
4) I am grateful I am feeling better than yesterday and was able to do more than sleep. 

Wednesday


1) Photo: Hiking Diamond Head 
2) Coconut shrimp at Lulu's
3) We hiked Diamond Head today and though there were many tourists it was a beautiful view from the top.
4) I am grateful for my first vacation day of not taking any Advil or Tylenol! I'm actually feeling somewhat normal!


Thursday


1) Photo: Driving around Maui this evening. 
2) Almond croissant at Honolulu Coffee
3) We arrived in Maui today and caught our first sunset. I think we're going to love it here. 
4) I am grateful for a smooth flight to a new island. 

Friday


1) Photo: Brian and rooster in the CVS parking lot. 
2) Brian's French toast dipped in coconut sauce was really good this morning. 
3) We had an amazing time in Lahaina today hiking and swimming. It was definitely my favorite vacation day so far! 
4) I am grateful for a car that works and the freedom to go wherever we want on the island. 
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September 23, 2016

Hawaii Day Six *Diamond Head*

Wednesday, September 21 2016
Our last full day in Oahu. :(


 This morning started out early with a trip to Honolulu Coffee because the line at the Starbucks in our hotel was too long.  Also, when you're in Honolulu you might as well have the good stuff. There are Honolulu Coffee's all over Hawaii (and a few other countries) but this location, which opened less than a year ago, is called the Honolulu Coffee Experience Center and has a café, roastery, bakery, gift shop, cupping room and a coffee experience tour according to their website. 
Photo credit honolulucoffee.com
It was really big and is super cool inside. Brian and I were there at 7:10 in the morning and it was pretty much empty. 



I'm totally getting an almond croissant tomorrow morning btw.

People doing coffee experiments in the Cupping Lab

After breakfast we got ready to finally go to Diamond Head.  We grabbed a Lyft ride and were there in no time. 


The trail head

It was probably one of the busier times of day to visit the volcanic tuff cone but we didn't mind. The hike was pretty easy (though warm!) and it only took about 30 minutes to reach the top. The views were lovely. 

The Pacific
The crater

The tourists

We brought all of our swim gear and towels in a backpack so after the Diamond Head hike we headed to Waikiki for some boogie boarding and sun soaking.


Huge tree near the beach


Cool sidewalk
Brian with the boogie boards

 The waves were huge (to me) but we weren't able to catch any to truly boogie board and Brian was disappointed he didn't grab fins for us.  I still had a lot of fun though.  I accidentally wore my Fitbit the whole time we were in the ocean and it's still working just fine!

Knees and trees

We got hungry (in Brian's case hangry) a little after 1:00 and went to Lulu's for some coconut shrimp and pork rolls.  It was nice to sit on the "rail" and people/ocean watch. 


Food was eh

 After lunch we grabbed a green smoothie at Jamba Juice and walked back to our hotel. We relaxed for a few minutes and then went to the fitness center for a little workout action.  Now I am on the lanai typing and Brian is reading and doing our laundry for the 874th time.  For dinner I'm having leftovers and Brian is getting fried chicken from Bubba Gump! (Just some vaca notes for the memory files :) )
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