Hiking boots and bikinis

Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay

Hanauma Bay. Its well worth fighting all the tourists for parking or waiting in a line to see a mandatory video before FINALLY getting in the water. Parking costs $1 and then entrance into Hanauma Bay is $10 unless you are military or a local...then its free. I personally like the left side of the beach, typically less people are over there and I've seen little sea turtles on that side.

After walking down from the entrance to the beach you'll soon realize there are no food/water spots. Bring a cooler with you!

Be respectful of the reef and take the video seriously. Hanauma Bay has been damaged over the years because so many people have stepped on the reef, overfed the fish, and littered.

This snorkeling spot is crowded, but gorgeous and fun.

Parrot Fish

Unicorn Fish on the left and a Convict Fish on the right

Moorish Idol Fish

Convict Fish

Hanauma Bay from the walk down

Wanderlust (yoga festival) North Shore, Oahu February 2014

SO MUCH FUN! I will absolutely be going back next year, but not just for a day. I will also try the Stand Up Paddle board yoga and the aerial yoga.

Our day started at 0500 when we started driving up to Turtle Bay. Thankfully we got there really early and got great parking.

My friend and I signed up for hula hooping (which turned out to be fun) and then two yoga classes. The food was wonderful and all the little shops had some really cool yoga related stuff. It was relaxing, the people were wonderful, the location was wonderful, and it was just overall a great day.

We stayed around for the Mike Love concert-totally worth it!

Here is the link for Wanderlust Oahu (they're coming back February 2015)

http://oahu.wanderlustfestival.com

Mike Love Concert

Pillbox Hike Lanikai (Kailua) March 2014

This was overall a very easy hike. The views are amazing and its a fun quick hike. This hike can be easily completed in an hour or so. Finding parking in Lanikai is pretty difficult, just make sure you are respectful of the locals. Walk up Kaelepulu Dr and you will find the trailhead. The pillboxes were placed during WWII as lookout locations for the US Army.

Watch your footing as there are some inclines that are rocky.

Unfortunately when my friend and I decided to go the weather wasn't really cooperating.

Lanikai and Rabbit Island in the distance

View of Kailua

The trailhead sign

The "Mokes" or Mokulua Islands. The left Moke is called Moku Nui and the right is Moku Lki

Shark Cage Diving November 2013

This was one of the first big adventures I did upon arriving in beautiful Oahu, Hawaii. The price isn't too bad either! For a regular adult the price is $96. For locals and military its $85.

Now I do not recommend going out on this adventure during the winter time. During the winter the North Shore gets large waves and several people on the boat became violently ill due to sea sickness. However, despite throwing up everywhere everyone seemed to have a great time!

I personally love sharks so this experience is ranked up in my top ten favorite things to do on Oahu!

http://www.sharktourshawaii.com/book-tour

So the way the tour works is you bring your towel, water bottle, beach bag, whatever you need with you on the boat. The boat operators were all really nice and gave us some cool lessons about the North Shore and sharks as we approached our cage drop spot. Once we got to the right spot we were given a clean snorkel and mask and put in the cage. At one point there were probably 70 sharks surrounding the cage! We only saw sandbar sharks and galapagos sharks (no tiger sharks :( unfortunately) but it was really cool! They swam right up to the cage!

Kayaking in Kailua

So I bought a kayak back in February. Best decision ever.

Here are some photos of my kayak adventures in Kailua (not including the Mokes). SO MANY GREEN SEA TURTLES or as the Hawaiian's call them "Honu"

The left islands are called the "Mokes" The island to the right is called Rabbit Island

Kualoa Ranch Horseback Tour-June 2014

The two hour tour costs $99 and is well worth it! You will adventure through the Ka'a'a'wa Valley where parts of Jurassic Park, Lost, and 50 First Dates were filmed. Beautiful views of the Ocean, turtle island, and even Maui/Molokai way off in the distance. The valley was gorgeous and overall the tour was fun. While the guides could have been...more friendly...it was an enjoyable experience.

http://www.kualoa.com/oahu-tours/horseback-tours/

Helicopter Tour West Maui and Molokai Waterfalls

Part II of Maui Mini-Vacation July 2014

So we booked a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaii Helicopters. Amazing and worth every penny!

Enjoy the photos...