hawaii!

a couple of weeks ago, a couple of girlfriends and i took a trip to hawaii for a week. it was the perfect mix of relaxation, adventure, laughs, sunshine, and delicious food. it was amazing! i am still questioning my decision to get on my return flight home....

here are just a few of the many things we did:

we stayed on the north shore in a condo at turtle bay. this is a photo of the beach within walking distance of the condo (serendipitously it also turned out to be a great lagoon to snorkel!) 

haley, allison, and me at turtle bay 

next stop: waimaia. my only regret? not being to stay here longer! 

ahi burger at the grass street grill in haleiwa. teriyaki cheese fries were a great idea! 

shaved ice at motsumotos. we hit this place up a couple of times! 

sunset, no wait, pipeline beach at sunset. 

me, haley, allison 

snorkeling at shark's cove. i was pumped! highlight of snorkeling? swimming with a sea turtle! 

mahi mahi fish tacos at cactus in lanekai. holy smokes, these were good. 

lanekai. i fell in love with this white sand beach. 

enjoying some fresh pineapple at the swap meet at aloha stadium 

enjoying a green coconut also at the swap meet 

pearl harbor. i love this place. definitely felt patriotic here. i'm so grateful for the many that have made my freedom possible! 

thai food in haleiwa. also delicious. 

ted's bakery. we may or may not have gone here like four times :)

look, mom! another sea turtle! 

model shots at turtle bay. 

the temple in laid.

turtle bay.

another shot of turtle bay.

our "leisurely stroll" to laie falls. no one mentioned the random repelling we would have to do... 

our reward after hiking to the falls? shrimp scampi from giovanni's 

the scampi 

the real sunset beach. i just loved all of the palm trees! 

acai bowl from lanekai juice. i wish these would come to the mainland. 

the famous waikiki beach 

parasailing! definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me!

ono's hawaiian food after waikiki. this was sort of an adventure by itself. worth it though! 

kahuku grill in kahuku. this was arguably the best meal i had of the week! 

roommate shot at the polynesian cultural center

all of us at the pcc 

i had to re-create this shot. camille and i took a similar shot almost 8 years ago when we were at the pcc

 

i fell in love with this tahitian man at the pcc. i don't think i was the only one either.

night shot at the pcc. have i mentioned yet how beautiful hawaii is?? 

a pretty sunset at pipeline.

we were a little sad to come home and face reality again

to ease some of the sadness of coming back to the mainland, haley and randomly/spontaneously stopped by california to surprise my mom for mother's day. we also couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet up with our friend jonny another magical day at disneyland. so fun! 

me, jonny, and haley in front of the castle 

roommate shot on the teacups.

so that about sums up last week's adventures. i'm so happy we could make this happen. i can hardly wait until it happens again! :)