Hawaii Vacation Day 8 (Tuesday) - Relax and Beach Day

We really packed in a lot of activities, so we needed a day to just chill.

Tuesday was that day for us.

We took our time getting up and out of the hotel. Mosied around for a bit before heading to the beach.

We rented a couple of chairs again just for 4 hours this time.

There's nothing like the ocean.

The beach were were at (Kuhio Beach) was not a sea-shelly kind of beach. There were tons of the teenie, tiny shells, but nothing larger than a maybe a nickel? We were able to bring a nice baggy home of these shells though. Ava spent a good amount of time just cleaning shells. Washing, drying, organizing. I'm saying, like several HOURS. 

She's living her best life. On the balcony, watching her tablet, washing her shells. 💕

We are starting to miss home. I miss my Wiener and the girls are missing a routine. They are basically batshit crazy at this point, lol. They stay up late, wake up late, jet lag, eat whenever, lol. Literally all over the place.

We have two more full days before heading out.

We signed up for a Night Marchers Haunted Tour for Wednesday night, then a coffee cruise early Thursday morning. 

Our final activity of the trip is tattoos Friday morning before we go to the airport. 

Our time is winding down, we've enjoyed Hawaii immensely, but we are also ready for our own beds.

Hawaii Vacation Day 7 (Monday) - Whale Watching

I know I'm packing in a lot of activities, but the excursion are usually no more than 2 or so hours, so it's not like it takes the entire day. Depending on what time our excursion is, we usually have a large portion of our day that is unplanned. 

I wanted to make sure to really experience Hawaii while we could. I'm not sure how likely it is that we'd go back as a family...it's pricey. And if we go, we'd likely to another island...but again, it's pricey. 

Anyway. I wanted to really do all the things. 

I planned for us to go whale watching on Monday. It was a 2-hour excursion on a large vessel with a bar. :) It was absolutely beautiful. 

We walked the 25 or so minutes to the pier. 

On the way to the whale spotting location, we were escorted by a pod of dolphins! That was the highlight of the whole thing, to be honest. We DID see a tiny bit of whale later on, but not everyone got a view. I barely saw the tail go under the water. 

Watching these guys swim alongside the boat was so, so cool. Swimming everywhere, zig-zagging everywhere. They were super entertaining to watch!

Like I said, we didn't really see too much whale. LOL. I mean. It was still worth it, for the views of the island from that far out, the dolphins and the ride. The bar was also a nice bonus. 

Sunsets on the beach here are no joke. 

Our hotel at night :)

After the excursion we had a relaxing day. We've done a lot int he 7 days we've been here, so we relaxed back at the hotel until it was time to eat again. 

Tomorrow is another beach day! We don't have plans so we are thinking of heading to the beach early. Our days are coming to an end...which is sad, but I'm so glad I feel like we've done all the things so we can go home and know we packed in as much as we could! Here's to another lovely night/day in paradise :)

Hawaii Vacation Day 6 (Sunday) - Hiking Diamond Head!

We've packed in a lot of stuff so far in our 6 days on the island. 

Beach time.

Pool time.

Sea turtles!

Snorkeling with fish.

Shopping.

Eating.

While swimming, we see Diamond Head in the distance. 

From Hawaii.gov: 

"The unique profile of Diamond Head (Lē‘ahi) sits prominently near the eastern edge of Waikiki’s coastline. Hawaii’s most recognized landmark is known for its historic hiking trail, stunning coastal views, and military history. Diamond Head State Monument encompasses over 475 acres, including the interior and outer slopes of the crater."

We had purchased tickets ahead of time, per a few recommendations. There is virtually no parking, it gets very busy very early, etc., so we were happy to be able to Uber right to the drop off and walk to the entrance. 

The Uber drop off spot. The sun was HOT.

Their very first album cover.

The beach you see there is the one we can walk to in like 10 minutes. 

The walk, if done with purpose, can talk only 45 minutes for some. I mean, you have to really focus. There were people RUNNING it. Crazy people.

Anyway, when we were done, we walked back and met up with Mom at the Mall for lunch. We ate again at Liliha Bakery. 

Back at the hotel it was time to relax and have some pool time. The poolside bar starts serving at 1:30 and happy hour starts at 3!

We had been eating out a LOT the last few days and eating leftovers to boot. I was in the mood for some good BBQ, but had no interest in leaving the hotel room. 

Steve and the girls went out to find burgers and fries for them and he came back with this:

I fucking chowed down on that and went right to bed.

It is vacation, after all. 

Hawaii Vacation Day 5 - (Saturday) Jeep Day

We decided to rent a Jeep during our stay and go explore ourselve for a bit. We rented through TURO, for the first time, which is like renting a personal vehicle, versus a rental car company, like Enterprise. 

We decided on a Jeep and the owner met us right at the hotel. 

We also added in beach chairs and a boogie board for the girls.

The owner of the Jeep gave us a map and a few things to check out, one of which was Pali Lookout.

Ok! Let's check it out. We hadn't had any plans yet anyway.

BUT, before we officially headed out, we wanted to check out Skin Deep, a tattoo shop that was recommended to us. 

Steve drove around the block while Jennifer and I booked our appointments for the following Friday mornning, right before we left the island. 

We took the top off!

It was sooooo windy! But check out that view!

It was a quick stop - it was high in elevation, so it was much cooler and super windy. We were ready to find a beach.

Kailua Beach was recommended to me by a friend. It is a bit north and much, much quieter than any of the beaches right in Waikiki. 

Ava and Steve swimming. Check out that background. 

Just hours doing this. 

After a few hours at the beach, we packed up and headed over to the Pearl Harbor. We needed to add some history into this trip. 

I doubt they understood the magnitude of what happened here and what we were about to see.

(Google image from above)

We paid our respect.

The oil that continues to spill. And being unable/unwilling to move it due to the emtombed soldiers here (out of respect, of course)

This anchor is HUGE.

Girls in front of the submarine

We walked around and looked around at the different parts of the memorial. Read the plaques and talked with the girls about what happened there. 

We decided after that it was time to head back to the hotel to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. My mom wanted to take me and Jennifer out to a fancy Japanese restaurant so Steve and the girls were on their own. 

The place Mom took us to was AH-MAZING. 

These fried oysters were to DIE for. Like DEAD. I ate them all. 

The rest of the tempura was just so, so good. Probably the best I've ever eaten.

THEN DESSERT??? OMG this place called Mango Mango had all sorts of mango desserts. All kinds. This was mango ice cream with some sort of strawberry juice, lychee jelly, fresh mango and fresh strawberries. Omg so good. And bonus - the girls can have this! We came back to make sure they got their own. 

After stuffing myself STUPID with food and then dessert, it was time to go collapse into bed. It's been a long few days and we have more! 

Tomorrow is hiking Diamond Head and I'm SO excited about this one.