Our last week of my first Hawaii Vacation would be spent with a group of friends at a Hilton Lagoons Timeshare in Waikiki Beach. I am thankful for such amazing friends as group travel tends to be my most memorable. Here is the view from our room.
What does an amazing week on Honolulu looks like?
Day 1-
First, we attended a Luau at the Nutridge Estate.
https://experiencenutridge.com/
This was my first Luau ever! They picked us up from our hotel and drove us into the mountains. It rained a little, but the atmosphere and views made up for the weather. Besides a great show and fun dinner, we were also blessed with witnessing our friends’ proposal. She (or friend) said yes!
Day 2-
Today, we hiked up the Diamond Head SP monument.
https://gostateparks.hawaii.gov/diamondhead
This required advanced (months) reservations for access and parking. It also was a bit of a fitness challenege too (I was first to the top HAHA). The view at the top was worth the effort and we had the blue, sunny skies we’d hoped for.
Next, we drove to the north shore. Our first stop was Matsumoto Shave Ice, but I liked the Wailea one on Kauai better.
After that, we continued to Waimea Bay Beach.
https://goo.gl/maps/d8ebF3gXuuehm9n4A
Parking was difficult but wasn’t much different than a California beach on a weekend. Our patience paid off and we found a spot.
This beach has one of those cliffs you can jump off of. Lot’s of random thoughts here: “Just because you can do a thing, doesn’t mean you should”, “You only live once”, and “Tomorrow’s gonna hurt.” At first, I was content treading water in the waves, relaxing with my friends. Eventually, peer pressure would get the best of me and I found my 40-year-old, overweight body at the top of the 25ft cliff jump-off spot.
There was an odd moment of thought as I stood at the precipice. First, it was “My 120kg body is going to fall at 9.8 meters per second squared. This is going to hurt. I don’t want to die!”. Next, it was “Everybody dies…not many truly live!” (something similar in Blade Runner). Finally, I thought about the next few decades of my life looking back on this moment. Would I treasure the bravery, chicken out and regret my cowardice, or injure myself and regret doing a dumb physical stunt.
In the end I jumped, had an OK entry (with a little ocean water up the nose), and swam back to my cheering friends triumphant. I do have an odd opinion about fear. If I overcome a fear once, I worry that it was just luck. So if I can overcome the same fear twice I truly know I can face it.
Yep, I climbed and jumped a second time. This one was not so graceful. It hurt. You know it’s bad when you hear a low “Ooooooohhh” from the crowd (I heard this underwater!). I landed at an odd angle, not quite a belly flop, but my left butt-cheek took a hard hit. It was not a serious injury, but I was done testing fate.
We ended this day with a visit to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and some cool treats.
Also… Sunset from the hotel:
Day 3 –
This day was a brunch at Coco’s cafe and then Swimming and Kayaking at Lanakai beach.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanikai_Beach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na_Mokulua
This one is a private neighborhood so parking was really difficult. Moreover, my friends pointed out an open spot (I didn’t feel good about) which would later result in a $25 parking ticket due to being within 20 feet of a Fire Hydrant. The beach itself was amazing and the warm, clear water was wonderful. Half of our group walked a few miles to rent Kayaks and try to paddle out to the twin islands Na Mokulua.
Conky and I made quite the team and I was proud when we completed both the out and back legs of our trip. I do admit, Conky requires me to get a Tandem (2-seater) kayak. This way she can take Instagram photos while I do all the work. I got a visit from a few wild sea turtles near the beach.
This is one of my favorite photos of this day:
What a great day!
Day 4 –
This day was dedicated to visiting the Kualoa Ranch, home of many famous moving sets, primarily Jurassic Park.
I am a huge movie geek so I was super excited the whole time. We went with an UTV tour of this amazing valley, driving through woods and open areas. We got some fun photos with some movie props too. We ended this day with a bit of a food tour driving back to the hotel.
Day 5 –
Almost out of time for the trip, today was focused on a sunset cruise. I started the day with a large MokoLoco, Purto-Rican themed.
We enjoyed our final day relaxing on the boat, having the last tropical drinks, and taking a few final photos to remind us of an amazing trip. Overall, this was one of the best weeks of my life. I spent a little too much money and I over-ate too many calories, but in the end I really let loose and enjoyed a true vacation and new experiences.
