I debated which Hawaii picture to put first, and out of all the beauties I captured, these skinny little palm trees were my favorite. We have them here in LA, but that blue sky…we do not. These are all pics from my phone because I am too lazy to upload my dslr right now >.<

I was born in Maui, but haven’t been back there (or any part of Hawaii) since fourth grade. We ended up staying on the quiet side of Oahu, right on the beach and away from the “tourists”. I would wake up early in the morning and just walk along the beach, and just think about life (see my video on  insta). Most vacays involve rushing from site to site trying to see lots of things & places, but this so chill and unplanned, it was like something in me pressed “restart”. It’s hard to explain.

We went with family, but since this is a public blog, it will basically just be lots of pictures of palm trees and me. I know, more of my face! Sorry! But you know what they say…if you didn’t take a picture, it never happened. So here is proof that it happened.

I ate amaaaazing pineapple, guava, coconut, fish, L&L….I even had Lychee ice cream! I’m salivating just remembering it all. AKG made me Poke with fried wonton and spicy sea weed (see below). And when we weren’t eating, we were snorkeling at Hanauma Bay (and Waimanalo in pic above), watching whales dip above the surface, hiking to waterfalls, or seeing fire dancers at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Basically, #wishyouwerethere.

For future reference, and if you’re planning a trip to Oahu, here is a super basic guide (because every trip to Hawaii should pretty much have an open schedule).

Best Place to…

• Eat – Uahi Island Grill. Be sure to get the Garlic Chicken and Garlic Ahi (see Ahi above).
• Stay – If you want to be in the touristy madness, stay in Waikiki. If you want quiet, anything on the “windward side” like Kailua, or the North Shore would be ideal.
• Play – Snorkeling at Haunama Bay & Surfing on the North Shore of course. Rentals for snorkel gear can run about $20/person so it might be worth the hassle to bring your own.
• Entertainment – The Polynesian Cultural Center has an amazing (kid friendly but adults loooove it too) hula dance and fire show during the day and at night when you’re finished at the beach. Visit Kahuku Grill just across from PCC and order Garlic Shrimp and Coconut Macadamia Nut Shrimp – locals told me it was the best “shrimp truck”.

Aloha ~~