Aloha!

 

After an earthquake in Japan and some tsunami warnings in Hawaii, I finally made it to the happiest place on earth!

Fun fact: Hawaii was named the #1 place for all around well-being. This included life evaluation, emotional health, work environment/job satisfaction, and basic access (to health care, doctor, safe place to exercise/walk). I couldn’t agree more!

I got up early Friday morning and did everything I had to do to get out of the door and to the airport. This did no include turning on the news. So try to imagine….while driving blissfully to Newark International, my friend Kate was the first to text me, “I can’t believe the day ur going to Hawaii they issued a tsunami warning. I hope ur trip isn’t ruined! Please be safe and keep in touch! Love ya!”

Uhm, okay, WHAT? This led to Googling while driving (screw Oprah’s “no phone zone” crap right now) to find anything out that I could. All I found out was confirmation on what Kate just texted me and thus began me bugging out.

First, I was hoping Dana was okay and second, I was also hoping I was still going to be able to get to her.

From there I got some more texts/calls from my loving friends & family who were curious about what I was going to do. Well, first of all I couldn’t do anything BUT what Mother Nature could have done was not decide to have an earthquake in Japan. (My thoughts & prayers go out to the hundreds and thousands that are unaccounted for, injured, etc.)

However, all was good in Dana’s hood and after 15 + hours of a traveling I finally arrived in Honolulu! Greeted by Miss Dana herself & a fresh lei made out of Tuberose! It smelled SOO good!

Although I traveled for FOREVER, I wasn’t tired. We got back to Dana’s apartment and decided that we were all going to go out and grab a few drinks @ LuLu’s.

The next day, I woke up at like 5:00 AM. WTF?! I tried sleeping a little longer but after tossing and turning til 7ish I decided to go for a walk. I found my way into Waikiki (only about a mile up the road), bought some fresh pineapple for breakfast, fed some birds with the “bird man”, looked at some fish, and made my way back.

Carlos was my tour guide for the day since Dana had to work. He took me to his favorite beach, Sandy’s, on the East side of the island. It was beautiful, with both the ocean and mountains surrounding us.

Carlos was body surfing and wanted me to join; however, while getting ready to jump in the lifeguard makes a “special announcement” over the loud speaker that went a little something like this, “IF YOU ARE INEXPERIENCED AT THIS BEACH, DO NOT GO IN THE WATER OR YOU WILL DIE!” At least that is what I translated it into. He basically gave a warning that the waves are rougher and tougher then the look and can break your neck, back, shoulder, etc. That was all I needed to hear to return to my towel and continue getting my tan on.

After a few hours and two very red feet (I forgot to put sunscreen on them) we made our way to get some Poke bowls @ the deli in the food mart. They have a whole section dedicated to fresh raw fish prepared in a variety of ways, you get some rice with whatever fish you choose and some chopsticks & you’re good to go. However, we weren’t good til we got some 40’s to go along with it.

We made our way to China Walls, sat on a cliff and enjoyed the delicious poke & cold beers (which didn’t stay cold for very long so we eventually had to chug).  We then waited for a wave, looked down, and jumped off the cliff into the refreshingly delicious water.

            

Dana had a few hours off in her shift, so I met up with her at Duke’s and we had some beverages while watching the surfers, sailors, and whales do their thing.

After dropping Dana off to finish her shift, I ventured through the heart of Waikiki where there is every store imaginable from Kate Spade to Forever 21 and a cute International Marketplace with different knick-knacks and souvenirs.  

On my walk home, I caught the sun setting and a free Hawaiian luau show.

We ended our night with a bike ride to Margaritaville where I had one margarita before I was about to pass out in my shrimp caesar salad.

That’s it for now. We have many adventures planned for the next 10 days so stayed tuned:)

Mahalo for reading!!

Aloha!

xxoo

Tiffany:)

“life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it.”