In Hawaii!
Hawaii is gorgeous! I still can't totally believe I'm 13,000 miles from home, even though the realization that I will going back in 2 and a half days is saddening and makes the distance seem much more real.
So far, we've gone to three different beaches, all beautiful and fun. We had a barbecue with Michelle's parents and her friends. We went clubbing, went to the Swap Meet (like a flea market, with lots of great Hawaiian items, like sarongs, jewelry, etc.) where I got sourvenirs (and dried octopus and fish snacks- yummy!), climbed Mt. Manoa, which is beautiful and jungle-ly, the surroundings were so green and fertile and pretty. There was a waterfall at the top, which made the hike up totally worth it, and cool streams everywhere. I swung on a hanging vine a bit on my way down, felt a little like a female Tarzan :P.
It was my birthday friday, and Michelle's parents got me a guava-chiffon cake, which was one of the best cakes I've ever had! Then the girls (Kristina, Oami, Lisa- minus Michelle, who was at her sister's graduation) took me out to dinner at Run Sushi and Noodles. Good stuff, then we got Ice cream from Cold Stone, sat by the beach. To make my birthday even more complete, there were fireworks. The girls even jokingly said they'd get fireworks earlier for me, so it was a nice surprise. Best birthday ever! :)
Yesterday we woke up early to see the sun rise. The view was breathtaking; I took lots of pictures, and my camera got sun-damaged for a while. Then we went to Hamauna Bay, which looks just like paradise. Admission was free since we were there early (score!), but also because a lifeguard wasn't on duty yet. We had to hike down a bit to get to the beach, so we had the most amazing view as we walked down. It's a reef, so the swimming area had a rocky, reefy floor, which wasn't very fun, but made me decide to go snorkeling so I could wear fins. Snorkeling turned out to be pretty cool and fun- I swam with fishes! My poor swimming skills didn't hinder me too much, as long as I didn't go too deep (and it seemed hard to do, as there were reefs underneath us, which we could stand on), though I did pull a muscle trying to stand underwater with my fins.
Yesterday, we stopped for a bit at the international Marketplace, where they had a post office (coolest one ever! fashionable non-uniformed postal clerk, internet cafe), and bought more sourvenirs. Then Michelle took us to "The Tube" and wouldn't tell us what it was until we got there. It turned out to be a mini-aquarium in a department store. It was pretty darn cool- there were fishes everywhere, man-of-rays, and even a shark! And I took a picture with a giant Hello Kitty bear :).
We had dinner upon our return (grilled steak, pork, potatoes, and Japanese curry- yum yum), did some laundry, and I passed early out in my clothes for the third night. There's still a few more days of adventure and sightseeing in paradise. LOST is filmed here, so I'm hoping we'll drive by there. The internet sucks, so I might be out of touch on and off. I hope everyone is well, please udate when you can, I love to stay in touch!
So far, we've gone to three different beaches, all beautiful and fun. We had a barbecue with Michelle's parents and her friends. We went clubbing, went to the Swap Meet (like a flea market, with lots of great Hawaiian items, like sarongs, jewelry, etc.) where I got sourvenirs (and dried octopus and fish snacks- yummy!), climbed Mt. Manoa, which is beautiful and jungle-ly, the surroundings were so green and fertile and pretty. There was a waterfall at the top, which made the hike up totally worth it, and cool streams everywhere. I swung on a hanging vine a bit on my way down, felt a little like a female Tarzan :P.
It was my birthday friday, and Michelle's parents got me a guava-chiffon cake, which was one of the best cakes I've ever had! Then the girls (Kristina, Oami, Lisa- minus Michelle, who was at her sister's graduation) took me out to dinner at Run Sushi and Noodles. Good stuff, then we got Ice cream from Cold Stone, sat by the beach. To make my birthday even more complete, there were fireworks. The girls even jokingly said they'd get fireworks earlier for me, so it was a nice surprise. Best birthday ever! :)
Yesterday we woke up early to see the sun rise. The view was breathtaking; I took lots of pictures, and my camera got sun-damaged for a while. Then we went to Hamauna Bay, which looks just like paradise. Admission was free since we were there early (score!), but also because a lifeguard wasn't on duty yet. We had to hike down a bit to get to the beach, so we had the most amazing view as we walked down. It's a reef, so the swimming area had a rocky, reefy floor, which wasn't very fun, but made me decide to go snorkeling so I could wear fins. Snorkeling turned out to be pretty cool and fun- I swam with fishes! My poor swimming skills didn't hinder me too much, as long as I didn't go too deep (and it seemed hard to do, as there were reefs underneath us, which we could stand on), though I did pull a muscle trying to stand underwater with my fins.
Yesterday, we stopped for a bit at the international Marketplace, where they had a post office (coolest one ever! fashionable non-uniformed postal clerk, internet cafe), and bought more sourvenirs. Then Michelle took us to "The Tube" and wouldn't tell us what it was until we got there. It turned out to be a mini-aquarium in a department store. It was pretty darn cool- there were fishes everywhere, man-of-rays, and even a shark! And I took a picture with a giant Hello Kitty bear :).
We had dinner upon our return (grilled steak, pork, potatoes, and Japanese curry- yum yum), did some laundry, and I passed early out in my clothes for the third night. There's still a few more days of adventure and sightseeing in paradise. LOST is filmed here, so I'm hoping we'll drive by there. The internet sucks, so I might be out of touch on and off. I hope everyone is well, please udate when you can, I love to stay in touch!