Oahu
I never thought I would say "I'm going to Hawaii for the weekend". I feel so lucky to live the life I do. The motto of "work hard play hard" rings true in my world. I look back to a year ago and realize how much I have accomplished in both my personal life and work life. I feel like things are in balance and I am exactly where I should be. *sighs & smiles* Thank you universe for what I have! Ok ok, i'm done reflecting...
A quick 4 days in Oahu was amazingly perfect. I wouldn't necessarily say relaxing, but perfect... My fear of sharks and heights were tested. It was adrenaline filled and these adventures I will never forget. I have 3 highlights to this trip.
#1 - Shark cage diving. This has never been high on my list (or on my list at all) until I started doing a little research prior to the trip. People raved about the experience and I figured, why not!? As scary as it was to stare into the eyes of these creatures and have them stare right back at you, I have a newfound respect for them. It was a quick 3 mile or so boat ride out and an even quicker 30 minutes in a cage surrounded by sharks. Surprisingly I felt completely safe! Bam check that one off the list! This is the tour group I used. They were pretty awesome and knowledgeable. Hawaii Shark Encounters
#2 - Flight Tour. I've never been afraid to fly. I travel often and actually enjoy the air time. Well, this was not my average flight. While in town we decided to take a little 4 seater plane around the island. Then it happened. TWICE! I experienced what a spin feels like. I was terrified and completely giddy at the same time. I'm not sure i'll ever be up for doing that again but I can say that I am ecstatic that I got to experience it. So cool! Obviously, we made it back to land in one piece.
#3 - Stairway to Heaven. I enjoy hiking, especially in tropical areas. I just didn't think I would have to crawl through barbwired fences to do it. The Haiku stairs also known as stairway to heaven was incredible. It is an adventure from the moment you get into the area. This hike is illegal and you're trying to beat the clock the whole time in order to avoid the guard whom may or may not call the cops. We woke up at 3:30am on halloween morning to make this happen. Prepping the night before with a quick run to Walmart for the necessities. Gloves, panchos (we bought trash bags instead), headlamps and wine of course! No no, not for us to drink!! Geez people! I know I like my wine but cut me a little slack! lol The wine was for the guard incase we ran into him. A little bribe...you get more with sugar than you do vinegar... The closed up gate which once was the main entrance is located between two homes in a quite neighborhood. After reading tons of blogs and yelp comments we realized this wasn't going to be easy. We parked blocks from the "entrance" and our adventure began. We walked up a muddy slippery hill in attempts to make our way around the gate vs jumping. Success! I'm already muddy! We searched for little ribbons on trees to guide us. Headlamps being the only source of light we had. Found one! through the bamboo forest we go! We finally reach the road, unfortunately we made a wrong turn and ended up getting lost and hiking up a different area for about 30min before agreeing that we should head back and try a different route. Honestly, that was just as exciting as the real hike. FINALLY we see the stairs. We also see the guard sitting in his car flashing his lights at us. Who guards a hiking trail at 4am?!?! That guy does! We had ditched the wine *tears* a while back because neither of us wanted to carry that thing! Next best thing to do?! A little white lie can't hurt right? "but officer, it's our honeymoon and we always said we would do this together" He warned us about the $600 fine if he called the cops and politely gave us the head nod. Success!!! We made it to the top of the mountain and I felt such a sense of accomplishment. :) Those super steep stairs ain't got nothing on me! This is a must do! Not just once, but every time I'm in Oahu.
The rest of our time was spent sitting on the beach, visiting Pearl Harbor Memorial, getting manicures and pedicures, checking out the street markets, massages, eating as much seafood as possible, catching the sunset and practicing our country swing dance. See... perfection!
