#TBT= My#ThrowbackTravels #42: Chérie's Beachside Haircuts [Hawaii]

While driving from one destination to another in Hawaii with no planned itinerary, we saw a sign on the side of the road: "Chérie's Beachside Haircuts". "You need a haircut!" I squealed. "Do it here! Do it here!" Nothing excites me more than encouraging my husband to get a haircut in a shaggy little hut by the side of a dusty road. Dave is used to $4 buzz cuts from Chinatown so how bad can this be?

My #TBT=#ThrowbackTravels #35: Kona, Big Island, Hawaii

That time we put on some snorkels and jumped into the pitch black sea to stalk a group of manta rays feast some on plankton...

#TBT=My #ThrowbackTravels #28: Kauai, Hawaii

Overlooking Kalalau trail

Our Kauai travelogue. Click here.

Honeymoon travelogue part 3: 7 days 6 nights on the Big Island Sept 7-13 2013 [Hawaii mini travel guide]

I have put off writing this post about Hawaii's Big Island long enough. Now that we are planning for our next adventure (!!!), I should really finish all my travelogues including our trip to Argentina from back in 2012! My post about Torres Del Paine in Chile is getting a lot of views so I'm thinking people do appreciate these type of posts sooo I'll do the rest of our trip as soon as I can! (I am such a slacker.)

The Big Island is the third leg of our 15-day honeymoon trip to Hawaii. We spent 4 days in Oahu (click here), 6 days in Kauai (click here) and 7 days on the Big Island including the transition days between islands.

Big Island was memorable and offered us something the other two islands did not. This is what is great about Hawaii. Each island offered something you cannot find elsewhere and that is why we're grateful we got to visit 3 of them. Asking us which one is our favorite is like asking us to pick our favorite child (if we had children). (Kauai is our favorite child.)

Here is a list of all the places we visited on the Big Island. (Excluding Wal-Mart. WalMart is great for stocking up on necessities. But remember to support the local mom and pop shops too ;P ) My other posts are not as extensive as this one but I didn't spend a whole day writing them neither. Memories are not fresh in my mind anymore as it has already been 10 months since our trip. Thank goodness for pictures and pictures are worth a bazillion words!

Underwater shot series 3...How long can you hold your breath?

Underwater shot series in Hawaii

I certainly cannot hold it for very long especially when I'm struggling to look like I am not holding my breath. 

Where's my sexy face?

See more: My favorite one here. 

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Honeymoon travelogue part 2: 6 days 5 nights in Kauai [Hawaii Kauai mini travel guide]

Welcome to Kauai!

This post is overdue! We have been back from our honeymoon for over a month now and I already put up a list of things we did in Oahu and I have been working (procrastinating) on Kauai for too long. Is it relevant anymore? Have the restaurants we visited shut down yet? Are the snorkeling spots gone? Nah. The list is still good, so read on! Again, it's an almost complete list since I did leave out a couple of places (gas stations, postal office and grocery store).

Tree-lined road in Kauai

This tree lined road was one of the first awe-inducing welcoming scenery on our way to our resort on on the south shore of the island. A canopy of 520 eucalyptus planted over 100 years ago stretching for a mile. It's beautiful. Make a point to drive along this stretch and if you can, get out to snap some pictures. We took some from the car only because there was always too many cars for us to pull over.

How to make pure vanilla extract [tips from our tour of the Hawaiian Vanilla Company, Hawaii]

I LOVE VANILLA!!

3 glistening vanilla beans from Hawaiian Vanilla Company

We learned how to make vanilla extract while we were in Hawaii and it is so easy, it would be crazy not to share. The only caveat is finding good quality vanilla beans worthy of having its flavors extracted from. Preferably sun dried as it boasts more flavor compounds than chemically-dried or oven-dried beans. Everything I am going to share below is from mental note-taking during our visit to a vanilla farm in Hawaii. If anything I say here is not accurate, please let me know :)

We purchased our vanilla beans at the Hawaiian Vanilla Company on the Big Island. These lovely beans were not cheap and at first I thought, hmm, I can buy way cheaper beans back in New York so I will just leave these $10 beans alone. Well, this was before they subtly sold it by simply telling us how they farm the beans. While eating our delicious vanilla infused lunch (vanilla in everything! Lemonade, ice tea, shrimp, chicken burger, buns, salads, fries, ice cream!! O mee gawd I was in heaven!), we learned about cooking with vanilla but also, some aspect of vanilla farming. Suddenly, the price of those beans were justified. It is the second most expensive spice after saffron mostly because it is so labor intensive to grow them. They hand pollinate every goddarn vanilla orchid, hand pick them and then the beans are cured and sun dried for over 4 months!

Here are the three easy steps to making vanilla extract and it can last you like, forever and save you a lot of money especially if you bake a lot! We certainly do NOT bake a lot so we hope we will be able to bottle these up and give them as gifts one day! It is hot commodity!

1. Split your vanilla beans lengthwise with a knife. Cut through the center (we didn't do that but it should be okay). We used 3 beans in total. I have 3 more beans.

Sundried vanilla beans are pliable and moist. You can roll them around your fingers easily. The beans are covered in a natural oil which you will not find on chemically/oven dried beans. Sun drying vanilla beans help retain vanillin the best which means more flavor!  

2. Place beans in a 12-ounce bottle or any size bottle depending on how many beans you got.

3. Add vodka (use about 4 oz of vodka per bean) to the beans, shake and store in cool dark place. 

We picked the cheapest and most tasteless vodka at the liquor store for $8 (Alexis Vodka). 

Tasteless makes it a good candidate for making vanilla extract even though Smirnoff (approx. $18/1 L bottle) seems like a popular choice. It turns out our bottom shelf vodka is almost indistinguishable from a "premium" vodka brand like Grey Goose! See this NY Post article Dave found!

The process takes about 6-9 months depending on the flavor intensity you desire. If you want to extract faster, you can use a stronger alcohol such as Everclear (95% alcohol). If you decide to use Everclear, I think we were told that the extract would be ready in 6 weeks and the extract will be very strong in alcohol and the flavor, intense. A smaller quantity than what your recipe recommends can be used. It is not necessarily the best way. Being patient may yield better tasting extract! But the bottom line is, the longer you leave your beans alone, the more intense the flavor of your extract will be.

After you attain the desired intensity (sniff it or sample!), you can remove about 1/3 of the extract from the top which you can start using. You can then top off with new vodka so you can make more extract! The wait will be shortened (3-4 months) when you do that since 3/4 of the bottle is already flavored. Make sure you don't remove the vanilla seeds fallen to the bottom because that's where the flavor is coming from! You can make up to 5 gallons with just 3 beans. The restaurant, which uses extracts all the time in their cooking has been using the same bottle for more than a decade! When the flavor de-intensifies, they just add a couple more beans and keep extracting! A small bottle of high quality vanilla extract bottle can cost upward of $20-30+ and I have seen up to $400 for 4 gallons. Our 3 beans cost about $28+ tax and $8 for the vodka. Not too shabby. And purchasing the beans straight from the source gives us a sense of security that we are using good quality organic beans. When you find cheap vanilla extracts, you have to be wary about the quality of the beans used and there may also be additives. Our extract is 100% pure for sure!

Oh and why did I just write all that when I could have just showed you this. It came with our vanilla beans...

ENJOY! 

xx

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Hiking without shoes....Cooling off at Wailua Falls [Kauai, Hawaii]

View from the top

We visited one waterfall during our entire stay in Hawaii. That's crazy right? There are hundreds of waterfalls in Hawaii and we only visited uno. Okay, so we did see a couple of falls but from really far (when you have to squint-to-see-better type of far) during a hike out in Waimea Canyon back in Oahu. But according to me, it doesn't count because we didn't TOUCH them. 

We were on a quest to visit a nice tall one called Hanakoa Falls at the 6 mile mark on the Kalalau trail. I had read that Hanakoa Falls is around 1000-foot tall where only 300-foot of it is visible from the ground and although there was a closer, easier hike, to see this other fall on the Kalalau trail, we wanted to see this bigger one. However, 6 miles later, we find out upon our arrival to Hanakoa streams which is about 1/2 mile away from the falls, that the falls was dry! We decided to turn back and we were definitely disappointed since it was not a short "stroll" mind you. 

So on the day before we leave Kauai, when we actually planned to not do much and just relax, we decided (more like me forcing Dave) to visit one of the two falls (Wailua and Opaeka'a) that were recommended by the concierge. We (I) decided on Wailua Falls because it was the taller one of the two and a shorter driving distance too from our resort. 

We were told that we could drive up there and there would be no hiking necessary to SEE the falls which sounded perfect on our "day off" (day off because we were having quite an exhausting honeymoon so far with all the hikes and snorkeling and turtle chasin'). However, we were not told (my fault for not asking) that if we wanted to take a dip by the falls, we needed to take a short trail down to the falls. 

Trails are usually not a biggie. With hiking boots, it's a piece of cake but without them, it is like walking in heels on cobblestones. Guess what we wore? Not boots. We left them back at the hotel. I had my Boss leather thong sandals and Dave had his one and only pair of decent sandals. We were also in our "day off" attire so I was wearing a dress and Dave had clean shorts and a nice button down. We did not want to ruin them and so, we would just have to turn back right? Yes, but not for me. It was our last day in Kauai and we had not seen any falls. I suggested that we take off our shoes and just go for it! YOLO says Drake! I was probably pretty annoying with my stubbornness and I could see it in Dave's eyes. Why did I marry this monster? he probably thought. Dave didn't think it was a good idea. Of course it's not! All those spiky rocks and getting splinters from all those fallen branches... and apparently you can catch Leptospira just by being in the jungle of Hawaii. Well, of course I didn't know any of that before I trekked down but I didn't care. Some visitors who were coming back from the falls said it was worth it and could be do-able without shoes if I didn't mind the mud (her running shoes was covered in mud). I was determined and became a wild child. Dave decided to stay back and suggested that I go alone (I actually was not going to ditch him but since he suggested it...). So, to prove to him that he worried too much and it was all A-okay, I confronted my own worries and went down without him. 

Some of my thoughts during my trek down: "Dave's a baby. This is easy peasy. Holy shit there's a lot of wood chips. Please no splinters, please no splinters. Fuck, mosquitoes. Dave was right...Why am I doing this?! No, he is not right. The falls are worth it and I am going to take lots of pictures to show him.. Ew! A mud-water puddle combo! Whyyyy am I doing this? I should turn back. No! Dave will be right. What am I trying to prove here? ...David is probably taking a nap now..... The falls better be worth it.... EW! Mushy leaves...weird feelings! Gross... this is so gross. Whyyyy am I doing this? I'll wash my feet by the falls, it will be clean. The pretty falls..... Fucking mosquitos.. It will be worth it. I can hear the falls. Ouch ouch ouch....". That was about the first 15 minutes of the 15 minute trek. A couple of times I wanted to turn back but to prove Dave that it was "easy" I continued. Thanks Dave for the being my unconscious motivator!

No hiking boots? No problem. See those fresh mosquito bites?
That alone should have made me turn back. 

Mosquitos were attacking my juicy legs and the feeling of mud underneath my feet and squeezing out between my toes was a pretty icky feeling. There were ropes to help you along the way which was pretty helpful. The what-could-have-been-a-short hike took a lot longer without shoes but when I got to the falls, it was all worth it. The falls were a beauty up close, just the way I imagined it. Nothing like what we saw up there from the parking lot.. Since Dave wasn't with me and I felt slightly defeated by mosquitos, I just wanted to quickly take a few snapshots, clean my feet and get out of there. No swimming under the falls because Dave was waiting. As I turn back, I see my shirtless lover coming down the trail. He left his nice shirt in the car to avoid getting it dirty. I was so stupidly happy! He came for me! My hero! I gave him kisses and hugged him: "This is why I married you!!". I changed into my bikini and jumped into the chilly ass pool and made my dreams come true. 

Here are some pictures of the 173-foot Wailua Falls...

Wailua Falls

The falls were more powerful than I imagined. The water current was pretty strong and I could not get very close. We were also warned that there were fallings rocks so it was best not to get too close. I didn't push my luck this time so I stayed at a safe distance.

Me almost under waterfalls. Wailua Falls

Exiting the trail. Dave was looking forward to going back to our hotel for our couple's massage. 

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Recap of my "30 things to do in 30 days before my 30th birthday"

That's me. In Hawaii doing something "crazy" before 30. #trashmydress

I have been 30 years old for 12 days (okay, no more counting days hereupon) and I would like to take a look back at this LIST I created 30 days before my birthday and see if I was being too ambitious!

1 - Steal other people's 'Things to do before 30' list. 

Done! 

2- Write 5 handwritten letters to new and old friends or even lost acquaintances. Wait, does writing 150 Thank You cards count?

I wrote one handwritten letter (3 pages long so it counts as 3 letters right?) and mailed a couple of postcards from Hawaii. No wedding 'Thank you' cards have been sent out .... nor purchased as a matter of fact :(

Hawaii inspired part of the list:

3 - Do something that scares me: 
-Hiking this trail at Kalalau Trail in Hawaii.  So, we found out there were not giving out anymore permits on the days we are visiting so we won't be able to hike the whole trail...to our relief? We will attempt doing the trail anyway but no walking over eroded trails where one slip leads you straight down into the Ocean.

Doing other scary things? I can also add skydiving but I don't think I'll ever do that so maybe swimming with sharks?

Okay, so we did end up hiking the first 6 miles of the Kalalau trail and back on the same day but did not get to sketchy mile 7 because we were not staying overnight at the park. Hiking 12 miles in total on the most arduous part of the trail which includes the first 6 miles was quite challenging but not so much scary...except maybe when Dave's blood sugar level was low and he felt really sick. I was scared because I didn't know how I would get us out of there if he end up fainting!

I did not swim with sharks!

4- Hike a volcano. With flowing lava will be even more awesome!

The lava was not flowing on the Big Island and the flow was actually declared dead during our visit. We did drive up a volcano and did a few trails even if they were only 10 minutes long but technically, we were on top a volcano (two including Mauna Kea). We simply did not have time to hike them.

Lava lake on top of Kilauea, Big Island

5- Meet a sea turtle. I will actually try to shake his hands flippers and ask him how old he is.

By Hawaiian laws, no one is allowed to touch these endangered sea turtles nor get too close to them so that 'shake flippers' was out of the question. I did meet several sea turtles...like all over the place as you can see here.

Just a note: This turtle came to us (being pushed around by the waves) and at that time I took this picture, I did NOT know about this rule of keeping at least 15 ft away from a turtle. OOPS!

Sea turtle feeding on seaweed

6- Drive a Jeep or anything bad-ass to ride off terrain in Hawaii.

Nope. We drove midsize rides and a compact car to save some money and those cars were not allowed to go off road. In Kauai, driving off terrain could have led us to desolate beaches and incredible ocean views so maybe next time!

7- Swim naked by a desolate beach.

Nope!!! A little bit disappointed about this one and thought I could maybe sneak out at night (if I wasn't sleepy) by the hotel's beach to skinny dip however, the waves were too dangerous at night for me to do anything.

8- Shower under waterfalls or simply just BE under any type of waterfalls would be amazing. Naked under waterfalls?

YES! Kept bikini on!

via my instagram

9- Make really great videos of our trip with our new toy (more on that later). Dave ordered my new ram for the laptop just for that!

I made two videos during the trip since I was so inspired. Here's one of us snorkeling at Waimea bay and here's one of us touring down the Na Pali coast. 

I will spend more time on making other videos since you know, I won't be making them while I am vacationing! 

10- Swim with dolphins. My original desire would be to swim with whales but I know I am not in the right season to do this in Hawaii so let me swim with at least dolphins?

YES! YES! YES! When I wrote this, I did not think that I would really be able to swim with wild dolphins just like that i.e. without paying for a boat that would take us out there to find them. But here I am, swimming alongside dolphins and crossing this off my list and my bucket list!

11- "Stop doing things for the pictures, but start doing things for the memories". This one is hard. I always HAVE to take pictures or else it is like the event never happened. So weird. 

This was a hard one for me. In Hawaii, I couldn't put all my 3 cameras and iphone down! Oh well..now I have low disk memory space and tons of pictures to share!

12- Go on a long road trip with people I love. This one I am not sure about. I'd love to do a road trip in the West coast but who would I want to spend 24/7 with without becoming crazy or even driving them crazy?! Well, since we're planning a trip to Hawaii soon, this one will have to wait until the near future.

Nope! Not before 30! Though we did a LOT of driving in Hawaii just me and Dave. We drove over 1000 miles on the Big Island alone! I actually like driving in Hawaii and Dave loves napping!

13-Learn how to cook one fancy dish. I'm thinking something French and I need to cook meat more.

Um...I guess the ratatouille I make is okay but that's not fancy. There's not any dish I can make that I want to show off...except my homemade popcorn which I garnish with fancy paprika and garlic powder and fancy sea salt. I just made a delicious beef noodle soup today too so that can count as well :)

14-Find something you are really good at. 

Um..I'm really good at finding sales and deals...and bragging about it! ...I also am good at complaining about stuff!

This list is getting difficult. Maybe finishing this list before I turn 30 should be one of my goals. (okay, I am counting it in as my #15).

euh...

16-Try to give one good advice. Key word is TRY. Here's one: Don't let age be a motivator for your life's bucket list such as what I am doing now. Just chase your daily or long term goals every single day and you'll be dandy happy with no regrets. I know, easier said than done but just thinking about it will make you feel better.

17- Send my mom a photo album with flowers to thank her for being her. (oops, I'm not suppose to add my regular to-do list here but since it is an on-going project, it counts...).

Will be working on this VERY SOON! My mom's birthday is coming soon!!

18- Purchase a classic grown up lady bag. I had the Proenza Schouler PS11 on my mind for a while but I don't think it is a real classic classic bag. So, a real classic bag for me now is a Chanel purse which seems to withstand trends and time like no other bag. This one might be placed on hold and wait until we make a trip to Paris where supposedly, the bags are a bit cheaper.

As mentioned, this is on hold until money flows out of my... but mainly, finding the RIGHT bag I will love forever. Still not sure if it's going to be a Chanel bag.

19- Do something new with my hair. I am going to try a digital perm next week. Wish me luck so that my hair does not end up in a hair horror story post. 

Yup, I did it and it burned a big hole in my wallet. Was it worth it? Maybe! It actually almost flattened out a week later but it's still a bit curly at the tips which is not so bad and I got the beachy wave I asked for (when I was on the beach...).

On Sunset beach, Oahu

20- Lose 5 pounds (in a healthy way!) to achieve my goal weight which is the weight I had in my 20s. This will not only make sure I can look somewhat decent in my bikinis in Hawaii but also make me feel turning 30 isn't so bad for my body.

I didn't lose any weight or try too hard but the first week in Hawaii, Dave and I got some major body workouts with all the snorkeling and hiking we were doing! I was totally checking him out and I was totally checking myself out in the mirror too! We kept pointing at each other's bellies saying "abs" because they would magically appear after our outdoor activities.

The last 5 days of our trip, we had multiple burgers, fries and steaks and with no intense physical activity like we did earlier on our trip, our good ol' buddha bellies were back.

After the Kalalau trail hike. Okay, I sucked in my tummy for the pic.

21- Once I reach my goal weight, I will take nudie photos. I want a professional photographer but I am not sure about a stranger taking nude shots of me....hmm, maybe Dave can do it!!

Um nope..but maybe I can ask my wedding photographer when I am ready. Wedding photography is just his "other" business, THIS is what he loves to do. Click here!

22- Purge material things from my 20s that I do not need in my life moving forward...basically, another closet cleanse. 

Nope, did not do this yet but since Fall is here, I need to store away my Summer clothes and it's going to be a good time to donate pieces I have not touched all year or plan on wearing ever again!

23-Finish books I have started but did not finish. I have "Dreams from my Father" by Barack Obama I want to finish. I can finish it on the beach or during the 11-hour plane ride...yay

I didn't even bring a book with me on our trip! I did see all the movies I've wanted to watch on the plane though! Yay!

24-Care for a plant. I acquired a new plant from Dave's aunt a couple of days after our wedding. I want it to flourish for years to come. 

It kind of died a bit at the tip of the leaves but I was away for two weeks. It is now slowly revived and losing it's brownness.

25-Mix one good gin cocktail. Learn how to make gimlet which is THE drink I order at fancy bars.

Bah...why was this really on the list in the first place? Dave knows how to make it and he can make one for me if I ask nicely! 

26- Bake a pie. I have never baked a pie before! I like apple pies ..or blueberry..or rasberries...mmm

A colleague went apple picking this past weekend and is going to give me some apples soon! Oh wait, missing apples was not the reason I didn't bake a pie...It is because I don't have a mixer. Not even a handheld one! I actually bought most of the ingredients to make the Momofuku's crack pie before our vacay but never got to it because of the MIXING part. 

27-Make a donation to a new charity I have never donated to before. Any ideas? I have always donated to WWF and that's about it. The documentary Chasing Ice has really made an impact on me. 

I totally forgot about this one!!

28- Calling my in-laws "mama" and "papa" without feeling weird about it. 

I still feel weird about it and when I say it, I feel like I'm not being serious. 

29- Create something new or make something from scratch. My DIY wedding table numbers and cake topper I made from scratch was gratifying (hello, can you believe I made cement from a powder mix?). I have creative A.D.D.

Nope, did not have time to make anything but now, I want to make this concrete diamond! Looks so simple and it's a good way to finish up the cement powder I have. 

30-Swim laps non-stop for 1 hour straight. I think I'm doing 30-40 minutes now but that's almost always because I have to stop to un-fog goggles or to prevent from bumping into slow pokes.

Done! 


Conclusion:

So, it looks like I was a little too ambitious and also planted some things in the list which I knew I probably would not have accomplished on time. I did get a kick out of writing this list and it did actually push me to do some things I would otherwise have not done ... especially in Hawaii. Like, hiking more than 12 miles to see the Hanakoa Falls because I absolutely wanted to see falls and swim under one! We were told the fall was dry so we didn't even make it there.

Turtle at the Black Sand beach

This turtle is taking a rest on the beach. It is him alone against the big vast ocean with unpredictability lurking all around him but if he doesn't go in, he can't survive or live! 

I don't know why I'm trying to compare myself to this turtle but I guess I see the ocean as my life and even though we don't know what life has in store for us, you still got to dip your toe (and try not be scared) and jump in whether you're ready or not. You just have to live life at its fullness (within your limits) despite all the obstacles you may (or may not) encounter. But if you don't do it, you'll never know! I always feel exuberated after I do something spontaneous and out of the ordinary and rarely regret doing it. Okay, maybe that one time I volunteered to get axes thrown at me. Here's a video of it. (WTF was I thinking?! I wasn't. My mom was soooo pissed).

The list was just a starting point. I really pushed some of my limits in Hawaii and I am so thankful to have been able to spend our honeymoon and my birthday there.

Thank you for reading as always!

xxx

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Snorkeling in Waimea Bay: Winter madness, summer coolness! [Oahu, Hawaii]

Calm water in the Summer at Waimea Bay

I wanted to write about this experience as it is still fresh in my mind. Waimea bay was one of the two snorkeling spots we visited in Oahu. We were only in Oahu for 2 full days (not including the day we arrived and day we left) and had to pick our spots carefully. We had already done the popular Hanauma Bay on our first day and had two other spots in mind for our second day including Sharks Cover and Turtle Bay. Luckily, Dave found Waimea Bay during his last minute research (I am so grateful for his patience to look up stuff to do)!! Waimea bay is best known for being home of the first Big Wave surf riding phenomenon and hosting famed surfing competitions during the Winter time (100 foot waves?!). The beach is somewhat secluded and not too large. There are limited snorkeling spots but when I read that there could be possible spinner dolphins sightings from the beach, I was sold!

OMG a turtle!

Selfie with turtle taking a breath of air. Notice his  one missing flipper?

Same turtle

OMG two turles!

OMG another turtle!..wait, is that the same one?

The dolphin sightings were on and off as pods of dolphins (not sure if they are the same ones) swam by the beach. They were a good distance away so no one really swam out to see them but there were many people on paddle boats that did and probably got really up close (jealous!). Because no one swam out, I stayed behind since I didn't want to be alone out there not knowing what is lurking under the sea. After about an hour of snorkeling and meeting many turtles, I decided that I would not miss my chance to swim with dolphins and that I must go out there. There were no lifeguards when we got there so I felt unsafe to swim alone and sadly, Dave wasn't confident in his swimming capabilities just yet. He only took swimming class right before our vacation. Before heading out, I spoke to two paddlers who had just made the trip back and told them that I would be making a swim excursion to see the dolphins and if possible, to look out for me in case something goes wrong. They said no problem but that the lifeguard has just arrived and setting up and so it would be totally safe for me to go. Cool! I was ready! About 10 minutes into the swim straight out from the beach, I see two people swimming nearby! I was so happy. It was getting a bit scary especially looking down at the dark deep blue sea and shark attacks in the back of my mind. I quickly caught up to them and screamed: "Hiiii...I'm so glad to see you guys out here... Can I join you guys!?!". And so, we ventured closer to the dolphins altogether and was even later joined by a man and a dog on a kayak. When I got back to shore, Dave told me a lifeguard paddled close to us as well so he stopped worrying and continued tanning. I didn't even notice the lifeguard because I was frantically trying to film and take pictures of the dolphins! At that point, I was on a high. I am swimming with wild dolphins!! This was no Sea World show here as I saw dolphins swim by and jumping out of the water. They didn't stay for too long and after about ten minutes, we all swam back to shore. Best.day.of.my.life.

Pictures? But of course! A video too!

OMG dolphins!

They are called spinner dolphins

Because they spin out of the water!

A dolphin pod..with baby dolphins!

And of course, to make my experience complete at The Waimea Bay, I had to jump off this 30 foot cliff by the beach. It looked easy but when I got up there, it took me about 5 (or 15?) minutes to rev up the courage to just jump! 

Want to see all of this in motion? I made a video! No video of me jumping off the cliff though because by the time I found the guts to jump, the camera was already out of battery :( That's okay, I will forever remember jumping off this cliff. I hurt my ass real bad doing it too. Big time wedgie!

That's it for now! Next stop, Kauaiiiiiiii........

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Honeymoon Travelogue: 4 days 3 nights in Oahu [Hawaii]

I have to write everything down before memories from our dreamy vacation fades away!!!

As mentioned before, we visited 3 islands in Hawaii (Oahu, Kauai and Big Island) and loved them all. Of course, some more than others. With days passing by so quickly, we wanted to do everything and I truly lived by what younglings say nowadays...YOLO! "Oh look dolphins out in the distance where sharks might lurk...must swim there..YOLO!"..."Oh look, a waterfall but we don't have hiking shoes...must walk barefoot down to go see it...YOLO!"..."Oh look, a tall cliff which I must jump off of...YOLO!". Just some examples.

Three days in Oahu seemed so short and since it was the beginning of our honeymoon, we went full throttle and expected to get some rest by the time we reach the Big Island. Without further ado, here is the list of some noteworthy (and some not so worthy) places we visited in Oahu.

-Hanauma Bay: This is where we got our back totally sunburned on our first day in Hawaii. I'm usually really really good about putting on sunscreen so I was pretty disappointed at myself for being lazy. Hanauma Bay is recommended if you're a beginner snorkeler HOWEVER, we did witness a drowning (no death) the moment we left the bay and we were told that incidents like this happen often due to snorkelers panicking and gulp in way too much water. My best advice, always go in with a partner and keep each other in sight. Actually, the 9 minutes educational video they force everyone to see before you enter the bay will also advise the same thing!

In hindsight, this is probably my least favorite snorkeling place we've tried in Hawaii!

-Halona Cove/Blow Hole (water blows out of lava tubes during the winter time only): There's a secluded beach near the blow hole which is called Halona Cove. We had just gone snorkeling so we didn't check it out. It's too not crowded probably due to the rocky climb to get down there.

Bonus: Two resident green sea turtles are often spotted there which we we got to see from afar!

-Keneke's: a local dining chain where I thought I had the best of the Li hing mui shaved ice. It was the first time I had shaved ice so I had nothing to compare it to but now that I've tried multiple places, I think it was my fave shave ice spot. For Li hing mui flavor anyway. It's also a good spot to get some really big lunch plates for less than $10! Check out the lunch plate Dave got which we shared. I end up eating a tuna salad and got a spicy salmon roll from the nearby 7-eleven.

The 7-eleven served dim sum and all these good stuff for cheap!

Char siu bao at the 7-eleven 

7-eleven spicy salmon roll for $1.99

-Kahuku Superette: Famous for their poke and yes, really good ahi tuna poke is served here! I think it was $17.99 per pound!

-We took a nap under palm trees at Kualoa Regional Park:

-Shrimp trucks: We tried Romy's shrimp trunk which is one of the two well known shrimp trucks on the North Shore. The other is Giovanni's and we heard the hot sauce is so hot that there is no refund if you change your mind! We weren't impressed with the garlic shrimp from Romy's which we heard was better than Giovanni's. Maybe we were full from our lunch already because I usually love garlic anything! Now I wish I could have tried Giovanni's so that I can compare the two. We were only minutes from closing so had no time to stop at both! I guess it is still a must-try if you're up in the North Shore. Don't forget to try the Li Hing Mui pineapple! 

Li Hing Mui + pineapple!

Romy's garlic shrimp over rice

-Waimea Bay: Love!!! (Will have a separate post about this place! YOLO! Click here )

-Sunset beach: Watch hot surfers and sunsets. I didn't see any hot surfers but we did see a gorgeous sunset.

-Ala Moana Center: This is where we pigged out on unami flavored ramen at MenYa-Ifu-Do-Do ramen. We also had fried octopus balls from Yama-Chan, a French crepe from Crepe Harajuku and salmon sashimi from Maguro Zanmai. All the food was consumed within about an hour.

-Side Street Inn: This local favorite serves the largest portions we had seen on the island and at a very decent price. We were definitely stuffed and had enough leftovers for lunch. The fried rice is popular and was pretty good.

-Pearl harbor: Finally, on our last day in Oahu, we had less than hour to visit Pearl Harbor. We had a plane to catch in the afternoon and didn't know the museum was not free. Some of the tickets were actually sold out. There are shuttles that brought you into different vessels where the museums were located. What was annoying is that you cannot bring any bags inside Pearl Harbor including purses or even your camera bags! There's a locker space you can rent for $3/bag and they suggest you do not leave any valuable items in your car due to high volumes of thievery so, it was like a trap for tourists to check in their bags. So, before you go, leave all your goodies at home or pay up! We didn't care and left our shit in the car only because we were staying for such a short amount of time.

All the vessels you can visit at Pearl Harbor

Some not so worthy places to mention but nothing to brag about:

-Jameson by the Sea: We ate there because everything else was closed that evening we arrived in Oahu. Most of the local restaurants close early and the rest are mostly tourist traps i.e. expensivo $$$

-Dole Plantation: Everything was kind of overpriced as expected and catered to tourists. We bought this little guy as a gift for Dave's aunt and he's the cutest thing Totoro has ever met. We heard the pineapple yogurt was good but did not try and I was intrigued by the Spam flavored macadamian nuts. We didn't stay for very long but some families could make it a day's event touring the plantation and play in the world's largest maze.

-Matsumoto's shaved ice: You go here because it is famous. Since i was all about Li hing mui flavoring, that's all I know to compare. I still prefer the syrup from Keneke's. The other stuff all tastes the same to me. And it's not a grocery store, it's just pretty much shave ice and souvenirs. 

-Royal Hawaiian's legendary Mai Tai Bar: This is where the "original" Mai Tai drink was born. I would say it's definitely not the best place to get a Mai Tai.

some winning drink 

overrated original Mai Tai

That's it for now! Next stop, Kauaiiiiiiii........

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