Yoga on the beach

Naturally after going on a hike people want to go to yoga. Right? Just us? Crickets?

The uber driver dropped us off near our hotel and MC and I sprinted double time to get some froyo before bolting up to the top floor of our hotel (baller room - definitely stay here) throwing on "yoga attire"...leggings, a swimsuit top and a tank top. oh and those trusty ole flip flops...calling another uber and skidding to a halt at Ala Moana Beach Park for some yoga on the beach.

One of the girls we met Sunday at the Super Bowl party had invited us to yoga after some beers and some headstands. Whitney is a super fun person and apparently overestimated our ability to do yoga because woof city.

Sara is the owner of Kova Yoga and she is an amazing instructor. Tons of energy and has a seriously good vibe. You naturally gravitate towards her and want to do whatever she says. We did about 12 million downward dogs with shoulder presses. Then some stretching, which is my favorite part about yoga.

This was a seriously good way to detox from the all encompassing travel diet. Then because Sara is the coolest and everyone wants to be like her, we got free fresh pressed juice. So good.

kovayoga.com

After yoga and some cold juice on the beach Whitney took us out for Taco Tuesdays and a brewery. I was in heaven. Two of my favorite things ever. Like ever.

If you are ever in Honolulu and want to step outside the hustle and bustle of the tourist area head over to Cocina. The tacos are fresh and made to order. Everything is fresh and made to order. They have a limited number of supplies for each item so they go quickly. It is a little hole in the wall that is mostly kitchen. BYOB and be prepared to have your taste buds blown.  After a few Kona beers and an amazing veggie burrito with a side of Mexican corn we moseyed our way over to the Honolulu Beer Works.

I should have been smart and bought one of the glasses, but I alas I am not and will forever be sad. We had some IPA and I am not even going to pretend that I remember what it's name is. Also I just learned about this hat and I need it. Like more than need it.

Honolulu Beer Works has an indoor and outdoor section and is a calm place to chill and have some local beer. Highly recommended.

After our beer pit stop we decided that hey we need more alcohol. We headed (stumbled, giggled, sauntered?) over to Bevy where we drank fancy cocktails and tried to pretend we were more sober than we were.

I love meeting new people and having them show us what life is like in their town. Experience everything from a non tourist point of view.

This was one of my favorite days in Hawai'i. All of them were awesome, but this one holds a special place.

Diamond Head

Because we were playing ultimate tourists we decided to go to Diamond Head and hike to see all of Honolulu.

I of course did this hike in flippyfloppys (#yolo). This one I wouldn't recommend in flip flops but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

We walked to Diamond Head from our hotel. Holy far batman. And then we hiked Diamond Head and made the executive decision to take uber back to the hotel. We were scheduled to get to yoga in the park so it made the most sense to take uber back (and maybe get some froyo....)

And fine you caught us we started the day with some lunch beers before we left for the hike.

IT'S FINE.

This hike isn't terribly strenuous but it does just keep on going up. And up. And up. And then there are stairs, a tunnel, and some more up. But it is beautiful and you can see clear across Honolulu. Absolutely gorgoeus.

Take a look.

You can be jealous of my mom sweater tie around my waist. It's fine.

Those sweet stunner shades. Yea. $4 at Marshall's because my Ray-Bans decided to go missing during the trip. Luckily the awesome people at Living Ocean Scuba had them in lost and found and I was reunited with them the very next day. 

The hike costs $5 if you walk in and a little more if you park. It is a beautiful hike and definitely worth all the walking and flippyflopping involved.

Manoa Falls

Before we went to Pearl Harbor, MC and I set out on an adventure.

We decided we wanted to go on a hike that was a little off the beaten path (at the end of a neighborhood) and we wanted to take the bus to get there.

We had gone about 3 miles in a hour complete with a bus change when we decided that maybe the bus was not our best mode of transportation. One uber and 10 minutes later we were at the start of the Manoa Falls trail.

It was a bit like what I imagine being on the set of Lost was like or Jurassic Park (not that I would know about JP as I have never seen it...that's a story for another day).

Naturally we got sidetracked before we even started.

Now I did this hike is flip flops. Which was fine. Everything advised against it, but I like to live on the edge...also I didn't have any tennis shoes because packing for almost 3 weeks in a book bag leaves little room for tennis shoes. Those suckers are bulky.

I imagine that if it has been raining this hike would have been a little more treacherous in flip flops. But it's about 1.5 miles into the trail to see the waterfall and then that 1.5 back. Not a bad or overly strenuous hike even if you don't have proper hiking attire. FLIP FLOPS, SWIMSUITS, FLOWER SHORTS AND TANK TOPS ARE TOTALLY HIKING ATTIRE.

At the very least they are good for monkeying around.

The hike is gorgeous and you forget that you are on an island surrounding by some spectacular oceans. Everything was so dense and lush. Quite spectacular.

Monoa Falls dead ends into, yep you guessed it, a waterfall. A calm and serene waterfall.

MC and I sat around contemplating life. Well probably laughing about something absurd that we've done or reminiscing about the funny things that have happened over the course of our friendship. Either way it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu.

I have a mild obsession with trees. 

This guy was no exception and he was huge. 

Once we got back to the entrance MC and I realized we had a bit of a problem. How on earth were we going to get back.

Onward we marched. Past a bus stop, past some high schoolers running cross country, past a middle school, past a neighborhood, past a major road, past literally everything before we came even close enough for an uber to think about picking us up and dropping our poor tired feet off at the hotel.

Another calamity on our adventure. But we laughed our way through it and told ridiculous stories to pass the time. And then took rooftop sunset pictures.

That pink hotel is in the opening scene of Hawai'i 5-0.

Pearl Harbor

If you visit Hawai'i and stay in Honolulu you are doing yourself a disservice by not going to see Pearl Harbor.

Being a history major and WWII aficionado (okay fine, I have an unhealthy obsession with WWII) I was pretty pumped to go and see Pearl Harbor.

Growing up you learn about Pearl Harbor in every history class practically every year of schooling. I knew all the facts and have read an obnoxious number stories, fiction and not, about WWII. But there is something about going to see the place for yourself and stand where soldiers stood, where people fought and died, that makes the history very real.

We woke up to a rainy day and a late uber driver, but we made it to Pearl Harbor and started the audio tour and crossed our fingers that we could make one of the later boat tours. I could wander around museums for hours and never get bored. The biggest problem I have is the audio portion of the tours. I always want to wander and then if I want to listen to learn more than is written in front of me I want that option. Pearl Harbor has that option. Everything is numbered and you can pick and choose what you actually want to listen too.

Jamie Lee Curtis does the audio and no offense to her, but her voice drove me bananas. Which is sad because I was eager to learn new facts about WWII but I couldn't listen to her so I ended up reading more than listening. If it had been anyone else I probably would have listened more, but also maybe not. I am a weirdo about things like that.

The history and powerful stories that you get while touring Pearl Harbor was absolutely breathtaking. You think you know everything you can and then you go somewhere and you learn so much more than you ever thought possible.

Hearing the voices and stories of people that were at Pearl Harbor during the time of the bombings, the families that lived in Hawai'i, and the people visiting at the time made everything so real and helped me to actually feel connected to that piece of history. It is easy to feel disconnected because it didn't happen where you grew up, or you didn't know anyone there, but once you step foot into Pearl Harbor you can feel the weight of what happened and what everyone experienced.

I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the wall surrounding the base. It applies to everyone and every situation. I find myself saying it repeatedly and often.