Day 1
WOn the first day to our trip for Hawai’i we woke up at an early hour of 4 a.m. to head to the airport to catch our flight at 8. Once we managed to get through the pretty easy 5 hour flight we easily passed through the airport of Honolulu. After finally succeeding in finding a taxi big enough to fit all of ur luggages and surfboards we were off to our hotel. With a quick and easy check in we left our bags in our room, put on our swim suits and set off to explore the hotel pool and Waikiki beach. Thanks to our full ocean view and high hotel room we are able to see all the turtles pass by ass they find some food in the nearby coral. Since we were passed out from our early morning before we grabbed an early dinner at a semi-roof top restaurant and then headed to sleep.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 2
Since we were able to get a good nights I slept in until 10 waking up with a text from my dad saying he saved us a spot at one of the hotels very nice pools. We stayed there for 2 hours give or take and ordered lunch to come right to us. After taking a nap in the afternoon and relaxing in the room, my dad went out for a surf session with our friend which left me some time to go to the beach and do some swimming. When we met up once again we both showered and headed out to find some place for food. We stumbled across a nice steakhouse and although neither of us got any meat we still had a great time eating some Mac and cheese with lobster, and ahi tuna. By the time we got home we were both very tired and ended the night quite early.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 3
After finally getting used to the jet-lag I was able to get up at around 8 to head down to the infinity pool where we stayed for a couple of hours. We grabbed some edamame as a snack as we looked over the ocean from the pool. Since the pool was located directly in front of a coral reef we were able to see 3 turtles come up every couple of minuets or so taking in a breath of air before returning to graze on some seaweed. We took a short nap in the afternoon and then headed to a secluded beach with a small park located next to it with only around 10 people. When we arrived back to the hotel we quickly showered and then headed out to a very nice rooftop restaurant where we ate some amazing sushi and fish.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 4
This morning was more chill than the rest, after waking up kinda tired we rested for a bit in the hotel before leaving to go to magic island. In reality it’s not an island but a park with a beach at the end which is surrounded by rocks that allows the waters to be calm instead of moving with motion from the waves. At magic island you can snorkel although unless you go out towards the edge all you will be seeing is sand and take a diving class for beginners where you learn all the basic knowledge. Once we got back to the area around our hotel we went up to a little bakery called Banan which was recommended to us by a friend which sells açaí bowls and is partially owned by Carissa Moore’s husband. It was by far the best açaí bowl I’ve ever had in my life and I highly recommended it. For dinner we ate in our hotel with our friends to celebrate their anniversary and then went back to Banan for another açaí bowl which we then proceeded to walk down the beach to end our night.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 5
Today was nothing too special although we still managed to have some great fun as usual. In the morning we visited the pink hotel which was right next to ours and then through one of the hotels restaurants exited out to the beach. We stayed at the beach for a little where we got some drinks and went for a swim. After we decided we couldn’t handle the heat any longer we went out to one of the little shopping districts where both me and my dad got bathing suits as well as a complimentary tiki cup. We went back to our room for our usual midday rest and then made our way to a Mexican restaurant recommended to us by our friend where we both had tacos and some delicious churros to share for desert. We ended the night pretty early since we were both very tired.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 6
Today was a day full of adventure. The previous night we had rented a car from the airport for the day so we had a full day of driving ahead of us. We were lucky enough to get a Jeep Wrangler so we put the top and sides down and rode hours in the wind. Although it was extremely refreshing to get a nice cool breeze in the hot temperature it was so windy I couldn’t see a thing and had to tie my hair back along with my cap so it wouldn’t fall off. Our first stop for the day was the Dole plantation (pineapples) towards the north. We took a walk around where we saw several species of flowers, bananas, coffee and of course pineapples. We grabbed some pineapple soft server before heading to our next stop. We were now at the Valley of the Temples where we saw a beautiful temple with some rich history. After we decided to make our way east to Waimanalo beach to cool off and rest a bit. We had a small moment where a part of my braces fell off and my dad had to cut off some of the wire but all ended up well. After a day full of excitement we returned the car at the airport and made our way back to the hotel relax.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 7
Since yesterday was packed full of things we decided to take it easier today and hang out around the hotel. In the morning we grabbed another acai bowl that happened to be right next the beach we were going to. During our short hours at the beach we saw at least 5 boats come in and out, many many surfers, paddle boarders, and like us, swimmers. We decided to make our way back to the hotel to take a quick nap before we headed out for dinner. Today’s dinner was recommended to us by one of my dad’s work colleagues. On our way there we stopped by a surf shop and took a quick walk around the mall before arriving to the….. Korean Barbecue!!! It was delish to out it easily, you would order at least 4 different type of meats and cook it right in front of you yourself along with some yummy side dishes provided by the restaurant. This is something I definitely recommend to all.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 8
Today’s weather was particularly horrible. It rained the entire day and was cloudy and windy. Since we didn’t know that we thought it was going to be a great morning heading to the infinity pool until it started raining on us for nearly 2 hours. I was so cold I had to wrap myself up in towels and cover all my belongings so they wouldn’t get wet. After finally leaving the pool we grabbed some lunch from one of the hotel restaurants and ate in our room. By now it was already 6 o’clock and we had showered and rested. We grabbed an umbrella from the receptionist and headed out to find some place to eat. Cheesecake Factory seemed like a good idea to us so we reserved us seats and ate until we could no more (which was very little due to the fact we ate a lot last night). After making it back home we put face masks on us and said goodnight.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 9
Today was gonna be the second time renting a car as we were ready for another big expedition, only this time, one big location. After driving for around an hour we made it to our destination . . . paradise cove! It is an extremely beautiful secluded beach with a rock gate after a nice coral reef that lies on the south-west side of the island. We snorkeled for a bit before we checked out another near by cove. When we got back we saw a crowd of people surrounding what appeared to be a big rock but when we took a closer look it turned out to be a Hawaiian monk seal. After seeing many marine life we decided to quickly stop for a drink at a neighboring cafe and return back to the hotel. When walking back to the hotel after dropping off our car we bumped into some Hawaiian dancers telling a story. For dinner we re-visited the same restaurant we ate at the first nightclub and got some tacos. We said goodnight and went to sleep.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 10
Today was the most chill out of all the days, we woke up later, got a nice breakfast and just relaxed for the morning hanging out around the pool and in our room. After having a nice chill morning we decided to finally look for the turtles that we could see right in front of us swimming near the reefs. Although we were unlucky enough for the paddle board shop to be closed we went snorkeling anyway and sadly only managed to see 1 turtle, it was too late and the water too unclear. For dinner we went back to the Mexican restaurant we went previously and got ourselves more tacos. For some reason the plates seemed as they could feed 10 so we packaged the leftovers and gave it to a homeless person. Going to sleep was a bit hard as I was so excited for tomorrow.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 11
Today was finally the day in which we went to Hanauma bay. I was so excited so we left first thing in the morning and drove for around 30 minutes. Once we got there without any trouble we got our tickets, payed $50 and then went through a small briefing on how to respect the bay. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking. Once we made it down and got situated we snorkeled for a while and saw some amazingly colorful fish. After leaving to find Lanikai beach we had to wait 40 minutes to park since we were not allowed until after the hour of 4. We only stayed about 30 minutes before getting hit by some tropical rain and heading back to the hotel. For dinner we had some Thai food at a nearby restaurant then went to sleep.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 12
As if we thought today couldn’t possibly be greater than yesterday it was. We woke up in the early morning and walked to get some snacks for our trip ahead of us. Once we managed to get there we saw the big words in bold . . . Dive shop! They set us through some briefing, made us try on all our gear, and then took us with a van to the marina where the boat was located. We set our equipment up by ourselves since we were certified and then headed a nearly 10 minutes with the boat to our dive spot. On our first dive we saw a bunch of smaller barracudas, 5 sea turtles, and many tropical fish. Our second dive was in the same location just a different direction and that time we saw no sea turtles but 2 big octopuses. Once we made it back to our hotel we were both passed out so we rested and then grabbed some pizza for dinner and watched the sunset at the beach.
-Alexandra Sandu
Day 13 + 14
Since today was our last full day in Hawaii we decided to make the most of it while still staying in the area. We visited the pink hotel again this time for some souvenirs and some croissants as well as making it back to Banan for the last time. We made our way back home to rest for a bit and then set off to find some turtles once more. Since we made it out pretty late all of the paddle boards were taken and we had to set off on some foam surfboards. We paddled out into the reef and patiently waited until we begun to see some turtles pop their heads out of the water for a breath of air. We managed to see at least 8 or 9 before heading back to return or boards. For dinner tonight we decided on some Italian at a restaurant right in front of our hotel. We both got some pasta and yummy desserts before saying goodnight.
In the early morning at 4, we got up for airport, said our goodbye’s to the lovely island of Oahu, and jumped in the plane for California. BYE HAWAII !!!! ❤
-Alexandra Sandu
A&A Adventure Time 