March 15-20, 2018

Our Hawaii experience can be divided easily; first week was active and adventure, second week was exploratory and junior ranger-ing. This last week I’ll call “beach bum” because lazy and drunk just doesn’t sound as nice.

Geoff was able to take most of this time off work, and Robin a few days, so we really got to experience what locals usually appreciate; food and drinks. So true no matter where you go.

The first day back we did what Geoff and Robin usually reserve for their Sundays – food, beers, and music on the beach. Not too shabby, amirite? After a late morning of catching up on sleep, Geoff took us to his favorite market for poke bowls and some beers, and then we lounged on their community beach. We tried out their SUP (stand up paddle boards) and watched the sunset.  Mike definitely can’t beach all the time, but this was great to unwind after 6 really exhausting days.

On Friday, Geoff and Robin took us snorkeling! However, we kicked the morning off at a food truck for malasadas. Basically a warm donut. Now, I’m not even a big fan of donuts, but hot damn. These were pretty perfect – if you’re in Hawaii, find “Leonards” a big red and white striped food truck. You won’t regret it, I promise. 

Then we went to Hanaumu Bay for snorkeling. While it’s popular with locals, it’s clearly extremely touristy too. Sooo busy. Luckily, most of the people there were beaching, and not in the water (weird, right?). I’m not actually a huge fan of snorkeling. I love being by the ocean, and in it…. but looking at what’s actually in freaks me out surprisingly. Even when it’s just fish, which that’s all we saw here – they just look mean. This was also a verrrrry shallow place, and I don’t want to hurt myself on rocks or coral. We did see some cool fish (when I wasn’t hyperventilating) – especially a parrot fish that had little babies following it. Geoff took some good photos on his go pro so I’ll post those when I get them from him. If you like snorkeling, this is a good place to check out – very clean and a large variety of fish. Robin has also seen sea turtles and other critters too. 

Then the good part of the day – beers! Since we had limited time with them, Geoff and Robin wanted to show us all “their places” and the breweries too. We stopped at Kona Brewing for lunch – with a beer, duh – to pre game our tour. Most of the places we went were in the downtown-ish area of Honolulu, close to Waikiki. We went to the following:

• Village Bottle Show (not it’s own brewery, but so good. For QC friends, it’s similar to Endless Brews)
• Honolulu Beerworks
• Aloha Beer Co
• Waikiki Brewing Co
• Home of the Brave
• Beer Lab 

I don’t even know if I could pick a favorite – and let’s be honest, even after only 1 (or 2+) at each place,  it’s not really fair to compare since the mind is a bit hazier. Speaking of hazy, those are my favorite kinds of beers right now and I had so many good hazy IPAs while in Hawaii. Beer Lab crushed it with theirs – we even took a growler home for the next day. Honolulu stuck out to me for having really good beers, but I might be a bit biased. They had a hazy IPA called “The Pussy Bites Back” which is brewed by women and also benefits a locals woman’s charity. Home of the Brave is also a museum, and a fun place to be super American. 

The next day we had to rally – it was St Patricks Day, after all. Luckily, people in Hawaii aren’t as stupid as the mainland. There was no waking up at 7am to start drinking, thank god. Geoff and Robin’s neighborhood had a party and concert that night so we went to that. It’s pretty awesome to listen to a really popular Hawaiian band (Rebel Souljahz, very 90s boy band feeling, but with hawaiian shirts on) by the beach while drinking island drinks – and if you’re my friend on snapchat, you definitely saw my bajillion snaps during it (sorry, I’m that drunk person). 

The following day, we recovered from two days of drinking. Surprise, we’re in our 30s! We checked out a restaurant called Monkey Pods in Ko’Olina for Happy Hour specials. We got a dope kalua pork pizza with pineapple, jalepeno and pesto. We then checked out the lagoons nearby and saw a little octopus! He was so cute and amazing!  

For our last full day, Geoff took us to the North Shore. We stopped into Konos for breakfast – it was super busy, and with good reason. They have “bombers” that are essentially burritos. So good, and filling that we didn’t even need lunch. Then we hung on the beach and watched the killer waves and kids jumping off this 30′ rock cliff, until we had enough courage to do it too…. it took a couple hours. Man, getting old and having the risk assessment part in our brain fully developed sure can be a downer sometimes.

Then Geoff and Mike were nice enough to go with me to YMCA Camp Erdman, the summer camp on the island. It is where Lost was filmed, and with good reason. The mountain is breathtaking, as well s the whole camp.  The mountain is in the background as a natural barrier for the camp, and the ocean on the other side. While Mike and I are traveling, not only do I want to see all the National Parks, I really want to check out summer camps along the way. I loved my job, and wouldn’t be surprised if I find myself at another one in the future too. Camp Erdman was crushing it with all their program areas. Thanks to Matt, for a great tour and accommodating us!

This was close to Ka’ena Point (campers hike here and complain, is what the director told me), so we hiked out to see some albatross and monk seals. Quickly realized why the kids complain – super boring and long with not great views until the very end. We looked at a couple birds and one seal, and then completed the 5 mile loop back. The seal was cute at least. 

Our last day, we went to the beach one last time and tried to surf. However, we only had Geoff’s board which isn’t good for beginners. Add the wind and rain, and the fact that we didn’t have a teacher…. I made Mike promise me that we’ll actually try surfing in California now. Then we did the boring stuff of cleaning, laundry and packing, as well as tried the hawaiian shaved ice… it’s a snow cone with condensed milk. Gunna miss this place, but excited for home and catching up on sleep!

30 hours later…. we’re home.