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Rachel Lauren Lucy

Oahu, Hawaii Part One

November 8, 2018

Oahu, Hawaii Part One

My travel expectations are officially through the roof. Hawaii has been a top dream travel destination since I was a little kid. My parents adore the islands and growing up I created this fantasy in my head of what Hawaii was like. I was nervous that once I went it might not be as magical as I cooked it up to be. Boy was I wrong. Oahu was everything and more. It helped that we had one of our best friends living there to help us live like locals. Plus Russ has been to Oahu a few times and has become quite accustomed to the island as well.

I am going to release a travel guide to Oahu, Hawaii next week with all my tips, tricks and places to go, but I wanted to give you a bigger glimpse into all the images I have. So, I will be breaking up the trip into 3 parts and then sharing the guide!

We arrived in Oahu on a Saturday afternoon in September. We got settled in and enjoyed dinner and a drink or two at Kona Brewing Co. Russ and his teammate Stan (our friend we stayed with), were talking about this place non stop and I am so glad I finally got to experience was all the hype was about. The bar made you feel like a local. It is hidden in a shopping center and then you walk in and it’s on the water with the most incredible view. The sun was setting as we enjoyed dinner and caught up with our friend.

Sunday morning, we headed to the Crouching Lion Hike. We were staying on the windward side, so the hike wasn’t too far from us at all. This hike was the perfect way to start our Oahu visit. Once you get to the top you get to see SO much. The water was so blue, but I think all the hues of green are what caught my eye. I truly felt like I was in a different world.

The hike isn’t too strenuous at all. It definitely isn’t a walk in the park with some big climbs and scoots on your way up and down, but it’s super doable. We worked up a sweat for sure.

We headed to Kailua Beach later in the day. To sum it up, it’s the Destin of Oahu. The water is pretty calm and clear, the sand is incredibly white and softer than ever, and the crowd is family oriented. We ended heading back later in the week to boogie board in the hurricane waves too. It was a blast.

On Monday, Russ and I headed to pick up our rental car and had no idea what we were in for. We ended up renting a Convertible Bug and it was one of the best memories of the trip. There is a lot of driving to get from one place to the other in Oahu. However, with the roof down on the bug, it made the drive an event all in itself. We had a blast riding with the the wind and salty air.

We spent most of the day snorkeling at Shark’s Cove. This was hands down my biggest fear of the trip. I love swimming in the ocean but I hate, hate, hate, being anywhere where sharks are a possibility (ironic, I know). So, the thought of snorkeling had me quite spooked. However, Russ was the biggest support system (and I tried to play it cool and not be scared).

We swam within the cove for most of the afternoon and saw so many cool fish and then ventured outside the cove for 30 minutes or so and got to go into a lot deeper waters. I wish I had an underwater case/camera so I could show you all the fish we saw. They were truly so beautiful.

After snorkeling, we headed to The Banzai Pipeline and watched the sunset while people surfed. It doesn’t get much better than that. The sand was such a rich gold color at this beach. The waves weren’t too big when we were there, but it was still so fun to see so many people at such different ages surf.

I have so much more to share about Oahu. But here is the first peek. Have you been to Oahu/any of these places before? I hope from sharing these little adventures, you are able to dream and escape to Hawaii for a little while.

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Rachel Lauren Lucy

Rachel Lauren Lucy