Boots and Yoga Pants: Hawaii 2021

We got to go to Hawaii and it was so much fun! I got a lot of fun recommendations and we tried to go to as many things as possible. If you are up for a read then by all means! This is more for me, so I can look back and remember all the things we did!

To start off we had to get a covid test 72 hours before the last leg of our flight. I was kind of nervous about this part because I was worried if we got a positive we would have to cancel our trip. We were able to schedule an appointment a couple days before at the Walgreens in north Ogden. It was really nice because all we had to do was pull up to the drive through, they handed us out some swabs and we had to swirl both nostrils ten times each. It felt funny, but I’d take that over swabbing up to my brain any day!

We woke up early Monday morning and headed out! Our flights went smoothly and we got there as scheduled. The second flight seemed like eternity but once we got there is was rainy and getting dark. We headed to Costco and loaded up on food. For dinner we stopped at Tiny Pyramid! I had basically a seafood Alfredo and who knows what Kooper got. Some kind of Chicken Noodle Soup.

DAY 2: Koop and I woke up first thing that morning and got to watch the sunset! It was the prettiest that morning. Tuesday was kind of a wasted day if you want to call it that. Not really wasted but we didn’t have plans which led us to driving to two different sides of the island. We started off on North shore but the wind and waves were nuts! There wasn’t very many people in the water that day and so we asked why, apparently there was stinging jellies in there and so people were cautioned to watch out for them.

We wandered around a few shops while googling different Luau's. We wanted to do a few different ones and as we were looking we realized almost all of them were completely booked (I'd recommend booking early if you want to do one!) We finally found a Luau but it was on the other side of the Island so we headed for it! We stopped at Teds Bakery first- It was a top rated bakery according to my recommendations. They had only been open for 4 days-and had half their menu.

I had Pineapple Macadamia Nut Cheesecake and Kooper had Dobash Cake. They were both okay but nothing fancy, and not something I felt like i had to try again! I think the rest of the group got Lilikoi Cheese Pie, & Blueberry Cream Pie.

Then we got to Ka Moana Luau at Sea Life Park. Because of Covid Sea Life Park was closed, which was a bummer because I think that would have added to it. Then they took us down to our seating and had our food ready. Also because of COVID our food was all prepacked and COLD. So unfortunately that really ruined that experience. At one point Trevor and Stacey went back and asked for more and they gave them a plate of fresh stuff that was warm. It was sooo much better! All while we are eating we are FREEZING cold. It definitely was the coldest day we spent there and none of us were prepared at all! We were dressed in swimsuits and cover ups.. Luckily for me I was the only one that brought a coat-everyone else brought in our wet towels and covered our legs. However, the show was good. I enjoyed watching the different dances and the different costumes. They taught us a little bit the culture and the ways of the Island. I'd definitely recommend a Luau but because of Covid Restrictions and Circumstances, I'm not sure I'd do that one again.

DAY 3: We hit the south coast today! We started the day off down by the beach at our own resort for a walk and then came back made breakfast and got ready for the day! We were staying at the Ko Olina Resort and it has its own little pool area, with a few hot tubs, and then its own little cove and beach area. You did have to wear a mask while walking around the resort but once you got down to the beach they never said anything about having them on. They did do reservations for all the beach chairs-and closed them at 4 which was kind of weird, and the rest of the pools/hot tubs closed at 7. Which that part was the main part that sucked! We would of spent more time by the pools/hot tubs if they were open later.

We went to Pearl Harbor- It was neat to be able to look at the different ships and read about the things that took place their and about the attack back in 1941

After Pearl Harbor we headed to grab food before our catamaran. The food truck we were searching for wasn't their and we hurried into Teddy's Bigger Burger. We only had about 8 minutes so we were rushing. However, I was so happy we stopped here! It tasted SO GOOD! I went safe and got an Avocado bacon burger and Koop got a Hawaiian Burger.

Our Catamaran departed at 12:15. We booked it with Waikiki Marine Sports - Afternoon Turtle Snorkel Cruise It cost us $50 bucks and I felt like it was definitely worth it. We headed out with about 20 people- they said they normally have about 150 people on that boat. On the way out we saw a couple Pods of dolphins- when we got to our spot some swam right in front of the boat-I thought we were going to hit them that's how close they got! Emily was the first one in and I watched the guys throw a handful of cat food in their by her and the fish like swarmed her. The water was sooo clear and you could see everything! there was mainly one area that had a bunch of fish in it but other than that we didn't see much. I was getting tired and climbed out, as soon as I got my gear off a pod of Dolphins started swimming towards us. I hurry and put my gear on and jumped back in. We got so close to the dolphins, literally like 5 feet away. It was by far my FAVORITE PART! The guides said that out of the 5 years they have been doing that, people have gotten that close maybe 4 times. So I feel like we got pretty lucky!

After the Catamaran we hung out at Waikiki beach and just relaxed after all the swimming! We walked down to find snow cones-We walked a mile before we found them and they were the crunchiest snow cones! The water was so nice though-but you couldn't get as far out because there was a lot more rocks up close.

DAY 4: Today we went pretty close to our resort to a beach called Electric Cove- I got SOO CARSICK heading here that it was a little rough. However, this was supposedly the place to go because you could see turtles. Everyone there said that they seen turtles out there so we got pretty excited. This place was really fun to snorkel in. There was a lot of fish, and a lot of different fish. On our catamaran I felt like we saw the same group and that was all their was. However, at Electric Cove there was a pretty big variety. You could see the bottom in some places which made it really cool. At one point I got a little to close to the bigger waves and got taken out by one... Trevor might of got a little worried because when your snorkeling you don't really look up very often ...

We swam all over for about an hour before giving up on the turtles and headed for the beach. Once we got back we talked to a few people and they said you need to go out to where the current is, don't get to far because it would sweep you away. This second time we went out it had got a little windy and was a little rough but we made it out there and it was pretty cool, there were so many different fish and I'd just watch them swim in the tube and get pushed back by the current. It was also a lot warmer out there also.

Rolled Ice Cream

DAY 5: Todays was Shark Encounter Day. We did this on the North Shore! As we were headed out our guides said the water was extra clear today and to watch for wales because they were all over! The definitely were ALL over, we saw so many! It was pretty cool! Once we got to the shark tank we could see the sharks EVERYWHERE, swimming all around the boat. I then got a little nervous, and thought what the heck did we sign up for! However, we sent Trevor in first and he was just fine. It was pretty awesome though. They just swam back and forth around us the whole time, a couple times it was pretty wavey and Koopes legs would go outside the cage and I'd grab him and be like hunny get them back in here! But the sharks weren't tried to attack us or anything, they were very calm! When we got out of the tank we saw some wales Definitely a fun experience! I think we paid $112 each for these and I thought it was worth it!

We headed back up to North Shore to find our Shrimp Trucks! We found Giovanes and a few others. I got Garlic Shrimp a smoothie and Koop Got garlic shrimp. They were both delicious! Except those that had garlic shrimp- had the worst breath the rest of the day!

We headed to Waimea Valley after this. This place is beyond Beautiful! It's what I image the Garden of Eden looked like. The trees, plants, flowers, literally everything was beautiful! We explored all the way up and then jumped in the freezing freezing cold water to swim over to the waterfall.

After this we headed to get snow cones These were much better than the the first ones we got! They were soft and yummy! After this we got french fries and headed to the North Shore! Koop and I walked the beach and looked for seashells for the kids.

DAY 5: Last night while in the hot tub, the couple we joined mentioned if we go to Paradise Cove-Just 2 miles from where we are that we would see turtles. It was the last thing on our bucket list and we had to do it.. At first we were like this place, really? But it was awesome. They were just swimming around and around.

On Wednesday we were saying how it felt crazy we still had 4 days but here we are Saturday on our last day and trying to get in what we missed! We went to the farmers swap meet and got some gifts for the kids and our babysitters- It rained a little but then the sun came out and it was SOO HUMID! They had lots of little shops all over! We made sure to stop at Leonards Bakery and try the malasadas! They were a big round donut basically, but pretty good!

After the swap meet we headed to Kailua Beach! It was packed and so many people- but the beach itself was so pretty, the water was clear and the sand was so soft! It was a little bit windier this day and had an overcast so I just enjoyed people watching! Apparently the new thong swimsuit trend has two terms "Yum Bum" Or Yuck Tuck" haha and we got a kick out of just people watching! Then we headed over to Buzz's steakhouse-because it was Valentines weekend we could only sit on the outside and have Appetizers-However, their appetizers were like full meals! We ended the night at the hot tubs and played games till we couldn't stay up!