Hawaii Recap in Photos

It's been a rather gloomy week with all of the election chaos, so I thought today was a good day to recap our trip to O'ahu! I mean, who doesn't love a good beach photo? Don't worry, the festive holiday content is coming!

I do apologize in advance though for the massive picture overload that is about to ensue. I took about four hundred (!) photos and I'm not even sure if any of them do this beautiful place justice. I'll definitely share more about each of our favorite stops in another post, but for now, lets all just imagine we're having a Mai Tai on Waikiki Beach, k?

This was our first trip sans Rowan, so considering how long of a trip it is from the East Coast I was pretty proud of us for actually going through with it! It was totally weird not having to work around nap time and just focusing on what we wanted to do together as a couple, though I admit I may have shed a tear on the way to the airport.

There were other islands we wanted to see, but ended up staying on O'ahu for the whole trip because my husband was working there during the week. I'm glad we did stay, there is so much to do and so many beautiful spots to check out.

Upon landing in Honolulu, my husband picked me up and we went straight to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It was a quick tour and I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

We then stopped at our hotel on Waikiki Beach and headed to dinner. By this point it was around 10 PM Charleston time and I was spent, but mustered up the energy for a Mai Tai and my first of many fish tacos at Duke's.

The rest of our weekend was spent driving up the east coast of O'ahu exploring all of the stunning lookout spots, beaches, fruit trucks, and the North Shore. 

One of our favorite areas of the North Shore was Sunset Beach. It's one of the best areas on the island for surfing, with good reason because the waves were huge and terrifying. We opted to watch the surfers from the sideline before stopping by the food trucks for garlic shrimp and some of the famous Matsumoto Shave Ice.

Another favorite spot that I wish we had gone to sooner was Lanikai Beach. The Mokulua Islands or "Mokes" were so beautiful and the sand was much softer. We've already decided that if we ever go back we want to kayak out to the Mokes.

While my husband worked during the week, I spent my time trying coffee shops and acai bowls, shopping, and getting some color on pasty skin. And probably annoying my mom by asking how Rowan and Ruby were doing. ha! It was such a bummer not having the whole day to spend with my husband, but hey... it's Hawaii, I can't complain. 

The sunsets during our walk to dinner each night were absolutely stunning, I kept taking photos and then 5 minutes later the sky would be even more beautiful.

Overall, we ate well (more on that in another post), explored, and recharged. It was just what we needed!

If you've been to O'ahu let me know some of your favorite spots, I'm so interested to see if we hit them all!