Oh, How I Miss Hawaii

Happy Thursday Y'all! 

Man it is freezing here in Korea. I like the cold, but why can't that perfect fall or early spring weather ever last long. It seems like the horrible heat of summer and the bitter cold of winter are the ones that stay around the longest. 

Because I am freezing on this lovely winter evening- I thought I would reminisce about the lovely time I was able to call the island of Oahu home for four plus wonderful years. 

Anyone else feeling ready for winter to say goodbye?

{if you missed any of our Hawaii adventures- fill free to catch up here}

What to do While You're In Hawaii: Travel Tuesday

It's Travel Tuesday time! We are supposed to share a favorite travel photo for this week's prompt. Well, I am going to share a few of my favorite photos from my time living on Oahu. 

The last few weeks I have been talking about places to see while staying on the island of Oahu. I did this mainly to recap the visit I had with my cousins, and to remind myself of the place I called home for the last 4 years. 

{Blowhole} 

This week I wanted to recap everything and give you a list of things for you to do if you ever find yourself on Oahu. This post is all about what I liked to do when I lived on Hawaii and where I usually take people when they come for a visit. *I don't hike, so there will be no talk of hiking on this blog post just in case you wanted to know. 

Beaches: Okay- so I am a totally beach snob. I lived on the North Shore, and therefore I will not talk about any beaches in the town area {Waikiki and Honolulu} Here are my top beaches to go to.  

1. Sunset Beach* 

2. Pipeline*

3. Lanikai 

4. Waimea Bay*

5. Kailua 

6. Keikis

*Home to the Triple Crown of Surfing  - you'll see lots of surfers here which is part of the awesome experience 

{The Sunset at Sunset} 

Snorkeling: 

1. Shark's Cove

2. Waimea Bay

3. Electric Beach aka Tracks

4. Hanauma Bay 

5. Turtle Beach 

{Waimea Bay} 

Eats: 

1. Ted's Bakery $ (get the chocolate haupia pie)- Across from Sunset Beach

2. Duke's $$ (during lunch the kalua pork sandwich was to die for)- In the Duke Outrigger Waikiki 

3. Papa'oles $ - Hau'ula 

4. Pakele's $ - Kanehoe 

5. Waialua Bakery $- Haleiwa 

6. Ola's $$$- Turtle Bay resort 

7. Roy's $$$$- Waikiki, Hawaii Kai, Ko'Olina 

8. Monkey Pod $$- Ko'Olina 

9. Seven Brothers $- Laie 

10. Hukilau Cafe $- Laie- Perfect for breakfast 

11. Kono's $- Haleiwa - My mom loves the banana mac pancakes 

12. Hula Grill $$$$- Duke Outrigger Waikiki- The steak is to die for 

13. Eat the Street $$

14. Cinnamon's- $$- Kailua - Awesome breakfast- the Red Velvet pancakes are so yummy!

 

{Creme Brule at Ola's and Hula Grill} 

{You should probably eat at a shrimp truck- I can't tell you which one cause I can't eat shrimp, but good luck.} 

Shave Ice: You can't go to Hawaii without getting shave ice... yes, shave ice not shaved ice. In fact, if you don't get it more than once- there's something wrong with you :) 

1. Matsumoto's - It's an iconic place in Haleiwa, so you should at least try it once. 

2. Angel's- Laie. This was where I lived, and honestly I liked it better than Matsumoto's. The ice was finer and the ice cream way better. 

3. Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha- Hawaii Kai- All of their syrup is all natural. 

{Angel's Shave Ice- Kid Size} 

*I would recommend trying out a few different places before settling for one. I also would try it with ice cream and condensed milk. For real, it will change your life. if condensed milk is too much for you to handle try the ice cream for sure! 

Things to Do {other than the beach} 

1. Pearl Harbor

2. Polynesian Cultural Center- I would recommend the day tours and the night show (you can completely skip the food because it's gross). The day show helps you understand the night show a lot better, so if you are clueless about the Polynesian cultures go to the villages during the day. *I would recommend taking the short tour to see the LDS (Mormon) Temple- even if you're not Mormon- it is a beautiful place. 

3. Discover Scuba

4. Go see the Duke statue 

5. Diamond Head

6. Iolani Palace 

7. Pali Lookout 

8. Sunset Heiau 

9. Walk Waikiki Strip

10. Bishop's Museum 

11. Blowhole

12. Laie Point

13. Makaupuu Lighthouse 

14. Punchbowl Cemetery 

The island of Oahu is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to live there for as long as I did. If you ever get to visit I hope you try out one of these things I've listed. 

I really hope this to do list helps someone planning a trip to the island. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. 

If you have any other favorites on Oahu please leave your comments! 

Happy Tuesday Y'all! 

Punchbowl National Cemetery {Travel Tuesdays}

It's Tuesday, and that of course means Travel Tuesday! 

Because of Hawaii's importance in the Pacific side of WWII, there are a lot of memorials set up for those that fought and/ or lost their lives in the war. 

Punchbowl National Cemetery is one of those places. 

Cost: Free

Location: Honolulu

Time: 1 hour 

{Ariel view of Punchbowl Crater via} 

The whole cemetery is lined with grave markers. What I especially loved about this place was the simpleness of the markers. It is just such a beautiful place. While we were there, we saw a few families at different grave sights. It was nice to see people coming by the sights and remembering those that had fallen. 

The cemetery doesn't take too long to go through, and I think it's one of those places you should definitely put on your list. The cemetery is beautiful and peaceful, and the views looking out over the city are worth the drive up to the crater. 

{via}

So what do y'all think? 

Many thanks to Bonnie and Belinda for the link up! 

Make sure to check back here next Tuesday as I wrap up Hawaii with a list of things to do while you're on the island! 

Eat the Street: Travel Tuesdays {A Link Up}

This week I wanted to share something that is truly amazing about the island of Oahu: Eat the Street. 

Mmmmm... doesn't it just sound good?!? 

Every month food trucks from around the island meet for one night and have this amazing food truck rally. Matt and I found out about this by chance when I saw the signs for Eat the Street Mililani back in March. We decided it sounded like fun and because I knew the Mililani area really well we decided to go. From that night on, we were sold. Eat the Street is amazing. If you are living on the island, or happening to be visiting while one is going on- go to it! 

The food is really good, and the atmosphere is even better. Each month there is a theme to the rally and the vendors usually add one item to the menu to go with the theme. 

When my cousins came for a visit, I decided we needed to go. This month the theme was Cheese. 

Here are some of the food trucks we tried this time around-

 *Note- we pretty much took turns buying certain items and then we all shared what we bought. This allowed us to buy a lot of food and try a little bit of a lot of things. And if we wanted something specifically for ourselves we just went and bought another. I think this works best because you can try so much more food this way. 

{Sushi Sliders- Everyone loved these. I don't like sushi, but I tried them and surprise surprise I didn't like these. This was the most expensive thing bought and it was around $7 for 4 sliders that included fish.}  

 {Literally a waffel corn dog- Pretty good and $3.00} 

 {Oh the Pop Pop Donuts- Matt and I had these last time and oh so good! And cheap I want to say around $3-4. You can get sugar, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar.} 

 {No food- just a cute picture of Jake and I} 

 {Jessie got the banana lumpia and Sarah got the pork one} 

 {Mmmmm Banana Lumpia- I sunk a bite or two. I actually get really sick when I eat banana. All I can handle is about two bites before I can hardly walk. This was a real treat because I love bananas. I know if Matt had been with us- I wouldn't have even got this bite.} 

{Waffle Cakes- To me this was more like a pancake sandwich. I had the "Threesome"- it was just 3 types of cheese and it was delicious. It was so filling and only $3} 

 {Jessie and I tried the French Macaroons and they were okay. Very expensive, and I must admit after actually having macaroons in France- I'm a snob.} 

{Lemonade- This was actually one of the most expensive things we bought I think it was $6, and I can't remember where I bought it from. I think it's the place that bacon wraps everything. They have all sorts of different flavors. It's expensive, but it's good.} 

{The four of us after stuffing our faces full of food.} 

We also tried Paul's Poppers. Matt and I had these last time and they were so good. I had to get them this time. I don't have a picture of the booth, but just look for the yellow sign. 

Seriously, this is one of the coolest things to do if you're on the island. There are so many food trucks, and everything I have tried has been delicious. If you want to see what Matt and I tried when we went in March just click here. I am so glad I got to take Jessie, Jake, and Sarah. 

My only tip is to get there early. Parking is so crazy. We got there right at 4 and the parking lot was already full. We had a hard time finding parking, so if this bothers you shoot for 3:30. If you click the first link to Eat the Street you can find information for the next one. October's theme is Octoberfest. 

What do you think? Are you a lover or hater of food trucks? Does your town have something like this each month? Please share your comments below! 

If you have missed any other of my Travel Tuesdays just click here to get all caught up. Many thanks to Bonnie and Belinda for the weekly link-up. 

Pearl Harbor: Travel Tuesday {A Link Up}

It's time for another week of Travel Tuesday!

The last few weeks I have been talking about Hawaii, and I wanted to continue this trend by sharing a place you can't miss if you ever visit the islands: 

Pearl Harbor 

Time: Subject to what you want to do minimum 90 minutes max 8 hours 

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii near the Aloha Stadium 

Cost: Arizona Memorial is Free, everything else is about $15.00 ~They have military and local discounts 

Every time someone came for a visit, we would take a trip to Pearl Harbor. If you travel to Oahu and don't see the USS Arizona at the very least- there is something wrong with you. {I kid I kid, but seriously you should go.} 

{via}

The first thing you should do is go get your ticket for the USS Arizona tour. This will be about 90 minutes, and it is the most breathtaking and peaceful place there is. Tickets are free and they are on a first come first serve bases, so you should get there early. 

*Special Note: You can pre-order tickets on-line, but you will have to purchase the audio tour for about $7.50. I would encourage this because you can get the tour time you want and not have to get there at the crack of dawn. Plus, the audio tour is awesome! 

The first thing you do is watch a 30 minute video about the attack on Pearl Harbor. I don't want to sound sappy, but it is one of the greatest 30 minute films ever. It is a nice way to get an overview of the attack and why it happened- just in case you have no idea. Then you get on a boat and ride out to the memorial. 

{You can see the rainbow from the oil leaking from the boat.} 

 {Bridge to Ford Island - the island where the ships were stationed. You take this to go to the Missouri and the Aviation Museum.} 

{These are all the men that were on the Arizona and survived. When they died later in life, they were interred with their shipmates. Matt and I saw one of these ceremonies and it was beautiful.} 

If this is all you have time for then that's perfect. 

But you can also see the submarine the USS Bowfin, the USS Missouri (where the treaty was signed to end WWII), the Aviation Museum, the Valor of the Pacific Museum, and a couple other museums. I have been to everything except the Bowfin {I have a fear that the submarine will all of a sudden just take off when I am inside). The Missouri is awesome. My school's honors group used to do a lot of service projects on the Missouri, so I have seen that ship inside and out. In fact, I helped set up a lot of the new exhibits. If you haven't been in a long time, I would suggest going because that ship has added a lot! The Aviation Museum is also great. There are two bunkers that are part of this. 

{The anchor from the Arizona} 

{USS Missouri} 

{Jessie and Jake in front of the Bowfin} 

{The Oklahoma Memorial- this is right next to the Missouri. Please don't forget to go here. I feel like it doesn't get enough recognition. It's a simple, but beautiful memorial. Each pole represents a person that died on the ship during the attack.} 

Can you tell I love Pearl Harbor? {It's the history major/ teacher in me.} If you haven't gone, you need to! Just make sure to put USS Arizona Memorial in your GPS, not Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is still an active military base and the GPS will take you to the gate! 

Have you ever been to Pearl Harbor? Would you go? 

Thanks Belinda and Bonnie for the link up!