Aaaaaannnnnddddd I'm back. Hello again!
I've got to tell y'all, the first week back at school after a long break is extremely difficult. My sleeping schedule is completely off (but then again, I don't think it's been "on" since school started) and I'm fairly certain that the only reasons that I'm not slumped over in my chair from sheer exhaustion is because of the powers of caffeine, the promise of the weekend, and the ability to repeat outfits.
I suppose that requires a quick explanation. Last year, I wanted to make sure all of my clothes got some use so that I wasn't wasting them, so I challenged myself to not repeat a school outfit once until after Thanksgiving break, a little over 25% through the school year. And I did it. This year, I decided to try again and I made it. Now I can repeat all of my favorites, which makes getting dressed in the morning very quick and easy and I love that.
Enough about that.... I've been dying to tell you all about my most recent trip! Just a fair warning, I definitely rambled quite a bit in this post, so I completely understand if you get bored and can't read it all the way through.
Oahu, Hawaii: 11/23-28
Ahhh. I'll start out this travel log by simply saying that again. "Ahhhhhhh".
I love Idaho, snow, and winter, but our first snowfall of the year was a huge one, breaking all kinds of records and resulting in a snow day. After a few dreary winter weeks, I was ready to escape for a short while. Spending Thanksgiving break on Oahu was just perfect!
I've actually been to Hawaii before. This trip marks my third time traveling there, and you know what they say, "the third time's the charm." But then again, they also say, "three strikes and you're out", so I never really know which statement to believe. At the moment, I'm thinking that the first has more truth to it. My most recent trip to the islands was absolutely beautiful, and I got to revisit all of my old favorite stops, along with a few new ones.
One of the first places we stopped at was the Chinatown in Honolulu. I was in search of cheap matcha powder, which I unfortunately did not find, but instead stumbled upon countless unrecognizable fruits, vegetables, and fish (?). I've been to other Chinatowns in America, and I just love strolling through the tight aisles and streets of the markets and popping into random stores to see what goodies are for sale. While in Chinatown, I had probably the best boba tea that I've ever had. It was lychee flavored and it was gooooooodd. Though I didn't get any pictures of my life-changing boba tea, I did take a quick picture for Snapchat of another... interesting? drink.
While my family wandered the streets in search of matcha, we also watched a movie crew come through and set up for a take. I had no idea what the movie was or who was in it, but it didn't stop me from slowly walking by the camera guys a few times, hoping for my chance to be discovered and become a star.
Next stop: the Waialua Sugar Mill on the North Shore of Oahu. This one was a new stop for me, but my parents had already been. The old sugar mill is a strange mash of things; a soap factory (warning- don't smell the soap. It's disgusting and then you can't rid your nasal passages of the scent for another hour), a sugar mill, a coffee, cocoa, and sugar plantation, and a large gift shop in a warehouse. My mom swears by their shaved ice. After devouring my lilikoi shave ice, I would have to agree with my mother and say that the Waialua Sugar Mill is where it's at. Waialua makes their own all-natural syrups, using the sugar cane they grow on their plantation, which is pretty cool!
Take a second to look at those fruits... guava and dragon fruit and persimmons and lychee, and papaya... oh my!
He must become greater; I must become less.
John 3:30 NIV
Quick, random story about HE>i... since the greater than symbol and the "i" are really close together in the logo, my family originally thought that it was a backwards "k" and began calling the company "heeki". The name stuck with us, and now I can't talk about the brand without referring to it as "heeki". I love this brand because of their cool message and their super soft tees!
"Now," he started. "Name five thai dishes."
I don't like being put on the spot. I don't do so well. The only dish I could think of was curry and I'm not even sure if the word ended up coming out of my mouth.
Opal, the owner, asked my family a few more questions about what kind of flavors we like, what kind of meats we're okay with, how hot of food we can tolerate, and what we last ate at a Thai restaurant. Once we answered his series of questions, he assured us that we would be taken care of, scribbled a few things on the order pad, and walked off.
I think we were all a little dazed. What just happened? Then the food started coming and I know exactly what happened. We ate it and we ate it fast. We were starving and the Thai dishes were extremely good.
At the end of our meal, after three appetizers and three entrees had been devoured by our table, we asked what we had been served and Opal refused to answer. So who knows what I ate? All I know is that I think I was okay with it, despite my control freak nature.
Okay, this is the second to last time I bring up food in this post. I promise.
So my dad's friend owns a restaurant called the Grass Skirt Grill, also on the North Shore. Every time my parents go to Hawaii, they stop by to say hi and indulge in some delicious food. The Grass Skirt Grill sells a lot of tasty stuff. Apparently their fish is really great, but if you aren't a seafood fan (like moi!), then anything else on the menu should suit you. I got a mushroom sandwich with some sort of red pepper sauce and it was oh-so-good. I attempted to take a photo with my phone and it didn't turn out so great, so you'll just have to trust me when I say that the food is fantastic.
And. The. Fries. The fries. THE GARLIC FRIES.
That is why you go there. That's the real reason. I don't know what kind of drugs are in the garlic sauce that they drizzle over their fries, but they ought to be illegal. Seriously, those fries are addictive and earn some serious drooling from me.
However, this is not the case! I laid out in the sun to tan and read, swam, or snorkeled among the tropical fish most days. Here's a quick Instagram snapshot of one of my favorite days. It was our last day in Hawaii, a lovely sunny Friday, and I spent the final few hours of our trip laying in the sand, soaking up rays and a bit of color, sipping rose lemonade in my over-sized shades, and reading Rilla of Ingleside (the final book in the Anne of Green Gables series.... I'm so obsessed!).
Anyways, I had read online that Honolulu Coffee Company sells macarons and I got extremely excited. I was even more excited after finding out that their flavors were all fun and Hawaiian. I stopped in and bought two just before heading to the airport, a haupia and a lilikoi flavor. They were so stunning, but unfortunately, the only place to take a picture was on the dark airplane just before departure, so I apologize. I feel so bad that you can't see how beautiful the haupia one was (below).
Oh well.
Goodbye for now lovely readers!