When I was younger, I’d often dream about visiting the mystical, mysterious islands of Hawaii, a place that countless others had said was one of the most beautiful places on this Earth. Never-ending shorelines of soft, pale sand, and waters of the clearest blue… it was hard to believe such a place existed. I had been to beaches in San Francisco, the water murky from the city’s pollution and the skies always so grey and cloudy. My best friend had visited the island of Kauai a few times, always coming back and telling stories about Hawaiian men eating fire, fun-filled adventures on the beach, and the annoying rooster that crowed very, very early in the morning. That made me even more curious to visit Hawaii.
Finally, this year, I got to visit Hawaii for the first time! We visited Oahu island, and when we arrived there, just the sight of it was breathtaking. The waters were super blue, unlike the beaches I had been to before. It almost seemed… fake. And the air was amazing! An abundance of nice, cool breezes without any allergens on the air… I didn’t feel allergic the whole time there. (Visit my Allergies Post.)
Oahu is known for Diamond Head Crater, a dormant volcano located near Waikiki Beach. At the beginning of the trip, we hiked up to Diamond Head. It was pretty hard going up since the trail was uneven and rough. I haven’t hiked much in my life, so for me, that was pretty challenging. (Don’t worry, if you’re reading this and are now unsure if you should hike there, it’s actually a kid-friendly trail uwu.) However, at the top, the view was amazing!! It’s really picturesque, and at the right angle, you can capture the city, the crater, and the ocean all at once. When we climbed down, we got to eat coconut water straight from the insides of a real coconut! The meat inside was pretty tasty too, so I’d definitely recommend that if any of you guys decide to take a visit.
View of paradise 
Moana Trail Waterfall(Honolulu)
I also hiked Moana Trail, which, in my opinion, was slightly harder than Diamond Head. Unlike Diamond Head, which was dry, Moana trail was humid, since it’s in the middle of a tropical forest. Because it was humid, the trail was muddy and slick. Tip: Bring a hiking stick on this one. I thought that getting up was the hard part but noooo going down was actually the real challenge. I fell on that trail two times, and on the second time, I hit my knee on a rock. (To not keep falling, I had to hold on to the plants on the side of the wall at some times, or the rocks that were sticking out of the ground.) However, all the sweat and scary I’m-gonna-slip moments were worth undergoing. At the end of the trail was a waterfall- and it was pretty darn high. I had actually seen this waterfall on the internet before that I’d used in school projects, and I was really in awe to be standing before the very same waterfall.
After all the hiking, everyone got to have some relaxation. We spent one day at the beach and the pool just lounging about and gazing at the ocean. The waves really have a way of putting you into a trance. (If I look at the waves for over a minute, I start to get dizzy…>.<) I also snorkeled for the first time! Putting on the mouthpiece made me feel like I was a baby with a pacifier. It was really weird breathing only through my mouth. For about thirty minutes, I was swallowing (and inhaling…) salt water, which is not fun, trust me. But when I got the hang of it, it was pretty interesting. As I was gazing at all the colorful fish swim about, I felt like I became a fish too. I only was able to snorkel for a little over an hour though because the water was really cold.
On the final day, I got to visit a “secret beach.” Secret because not many people knew about that, which was perfect for taking pictures. Getting there was no easy task… Well, if you wanted to do the way that passed all of the people-free nature spots. We had to walk over a bunch of rocks for about a fifth of the journey. Then, we got to a small section of beach that had little tidepools in them, silvery fish darting in and out of sight and wary crabs that hid in between the rocks. We crossed another beach which had lots of tiny pebbles and bits of shells that were washed up by the waves. After spending some time examining them, we continued onwards, to our final challenges; climbing the rocks of doom. Well, it was not that bad, but for me, it was really scary. The rocks were all sharp and hurt my feet, and with the waves crashing at the other rocks below(and a dead crab nearby), I actually felt my heart racing. And. THERE WERE BEES. (I have uh, a small fear of bees.) So when I finished crossing those rocks and saw more walks, I was like, “Nuh-uh, no more rock-climbing for me!” So I took to the waterways(it was protected from the waves by some rocks), and swam across, finally making it to the secret beach(and beating the rest of my family hehehe-). It was pretty cool, and I spotted a turtle at one point.
Overall, my trip to Hawaii was a blast! I had a lot of fun hiking, adventuring, snorkeling, and eating all the delicious food! (Try the kalua pork, it’s pretty yummy 😉 )
I would definitely recommend going to all the places I visited, and to try new things there! Until later,…
Aloha!
(P.S. If you’d like to see more of my photos, take a look at my photography page.)
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