Day 2: Honolulu/Waikiki

Okay so, nevermind those free surf lessons. The dude who offered ended up having to work today. Surfing and I have a very rich history of failed attempts... that better end by the summer haha.

I jogged the beach again this morning... realized that no matter how much I will myself, I'll never be a morning exercise person. Probably did half the distance I did yesterday and still had to walk half of it because I was tired / had side stitches. I also hadn't eaten yet. I'll stick to night-time runs. But I digress.



Today was pretty lazy. After my run I showered and saw it was nice and sunny so I went and walked around town.
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It's not Hawai'i without hibuscus!


Climbed up this waterfall.


Ok just kidding it's coming out of the side of the Hilton.

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Roamed in and out of shops, bought some post cards to send (oh yeah that's what I was supposed to be doing right now!) I was kind of waiting on surfer dude and didn't know he couldn't make it until mid-afternoon but that's all right. I walked along the beach
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See the fishies?

A cookie for whoever knows what this is (proper name too!)

Holdfasts I'm guessing? Don't really know though. Haven't looked it up yet. If you know, let me know! Holdfasts = "roots" of seaweed.. for you non-marine science folk.
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at the park I jogged at,
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checked out the boats in the marina
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The dolphins have santa hats on!!! I can't wait to have a boat and decorate it. Ohhhman

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, took some pictures.
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This canal is the most polluted waterway in the world apparently... I'll be staying away from that.

Only in Hawai'i.......

View from my room part 1
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View from my room part 2
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Took my first dip into the Pacific...
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felt amazing. It's not bathwater like Miami (though winter water in Miami isn't that warm), apparently the water stays in the low-mid 70s year round. Perfect.

I went to Fort Derussy park
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Ficas trees are my favorite!
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to eat the soba noodles
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I bought for lunch at the ABC store. Mmmm delish. Love convenience store food.

My parents are afraid that I'd like it here too much and never come home but... well... at least after I'm done with school... I really wouldn't mind living here at all.... It's so damn nice. And the locals are too. I was driving with my high-beams on and there were bikers coming my way so I turned them off and they actually yelled to thank me as we traveled past each other. So rare to be thanked for anything in the tri-state area, or Miami for that matter.

I decided to drive
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Mah whip
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Tantalus to catch the sunset. Tantalus is a windy ass road that runs up one of the mountains that overlooks Honolulu and Waikiki. It was fucking awesome. Civilization just dropped off after a certain elevation, sans a scattered house here and there. I literally drove through a rainforest. It was gorgeous and smelled absolutely amazing. I was lightheaded because I couldn't inhale frequently enough. Just... fucking awesome. No words for it.

I got to the top and found a good cutout to catch the sunset.
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It was soooooo quiet. All I could hear were birds and bugs chirping away. The view was beyond spectacular. Unfortunately, I only caught an almost-sunset because the clouds rolled in and blocked my view ten minutes from showtime. Laaame. Over the summer.. definitely taking that drive again. I only went up/down one side of the mountain too and I'd love to check out the other. I took a quick video at the top
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(sorry it's sideways... another thing I have to figure out how to fix)
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and had the intention of taking one as I rolled back down (in neutral the entire way) but by then it was too dark for my phone to pick anything up.

Now I'm in my room,
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Mah Crib

Mah kitchen. Microwave is above stove. Coffee pot is left of sink. Yes I know my toaster is on the stove. No I don't turn on the stove to work my toaster. It's plugged in to the wall. Just in case you thought I was dumb.
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hanging out for a bit and then I'm gonna change I think and go back to the area I was in last night. I'm pretty hungry and saw this cheapy Hawaiian food hole-in-the-wall on Yelp (my new favorite site for traveling by the way) that I'll probably go grab dinner at and then I'll probably go find another watering hole and stop by Arnold's, the place I went last night, because the people I met there are local regulars and wished to hang out again.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'd like to drive to Diamond Head
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That's it from a distance
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and catch the sunrise.. if not the sunrise I think I'll go anyway. Then check out that Buddhist temple... maybe find someone who knows sanskrit to translate a tattoo idea for me. I love the quote, from Buddha himself, "you only lose what you cling to." I think it'd be cool to get that somewhere. Digressing again!

I want to check out the North Shore tomorrow too and I guess take that scenic drive home? Debateable. Tomorrow is the driving day I guess. I'm hoping to spend Thursday snorkeling and I'm catching the red-eye that night so tomorrow's my chance to get out of the Honolulu area.

Until tomorrow...

Mahalo!