Oahu, Hawaii

I was originally going to write a whole post in my usual detailed style of everything we did in Hawaii and when we did it, but in light of this whole COVID-19 crisis — but I am lazy, slightly depressed, suffering from existential dread, and well — it’s not like you can go there right now anyway. Or at least you shouldn’t. So here are some highlights, and some photos.

Me on the beach.

OUR ITINERARY

Honestly, it’s been about 10 billions years in quarantine time since we went on this trip so I don’t even know where my itinerary is saved, but I’ll try to recreate it from memory.

DAY ONE

Noon: flew in, checked into our room at The Surfjack and went to stock up on my favorite thing to bring home as a souvenir from Hawaii trips: Maui Babe Browning Lotion (it smells sooooo good)

Afternoon: Picked up lunch at Kyung’s Seafood and went for a drive near Diamond Head, ended up having a picnic at Cromwell’s.

Night: Our first fancy dinner, so we decided to go to the Moana Surfrider for dinner - I love sitting on the veranda and overlooking the beach.

DAY TWO

Went to pick up our rental car (the Wrangler) and we went off to Kailua, on the eastern side of Oahu. Plenty of people wake up to do the Pillbox hike but I had already done that before and my man is not about the waking-up-at-sunrise-on-vacation life.

Stopped by for some shopping at Kailua: Bikini Bird is one of my favorite boutiques, and we picked up some lunch at the Whole Foods there (so many local products!)

We then went beach hopping driving down along the coast: Kailua Beach Park and then Lanikai Beach for lunch. We then drove down to a “hidden” local’s beach that turned out to be completely empty. Perfect. Snorkelled, hung around in the water, and then headed home for a nap.

Ended the day by going back for the sunset at Halona Beach Cove, aka Eternity Beach.

Napped back at the hotel and then got ready for sunset drinks at House Without a Key - a Honolulu classic and famous for their mai-tais. There was 2 hour wait but I somehow conned them into seating us right at the front, so got a perfect view of the sunset and a few mai-tais.

We then went to the The Laylow for dinner: the ambiance was ace, the food was fine. Finished off with drinks around the firepit on their deck. *chefs kiss*

DAY THREE

Got up early, switched the Wrangler for the Camaro and headed straight for the North Shore — from my last experience there, my goal was to get there as early as possible and leave by 3pm, before the rush hour starts of everyone trying to get back into the city in time for their dinner reservations.

So we got there nice and early and picked up acai bowls (including the IG-friendly blue acai bowl) for breakfast at Haleiwa Bowls. We started with the northernmost beach we wanted to go to and worked our way down the coast: Sunset Beach, caught a surf contest at Banzai, did some snorkelling at Shark’s Cove and then grabbed lunch at Foodland: a few pounds of poke and rice. So good.

Met up with one of my best friends and Hawaii-native Angelica — once again at House Without a Key for mai-tais and then Momosan for a low-key ramen dinner.

DAY FOUR

It was Sunday (I think? Who knows on vacation time) so we decided to go to brunch at Cinnamon’s in Kailua for their famous guava pancakes. We then headed for a drive up the east coast towards Kualoa Ranch. Honestly, the best part of Oahu is just driving around in a convertible with the top down. It’s dope. Once we hit Kualoa Ranch we turned back around and drove back down the coast — wanted to visit the Waiahole Poi Factory (which I loved on my last trip) but we were too full.

We then stopped at a random beach along the way back because we had seen a couple pop out from a place in the road carrying beach things. They told us to promise to keep their secret, which I am definitely doing because that beach felt like a dream and while we were snorkelling in complete isolation we saw the sea turtle come towards us and he hung out with us for about half an hour, just grazing around. You had to be there.

We then met up with Angelica again at a beach near her home in Kahala. Had our last sunset drinks at the The Kahala Hotel & Resort (which is on its own stretch of beach and is so, so beautiful) and honestly, at this point we were exhausted. We headed back to The Surfjack and had a quiet dinner at their restaurant, Mahina & Sons, which I actually highly recommend — but depending on the night you go, the atmosphere can be a bit lacking.

DAY FIVE

Are you exhausted yet reading this? I’m exhausted typing this. (My boyfriend calls me the “Dictator of Fun” and I’m beginning to see why. We took the last half-day before we had to head to the airport just hanging around the pool at our hotel before heading to the airport.

Me again, on a different beach.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRIP

Sashimi platter from Kyung’s on a beach near Diamond Head: For real I have no idea where this beach was exactly since we stumbled upon it but I do know that it was near Diamond Head and Cromwell’s. It was a windy day and there was not a person in sight.

Staying at the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club: So lots of people (including myself) think the main drag of Waikiki is horrible, but the Surfjack and the Laylow (set back from the hustle and bustle of the beachfront strip) are two of my favorite hotels ever. The Laylow is definitely classic luxury done island style, while the Surfjack has a funky, retro-motel vibe. I would highly recommend the restaurant at the Laylow for a nice dinner.

Renting multiple cars from Turo: Big ups to my friend (and another Hawaii native) Victor for the tip: We ended up getting a slew of different cars during our stay and driving it around the island - from a little red convertible to a massive Wrangler. I always thought it would be fun riding around in a huge car but it was scary. I much, much preferred the little car and driving with the top down all across Oahu.

Secret beaches (that aren’t so secret because this is Oahu, let’s be real): I mean, let’s be real, no beaches in Oahu are really secret but my strategy was to (1) ask the concierge at the Surfjack (that’s how we found our second favorite beach of the trip) and (2) drive around until we saw some people emerge from random spots on the road, which is how we found our favorite beach of the trip. The entrance was completely hidden and there was no one there. We went snorkelling a bit, not expecting much, and then saw a sea turtle that just chilled with us for about half and hour, grazing.

Switching it up with a shot of my boyfriend in the water at the “secret” beach