The Hawai'i vacation was my first normal vacation in several years. I think the last vacation I went on was in 2007 or so. Then I did tons of traveling around Europe and the US for work/adventure/etc, but it's not the same thing. Hawai'i was a true vacation for us. We didn't plan much in terms of activities, we ate a lot, relaxed a lot, and rotated between sleeping, eating, lounging and checking things out. We also spent a lot of money because we knew this would be our last vacation for quite a while. I came home with a tan (sunburn, actually), gifts for a few folks, some good shopping, and probably 2 or 3 pounds of new weight that I get to burn off now. It was so relaxing and lovely.
For the first 5 nights we tent camped at a great little campground on the North Shore called Friends of Malaekahana. It's run by a non-profit and is so unbelievably low-key. Our site was about a minute's walk from a small, remote beach and we had access to rustic toilets and showers. We also rented a car for the week, so when we needed a break from the sun we'd go driving around the North Shore exploring the little hippie towns, mom and pop shops, and checking out the beaches. For the last three nights of our stay in Hawai'i we went to Waikiki and stayed in a semi-private room at Polynesian Beach Club Hostel, which was basic and fine for a few nights. The hostel was easy going and offered a lot of freebies like beach chairs and extremely cheap surfbard rentals. Unfortunately my second surfing attempt was thwarted by smallish waves and cutting my big toe on some volcanic rock. Ouch! Also, after most of week in the quiet, beautiful North Shore area, Honolulu was just a shock to the senses.
We made the most of the crowded, dirty beaches and hoards of people by shopping at an amazing mall, eating a lot at the great restaurants and hitting up happy hours on a regular basis. My favorite discovery was Wang Chung's karaoke bar where we sucked down Lychee vodka and sodas and made friends with a few locals. We were even serenaded by an insurance auditor from San Diego and watched a very drunk girl try to make out with a married [and straight] woman who was having a drink with her husband. Drunk girl then moved on to the gay bartender, who kept shooting "help me!" looks in my direction. Sorry, Buddy, I'm not getting involved in that! Luckily this was all in good fun and allowed us to do some excellent people watching. While on the southern end of the island we also went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, which was probably one of the most fun new experiences either of us have had in years!
Leigh and I have decided that, while living in Alaska, we'll make Hawai'i our "go to" vacation destination when we don't have plans for a bigger trip. We'll DEFINITELY camp at Friends of Malaekahana again, but next time we want to rent a grass shack on the beach for increased comfort and to avoid having to check our tent in our luggage. We've also pretty much decided that we can skip Honolulu. It's just so crowded and we found such tranquility on the North Shore of Oahu, why go anywhere else?
Anyway, it's great to be home and we're glad to be back with our Juneau Cat, but now the real work begins. Aside from a few day/weekend trips we're planning this summer around the state, this was our last vacation until next Christmas. In the meantime we have a lot to accomplish, including:
- Pay off my credit card (not a small task)
- Fund our Christmas trip (by paying off my credit card)
- Build up our savings (we want to have a house down payment by the end of 2012)
- Get back on track with the Eat-Clean Diet. By next Christmas I'd like to lose about 10 lbs, Leigh would like to lose as much as 20 lbs.
- Join the Master's Swim Class here in Anchorage
- Sign up for Adult German Classes for the Fall
- Participate in weekly French conversation practice
- Find a better place to live for next year (either cheaper or roughly the same rent but bigger)
Phew! Steps toward accomplishing these goals begin tomorrow. For tonight I think I'll hit the hay early.
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