Aloha

Aloha!!

I got back from a fantastic trip to Hawaii last Thursday and have been running ever since. But I have to say it was so worth the trip!

I went to Oahu with these lovely ladies (Sarah, Me, Julie & Jennia) and I could not have asked for a better crowd to hang out in Hawaii.

Some of the highlights on the trip include...

1. Seeing Heather & Robert with their new baby, Hadley. They let us stay with them Friday night and even woke up Saturday to make us breakfast. Pancakes or no, they are fantastic friends! We also went to church with them on Sunday and they had us over for lunch. It was a perfect way to spend our Sunday afternoon in Hawaii. I'm so glad I got to see them and even more so that I can call them my friends.

2. Hiking Diamond Head. Rich (a fellow MBA student who had the same idea to spend his week off in Hawaii) took Jennia and I to Diamond Head. It was a fun hike with a great view. We even had our own "Rocky Balboa" moment after running up the stairs to get to the top.


3. On our way to Hanauma Bay we passed this cool staircase (turns out it's an old set of railroad tracks) and it was calling our name. So, Sarah and I decided to take it on. I guess you're supposed to wear hiking shoes but when you do things spur of the moment flip flops will have to do. There turned out to be just over 1100 railroad ties/stairs to the top. Killer. But the best part was seeing some whales from our view at the top.


4. Food. I threw caution to the wind and ate a lot of great food on this trip from a snow cone at Matsumoto's to bubble drinks at the asian market to malasadas puffs full of custard. One word: YUM!

5. Temple trip and day at the PCC. The last time I went to Hawaii they closed the temple 3 days before I arrived and I was so disappointed. But the wait was well worth it. The celestial room is now one of my favorites. We hit the PCC right after and had a great time watching show after show.

6. Water Sports. We signed up for surfing lessons. Yikes! I think we were all a bit nervous but had a great time. Jennia made it up every try but the rest of us had our ups and downs, mostly downs. We got a few cuts and bruises from the coral which just made for some great bragging rights. Wednesday morning Jennia and I went to Hanauma bay to get in some snorkling and saw some awesome fish. Made me miss Mombasa!

Now it's back to homework and classes...