hawaii photo diary, day one

calivintage: hawaii day one

as i write this post, i’m sitting in bed with the windows open to let in the cool breeze and the sound of birds chirping outside. it’s a heavenly 76 degrees outside. i think i’m in love with hawaii.

yesterday was our first day in o’ahu, so we opted to drive out of the sanctuary of our picture perfect resort and out around the island to get a feel for this beautiful place. we headed up kamehameha highway through grassy fields towards the north shore. when we arrived, the streets were lined with tourists and surfers enjoying the sunny sunday afternoon. we stopped in for lunch at kua’aina burger, then made our way through the traffic and past the sandy beaches all the way up over the northernmost point of the island, then back down the east side and through the tetsuo harano tunnel to our hotel. i snapped most of these pictures through the car window, and while they are stunning, they don’t even come close to capturing the beauty of this island.

also: thank you to everyone who left so many wonderful recommendations on where to visit while i’m here! i’m excited to check it all out and can’t wait to share the rest of my trip with you!

calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one
calivintage: hawaii day one

27 comments

  1. unbelievably beautiful! I really want to visit Hawaii someday. I want to take a surfing lesson and climb a volcano and eat spam burgers! haha it sounds like such an adventurous, yet relaxing place.

  2. Make sure you get a Margherita from Cholo’s down in North shore, and maybe visit the Sunday farmers market in Haleiwa, the Ono Pops(cicles) are so yummy!

  3. i’m envious of your sunshine….
    you should go parasailing. it was one of my favourite things to do in hawaii, that and snorkeling. even though it is touristy.

  4. I love Hawaii so very much. If you want to see thousands of Aloha shirts in one space, I recommend going to Bailey’s Antiques and Aloha Shirts (http://alohashirts.com/). The amount of vintage Aloha will blow your mind. The Byodo-In Temple is like a mini trip to Japan (http://www.byodo-in.com/) – plus, if you were ever obsessed with the show LOST (guilty here), a few scenes were filmed there. It’s so beautiful that I’m convinced you cannot take a bad photo there. And if you decide to go to the Temple, take the Pali Highway north and stop at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout (http://www.gohawaii.com/oahu/regions-neighborhoods/windward-oahu/nuuanu-pali-lookout). It’s perched about a thousand feet above the coast and it will take your breath away. Breathe, dig your toes in the sand, and eat some kalua pork hash for me!

  5. I lived there for the first 18 years of my life!

    if you love beautiful drives, and you are a really comfortable driver, drive up and down tantalus/round top drive. It’s so beautiful.

    driving around on kalanianaole in hawaii kai is super nice too, but make sure someone is paying attention to the road! just drive as if you were going to hanauma bay and then keep going, it’s a beautiful corner of the island!

    also, moanalua gardens! there’s a giant tree there. it looks like a canopy! it’s hard to explain but really cool. I loved it as a kid. there are also koi ponds there. it’s also pretty much the ONLY nice park on the island that isn’t a beach.

  6. also, the tetsuo harano tunnels (i had to look that up, haha, we just call it the H3), if you are ever back over there, look to your left a minute or so before you go in the tunnel, (or after, if you are heading to kailua side), there’s a stairway in the mountain, people call it the stairway to heaven/haiku stairs is the official name. I think it’s so cool. (I’ve never hiked it or anything, technically I think it’s illegal to hike even though many do, but it’s cool to see anyway!)

  7. My heart literally hurt reading this, I’m so jealous right now inside my cubicle. Haha it looks beautiful, can’t wait to read more while I’m ignoring filing!

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