The title really should have been Traveling for play because the entire trip was just so much FUN! :) A couple  months ago, my friend Gail and I were talking about taking a girls trip with some of our closest girl friends to Hawaii before we all got super busy! We spoke with our other good friend, Sam, and quickly things fell into motion! We booked the ticket, and started working out! Haha!

Originally we were going to do a week in Kauai, but after I contacted my friends Breshon & Isaac, they wanted to fly me over to Oahu to take their maternity portraits! You might Breshon & Isaac from the very first solo wedding I was blessed with the opportunity to photograph (view their wedding here, & their engagement here)! This is where “work” comes into play! So I asked Gail & Sam if they minded island hopping to Oahu and they said YES! So, we ended up spending time in Oahu, too!

We were really blessed to have had friends on both islands who happily invited us in to stay with them! We were so blessed by their hospitality! I think it’s one of the biggest reasons why we were able to travel to Hawaii on the budget we had! :) THANKS FRIENDS!

After the husband of our other best friend, Imari, found out we were traveling, he got a move on booking Imari a ticket to be able to fly out to us from Norcal and with us to Hawaii! In a matter of maybe three months, everything was set for our girls trip! And if our dearest Abi were in America and not busy doing things for the Lord, we would’ve had the whole gang! :)

Keep in mind that this was the first time I’d been on a plane in maybe over a decade! I think the last time I flew it was to Washington DC and I was in Middle school! So, needless to say, I was SO excited, and SO happy to see that I got a window seat!

Our flight took off around 6am. We all stayed at Sam’s house the night before to sleep in as much as we could, but man. We were all deadddddddd. I thought I’d be able to sleep on the plane, but I think my excitedness kept me awake the entire time!

(The following pictures are a mix from my camera, & from my iPhone!)

 

 

 

Sam took the photo of me on the right in the photo above! I was honestly so obsessed with the clouds…. I have like a million now, but I didn’t want my entire blog to be just clouds, so here are the few you get to see! Haha :)

I was instantly reminded of one of my favorite Bible verses, Job 26:7-14:

He stretches out the north over the void
    and hangs the earth on nothing.
He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
    and the cloud is not split open under them.
He covers the face of the full moon
    and spreads over it his cloud.
He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters
    at the boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of heaven tremble
    and are astounded at his rebuke.
By his power he stilled the sea;
    by his understanding he shattered Rahab.
By his wind the heavens were made fair;
    his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
    and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
    But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

 

 

 

 

We landed and were greeted by David (the one on the right in the bottom left photo)! We hopped into his car and after changing back at the house we stayed at, we were driven off to a secret location… ;) & YES! We rode in the back of the truck! So crazy! Haha!

 

 

 

Within an hour of arriving to Kauai, the first thing we ended up doing (it was a surprise to us!) was jumping a 30ft cliff at Kalapaki beach! The currents were strong, but after Caleb and Gail jumped in, Sam & I did it! We held hands for support since we both knew we weren’t the strongest swimmers! Haha!

 

 

 

After the thrill of jumping off and then trying to climb up the rocks to get back up, we spent some time on the shore, where we got to relax a bit and eat some Poke! It rained a bit on and off, but it still felt really nice! :)

 

 

 

 

The next day was Sam’s birthday! So we had an exclusive girls day and beach hopped around! Luckily, Imari used to live on Kauai so she showed us a couple hot spots! :)

 

 

 

 

After exploring this really nice hotel, we climbed atop Shipwrecks, a place where we could’ve jumped instead of in Kalapaki! It was a LOT higher…! This is the view from the top!

 

 

 

 

We climbed back down and ended up at another beach that I can’t remember the name of and just sunbathed and read before we headed off to a nice dinner at a local diner in Lihue (I think)! We ended the night eating s’mores around a LARGE pallet fire at a beach with the warmest water I’ve ever felt! It was so nice!

 

 

Day three consisted of seeing a beautiful waterfall and getting to climb down to the top of it! First we looked over the bridge to see it, and then we climbed down! It was incredible!

 

 

 

 

I loved how green the drive around Kauai was! It was beautiful! My eyes just wanted to stay wide open the entire trip, even though I was exhausted! After the waterfall, David, Becca and Lucas took us to a rope swing in North Shore to jump off before we went to our Ride n’ Glide tour! Becca had to leave early, but we had a lovely walk around a trail to the rope swing!

 

 

 

 

This was the first time I ever jumped off a rope into water! It was pretty darn fun! :) After we all jumped into the lake (?), we walked back to the car and headed over to our Ride n’ Glide tour at Princeville Ranch (check it out here)! This was probably the highlight of my adventure in Kauai! When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with one day riding horses! I had books and games on how to ride them, jump them, and do tricks! Unfortunately, it’s pretty expensive to own and keep a horse, so I never got one! But needless to say, I was SUPER excited to be able to horseback ride even if we were just trotting! :)

My horse’s name was Keoki!

 

 

The gliding part of our tour was a three part zipline across their property! It was so beautiful and so cool!! It was a bit windy, so we had to learn how to rotate ourselves on the line!

 

 

 

 

And back on the horses we went! :)

 

 

 

 

It was such a gorgeous day! After the Ride n’ Glide, we ended up exploring some touristy areas in Hanalei! What did we eat? Bubba’s Burgers! And then we shopped around and found some cool hats to use and take home! :)

 

 

 

HAHA we felt so cool in the hats! Don’t mind our “cool” poses! ;)

 

 

 

 

Again, I was in LOVE with the scenic routes!

 

 

 

 

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to do a sunrise hike up Sleeping Giant! Man. It was so rigorous! I was not prepared to go uphill the entire time! But we trekked up it and made it just in time to watch the sun rise! So worth the crazy hike! Loved it!

 

 

 

 

While we were up on Sleeping Giant, we met a lovely couple, Mitch and Gina! Gina did the coolest pose on the top of one of the rocks at the very top of the mountain and we got to do the honor of photographing it! Check out their blog here! :)

 

 

 

 

 

After exploring a bit around the top, we hiked back down to get some Taco Bell! Because eating Taco Bell on Hawaii makes so much sense, and we had it twice while we were there… haha! I said I love me some Taco Bellllll! ;)

 

 

But before we headed off to eat some tacos, we looked at this waterfall that was on the way back to Lihue! Across from it was this beautiful sight! I wish I was one of those kayakers down below!

 

 

 

 

Sam took my phone and took this! Haha!

 

 

We split up afterwards to do different things! Sam and I explored around Lihue and had some tasty local coffee at Ha! We even got to hear some local talent during their open mic session! :)

Afterwards, we headed back to Kalapaki to reunite with everyone and enjoyed some time on the beach, and some tasty Shave Ice! :)

 

 

 

After Kalapaki, we literally hopped onto a plane in our bathing suits to Oahu, where we were greeted by Isaac! :) We played a fun night of Taboo and knocked out for the next day of exploration!

After visiting King’s Chapel Church, we were dropped off in Waikiki to explore before I had my maternity session with Isaac & Breshon! We got to explore around the beaches, eat some beach food, and swam around a bit! While Gail and Imari sun bathed, Sam & I played 21 Questions in inner tubes (which we spontaneously bought to keep from stepping on sharp rocks)!

 

 

 

Breshon picked us up, and we headed back to Honolulu, where I took Isaac & Breshon’s maternity session! Here’s a little preview! :)

 

 

Isaac took the photo of us on the left, and then I got the polaroid taken later the next day of me & Breshon! :)

 

 

 

 

Our last day in Hawaii was spent snorkeling in Hanauma Bay & exploring the northern shore in Oahu! This was my first time snorkeling with fish! It was another highlight of my trip! SO beautiful! We saw SO many fish, and got to swim with them, too! I accidentally kicked a fish with my flipper… :( A lot of the time, fish would come up to me and I’d freeze, not wanting to hit them with my arms! It was so much fun!

 

 

 

 

After Hanauma Bay, we got some more… you guessed it… Taco Bell! Haha! And explored Waikiki some more before getting our car rental to explore North Shore!

 

 

 

 

We were blessed again with an upgrade to a Mustang Convertible by the awesome workers at Dollar Car Rental! SO Cool!!! The drive up to North Shore was so nice with the top down! :)

We visited the He>I store, and we visited another beach I can’t remember the name of! The waves were breaking on the shore and there was a point where Sam & I got caught in the waves and were struggling to stay up. It was kind of scary… But, nonetheless, it was still a good trip!

 

 

 

 

We ended the night in Waikiki by having dinner from local places! Sam & I had Marukame Udon, which was SO GOOD. If you’re ever in Waikiki, try it out!!! :)

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we packed up, showered, and sadly, Breshon drove us to the airport to make our way back to the Mainland! It was such a relaxing trip! I loved getting to explore and do local things! We left with a couple boxes of chocolate, some toys for my brothers, and these sweet polaroids I was able to take (when I remembered to take out my polaroid camera)! :)

 

 

We had such a blessed time together! Time after time, God just reminded us of His grace, love and providence during this trip! I’m so thankful for the friends who let us stay with them and showed us around! They made our trip so adventurous, enjoyable and just fun!

I loved the islands, the water, the people, and the adventures! But now it’s back to reality, and back to work! Thankfully, at least I do love my work! :)

Aloha, Hawaii! Until we meet again–which I hope will be sometime somewhat soon!

 

Happy Friday!