After a very early night to get as much sleep as possible, we had an early morning appointment to go swimming with Sharks with a company called One Ocean Diving. This was going to be a snorkeling adventure to see sharks. Because if I'm going to go snorkeling for the first time, it might as well be with sharks, right?
My niece had done this the year before and said it was amazing, so I convinced my husband to give it a try. Maybe it's a bad thing he's up for most anything.
The boat ride for me was rough. I learned I get easily seasick, even with motion sickness meds. They said it was a very calm day, but the ocean sure felt choppy during the three miles out to open sea. Turns out the sharks are attracted to the electricity in the propellers. The boat made it to its stopping place, and as we rocked back and forth getting ready to get in the water, we could see the sharks alongside the boat. And we were still going to get in the water. Internally I may have panicked.
This excursion you really just stay by the boat. You aren't swimming out into ocean water, just staying by the boat looking facedown into the water. If it's safe, the safety experts would allow you to do a short dive.
The guides with us were very knowledgeable, and I really did feel safe the whole time. I am not a strong swimmer and having not really gone swimming in the ocean, I clung to the side of the boat the whole time and just looked down. I was totally ok with that option too.
We saw a few sharks, as well as a barracuda, and lots of fish. We saw some very interesting needle fish, and we got really lucky and saw a tiger shark. When a tiger shark comes along, they have you stay close to the boat. Then you wait for them to tell you if you need to get out of the water or not. We didn't have to get out of the water, just watched the shark come and go. It was pretty amazing.
we had about an hour in the water, but the motion of the ocean was really getting to me. Don't get me wrong, it was very calm and peaceful, and the waves were a gentle rocking the whole time. And that's when my seasickness was getting really rough. I moved to sit on the steps on the boat the last 5 minutes of the excursion because I was trying not to get sick from the motion. I would not survive life on the sea.
Eventually everyone got out and we headed back to land. I would absolutely do this again.
The husband took some great video with his go pro during the trip, so links below to the videos to see what we saw. It was absolutely worth getting seasick.
After the gardens, we saw this place called Byodo Temple not far from where we were. This was supposed to be a replica of a Japanese temple, and since we are definitely wanting to hit Japan one day, we thought this would be a great stop at the end of our day.
The clouds were getting dark and stormy, and it did sprinkle on us a bit. That only added to the beauty of the island though. It's Hawaii, so it's not cold outside.
You drive through the most beautiful cemetery and Japanese style graves which are all this beautiful polished black stone. It's just gorgeous resting against the lush green of the island. Such a beautiful resting place to be at.
Then we reach the temple. It is just lovely. I love Japanese style architecture, and this did not disappoint. There was a giant bell that people were in line to hit, as well as coy fishponds all over. You could buy fish food the feed these giant guys.
We couldn't go into the temple. You could just look through the main doors as you walked by and see a giant statue of Buda. The incense inside was burning very strong. This is a tourist spot, so of course there were a few souvenir places. They did have a local artist there selling jewelry, which was quite beautiful. I did get a few necklaces.
We didn't stay long as the rain was coming, and we were exhausted with an hour drive ahead of us. We'd arrived on the island about midnight the previous night, then had to be at the beach at 7am. We were tired, and starving. There was a McDonald's right by where we were. Now, I'm not a fan of McDonald's at home, let alone when I'm on vacation. But it was there, it was fast, and we were starving. We ate burgers and frosties as we sat in traffic on the way back to the hotel. When you're hungry, anything tastes delicious. We were then quickly passed out after a long a busy first day in Hawaii.
After leaving the busy beach, we decided to stop at the botanical gardens I've heard such great things about. Ho-omaluhia Botanic Gardens was listed on a google search as one of the prettiest on the island to see.
The drive out there was pretty spectacular. The garden is kind of hidden in the midst of a suburban area. In blends in so well it would have been easy to pass by it as it's just at the end of a neighborhood.
They are free to visit, and once you get through the main gate it's another mile drive to the actually parking lot/visitor center. It's a beautiful drive, with signs all along saying do not stop and take pictures. It's a very narrow lane, so people stopping all the time would be a bit of a nightmare. Gorgeous drive through though. And we got a chance to walk around and see these amazing exotic plans.
After being in these gardens, it's not a stretch to believe dinosaurs exist. In fact, we kept expecting to see them around every corner. If they were going to be alive anywhere in the world, I could completely see them being alive here.
We wondered around the area for about an hour. There were lovely places to stop and sit, and they spent time labeling all their plants. So much time and energy. While I am not a botanist, I do appreciate reading what species the plant is. Some are not familiar, but others can be. Like the cocoa tree. I know that one.
You can also camp in this spectacular place. Camping requirements are rather strict and reservations in advance are a must. But what a gorgeous spot to spend the night in. I would absolutely want to camp here.
Sadly, we never ran into dinosaurs. They must have been hiding while we were there. But the views were incredible, and it was hard to leave. Yet it was time to drive along another 20 minutes for our next stop. In the meantime, I'll let you enjoy a few pictures and videos below of this amazing place.
We went to Hawaii. Never been, but with the pandemic decided it was going to be an easier option that trying to go overseas. There's just too much uncertainty with everything. It's easy to get around if you are vaccinated. You just have to show your vaccine card and wear a mask everywhere you go. And I mean everywhere. But that doesn't bother me. I don't want to get sick or spread it around.
We spent a week on the island of Oahu. As much as I would have loved to see the other islands as well, we just didn't have enough time. And I don't want to have to go to an airport every other day. Instead, we just enjoyed a lovely time seeing everything we wanted to on this island.
We decided to try to do the famous Hanauma Bay that everyone raves about. They have now put limitations on visiting the bay to help prevent over tourism and all the damaging effects on the ecosystem. It's only open Wednesday through Sunday, and you have to have a reservation to get in. They open up reservation times 48 hours before, and they sell out quickly. I wasn't sure we'd get in, but I watched the clock online and grabbed the first spot I saw, which was 7am. 10 minutes later the day was sold out.
It was busy. Lots of people, but the beautiful sun coming up was lovely. Even though it was early, it was still warm outside and the water was warm as well. I've never been snorkeling or swimming in the ocean before, so this was a first for me. I have been to the ocean many times, and I've waded in the ocean. But actually swimming in the ocean water? Never. While I can swim, I'm a very basic swimmer. Definitely not strong or advanced or comfortable with crazy swimming feats. I like to think I know enough to keep my head about water.
Snorkeling took me a bit to get used to. I did have a few panic attacks in the beginning - because breathing underwater is totally weird and unnatural and freaked me out more than once. But eventually I got the hang of it. The whole goggles fogging up constantly is a big pain though. And when you wear contacts it's just a balancing mess. But I saw coral, and fish, and it was really really cool. Glad we did it, and glad I got to learn in a pretty calm environment. We only stuck around for a few hours. By 9am it was getting really crowded with people, which makes snorkeling not as fun when people keep running into you.
But the beach is well organized, the sand is beautiful, and they even have showers and lockers. You can rent snorkeling equipment, but we bought some before the trip to take along with us. So glad we did. Made things easier. After getting off what sand we could (even with the showers sand still gets in shocking places that are impossible to get out) we moved onto our next stop.
After a wonderful week it was time to make the very long 30 hour drive back to Texas. Not going to lie, it was a bit depressing going back knowing that the vacation was over and it was time to go back to work and reality. Reality and adulting is over rated.We drove the same route home, and saw a few extra things. Like this creepy clown motel in Tonopah Nevada. Nightmares anyone?
We then made a detour to see the Grand Canyon!! Here's the thing - it's the Grand Canyon. It was an hour and a half off our path home. But I have never once regretted taking a detour to see it. Plus the groom had never been there, so it was pretty much a no brainer. Yes, it made the day extra long and painful being in a car for like 17 hours. But totally worth it. It was chilly, and they were expecting a snow storm that night, so it was good we went when we did.
The next morning we woke to snow on the car and it still coming down. I love the snow. I miss it. The rest of the drive home was pretty uneventful as we went from glorious 50 degree fall mountain weather to 90 degree Texas heat. Sometimes I wonder why I live in Texas.
Our last day staying in Tahoe we decided to spend the day driving around the lake and playing tourist and the local tourist shops. Nothing exciting or too crazy, just a lot of beautiful scenery in some gorgeous fall weather. I'll let you just enjoy the fabulous scenery below.
The Groom has never been to San Francisco or seen the Golden Gate Bridge. Since Tahoe is only a few hours away, we decided we had to go see it. It's been years since I've been there so it seemed like a fun trip.
California drivers are the absolute worst drivers in the world. They just are. Are almost getting into an accident more then once from the hipster in front of us, we made it onto the bridge. Which was basically a parking lot. Our 3 hour drive turned into 5 hours. Typical of San Francisco.
The downside is that because of the traffic we didn't make it there until 3:30 in the afternoon, which gave us very limited time to do much. It also happened to be fleet week, as well as a Blue Angels air show. It was pretty jam packed with people and craziness.
We did walk along the piers down to Pier 39. We walked through the packed shopping distract to the back, where we got a good view of Alcatraz. We also of course had to make a quick stop to see the sea lions. I always LOVED going to Pier 39 and seeing the sea lion. They are like giant lazy cats of the ocean.
We didn't have time to go out to Alcatraz, or see Fisherman's Warf which I'm bummed about. But we saw a few highlights. We then went to a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner right by the piers. I'm a snob when it comes to Italian food, but this place was actually amazingly good. Too bad I can't remember the name of it.
After that we drove through the madness that is the city of San Francisco, crossed the Golden Gate bridge and got back to Tahoe about midnight. It was a long day, but very fun too.
