A Tropical State of Mind – Hawaii Vacation

Hawaii Vacation Highlights

I’ve been coming to Hawaii since childhood and love it with every cell in my body. There is something absolutely magical about this place: the color of the water, the beauty of the sky and scent of plumeria in the air. Oahu has always been my island of choice, I tried Maui once and it didn’t have the same effect on me.  When we were on Hawaii vacation two years ago we popped over to the big Island for a few days and fell in love so we gave it another go this time and it did not disappoint. The first time, we flew into Hilo and stayed at an AirBnb in the Volcano park seeing a more authentic Hawaii.  This time we stayed in Waikaloa Bay on the northeastern part of the island at a resort which also has its merits, one them being the fact that its on the opposite side of the current volcanic activity.

The lava covered beaches of the Big Island are little hard to walk on but make for very cool photo backdrops.

After five days on the big island we hopped a plane to Oahu and stayed on the North Shore, something I have never done in all the times I’ve been here. Although I’ve never stayed up there on a Hawaii vacation I always make sure to spend a few days on the North Shore of Oahu, at first because my older brother who got bit by the surfing bug in Hawaii as a child (and is now the President of the Canadian Surf Association) used to drag me up there on the bus to watch surf competitions. Now I go up there at my own volition because of the pure, almost untouched beauty of the beaches. The aptly named Sunset Beach truly has the most magnificent sunsets and people gather on the beach, as did we, every night to watch the golden sun turn red sinking into the ocean.

 

The color of the water in Oahu just blows my mind, its always bathwater temp and because of the coral reef the water stays shallow and the waves are easy for newbies to learn to surf on. I have always had a fascination with the Pink Palace of the Pacific AKA The Royal Hawaiian.  Its one of the oldest hotels on Oahu full of old charm and its PINK… My dreams came true and we finally got to stay there, it was everything I hoped it would be and maybe a little more.

One of my favorite things to do in Waikiki, or anywhere for that matter, is the catamaran booze cruise.  Its an all you can drink cruise from the beaches of Waikiki and we always choose the sunset time slot so we can get photos like this!

This is the spot my parents always liked hanging out at when we were kids, they’re rock people!

I have climbed to the top of Diamond Head every single time I’ve come to Hawaii (at least ten times now) except when we were here when our son was only four. Its about a 45 minute hike up the crater and through tunnels and bunkers built during WWII.  The views are magnificent and it also helps burn off all the calories from all the Mai Tais we tend to consume! I hope you enjoyed a little peek into our tropical summer Hawaii vacation on the Hawaiian Islands, for more photos check out my Instagram feed!

Happy Hump day babes, see you back here Friday for some more summer style pics! xo ~Zia