Category: Oahu

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Destination Hawaii Oahu USA

Hiking Lanikai Pillbox on O’ahu

Lanikai Pillbox is one of my favorite hikes in Hawai’i because the hike isn’t really difficult and the views are amazing. Located in Kailua, it’s called Lanikai because of the views of Lanikai beach and ‘pillbox’ because of the old concrete bunkers that were used in WWII and got repurposed into rest stops and vantage points on the hike.



 

The hike isn’t super long and you get beautiful 360 views of the ocean and mountainside the whole way up. You have to park in a neighborhood to get to the trailhead. It can be confusing finding the entrance, so be careful not to trespass into the neighbor’s homes! The first stretch of the trail is uphill and if it’s rainy, it can be muddy, but there are ropes to help you up along the way. Once you past that little uphill slope, the trail is pretty easy to follow. There are usually people on the trail up and early so if you do get lost, you can just follow someone else.



 

As you make the trek up, you get a view of Lanikai on the ocean side and lush, green view of Kailua and the golf course on the mountainside. I think I’ll say this about every place in Hawai’i, but my pictures will never do it justice.



Have you been to Lanikai Pillbox? What’s your favorite place to hike?
Let me know in the comments below!

Categories
Destination Hawaii Oahu USA

Makapu’u Tide Pools on O’ahu

Makapu’u Tide pools is located off the Makapu’u light house trail. You walk up maybe halfway through the trail then have to hike down the side of a rocky mountain to get to the tide pools. It’s a pretty popular local spot, I remember hearing about it when I was growing up, but I actually had never been when I lived there! (I was a sheltered little child.)




A friend and I finished hiking Wiliwilinui Trail by lunch time and had time to make it to tide pools. The hike down to the tide pools goes down a pretty rocky cliff. I couldn’t take pictures because I was too scared I’d drop my phone! There’s some markers on the rocks that point arrows in the direction of the easiest way to get up and down, but definitely be careful and watch out for loose rocks.

The water is so clear, it’s seriously unreal. The tide pools are pretty shallow and they’re surrounded by rocks. When the waves break on the rocks and the tide pools will fill up a little, but it’ doesn’t get deep at all. (This is coming from someone who doesn’t swim very well!) We stayed long enough to dip in the water, enjoy the scenery, and take some pics but it’s definitely one of those places you have to see in person. I may be biased, but Hawai’i is still the prettiest place I’ve ever been and places like this remind me there’s no place like home! 



Have you ever been here? What's the prettiest place you've ever been?
Let me know in the comments below!

Categories
Destination Hawaii Oahu USA

Kaka’ako Street Art

It seems like every time I go home to Hawai’i, which is about once a year, there’s always something new. It’s bittersweet because part of me wants things to stay as they were, but exciting because those things were never there when I was growing up. This past March, I met up with some friends at SALT Kaka’ako – a city block of restaurants and shops – and we wandered around the area to look at some murals they had up. They held a 2018 POW! WOW! Event not long before I went, where a ton of artists from all over the globe came to paint murals.



I may not be that artistic, but I love art. I don’t think that people appreciate it enough. I tried to credit the artists where I could, but I couldn’t figure out some of them. If you know, let me know and I’ll definitely add the credits! My favorite was definitely the of a girl who looks like she’s falling into multicolored tentacle waves by James Bullough and Ricky Watts. There were so many murals, I didn’t catch them all, but here are the ones I did get.

by @mynameistran
by @og_slick. SO appropriate for HI!
by @simonelegno

by @james_bullough and @rickywatts — this one was definitely my favorite.



a humuhumunukunukuapua’a

by @bounce1029
by @saminthewolf – also loved this one!



Do you like street art? What's your favorite?
Let me know in the comments below!
Categories
Destination Hawaii Oahu USA

Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail on O’ahu, Hawai’i

This past trip home to Hawai’i, I got to hike the Wiliwilinui (pronounced willy-willy-nu-eee) Trail. I’ve never really been a big outdoorsy person, but I love hiking in Hawai’i. Every view is amazing, but I am a little biased. 😉 I do have a couple favorite hikes, like Koko Head and Lanikai Pillbox, but I try to do hikes I haven’t done before.



Wiliwilinui is located in Aina Haina and it’s a steady upward slope with clusters of stairs in between. It’s about 4.5 miles long, so the time it takes will depend on you. It took us a good 3-4 hours to complete. The views from the top are amazing, of course, because you get 180 degree views from Kaneohe Bay to Waikiki.



I’m the worst at giving directions, but to get to the trail you have to drive up to the a subdivision where you have to sign in with a guard to get a parking pass and he’ll give you directions to parking. You’ll park at the head of the trail and walk up a paved road which will eventually turn into a dirt road. The stairs are pretty rough but the view is so worth it! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

view from the top
on the way down
Waikiki in the distance



Have you ever been hiking in Hawai'i? What's your favorite trail?
Let me know in the comments below!