Hawaii- Oahu

One of my most cherished trips took place in October 2022 when I visited Hawaii for the first time. It was my first flight since the pandemic began. I felt both nervous and excited about traveling to The Gathering Place.

Our journey starts at LAX International Airport in the Delta Terminal. It was a birthday surprise for my niece, who had always dreamed of visiting Hawaii. My task was to keep her distracted so she wouldn't discover she was going to Hawaii. After a hectic pass through TSA, we realized we had only 7 minutes to reach the gate before it closed. I don't remember running so much in my life. When she saw that we were boarding for the island, she was overjoyed as her dream had come true. Initially, I wasn't excited, but the moment we boarded the plane, everything changed.

Thirty-eight minutes after takeoff, we encountered severe turbulence. This is one of the main reasons I dislike flying. During our flight to Paris, we also faced turbulence, which forced me to manage my anxiety. Our first stop was Maui, where we spent three hours waiting for Hawaiian Airlines to take us to the main island, Oahu. We boarded the flight, accompanied by Hawaiian music, and the journey from Maui to Oahu was a brief 13 minutes. Landing in Oahu was an incredible feeling; there was something about the place that I adored. After retrieving our luggage, we rented a car and headed to our hotel.

At 5:08 PM Hawaiian Time, we reached our hotel, the Outrigger Waikiki Paradise Hotel. It's a relatively small hotel, but I'll discuss the downsides after I'm done writing. After having a meal and getting settled, we took a walk to the beach. I don't know how to swim, but i dipped my feet in the water. After spending 1 hour there, we headed back to our hotel. As i went to sleep, i wondered what adventure would await us the next day.

The following day, my sister came to our room to announce that she had discovered an activity for us. Keep in mind, I assumed we were heading to the beach, so I brought my sandals instead of shoes. We got into the car, and my sister revealed that we were going to: you guessed it, Manoa Falls. She informed us that we would be hiking the Manoa Falls Trail until we reached the end. Hiking in sandals was not my idea of fun. I'm not sure how I managed it. It was my first hiking experience, and I was somewhat overweight at the time, yet I succeeded. Since Manoa Falls is situated in the tropical rainforest, the weather was humid, damp, and muddy. It was somewhat challenging as I lacked appropriate footwear. I nearly slipped in the mud several times. The journey takes about an hour round trip. Upon reaching the end, I realized the hike was worthwhile. A 150-foot waterfall cascaded into a pool of water. I noticed people enjoy swimming, but there's a warning sign at the trail's start indicating that entering the pool may expose you to Leptospirosis, which causes flu-like symptoms. This is commonly found in tropical climates.

I felt incredibly proud of myself for hiking this trail, especially considering my weight. Soon after, we visited a small restaurant called Phuket Thai Express to sample traditional Hawaiian cuisine. Personally, I didn't enjoy it. The rice was sweet, as were the noodles I tried. After dining, we returned to the hotel. My brother-in-law took my nephew and dad to the beach, while my niece (the birthday girl), my mom, my sister, and I had a girls' night out. We walked for about 3 hours before going back to the hotel. I changed into my evening outfit, and we went to Shorefyre Fresh Grill and Bar to celebrate my niece's birthday.

The next day, i stepped out in the balcony of our hotel. I admired the beautiful scenery, and it was there where i rediscovered myself. It was our last day in Hawaii, so we had to make the most of it. We drove for 1 hour and 20 minutes from our hotel to Kawaiola Beach. We were there for almost an hour and a half and i admired the color of the water. We then left and headed off to Burger King, one of the worst experiences of my life, I will explain why later.

After eating we headed to Walmart. I was shocked by the prices over there. Afterwards we headed to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial before heading back to our hotel. Our final night was enjoyed by being in the warm water at the beach. The next day it was time to go home.

Returning to Maui was more complicated than our first trip, which involved a hectic TSA experience. After passing through TSA at the Hawaii airport, we decided to use the restroom. Unfortunately, the airport's layout is poorly designed. Our gate was a 10-minute walk from the restroom, so when my sister heard the plane was boarding, we all had to run to catch it. However, when we arrived, there was no plane, and a passenger informed us that the airport often does this to travelers. Eventually, the plane arrived to take us to the island. It's important to note that we had a connection from Hawaiian to American Airlines. We were stuck on the plane for about 20 minutes before taking off. As the plane ascended, I checked my phone and saw that American Airlines was boarding for LAX. It was 2:13 PM, and the plane was scheduled to depart at 2:45 PM. Once we landed in Maui, we sprinted to the AA gate. Just as we boarded the plane, they closed the boarding doors; a moment later, and we would have missed our flight to Los Angeles.

Final Thoughts: Hawaii is undeniably beautiful, and Manoa Falls is truly stunning. However, there are several negative aspects. I spent $99 at Burger King, and a Crystal Geyser cost us $8.19, while lettuce was nearly $12.00! My advice for anyone visiting Hawaii is to bring enough money and spend only on essentials. You can also do what I do when visiting Las Vegas: bring items from home. For instance, I take my Folgers, oatmeal, and crackers, and buy water at Target. Food prices have become extremely high. We initially planned to visit Hawaii a month after returning from Madrid last year, but decided against it. During my research on dining options, I found a YouTube clip showing a taco salad priced at $19.99 and a steak at $22.99. The hotel was disappointing; the shower and bathroom were small, and the room walls were somewhat dirty.

Hotel rating: 5 out of 10

Manoa Falls: Perfect score

Pearl Harbor: 10/10