Day 4: Welcome to Paradise

Horses penned in near the bay

As today was my last day alone with Janine before her siblings arrived, we decided to make it a girls' day out!

Following a delicious breakfast (over-easy eggs on sprouted grain toast with sunflower greens, avocado, and sesame oil) we hopped in the Mini and made our way to the North Shore. Our destination was  Turtle Bay Resort, 850 acres of land over Kuilima Cove. 

Our first event of the day was horseback riding on the beach. Thankfully, I'd had a refresher course in riding from my friend Val a couple weeks prior to this event and was able to remember to keep my toes up and heels down! Each of our horses was docile and well-trained; we hardly had to direct them at all except for when we walked through "candy patches" of delicious greens, when some horses (mine included) would wander off into tall bushes to tear away at the delicious greens. Our trail ride lasted roughly 45 minutes and took us past the bay where Catching Fire was filmed (we watched it later this week to confirm). Janine's horse, Feather, was in the movie Saving Sara Marshall, and my horse, Shania, had apparently starred in a few Japanese magazine shoots. As riding on the actual beach is illegal, this ride took us along a trail just above the beach - apparently the closest you can get to riding on the sand in Hawai'i without being fined. 

After dismounting and peeling my helmet off my now-sticky head, Janine and I migrated over the the resort's public access beach, where we suited up and laid under a tree on the edge of the beach with some refreshing pina coladas.

It was here that I finally began to relax. Traveling , especially between time zones, can take a toll, and I had been moving so fast since I arrived that I hadn't had a chance to completely unwind (I'm sure the pina coladas helped!). Laying in the sand with the sun peeking through the tree branches, my best friend by my side and the rush of the waves filling my ears, I was able to calm down and really appreciate my surroundings. How lucky I am, to have experienced this beautiful island twice!

Ahi Shoyu Poke

This trip is shaping up to be very different from my last one, given the shorter time span, my mental state, and to-do list. The last time I was here my mom was preparing for a very serious bone marrow transplant back home, my life was full of uncertainties, and everything I saw in Hawai'i was new and magical. This trip feels very different, more familiar in some ways and completely alien in others. I know the arrival of the three Hardenburgs tonight will shake things up still more, so I plan to enjoy this feeling while I can.

Around lunch time we grabbed seats at the restaurant on the beach and dined on poke and local burgers while catching up and making plans for the rest of the trip. South of us, Justin touched down safely in Honolulu and took a cab to Ala Moana to wait for us.

Cheers! Spa Day!

We headed down to the Resort's Spa for Spa Happy Hour and soaked our feet in tubs while sipping champagne for an hour. Our technicians were bright and lively. Mine had moved to Oahu from Austin, Texas just a few short months ago and gave me suggestions for things to do and places to visit once I moved there. Feet tingling with happiness, we reluctantly picked our way back to the car and were promptly caught in horrible rush hour traffic on our way to Honolulu. Justin was very patient with us, and when we finally gathered him into the car we breathed a sigh of relief.

Yoga on the beach

Alicia and Jesse would arrive 5 hours later, so we stayed downtown for the evening, did Sunset Yoga on the beaches of Waikiki and went to dinner at Hula Grill, where we feasted on fresh mai tais, seafood, and lobster mashed potatoes. I enjoyed the sunset yoga so much that I signed up to do a jungle yoga retreat with the same instructor the following Tuesday. I have never done yoga outside before but doing so and the sun set, waves crashing against the pier and wind whispering through my hair, was absolutely freeing. I highly recommend it to anyone who has not tried it before!