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I was in San Francisco for 4 days prior for a Volleyball tournament which made it rather easy to make it to Oahu with only a 5 hour flight instead of a 10 hour. The day I arrived in Oahu from San Francisco, was also the arrival day for everyone whether they were coming from Maui or Toronto. The first stop we went to was Costco to pick up supplies for the week. The first thing I ate in Hawaii was a Costco Hot Dog. With our supplies collected, we ventured to Ala Moana Mall where we slowly met up with everyone as they landed. The food court is massive there with a good variety of food. There is also a Foodland there which is one of the best locations to grab Poke. My eyes were much larger than my stomach as I grabbed 1LB of poke with no rice & a Kombucha ($39.98USD). Delicious but way more than I could consume at the time.

As the whole group rolled in, our first priority was shopping for the couple to get items they needed for their vow renewal such as clothing from local Hawaiian brands. We stayed in a VRBO condo apartment in Waikiki. We all had time to settle into our accommodations before we met up for sunset on Waikiki beach.

A great start to Oahu watching the sun set with a few taking a dip into the ocean. When the sun went down, we walked over to Food Hall STIX Asia Waikiki for dinner. We ate at Baikohken (Hokkaido Ramen). I Ordered the Ginger Ramen ($19USD). Grabbed a couple of omusubi from Nanamusubi for breakfast for our morning hike the following day. Finished the night off with a scoop of Hawaiian Honey & Lemon ($4.92USD) from Ao Gelato.

Funny enough, I had just come from San Francisco for a Volleyball tournament and bumped into 2 Volleyball friends (Angelique & Lauren) on the flight over and another 2 (Denise & Calvin) in Waikiki.

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Woke up nice and early to make our way to our first hike of the day – Crouching Lion. There technically is parking beside the road and then a short walk to signs saying danger. This hike is technically Closed so if you do go, go with caution. This is a short but steep inclined hike and a good one for sunrise. The first portion is steep and also has a section with ropes to help you. You will reach a flat ground but you aren’t finished there as there is still the peak to climb up. You will be rewarded with wonderful views.

There was a bit of rain on the descent but hey its Hawaii and short but sweet rainfall happens. Off we went to meet with the rest of the crew for lunch. We ate at Kono’s (the infamous pig on a surfboard). I got the BBQ Pork Bomber ($14USD) and it came with Maui Style Chips.

After filling our bellies, we settled down for the day of relaxing at Lanikai Beach. Parking on the side streets is a task in itself. Remember to park the correct direction or else you could be ticketed.

Lanikai is still one of my favourite beaches to visit. Super calm waters.

We spent a good chunk of the day there. To end the day, 4 of us (Juan, Peter & Paula) decided to hike up to Lanikai Pillbox. Be sure to wear proper footwear (I almost didn’t and I am happy I did). Breathtaking views over the island. You can continue to the other pillboxes but we were happy to hang out at the first one.

We had dinner at Rainbow Drive-in. I got the Slush Float ($5USD) & the Loco Moco Bowl ($6.50USD). While we were eating dinner, we had some surprise guests come through – John & Pua. They surprised Juan & Melissa just in time to attend their vow renewal the following day.

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Started off the morning queuing in line at Costco. Costco is a hot spot I have to say. Even before it opened, lines were forming from all directions. We picked up last minute items for Melissa & Juan’s Ceremony including fresh Kukui Nut Lei and Lei.

We (Tammy, Toby, Peter & Paula) had breakfast at Sweet E’s Café. I got the Kailua Omelet ($13.95USD). The staff here are wonderful and have a great sense of humour.

This day was Melissa & Juan’s 10 year vow renewal ceremony. The ceremony was informal and held at Magic Island – a small man-made peninsula adjacent to Ala Moana Beach Park. They had asked all of us to come in either white or mint or a combo. We found a nice spot under the trees. Peter led the Ceremony. In Melissa & Juan fashion, they rock paper scissor-ed to see who was to speak first. The ceremony was short and sweet followed by Group photos.

We went to Duke’s Waikiki for dinner to celebrate this special occasion. We were treated to the Prime Rib Buffet ($64USD). After dinner, we went just outside to the beach for sunset and well, it ended up with majority of the crew taking a dip into the ocean. Toby ended up stepping on and finding a phone in the water and we tried to contact the owner to get it back to them. In the end, we were able to get the phone back to the group of teenage girls who were still in the water who lost it.

We grabbed Matcha Ice cream before heading home for the night at Premium Matcha Cafe Maiko Hawaii. I got the Watermelon & Ube swirl ($7.12USD).