In the middle of placing old photos into albums and scrapbooks, I came across these memories from my first trip to Hawaii back in 2004-2005ish. I went with my boyfriend at the time, and we drove a Jeep throughout the island of Oahu.
That's me. I don't know where I was heading.
We went to Hanauma Bay.
I don't have many photos of me in Hawaii. In the few that I have, my eyes are closed.
I was so excited to try out my disposable underwater camera. To my disappointment, there was barely any marine life to capture on my nifty Kodak. I suspected that years of us tourists trampling the coral reef killed everything off. Perhaps it was isolated to when I went and where I specifically snorkeled (since recent Yelpers seemed to enjoy it), but it was a colorless aquatic graveyard for me. My underwater photos might as well have been taken in a tub full of dirty water.
I still can't tell if that's aggressive behavior, as in "Get the hell out of my way!" This was probably before my first surf lesson in Huntington Beach, CA. I was so carefree and enthusiastic about surfing then. Now I'm terrified of sharks. Ok, I still surf, but with fear.
Other highlights of the trip were the garlic shrimp at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck and Matsumoto Shave Ice. I also got in trouble for wearing my bikini top and shorts at a breakfast buffet. Guess I took the beach casual dress code too far. Some poor employee in a full-on suit at the Japanese-owned hotel had to politely let me know (that I was trash). It was very uncharacteristic of me because a) bathing suits are not my best friend- I wear it to swim and tan. Otherwise, clothes are going on top asap. b) Hello! I'm at a buffet. I have been known to hang out at Las Vegas buffets for 3+ hours. Why would I want to wear only a bikini top when my gut is hanging out?
Ah, 2004-2005 Erica. What an idiot.
Anyway, I would love to return to Hawaii one day and visit the other islands. Have you been to Hawaii? What are your favorite spots?
xo,
Erica
