As much as we’re also homebodies and love to curl up with a good TV show on the couch every night, we also love to to be on the go. Miraculously, I talked Tyler into a vacation this year for just the two of us. We decided upon Hawaii, but stayed on the North Shore. It was quiet, relaxing, and full of locals, just how we like it.

Here’s an overview of what TO DO in Hawaii (or what we did, anyway).

1. The Dole Plantation (we went through the pineapple maze, which to my disappointment apparently just looks like a pineapple from a bird’s eye view, but isn’t actually MADE of pineapple plants. Sad. We also recommend getting fresh pineapple and a dole whip, but we’ll get to that later.) It was really interesting to learn about pineapples and see the plants in person. Only three pineapples can be produced in the lifetime of a pineapple plant – no wonder they can be so expensive!

2. Snorkeling. We started out by renting gear across the street from Shark’s Cove ($15/day per person), and then snorkeled in Shark’s Cove. It was pretty neat to see fish, but the reef was completely destroyed. We sadly didn’t see any turtles while snorkeling. We snorkeled three places – Turtle Bay Resort, Shark’s Cove and Electric Beach. I’d definitely recommend Electric Beach because it was MUCH easier to get in an out of the water (no sharp rocks!). I loved that the reef was a good 25 feet below us, but the water was clear and warm so we could still see everything. We had the best snorkeling experience there.

3. The Polynesian Cultural Center ROCKED. I went back in high school, but (I’ll save you the dramatic story) found myself in a wheelchair with a foot cast and a poncho the entire time we were there. Yep, it rained during my 2005 trip. Turns out when you go when it’s sunny outside, it’s a completely different experience! It was quite warm but well worth the $70/person, and Tyler and I even liked the luau food. The show was incredible. I think because I booked our tickets early and called on the phone (instead of booking online) we somehow got amazing third-row front & center seats to the Ka: Breath of Life night show. Highly, highly recommend.

4. We stopped at the Laie LDS temple visitor’s center. It’s pretty much the same as the one in Salt Lake City, but they did have a really neat video presentation about eternal families that you should ask the missionaries about. I bawled my eyes out, of course.

5. We sat by the pool, which overlooked the beach. It was GLORIOUS. We also sat on the beach, and I do declare that it was also GLORIOUS.

6. Pearl Harbor is pretty much a must-do, and bonus! – it’s free. (We did pay to tour a submarine, however, per Tyler’s request.) And it always pays off to ask the tour guides/rangers questions when you’re there – they know so much more information than is displayed and love to chat about it.

7. If you’re staying near the North Shore, Haleiwa is a really neat little town to check out. They have a health food store (Celestial’s), and lots of breakfast and lunch places to eat at. It’s also where Matsumoto’s shave ice is located.

8. EAT. We seriously ate so much.

Even though I brought it, I didn’t use my real camera AT ALL the entire trip. It sat in our hotel room. It was kind of sad now that I think about it, but also so liberating to just experience it all without worrying about pictures or lugging a camera around! So apologies – everything you see is from a cellphone camera. ;)

I’ll post on what to EAT in Hawaii next!