Name That President!

Hey upper East siders,

Tomorrow marks the official halfway point of my clinical! I can't believe I've been here for 6 weeks already. It feels like I just got here, which is probably a good sign when you think this is what you might wanna end up doing in life.

This weekend was kind of a relaxing weekend. I was either exhausted or coming down with something on Friday, so I took it easy Friday night and Saturday, although I did finally watch Good Will Hunting. Apparently I've been missing out on part of my life. Overall, good movie, although I'm not gonna lie, the accents killed me.

This was a 3 day weekend, so don't worry I still had plenty of time to go exploring and have some adventures. One place I went was the Aloha Tower Marketplace, which was actually kind of a bust. It's a marina where a lot of the sunset/dinner cruises leave from, but I was expecting more of an outdoorsy, market feel with street vendors and carts. Instead, it's pretty much a mall with no roof. womp, womp. But I did see some pretty ships.

See?













...and one more.














The real highlight of the weekend was the hike I went on. It was more of what I expected when I heard the word "hiking". No paved road, kind of in the wilderness, a great endpoint, and AMAZING views.

This is the start of the hike. Don't you already feel like you're in the Jungle Book? Cause I totally did. The sign there actually says that there's parking somewhere in there, but I wasn't brave enough to find out if it was right. (hint: it wasn't)









I can't believe I haven't shown you guys my running shoes, bought on the shopping advice of L. I have never gotten so many compliments on anything I am wearing as I get on these shoes. It's awesome. This is also the before shot. Let's just say I'm doing everyone a favor by not posting the "after" shot, and that it made me want to follow the ladies I saw wearing white shirts, or white pants, or even better, heels (yes that really happened and yes, I almost laughed out loud when I saw them).



Bamboo garden! I started wandering through it as I saw people ahead of me doing, until I heard a guy in front of me yell, "Ugh! I keep eating spiderwebs!" Then I retreated....fast.











Oh, no, wait, THIS is the million dollar shot. How gorgeous is this? I should take this moment to mention this little gem of information. Ahem, animals (bugs) that do not exist in Hawaii: squirrels (instead we have mongoose, mongooses? mongeese. yeah.), scorpions, snakes, most types of bees. Thus, I was NOT afraid in the jungle. by myself. with about 100 tourists.




Ha, this feels like a trick. Like in the video games, where they want you to go through, but if you don't time it right, the logs come together and kill you. Um, so, yeah, I definitely sprinted across this. No, the logs didn't try to kill me...but they could've.








So, the part of Oahu where the waterfall is located is called Manoa Falls. This part of the island gets A LOT more rain than Waikiki. There was one part of the hike where no matter where you stepped, you were going to slip in some direction (hopefully forward), and some parts where the mud was so thick it literally felt like the ground was trying to suck your tennis shoes off your feet (remember the ladies in white and heels? Tee hee). Then, when you were all muddy and feeling pretty good cause you HAVE to almost be there right? You round a corner and hit this. Cue the !&%$^*!








Yay! I made it! Is it the most glamorous "waterfall" ever? No. Was it totally worth it for the views I got and the awesome, bugless hike? Yes! Now, we don't swim in the waterfall for 2 reasons. 1. There was a landslide in this very spot in 2002 which is for reasons unknown, so who knows what's in the water. 2. We know what's in the water. It's deadly bacteria if you ingest it.












The hike took a grand total of 2 hours, roundtrip. Hence, the gross hair, face, and general outlook. Overall, it was a great weekend, and of course I spent the rest of the day reading on the beach :).


Next weekend, a dolphin encounter, the waikiki aquarium (for K), and Pearl Harbor. Still looking for a hula class. Only 6 more weeks, I better step it into high gear!




You Know You Love Me,
XOXO