Hawai’i: As seen on TV?

Picture this: It's the summer after my senior year of high school. I have dreamed of traveling the world my entire life, but I hadn't done much of it, considering I was 16 when Covid began. For almost nine months, I have been planning a solo trip to Hawai'i… Well, almost solo. Of course, I WANTED my friends to come with me, but very few parents allow their freshly 18-year-old daughter to get on a plane and fly over the Pacific Ocean. Mine are simply the exception. 

Anyways, none of my friend's parents were down to let their child come with me, so it appeared I was on my own. I didn't care and built up a false reality of what it would be like. I imagined myself going surfing every day, meeting cute boys who would invite me to dinner. At dinner, I would meet all their friends and become besties with a ton of Hawaiians. 

Now I know it's hard to imagine, but yeah, that didn't happen. But we will get to that later. 

After many months of planning, the Airbnb's rented, plane tickets bought, I began to feel a little unsure. I expressed concerns that going alone might be boring or that my incredibly anxiety-ridden self might not be ready for such a big trip. My mom offered to come with me and assured me that it would make her feel better as well. I agreed but only for part of the trip. I was still determined to have some independence, but some company and reassurance might be good for the first half. 

Fast forward to June. One month before I leave. My best friend just turned 18 and celebrated by going skydiving. I was incredibly jealous. 

We are a perfect match because we push each other to do things we would otherwise avoid with every fiber in our being.

I, however, was not yet 18. Still had a little less than a month to go of being the dancing queen.

While sitting at my brothers' baseball game, I send a quick text saying

"Once I turn 18, wanna go skydiving again?"

Within seconds I had a response, "Hell yeah, dude! Name the time and place!"

This got me excited. We started throwing out dates and realized there wasn't a single day before we left for college, but after I turned 18 where we would both be in town. I was disappointed but neglectfully let go of the idea.

Suddenly my phone buzzes in my pocket.

Maddie's calling me.

"What if I came to Hawai'i with you and we went ski diving there?!"

It happened in a whirlwind. Within ten minutes, she had a flight booked, and the date to jump out of a plane was set.

Now it was getting interesting.

Alright, alright, enough backstory. I’m sure you’re expecting this to be a story about the perfect Hawai’i trip that is just like the movies. Well, you’re in for a wild ride.

Let me preface this by saying that I still had the time of my life, and I like to look back and laugh now. I made some mistakes, but it wasn't too bad for my first solo trip. However, some of it was definitely a rocky road.

The trip started great. My mom and I flew out on the last week of July and arrived in Honolulu.

We spent two days in Honolulu. I was absolutely in love.

The view from our hotel was stunning and within very close walking distance to Waikiki beach. Although the picture isn’t great, it’s the best I have.

Little did I know I would be returning here quicker than I thought.

On our second day, we went surfing. Neither my mom nor I had ever done it before, so we took a lesson. We drove to the North Shore of the island and got to see all the beautiful nature that was missing from Honolulu. The green mountainsides are covered in trees as far as the eye can see and a variety of flowers that I have never seen before in my life. Surfing was ridiculously fun, and I definitely fell in love with the sport just a little bit. Just like that, the first bucket list item checked off!

Actually, fun fact, that wasn't just the first bucket list item for the trip… that was the first bucket list item to ever be checked off!

I was ecstatic. I could barely contain myself on the drive back. I mean, I actually stood up on a surfboard, and not in Florida or California, but in Hawai'i. Everything I had been dreaming of for years was coming true.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Dole Plantation. Another check mark off the bucket list.

Let me tell you. Not enough people hype this up. It was phenomenal. It's definitely worth your time from the pineapple ice cream to the delicious gift shop, even if it is a little out of your way.

We drove back to the hotel, music blaring, windows down, pure bliss. This part of the trip, I definitely recommend. There is not a single complaint here. (However, I will note: If you ever go surfing, remember to use sunscreen on your back… Or else you will end up like me, 15 shades redder than I should be… Rookie mistake.) We ate dinner at a beachside cafe and listened to the waves. We sat on the beach afterward and watched the sunset. Then we slept like babies after a long day. (I oiled up with some aloe somewhere in there too).

The following day, we packed up our things and said goodbye (or what was supposed to be goodbye) to the gorgeous city of Honolulu. We hopped over to the Big Island, where we would be staying on a coffee farm in Kailua-Kona.

When we arrived, it immediately seemed more like what I pictured Hawaii. Almost jungle-like. Greenery everywhere; trees, luscious mountainsides, plants as far as the eye can see, and… rocks? Yeah. A lot of rocks. Rocks border the island in every direction. But it's called the big island for a reason… It's big. I'm sure there are other parts of the island that have beaches.

The small downtown of Kona was very quaint and cute. The multiple sushi and crab restaurants looked delicious. For the time being, I was excited to be spending the rest of my trip here.

It was finally time to check in to our Airbnb. We drive up the mountain, further from the "beach" than expected. The owners explained that google maps can have trouble finding the house, so they had to give us detailed directions on how to get there. As we turned onto a mile-long road full of chickens and a canopy of trees, I began to feel a little more nervous.

Pictured: Said mile-long road.

Let's take a short break to discuss the absolute bullshit that is car rentals.

I'm 18, right? Yes. A legal adult. Approximately 1 month after this trip, I would leave home and go off to college ON MY OWN. I plan to travel a lot while I'm young, but there is a minor problem called car rentals. You can't rent a car until you are 25 years old. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD! By then, I could be married with kids! I won't be, but that's not the point. So yeah, it's utterly idiotic that you can't rent a car while on vacation until you are 25.

Now that that commercial break is over, let's get back to our regularly scheduled program and bring it into the story a little bit. We are driving down this mile-long road that not a single maps app can find. The house itself is very quaint and perfect for privacy. Only problem… I am about to be left alone here with no car and no way out of this Airbnb. I began to panic a little and wasn't sure what Maddie and I would do for the next 5 days. We couldn't even order food if we wanted. With google maps unable to find us, there was no way for an Uber, a taxis, or a food delivery to find us. We would be trapped.

I tried to tell myself it was fine and just enjoy the trip. After all, I was in Hawai'i! Though, no matter how hard I tried, it was definitely eating at me in the back of my brain.

Like bruh. This was my view. Just be happy.

The following morning my mother and I woke up bright and early and went on a 15-hour tour. Yes, you read that correctly, and no, it's not a typo. 15 hours, circling the entire big island. We figured if my mom only had one day on the island, we may as well make sure she gets to see it all.

I know that sounds sort of miserable, but it was actually kind of fun and a great way to see the island.

We stopped at a local Kona coffee farm.

A famous bakery, called Punalu'u Bake Shop- which sold scrumptious baked goods that many of us devoured for breakfast

Punalu'u black sand beach: Check number three on the bucket list. And turtles!

A lava tube: Which I was not a fan of, and I definitely did bonk my head in. No pictures were taken unfortunately.

Volcanoes National Park: Which we stopped and ate lunch ate. ( I was fed purple potatoes for the first time, and I have dreamed about them every night since).

Akaka Falls - check number four on the bucket list. And stunning… Let me tell you.

I clearly looked really good this day.

Waipi'o valley

And then finally back to Kona.

This was definitely my favorite part of the trip with my mom. I got to spend all day with her, and she got to enjoy the little bit of Kona that she got. Although I was tentative initially, I slowly grew excited and enjoyed taking in all the sites. In reality, I was just happy to be with my momma before she departed home.

It was dismal when she left, but I knew it was time for me to be a big kid. This was my first step into being a grown-up out in the real world. It was scary, especially knowing I had no car and no plan for how to get out of our Airbnb.

My mom left bright and early before I had even woken up. As the sun rose, so did I. I immediately felt scared of being alone, but I pushed my fears aside and toughened up.

Yeah, that lasted approximately five minutes when I walked into the kitchen, and a lizard was chilling on the wall.

I promise he has all four legs… It just doesn’t look like it.

I freaked out and ran to hide in the bedroom. I texted my dad, and of course, he simply responded with

"Just grab him and take him outside. He won't hurt you."

I'll let you guess whether I did that.

Maddie was set to arrive at about 6 pm that night, and I planned to go down to the town and hang out by myself. With no car, that plan was put on the back burner.

While cooped up in the room, hiding, terrified of the smallest lizard known to man, I decided I needed to figure out the unknown factors of the remaining trip.

Uhaul! I had done it before, no reason it couldn't work here.

Basically, just so everyone is aware, at 18, you can rent a Uhaul pickup truck that charges by the mile. It's costly, but it comes in handy more times than you think.

I searched every website I came across. Not a single Uhaul, Home Depot, or Lowes truck is available on the entire island. Even if we could get down to the town via Uber, there wouldn't be much to see. Kona is cute, but after you have seen it, that's sort of it. The beaches were on the other side of the island, and so were our activities.

I called my mom sobbing, who was stuck in the airport for a while. I was panicking. This trip was not going the way I had hoped.

My mom tells me to see if there is a flight back to Honolulu the following day. That was it. I was determined to get off of this island. There was no way I was spending the next five days trapped in a tiny house on the side of a volcano.

Maddie was already on her flight, so I had no way of telling her that I was changing everything we had planned. I booked us two tickets back to Honolulu, the cheapest but non-sketchy hotel I could find, and canceled all of our reservations for skydiving and ziplining.

I am still locked in the room this entire time due to the lizard who I have decided can have the whole house. I attempted many times to conquer my fears and go out to see him until he jumped at me one time, and we raced to the bedroom. After that, I refused to leave and even went as far as stuffing a towel under the door in case he could squeeze through.

Looking back now, I may have been a little dramatic.

Maddie had arrived! She can finally take the lizard outside!

After Maddie had finally arrived and was on board with the new plan, we decided it was dinner time. We called an Uber and then waited around 30 minutes for him to find us. After 4 phone calls and step-by-step instructions, he finally arrived.

We ate clam chowder by the crashing waves and dreamed of what was to come.

We found a new skydiving place, which already seemed more fun than the one from before. Guess what else we found? A Uhaul for Honolulu!

We found a way to get from either side of the island, and between the two of us, the price wouldn't be too bad.

Things were looking up!

Awakening before the sun this time, Maddie and I rose at approximately 5:00am. We got ready for our flight and waited for our Uber to come, scheduled for 5:30am. We waited and waited. 5:30 came and went. No Uber. We call my mom panicking, and she tells us to switch our flight. We could do this because Southwest is an angel sent from heaven (not sponsored). We push our flight back to 9:30am and schedule another Uber. By 9:30, you would think the town would be awake, and somebody would come to pick us up. But no. Another scheduled Uber that never shows. We push our flight back again to 12:30pm. This time we make sure the Uber is set to come. He calls us at approximately 11:00pm and says he can't find us. We give him detailed instructions, but he cancels the ride. We push our flight back once more (Am I sounding redundant yet? Yeah, imagine being there). This time we call a taxi. He tells us that we will need to meet him at the end of our massive road. So there begins the mile-long trek, suitcases and all, to the main road.

Finally at the top of the road, waiting for our taxi.

After many hours, we finally arrived in Honolulu… again. We picked up our Uhaul, put our bathing suits on, and headed to the beach!

We then rented some surfboards and went out with the crowd. We attempted time after time, but neither of us were ready for the Hawaii waves. We caught nothing.

After spending the day in the sun, we finally settled down with a platter of sushi. Let me tell you. That was the best sushi either of us had ever had in our entire lives. 

The man at the restaurant asked us how many chopsticks we wanted in the To-Go bag. We said two, and then he proceeded to tell us that there was no way only us two were gonna eat all of it. He said if we did that, he would be thoroughly impressed… He would have been impressed.

The next day we went from sunrise to sunset.

The time had finally come.

Skydiving.

We woke up early and drove the North Shore of the island. I was terrified the entire drive. Maddie drove cause I wasn't sure I should be. We signed waivers and paid for the videos. There was no going back.

The second they began to put the harness on me, I began to cry. I don't know why. All the anxiety built up, and I realized what I was about to do. There was no way I was backing down, though.

My favorite part of this story is that the videographer didn't care that I was crying and just started filming me. No time to prepare. So my entire video is me with tears rolling down my face.

Bucket list item #5!

The second I stepped on the plane, all the anxiety disappeared. I think I realized there was no other way off the plane, so I may as well commit.

Here is a very sweet picture of Maddie checking on me during the flight up.

It was the most extraordinary experience of my life. Freefalling from 14,000 feet with the crystal blue ocean below you is an experience you can never replicate.

After that much of a high, it's pretty hard to come down. We drove back to the hotel but just couldn't settle. We decided we had to just keep going.

We changed into some hiking clothes and headed to Diamond Head.

With everything coming to a close, it felt like the rest of the trip should be smooth sailing.

We packed up and headed back to Kona for a single night. (Looking back, I have no idea why we didn't just change our flight to leave from Honolulu. That was really stupid.)

Sad to leave the beautiful island, we returned the Uhaul and headed for the airport.

As we landed back in Kona, I pointed out that it seemed a little smokey. Something we were pretty used to in Colorado.

As soon as we got service, we saw there was a wildfire on the island. Turns out there was a massive fire burning acres of land not too far from our Airbnb. We decided that one of us must have accidentally picked up a volcanic rock or something cause that island gave us some seriously bad luck.

When we arrived at the tiny home, we felt some serious rest was needed. Starving, however, we decided to order an Uber to go down to the town. We walked the mile to the main road, but the Uber canceled. That was getting really old.

We walked back, starving, with no way to get food.

At around 8:00 pm, we finally found a restaurant that delivered. It took over an hour and a half, a canceled order, and explicit instructions once again, but the food finally came! We turned on some Friends and tried to relax for the evening.

Oh yeah, did I mention we were on tsunami watch?

The next morning, we finally flew home. After almost 12 hours of traveling, we finally made it back to Colorado.

I was on 8 different planes in the short span of 9 days.

It was exhausting, but it was some of the most fun I have ever had.

Getting to spend five days in Hawaii with my best friend was an experience of a lifetime, not to mention the jumping out of the plane and five bucket list items checked off.

We plan on conquering new places together every summer for quite a while, so I’m sure there will be many more chaotic stories to come.

Until the next wild adventure.