View of Honolulu and Waikiki from the top of Diamond Head
This morning we woke up early so that we could squeeze in a hike first thing before it got too hot and the hike too crowded. Turns out we were not early enough as there were already a ton of people at the hike and the temperature was almost 90! However, it was still a great hike. We hiked Diamond Head which is a hikable volcanic crater very close to downtown Honolulu. The views from the top were incredible as you are right on the coast and you can see up to downtown Honolulu and Waikiki Beach, and south of there for more amazing Oahu coast.
Dan ready for brunch at Koko Head Cafe
Once we finished the hike we grabbed an amazing brunch at Koko Head Cafe. This is a restaurant of a former Top Chef contestant (which we didn't realize until after eating there). We had some great food and great coffee here. They are famous for their dumplings so we got two orders of them. We also had a skillet and a breakfast bruschetta. We were really surprised by the bruschetta as it was simple but delicious. Sweet toasted bread, macadamia nut yogurt, and fresh fruit on top.
From there we hit the road to go to the north shore to do some snorkeling at Sharks Cove per a recommendation from a friend. On our way we stumbled upon a coffee grower, Green World Coffee Farm, so we had to stop. Turns out Dan already knew of these coffee growers and was not super impressed the first time he tried them. We had some samples and checked out the place but took off since the coffee was not great.
Sharks Cove
The snorkeling at Sharks Cove was amazing. We rented snorkeling gear right across the street from the cove, got some tips from the dude working the shop and then hit the water. This was one of those places where you walked into the water, put on your gear and then looked under water with your goggles on only to see a ton of fish swimming around your feet. There were so many interesting tropical fish everywhere. We swam out of the cove a bit into the much colder and deeper waters to see if we could find sea turtles. No luck, and plus we started to get a bit scared being so far out and in such deep water. We same back into the cove and had fun swimming in the much shallower, warmer, fish-filled waters of the cove.
Hanging out at Bonzai Pipeline
After we grabbed a snack at some nearby food trucks we drove a mile or two down the road to see if the waves were big at another beach (Bonzai Pipeline) which is famous for huge barrel waves. Unfortunately the waves were not huge at this time so we didn't see much action there, but the beach and water was amazing here just to enjoy. Instead of heading straight back to Honolulu we decided to take the long way home by continuing to drive around the perimeter of the island. We wanted to check out one of the areas that was used to film Jurassic Park. While the scenery was definitely straight out of the movie, we couldn't get close since it turns out the land is privately owned and you need to pay to tour the grounds. They were closed by the time we got there, but definitely worth checking out one day in the future as it looks pretty fun to explore.
Wedding Prep
We eventually made it back to Honolulu where we cleaned up at our Airbnb and then head out for a pre-wedding dinner at the bride and groom's house where they were holding a BBQ for all of the out of town guests. We got to see some family, eat some BBQ, and help decorate some of the table centerpieces. Yvonne did some amazing text on one side of buckets and Dan drew some cartoony sea creatures since the wedding was going to be at the aquarium. These took much longer than expected so we got home pretty late that night but were happy to help out for the wedding.