the turquoise trail

Hawaii; the big island I like to think of the big island of Hawaii as the rural island; it's raw, far less developed & has lots of wide open space (relative, of course.. you can still drive across the island in less than 2 hours..).  This is the island to come to if you like getting off the beaten track and nature is more your thing!  Some of my favourite things from a week on Hawaii.. {hiking} Kaumana Caves Park I did very little hiking during my stay on the big island.. the hiking I did do was mainly short sight-seeing type hikes.  Unfortunately, the Waipio Valley was closed due to a dengue fever outbreak, but I hear it has great hiking!  Kaumana Caves Park is just outside of Hilo and has a lava tube that you can follow for at least 1km!  It's really neat to see.. I'd recommend taking a light & coming back through the lava tube - the surface trail isn't well maintained or marked.  Green Sand beach is on the southern part of the island and...

Oahu; the gathering place Aptly named, as everyone from everywhere was gathered on Waikiki Beach, taking selfies.  Oahu is a gorgeous island, but it's very touristy and extremely busy in Honolulu & Waikiki.. to truly experience this island, get yourself out of town & off the beaten track - you won't be disappointed!  Some highlights from nine days on the gorgeous island of Oahu.. {hiking} Diamond Head Crater The island of Oahu offers plenty of opportunities for working on that beach bod (better late than never..), hiking being one of my favorites - specifically, the views which are often the reward of a good hike.   Mauawilli Falls First up was the Diamond Head Crater; it is a decent hike up, but it won't kill you.  Unless you go in the middle of the day with no water.  Then, it might.  But with a little planning (it's mostly shaded in the afternoons), it can be a pleasant stair climbing excursion, with a stunning overlook of Waikiki...

Some of you will be wondering why anyone would feel the need to pack their life into 1.039 cubic feet.  Well, once again, me and my ambitious dreams are going on an adventure!  This time, it will be in the form of a road trip to Canada's east coast... on my motorcycle!  The saddlebags that I have on my bike can hold an extremely limited amount of things (i.e. 1.039 cubic feet worth of things..) hence the need to have a panic attack and seriously question what prompted this idea in the first place.   Luckily, that only lasted about 5 minutes and I came up with a solution.. which brings me to my next point..  Err..  Basically.. you should know that if you think you're going to be successful in getting your life into 1.039 cubic feet, you're setting yourself up for failure.  Accept it, embrace it, and go get yourself some more space.  Thankfully, my dad is awesome, so this particular pursuit required very minimal effort on my part....