Nothing Like Getting Lei'd After a Beautiful and Productive Day

Ever since I landed, it has been a nonstop whirlwind of running around the city trying to locate everything we would need in order for us to finally settle down and get situated. I can't even remember what we did since I last updated this blog. Thursday and Friday have been a blur except for the fact that I do remember going to the beach on Friday, and again yesterday...and possibly again later on today. Yesterday, however, can thankfully be accounted for.

We woke up early and went to buy our school supplies, then we went across the street to the Ala Moana Center to get a printer from the Apple Store. Let me tell you about this mall. Basically, every store you can imagine, this mall has it. Now, I come from Orange County, where South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island are just a short car ride away; so, I know a big mall when I see one. The thing that bothered me about this place was that it was flooded with tourists, which I thought was strange, because shouldn't they be spending their time at the world-famous Waikiki Beach? Upon purchasing the printer at $30.00 less then what I originally bought it for in Orange County, I realized what the big deal was. The taxes in Hawaii are much less, and people come here from all over the world (especially Japan apparently seeing as it's officially the start of their vacation season over there) to stock up on all the name brands without the big tax hits.

Anyway, after we dropped the printer off at our apartment, we walked to campus to pick up our textbooks, and while we were there, we got notice that our desk had arrived at the nearest FedEx. So, off we went to pick that baby up. After doing all that, we felt that we deserved a little treat, so we walked around the corner to the Shave Ice joint that everyone was raving about to give it a try. Here are some pictures of our heavenly and delicious adventure.

This place has 4.5 stars with over 750 reviews on Yelp. Best thing about it? 
It's about a two minute walk from our apartment. :)

My boyfriend had the small cup of Cherry and Blue Hawaiian.

I had Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Guava, and Orange topped with sweet condensed milk.

Shave ice is unlike anything I've ever had before. My friends were right; it's absolutely delicious, and it really does just melt in your mouth! It's not like a snow cone where you have to deal with chewing the ice, it really just feels like yummy snowflakes melting on your tongue. If you ever get the chance to visit Honolulu, I definitely recommend Waiola Shave Ice. You will not regret it. :)

After we got our shave ice, we continued on our short walk to the beach where we swam in the amazing water and napped on the white sand.

Here are a couple pictures of the long canal that separates the beach from the city in which I live. It's so pretty, and I plan to go kayaking down it one day. 

This is a view of the left side of the canal which is where the city is. Where I live. :)

And to your right, ladies and gentlemen, are the hotels and the beautiful Waikiki Beach.

And what a beautiful beach it really is. :)

If you can't already tell, I absolutely love it here. After the beach, we went to buy some tools to put together the desk. More on the adventures of that later. On our way home, we stopped by the local key maker who was a cute little old man who told us funny stories while we waited for our extra keys to be made. Upon leaving, he told me to lean closer to him and close my eyes. That was when I got lei'd. Everyone here is so adorable and friendly. I think I made a good choice in deciding to move here. :)