An Informal Affair

 Brady and I were invited to a Hawaii Builder's Association award ceremony in Oahu a couple weekends ago.  Of course we were game, and Matt/Megan were kind enough to watch our kids for the overnight trip.  We shopped a bit, went out for a charming, Waikiki beachfront dinner, and topped date night off with a piece of that ridiculous chocolate cake from Cheesecake Factory (skinny dippers on the beach included at no extra charge).

We looked forward to a morning of Waikiki surf, but when we opened the surf report early the next morning, it said something like, "Good luck trying to find a wave to stand on in Waikiki today."  Ha!  I wish our surf reports were that candid.  Instead, we took off early for our first hike of the day: Olomana Trail.

 When we are on our own, the first requirement for a good time is it has to be something we couldn't do with children.  This was a perfect choice.  It was steep, technically challenging (with a little bit of rope work/repelling), and definitely not one we could do with Zac and Kate. 

 Incredible views, lots of sweat, sore muscles.

 We loved the green moss on the rocks.

This hike has two more peaks you can climb, but with my bum back/neck, we figured it wouldn't be so smart to go for it.  Apparently they are also sketchy, with quite a bit more rope work.

Our second destination was the surfing substitute:  Makapu'u Point Lighthouse trail.  Although it was beautiful, it satisfied none of the stipulations above.  There were moms with double joggers on this "trail," to give you a better picture.  Dear Oahu:  If it is paved, it is not a trail. 

Brady and I are "Hawaii 5-0" fans.  We love identifying parts of Oahu we've seen or experienced, and we love the little comments referencing Hawaii culture.  Yeah, the show is overly dramatic and downright eye-rolling at times, but Brady likes it enough that it is his ring tone.

The Koko Head Crater Trail was featured on one episode.  Steve was going to run it for his morning workout.  Of course, we figured if Steve could do it, we could do it.  I put on my stopwatch and started cooking up these stairs.

There are 1,000 plus stairs, and this picture only gives you a glimpse of how steep it gets.  It is hands-on-thighs steep.  I would love to tell you we made it jogging, but a third of the way up, the goal became to just not stop.  The last third, I got to a point that I had to count 60 stairs before I allowed myself a break and started again, then 60 more, break, then 60 more....HUFF and PUFF!

Just like we read, this hike isn't a hike, but a workout with a view.  Super fun.  It took us 26 minutes (32 if you count the time at the top).  We will beat that with fresh legs next time around. 

We timed things perfectly--acting like hippies and showering at the beach showers, and using the park bathrooms to get dressed up. We felt really proud of ourselves for "beating the system" and making this incredible day for ourselves on top of attending Brady's event.

It is really too bad that our pride came crashing down when we got to the Hawaii Builder Awards.  We instantly realized our dramatic error: it was a FORMAL event.  We were dressed to go to a nice dinner (skirt, nice blouse, slacks, button-up shirt).  You have to understand that Hawaii screams casual at even the nicest events.  We have never even heard of a formal event here!  Nice dress is an Aloha shirt and close-toed shoes (GASP!).  Well, we could have crawled under a rock and died rather than entering that room.  We even desperately searched all the venues around for nicer clothes we could buy in a hurry, but no luck.  There were 3 other people dressed down--3 out of hundreds.  Oh, what losers!  The best part is Brady had to accept the award on stage, in front of everyone.  We felt like college freshmen--obviously out-of-place and in over our heads.

At least that's over.