Oahu

Through work I won a trip to Ohau which celebrated the company's top performers. My husband and I got our flights, 4 night stay at the Four Seasons Ohau, meals, and two activities all paid for as part of the trip. There were a few set items like a welcome dinner and awards ceremony but also plenty of down time to just relax and enjoy some time off.

We decided to make the most of our trip and arrived a few days early before all the festivities kicked off.

There was a great combination of down time relaxing at the beach and hikes with wonderful views. We went in early May so it wasn't too crowded and we of course we had great weather.

Day One

We stayed in Wakiki a few nights before the company part of the trip and as expected we woke up pretty early, due to the time change, on our first day. I took advantage of the early start and went for a nice run before it got too warm. There were some really pretty views as I ran along the ocean and I made a few stops along the way to admire the views.

After getting cleaned up it was time for a tasty breakfast. We found this little food cart area last time we were in Honolulu with a little breakfast cafe, Cafe Alani. They have really good breakfast sandwiches and acai bowls. Perfect way to fuel the day.

Next we stopped by an ABC store to load up on some snacks for our day of adventures. We ended up renting a car to drive up to North Shore. First stop along the way was at Green World Coffee Farm. We picked up some coffee to bring home, a sweet treat and a coffee treat for the road.

Just down the road from the coffee farm we stopped at the Dole Plantation for a few tasty treats. There are so many different goodies here, the pineapple sour gummy rings are my favorite.

Next we made our way to the North Shore. It was pretty busy by the time we got out there so it took a little bit of time driving along before we were able to find parking just past Three Tables Beach. We found a nice spot to setup for a few hours to swim and relax in the sunshine.

Walking distance from the beach was a section full of different food carts. We stopped by here for a late lunch. I got a very task acai bowl from a cute place called The Sunrise Shack.

As we made our way back along the coast our final stop of the day was at Kawela Bay Beach for one final dip of the day before getting back into the city.

Back in Waikiki we grabbed some food at The International Market Place where we got a variety of items and then called it a day.

Day Two

We made the most of having a rental car and went to get a few hikes in on the east side. First we tried to do the Koko Crater Ridge trail which starts at the Koko Crater Botanic Garden but it was closed. We ended up strolling around the 1.7 mile Koko Crater Botanic Garden.

In the beginning of the trail there are a ton of plumeria flower trees. It was really pretty to see these growing in the wild.

From here we wanted to do something that would get our heart rates up a bit so we headed over to do Koko Head Crater Stairs. This is a 1.5 mile out and back trail that pretty much just goes straight up Koko Crater walking on rail ties. It has almost 1,000 feet elevation gain in a short distance!

As we walked our way to the top, there were trail markers and plenty of spots for rest breaks. We were definitely feeling it with this climb but every time you turned around to look at the view it was well worth it.

There were a few small sections where the rail ties were above the ground so you had to carefully walk on each tie to not fall. At these sections there was also an option to go up a dirt path if you didn't want to worry about falling.

Once we got to the top there were really pretty views in every direction. Crazy to see how high up we had gone in a relatively short time.

The way down was not as strenuous as the way up, but still a bit challenging in it's own way. After our hike we headed to Kona Brewing for some much deserved lunch.

We returned the rental car and made our way to the north west area of the island to check into our fancy hotel which is the whole reason for the trip. We were staying at the Four Seasons and had the most beautiful views right from our room. It was really nice to be this pampered and acknowledged for all my hardwork.

Next we got ready for the welcome dinner while enjoying the views from our balcony.

Then headed down to an area on the hotel property to mingle with other winners and enjoy live music as we ate and drank.

Day Three

Each day we had buffet breakfast with a variety of local food and fruit with views overlooking the ocean.

After breakfast we hopped on a bus to the marina for a snorkel boat cruise. There was a bit of sight seeing on the boat before the snorkel. We saw a turtle and a pod of spinner dolphins living up to their name jumping and spinning out of the water right in front of the boat!

We then dropped anchor at a spot and snorkeled for a bit where we saw a variety of fish and a few starfish. After snorkeling on the way back to the marina they served Kalua pork and pineapple, which was wonderful after all the swimming.

Next we did a bit more relaxing by the hotel beach. The hotel is on a manmade lagoon so it pretty much is always calm and clear in the water here.

After some relaxing we went to check out the hotel gym. The gym had a cardio room, weight room and even an outdoor weight spot.

Then we got ready for the awards ceremony dinner that was in a banquet hall on the hotel grounds.

Day Four

Yet again we had really great views for breakfast and took a little stroll around the hotel property. It really is unreal how pretty it is over here.

After breakfast we had a volunteer activity to help make Genki balls that are used to help clean up the Ali Wai Canal. It was really interesting to learn about all the good that is coming from these. Here's a little information on their mission.

Today was a free day after the volunteer event so we ended up getting an uber to head up to the Pu'u O Hulu Trail (Pink Pillbox). This is a 1.3 mile hike with a bit over 600 feet elevation gain. These pillboxes were built back during WWII as observation stations and have since been painted and provide a nice place to hike with beautiful views.

We found this crazy tree on the way up that was growing out of the rocks.

The views at the top as expected were really pretty.

We then headed back to the hotel, chilled by the beach and walked down to a ABC marketplace to pick up some food for dinner.

Day Five

This was our last full day in Hawaii. After breakfast with beach views we hopped on a bus to the Kualoa Ranch for our final activity of the trip.

We did a UTV Raptor Tour. Which took us all along the ranch to different spots in a UTV. We both got a chance to drive which was pretty fun.

We stopped at various points along that way that felt like something right out of Jurassic Park, portions of both the original and new movies have been filmed here.

It is still a working ranch today so a few areas we came across cows grazing along and had to slowly move them out of the way.

There were little areas setup with fake dinosaur bones and a few different set items from Jurassic World that we drove by.

The scenery here was very pretty. All over were these huge trees.

There was a final Luau dinner as a send off for the trip which featured different dances and fire dancers. To finish the night we wandered around the property one last time admiring the stars before calling it a night for our early flight home the next day. It was a perfect relaxing trip!