Okay, time to start posting all the photographs I’ve been taking over the past months. Let’s stroll back to my trip to Hawai’i…in *July*! The second island I visited was O’ahu. It is the most populated island and is home to the uber-touristy Waikiki. I actually stayed in Waikiki since the conference I was attended was being held there (the conference, NSREC, was sweet, by the way). All in all, I wasn’t really drawn to O’ahu; it looked just like any other big city on the water (granted, the water was beautiful). The highlight of visiting O’ahu was being able to visit friends.

First, I got to see Marla, Guido, and Baby Avi; I know Marla and Guido from Los Alamos. Though I only got to spend one evening with them, it was great catching up, cooking, eating freshly picked mangos, and getting a game of Anagrams in. Later, I got to see an old friend from CMU, Tushar Dubey. It had been ages since I had seen or spoken with Tushar and it was great to meet his wife, Ana, and check out their bakery, Hokulani Bakeshop. If you ever need some damn good cookies, order from them! They even ship to mainland! Their cupcakes are sinfully delicious, but you’ll have to visit them in O’ahu to try them; they won’t keep in shipping.

All in all, O’ahu was great, but if it wasn’t for friends, I probably wouldn’t go back. The other islands just have waaay too much going for them.