earth stuff : Adventures in Hawaii -- Oahu

I'm baaaack! The month of July just breezed on by, and now we are in the middle of August. It's been a few weeks, so let me recap more of July and the first week of August... I was in Hawaii for about a week, and I loved every moment of it!

I had the best food in Oahu. I've been waiting almost 2 years for some fresh poi, chicken long rice, kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon, and lau lau!

Outside of Helena's, I found a survivor. Giant cacti can grow anywhere--even in a parking lot.

On our way up to Haleiwa I found some kelp near Mokoliʻi that reminded me a lot of fungi and lichen...

I got to explore some wonderful tide pools in Haleiwa...

...and ate lots of shave ice!

I also got to try a wonderful new shave ice that *in my opinion* is a lot better than Matsumoto's shave ice. House of Pure Aloha makes their own syrups without any artificial flavorings or added sugars, and I got to try the Kalespin, which is made from fresh kale, spinach, apple juice and lemon. Think of juice in the form of shave ice--it was pure heaven.

"At the House of Pure Aloha, there are no strangers – only ohana yet to be met." Uncle Clay, the owner of HOPA, is a wonderful soul. I walked in and was instantly greeted by him, who quickly welcomed us into their ohana. If you're craving shave ice, go to HOPA, it's such a wonderful experience!

I also stopped by Paiko, a gorgeous botanical boutique in Oahu and met with a fellow Courtney, who presented me with this gorgeous pink tillandsia!