Beaches!!!

After our Big Island adventure, Megan and I decided to spend the next couple days of our Hawaiian vacation relaxing. This means we spent the next two days laying on beaches ("like you should when you're in paradise" -Megan). On Sunday, we went to Waikiki and spent the entire afternoon laying on the beach and playing in the ocean. It was beyond words amazing! We wanted to watch the sunset, but the cloud cover in the distance prevented us from doing so. Instead we headed over to Duke's for dinner.

It was kind of cool to make the connection from the movie we watched one of the first nights we were in town to the actual restaurant and look to see if there was a photo like the photo from the movie. It was also nice to be at a beachside restaurant experiencing Hawaii the way the Hawaii tourism industry wants tourists to experience it. Megan and I both ordered Steak and Shrimp ("a piece of Nebraska and Hawaii on one plate" -Megan), and loved every bite! Interestingly enough, our waiter happened to be a guy with the last name Devaney. My Nebraska friends will understand why this is significant, for you others - Devaney is the last name of an iconic college football coach named Bob Devaney, meaning the Devaney name is kind of like royalty in Nebraska. When he saw Megan's driver's license (we were ordering drinks, duh) he told us that he has family back in Nebraska and that his last name was Devaney. We about spit-taked our water. Apparently Bob Devaney was this guy's great-great-uncle... and he was our waiter! Holy crow!

We finished up the evening by shopping at the International Market and walking along Waikiki beach at night. Gloriusness!

The next day, I took Megan up to Mokuleia Beach near the North Shore. It's the beach I wrote about in Beach-ful Bliss. We literally spent the majority of the day there, and we were basically alone, with the exemption of *maybe* 3 other people the whole day. We got really nice tans... and possibly a little burnt in some areas, but it was well worth it! I've never had such a relaxing day before! This is the true meaning of a relaxing Hawaiian vacation!

We ended up leaving earlier than we were planning because we were a bit burnt, and headed home. Since we were home early, we decided to go see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1" since I hadn't seen it yet and have no one to go see it with while I'm in Hawaii. Another day/evening of just-hanging-out-with-a-friend time. I really miss having friends around.