My last day in Hawaii- an itinerary

With one day left in our long Waikiki weekend, my aunt and I wanted to make sure we got the full experience of the day. That meant waking up early in the morning- between 6:00 and 7:00- to call the front desk and ask for a later checkout. We didn't get a later checkout. So here's how we fit it all in to one day!

As soon as we finished calling the front desk, we threw on our swimsuits and ran down to the beach, jumping in the morning ocean. Of course we had to go in the ocean on our last day, so hitting the water at 7:30 a.m. was a must. Choosing my quickest drying swimsuit over my best ocean swimsuit, I did flash a few fish, but it's Hawaii! We then transferred to the pool, doing a few laps around the water while I had an internship meeting call. Yes, I took a work call in the pool. Yes, it was great.

Running back upstairs to shower, we finished packing our bags and stuffing our carry-ons with changes of clothes. We then checked out just on time, leaving our bags with the bellhop before leaving to explore the island for one last day. We took a walk down the beach for brunch at the Sunrise Shack pop-up in a hotel along the beach. Sunrise Shack was on my bucket list for places to try in Oahu, so I was glad to get it in on the last day. I got the blue magic bowl and it was amazing. The granola was the best part- and I even requested a tub for me to bring home to share with my mom, a fellow granola lover.

We next ended up renting city bikes, riding through a park and into the city of Waikiki. We made a loop, traveling all the way to see the Iolani Palace. The palace was closed when we got there, but seeing a staple of modern Hawaiian history and reading the information provided on its significance was a must for visiting the island. My opinion is that in appreciating the land you are on, knowing its significance and history is essential.

By the time we returned the bikes, it was getting to late afternoon, so we walked over to the Ala Moana Mall, revisiting the area and doing a bit more shopping before venturing into the parking garage to go back to the Foodland Farms poke bar that we had fallen in love with. We stocked up on gifts for friends and family, and a large amount of poke, musubi, and kimchee.

We then took our collection to the beach, sitting in the sand and watching the sun set as we ate our Hawaiian grocery store finds and enjoyed the warm weather. Once the sun was down, we cleaned up our beach spot, walking over to Banán soft serve once again. We both got cones, deliciously fresh and sweet, enjoying those as we hiked back to the hotel to pick u our bags and get in a taxi to the airport.

At the airport we changed into Alaska-ready clothing and checked out bags, found our gate, and settled in to wait for the flight. The airport was pretty bare, but I found my nightly green tea and got some homework done before our flight left, taking us back to the cold.