Hawaii is one of my favorite travel destinations. I used to fly here every summer to visit my grandparents who lived on the tiny island of Molokai. I actually hadn’t been back to the islands in almost 10 years. For this reason, I was really excited to finally make a return trip. Oahu was just as I remembered it. About as “big city” feel as Hawaii gets, I felt lost in a sea of skyscrapers at my hotel in downtown Waikiki. Despite being in mid-December, the balmy 80 degree weather made it possible to rock shorts, T-shirts, and the perennial rubber slippers 24/7.
One thing I love about the islands is that there are so many different landscapes to enjoy within a small area. This is especially true on the island of Molokai which is only 38 miles long by 10 miles wide. On this island, you can go from lounging on a hammock by the beach to swimming in the ocean to exploring mountain caves all within the same morning. Contrast this from Los Angeles where fighting traffic to make it across town to the grocery store can consume half your day.
By far my favorite place on Molokai however is the Kalaupapa lookout which is an overlook with a breathtaking view of the largest sea cliffs in the world. A fascinating fact about the peninsula is that it used to be home to a Leper colony where individuals stricken with Hansen’s disease were quarantined prior to advent of effective antibiotics.
