Camping with the Boys

One of the views on our way to the waterfall after a night of camping.

Friday night we go camp. After classes on Friday I went to dinner with my roommates and a couple other friends. We went to a place called Aunty’s Ramen where you get to pick a basket and go to this buffet area of alllll the veggies and dumplings and meats and things I have never heard of before but plenty of options! You put whatever you want in your basket and then go to the counter where they weigh your items and then you get to pick a broth and what noodles you want. I guess this place has the fro-yo or "build your own" idea behind it. You pick whatever you want so it's always going to be delicious.... also a plus, at the end of your meal they bring you free shave ice! Highly recommend if you're looking for a bomb ramen place in Honolulu.

Mmmm


The HUGE thing of FREE shave ice they brought when we finished eating.

After dinner I hurried back to my apartment and met up with my friends Ciza and Matt and we went camping! We drove about 20 minutes from my apartment and pulled off on the side of the highway and walked into the jungle. It was dark but we used the full moon as our flashlight to walk through a bamboo forest. We made it through the bamboo forest to an open field of grass and then went down this hill into a more pine-needle-like forest where we got to our campsite. Matt and Ciza had been camping there before but it was my first time. I have only camped on beaches here, never in the jungle or forest. We got to the campsite and we gathered sticks and wood for the fire. Things were damp so the fire was tricky to start but Matt was persistent and got it going. We talked story around the fire and hung out and then somehow the idea of night swimming got into our heads and we all decided to go skinny dipping! We were camping right next to a reservoir so we walked to the bank of the water, stripped down, and dove in. I absolutely love the feeling of swimming naked, it is magical and freeing! Definitely add skinny dipping to your bucket list if you've never done it before!

After swimming under the moonlight with our moons out, we went back to the fire to warm up. Once we were warm, we slung out hammocks near the fire so we could sit in them but still enjoy the fire. Matt and I stayed up talking until the fire was only a few orange coals. Around 1:30 our other friend (also Matt) came and joined us. An interesting time to go camping in the middle of night but he set up his hammock and jumped into the conversation like he had been there all night. Eventually we closed our eyes, snuggled into our sleeping bags and fell asleep.

This night was surprisingly my first night ever sleeping in a hammock, usually I camp with a tent but I slept surprisingly well in the hammock. In the morning Ciza and I woke up and left the Matt’s to continue getting their beauty rest. We set out on a hike to a waterfall. The hike was super easy and only took about 25 minutes. The trail followed the stream up to a massive waterfall with a small pool at the base. It was around 8:30 in the morning so there were not too too many tourists up and out the door yet thankfully. Sometimes the hikes on Oahu can get crazy populated with all the people who come on vacation. I got in the water, my “shower” for the day and then we walked back to the campsite where we hung out and eventually packed up and left.

Walking up the stream heading to the falls.

We made it!

I had a great night and next morning/day with my friends, experiencing a new place and new things (sleeping the whole night in a hammock for the first time), getting to know both Matt’s better and skinny dipping under the moonlight!