We left New Zealand on a high note. Earlier in the day we had helped Monita's cousin propose to his girlfriend, and we hid in the bush and captured it all! Now we were on our way to Hawai'i to see my best friend get married. We left NZ around midnight and (mostly) slept through the night.

We arrived in Honoloulu a little tired, but excited. We made our way to the next terminal where we would fly on to Kaua'i. Our friends Chrisy and Luke had also come over on the same flight, so the wait in Honoloulu wasn't so lonely. Hawai'i was never a place that I was desperate to visit, but the island of Kaua'i changed that. It is a stark contrast to O'ahu. Known as the Garden Isle, Kaua'i is way less commercialsed and touristy, it reminded Monita and I a lot of Fiji.

Unfortunately we flew into a storm (how else would the Garden Isle get its name without a little, or a lot, of rain). At least it was warm. Tayler's brother picked us from the airport and took us back to the resort everyone was staying at. After unpacking we explored the amenities we had nearby. Technically being in America made for some laughs.
 

Day 2

It was a slow start to the day as we caught up on sleep. We spent the majority of the day away from the girls. It started with a lunch out with the boys, then some time at the driving range before seeing out the evening having some drinks, dinner and bowling!

Day 3

Another slow start to the day. It was the day before the wedding so Luke, Chrissy, Monita and myself headed to the mall to get some last minute things. That took most of the day then we got back for some resort life and chill. Then we headed out to dinner with some new American friends down the coast to Duke's. What a spot. And pineapples with liquor in them.

Day 4

My best friend got married and it was beautiful. Full wedding post here.
 

Day 5

With the wedding out of the way and the weather on every single point (so much sun), The Dream team headed out early for some breakfast before heading south to Waimea Canyon. It was breath taking. Kaua'i is so unlike Honoloulu, Kaua'i has one main two lane highway that services the island, and it doesn't even go around the whole island. We stopped along the way before retiring the day at the resort.

Day 6

Another semi early start saw us heading north on east coast. First stop was the Queen's Bath, a tidal pool. But we got there at the wrong time as the tide was high and getting in would have been the last bath we'd ever take. But it was cool spot none the less. We continued north and devoured some ice cream to beat the heat. It really felt like we were in Hawai'i with the white sand beaches. The last stop was Maniniholo Bay. This island was going to be hard to leave.

Day 7

Up at the crack of dawn we gathered our bags and left the resort. The Dream Team was about to halve. Luke and Chrissy dropped us to the airport and Monita and I headed back to Honolulu for a couple of nights. We picked up our rental and headed towards our Airbnb next to Waikiki. After a little rest and a need for food we got walking and found the tastiest sushi place. Ahi Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish of raw marinated ahi tuna. And it is hands down delicious, this place did it so well we tried to go back before we flew out but they were closed. We walked a lot, up Waikiki beach, and it was a tourist trap. We walked back to our place then headed to the mall. It wasn't any mall, it's the largest open-air mall in the world. And we spent the rest of the day there.

Day 8

Another early start albeit a bit tired, I wanted to drive around the island of Oha'u. So we head west towards Pearl Harbour. I'd like to go back when we have more time to do the full tour. But it was an experience otherwise. We carried on up the coast stopping along the way. A beautiful part of the drive to the top follows the coast and we were lucky to see a Sea Turtle chilling on the beach. We had heard about a famous shrimp truck called Giovanni's. Shrimp scampi and rice, so good. As the sun set we drive through the night and the rain and arrived home tired.

Day 9

Our last full day. Monita really wanted to go snorkeling so we headed to Hanauma Bay just south of Honolulu. You pay to enter the beach, watch a compulsory safety video then walk down to the beach. It is a nature preserve and you get to swim with fish among the coral, it is really something else. After a rest we headed back into Waikiki for some last minute shopping and dinner.

The next day we flew back to NZ. And that was Hawai'i, I'll be back.
 

“Hustlers grab your guns / Your shadow weighs a ton / Driving down the 101”

Day 2

Day 3

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Part 1

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Part 1

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

We stayed in a Queen St West area, it wasn’t close to the city. But it was very cool.

I didn’t expect much of Toronto but we both really enjoyed it!

Visited the Hockey Hall of Fame and got a photo with the Stanley Cup!
 

The Eddo Great Hall is where the trophies are kept, and has been beautifully revitalised a few times since being originally built in 1885.

We had lunch at the revolving restaurant in the CN Tower. The lift ticket up was included in the set menu lunch, which meant we could skip all the lift lines going up and down the tower.

That night we watched the Toronto Blue Jays play, and win against the Minnesota Twins.

The following day we headed to the town of Niagra to check out the Niagra Falls. The falls are impressive and amazing but we were both thought the town of Niagra was super tacky

While in Calgary we spent two days driving up to Jasper via Banff. We left Calgary late in the afternoon and stopped in Canmore for the night with my good friend Calder. After dinner we headed into Banff and watched the stars, up in the mountains, in a hot pool.

Day 2

The next day after breakfast in Banff we made our way to Jasper. A four and a half drive. But it took almost twice as long with all the mandotory photo stops.

On our way to Lake Minnewanka we saw our first bit of wild life. Banff resides within Banff National Park which means animals are protected, and safe. I was hoping this trip we would see bears!

Just as we neared the end of Jasper National Park (we stayed in Hinton for the night) I noticed one car parked on the side of the ride. In a National Park that means two things, someones broken down or they've seen something. I had pulled over and saw a mother Grizzly bear with her two cubs!

Lake Minnewanka

Ahead is the bridge for the wild life in the national park so they can cross the road without causing danger, and attracting tourists. 

The weather turned but the sights along the way were breathtaking

Tangle Creek Falls, on the side of the road

Athabasca Falls

The sheer power of the falls has created a canyon before the water continues down the river

Grizzlies!

Day 3

Maligne Lake

A very scenic drive in and out of the lake from the main road

Medicine Lake, another lake on the way to Maligne Lake

Patricia Lake

Horsesho Lake, all to ourselves

Epic landscapes that are so dwarfing

More Grizzlies!

The classic Lake Louise

Moraine Lake

Valley of the Ten Peaks

When I started my daily blog I was contacted by Sian who co-created a short run magazine that I had some photos featured in. Sian, a kiwi, is a freelance designer based in Whistler and was kind enough to show us around.

After some lunch and a quick visit to a lake, we headed for the Whistler Village Gondola. We took the gondola up to the Roundhouse lodge on Whistler Mountain. 

From Roundhouse we took the Peak 2 Peak gondola that connects Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb Mountain. The only life of its kind that joins two side-by-side mountains. It holds the records for the longest span between ropeway towers. It takes 11 minutes to complete and between the 4.4km there are only four towers holding the cable. Looking down the cable is very intimidating, but once you’re in the car you don’t notice the descent into the valley at all. 

Whistler turns into a mountain biking meca once winter moves on. As it was still spring, there was still quite some snow, even fresh! 

We had a mixed bag of weather while in Whistler. But overall there was quite a mild chill. Something either of us weren't prepared for! Heavy rain clouds, snow, sunshine, but we braved the cold.

The gondola connecting the two peaks

From Vancouver it went Kelowna > Calgary > Banff > Toronto > New York > Chicago > San Fran and ending in Los Angeles. I didn’t shoot much in Calgary so no photos from there to share.

Monita and I had both been to Vancouver before so we stayed only a couple days before moving on to Kelowna for Andrew and Erin’s wedding (blog post here).

We used Airbnb to book most of our accommodation throughout the trip. All the places we stayed were amazing, and the hosts made it an even better experience! We would definitely recommend Airbnb to everyone - small or large budget.

We arrived late afternoon and caught a couple trains and a bus before arriving at our apartment. After getting unpacked we headed out and walked towards downtown to grab some dinner, despite the tiredness!

We make choices everyday. Some big, some small. At the same time we make sacrifices, again some big and some small. Leading up to this trip we both made a lot of sacrifices and Monita had to make some big, life changing choices. As we walked into town that first day this ‘sign’ resonated very hard with me. 

The walk back home was a bit wet, thanks Raincouver ;)

The next day we caught the bus downtown and headed to Granville Island for some eats. We also hired some bikes and explored Stanley Park. But I made a rookie mistake - my camera went flat and I didn’t pack any extra batteries. 

I enjoyed wandering the streets of Vancouver. You look at a map, look at the downtown area in the city and think 'Yeah it's not too big', than you start walking. And you keep walking. At one point after taking off my jacket and rummaging around my bag I unknowingly dropped just over a hundred dollars in cash. We carried one our way when I was tapped on the shoulder and a kind woman returned the money to me. Karma is a beautiful thing, just be nice to people :

Vancouver was cool. It felt like we only really started to understand and enjoy Vancouver as we left. Also realising there was so much more to see. We didn't get a chance to explore North Vancouver at all this trip, but we'll be back.