The south side of the windward coast of Oahu is known for some of the most beautiful beaches in the world: Lanikai and Kailua. These beaches are frequently ranked the top in the U.S. The beaches are tucked into beautiful neighborhoods with very nice houses, and it comes with a really cute downtown area (Kailua) that has great food and adorable shops! Read more to find how to spend your time wisely over on this part of the island.

The North Shore is made famous from the Banzai Pipeline; a famous monstrous wave at Ehukai Beach that only professional surfers can surf at in the wintertime. These waves can get around 20 ft in height in the winter months! When I have visitors, it is always fun to watch Somebody Feed Phil’s Hawaii episode in season 4, which highlights the Pipeline and a few food places in Hawaii (some have since gone under due to the pandemic). Plus, Phil is such a hoot! The next day, the visitors are excited to see the Volcom Pro-Surfer House close up, and the huge waves (in the wintertime) that form due to the powerful northern winter storms in the Pacific Ocean. There is so much more to do on the North Shore besides checking out this wave… come take a look!

We started our first day in Iceland at the Keflavik Airport, then we took a bus to the luxurious Blue Lagoon. Our day ended in the beautiful city of Reykjavik. The streets were clean, the view from the harbor was sprawling, and the little row-like homes were mostly brightly colored. The weather was dreary and cold but as we kept saying, “manageable” in the month of September.

The east side of the island has been frequently described by my visitors as a Big Sur look-alike. Assuming you are coming from Waikiki, head along H1 East. As you pass Hanauma Bay, start to drive slower as what is presented in front of you doesn’t look real (you’ll see what I mean!). Many of my top moments on this island are in this region; read more to learn the best ways to experience my favorite part of O’ahu.

“I’m on a beach in Waikiki!” is every tourists’ dream vacation. Waikiki has a beautiful coastline with Diamond Head as the backdrop; the water is so pristine you almost want to drink it. This city is also a part of a larger city called Honolulu, which has the largest population of people in all of Hawaii. So, Waikiki has a lot of high rise hotels and apartment complexes, most of them with stunning views of the water (Makai-side) and the mountains (Mauka-side). This fun touristy-area of Oahu has high-end shopping, beautiful beach bars, many upscale hotels, and easy access to a lovely (but crowded) beach.

In southern Utah, about an hour from Kanab, lies a desert-like trail called Wire Pass at the end of a 4-wheel-drive-only dirt road. We were stunned that the 3.4-mile Wire Pass Trail also leads to a photobook-worthy slot canyon called Buckskin Gulch.

When you think of Utah, you think of all of its incredible national parks, the strikingly tall mountains, and that Salt Lake City became home-base for Mormon pioneers in the 1800s who built the city around their church. I also did not realize that when you think of Utah, you should also think of FRY SAUCE. Huh? Yes. Fry sauce! A delicious side-kick to French Fries here. This orange-colored sauce is generally made up of ketchup and mayonnaise as the base, and most have pickle juice to add a tangy, more exciting flavor. Then, each restaurant likes to add on their own variations for their own homemade fry sauce. For the three months I spent in Utah, I asked every person I ran into where their favorite fry sauce place was. I tallied the ones that got mentioned the most and that’s where the 10 that I tried came from. My chart is the order I tried them, and the ranking is on the right hand side. As you can see, Crown Burger is the champion!

A national park I had never heard of turns out to be another version of the Grand Canyon, albeit smaller. For me, it was easier to “grasp” Canyonlands National Park than the Grand Canyon; easier to spot the Colorado River (and the Green River) flowing from below so you can understand the magnitude of the surroundings. There were many wow moments in this national park, especially Mesa Arch at sunrise.

In its name, this national park is full of… Arches! It makes sense why the Utah license plate is the famed “Delicate Arch” as there are more than 2,000 magical arches in this park. The geological phenomenon of the arch had a very similar effect on me as Bryce Canyon National Park; I just wanted to stop and stare and take it all in. I enjoyed this red rock desert-like scenic park twice while living in Utah.

A moderately difficult 8-mile hike was very much worth the effort towards the end of the winter after a snowstorm, as the cold white-covered trees were a stark contrast to the hot steamed water. This main photo got me photo of the week for Salt Lake City Photography’s Facebook group!