13 Things to Know About Hawai'i

1.Shaka is a real thing, bruh

2.The Hawaiian people have an unabashed love of crazy-long words and apostrophes. Sometimes, apostrophes at the beginning of a word. What's it doing there at the beginning? I have no idea.

Hawaiian spelling bees are cutthroat affairs

3.Disproportionate number of blonde people (*Not pictured, because I didn't want to be a creeper. Just take my word for it.)

4.While LOST tours aren't really a thing anymore, we found a few filming locations (the show was filmed almost entirely on Oahu)

Byodo-In Temple, Kahaluu. Where Jin and Sun were married. #LostNerdgasm

5.Fire twirling is serious business

6.There is a bit of hang-loose island time, but it's still 'Murrica, so not quite as island timey as some places.

7.You hear a lot of passive-aggressive comments about haoles (Caucasian foreigners) and there's a subtle undercurrent of resistance against tourism and white invasion. Homemade billboards along the streets of the north shore protesting new development.

it reads "keep the country country"

8.Sushi is not popular, at least not on Oahu's north shore. We found the one sushi restaurant in all of northern Oahu (in Hale'iwa). Even asked our server why, and she said it's just not a thing here.

But the rolls at Bonzai Sushi in Hale'iwa were amazing

9.At Turtle Bay Resort's breakfast bar, I discovered the wonders of cinnamon butter

get in my belly, you decadent whipped cinnamon butter. you do it now.

10.I had no idea that eating sugar cane was such a sensual experience.

11.Apparently there's a lot of parking lot car window bashing for smash and grabs. Signs everywhere warning you to take your valuables, broken window glass in parking lots.

12.Washer and dryer usually stored outside the house, not inside.

13.And finally, here is a glass of champagne in the bathroom, which I assume must be some kind of art installation.

I believe the artist is making a statement about the fleeting nature of pleasure