A sample of the postcards I collected throughout the year.
When 2022 rolled around, the world was staring down a third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and as such, I didn’t think travel would be in the cards for me. However, thanks to vaccines and boosters, places began opening up again, and taking trips seemed more plausible in terms of safety and health risks.
Earlier in the year, I did some weekend getaway trips to Portland for a concert and to Santa Monica for YALLWEST book festival, and those were the kinds of travel I was expecting for the rest of the year. But if you had told early-2022 Jennifer that she would get to visit three Hawaiian islands, go on an eight-day, coast-to-coast road trip, and spend a week in Boston, Massachusetts in a single year she wouldn’t have believed you.
Part of me is still reeling; I’m so lucky to have gotten these chances to travel and see more of the U.S.
Hawai'i Island, Maui, and O'ahu
A cluster of pink plumeria flowers.
The trip to Hawai'i was the one trip that I was expecting, to some degree. We used to visit Maui every summer to visit my mom’s side of the family, but the last time we were back was over six years ago. So in a sense, this part of the trip had been a long time coming. I was really looking forward to going back and seeing family and revisiting local haunts and getting to know them again.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to visit more than just Maui - for all the vacations we spent on Maui, I’d never explored any of the other Hawaiian islands. And now that I have friends on other islands that I can visit and who can show me around, I was excited to do some island-hopping!
The first leg of my trip was a couple days on the Big Island that passed way too fast. I had the best tour guides take me all over - from lilikoi malasadas from Punalu’u Bake Shop (the southernmost bakery in the USA) to a local craft market in Waimea on the north side of the island. I got to wade through the clearest tidepools at Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park and see green sea turtles resting on a black sand beach. Exploring beaches while picking my way over hardened lava rock was like checking off a bucket list item I didn't even know I had until that afternoon. On our way to the Hilo side of the island, we made stops at Waipio Valley Lookout, Akaka Falls, and Rainbow Falls. At the Hawai’i Volcano National Park, we were greeted with misty weather but still got to see the lava glow in the distance and feel the steam from the steam vents.
I got to see so much of this island in a few short days, but I can't wait to return and see even more!
A blue metallic ladybug explores a noni plant.
Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park
Lilikoi malasadas from Punalu'u Bake Shop.
Two Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles rest on the beach.
Fresh teas at Waimea Town Market.
The view from Waipi'o Lookout.
Akaka Falls
Rainbow Falls
A pog flavored shave ice from Original Big Island Shave Ice Co.
Our week on Maui was jam-packed and flew by. Almost every day we checked out a new restaurant or had some activity to keep us busy - taking walks on the beach and down Front Street, picking mangoes in the backyard, and helping the local buddhist church prepare for their obon festival. The obon festival at Lahaina Jodo Missions was always the highlight of my childhood trips. I have vivid memories of both the festival itself but also the days of preparation leading up to it. My cousins, brother, and I would help organize the paper lanterns and prizes for the game booths (but we’d mostly run around playing our own games) while our parents helped prepare large batches of chow fun, sushi, and nishime. On the night of the festival, we’d join the procession bringing candlelit lanterns painted with a lotus flower and the names of loved ones down to the beach to be released on the water. It’s one of the most beautiful sights ever. As the lanterns floated down the beach with the currents, we’d return to the church grounds and run around playing the games and snacking on watermelon as the taiko drummers performed alongside the obon dance music playing from the sound system. As we got older, we’d help out at the merch booth and join in the dances ourselves. The festival this year was a much smaller gathering than it used to be due to COVID, but it was no less wonderful.
Some things that were different were really just a sign of the times - the new highway bypass is complete, more housing developments are in progress, and Sansei had to cut fried ice cream from their dessert menu because of the pandemic (I really hope they bring it back someday). Other things I noticed just because of the nostalgia - I didn’t see any geckos on the window screens at night, the Lahaina Cannery Mall has a lot of vacant storefronts, the church kids are all grown up, our two favorite shave ice places on Front Street have closed, and the half hour drive from one side of the island to the other doesn’t seem as long anymore. Speaking of driving, now both my brother and I can drive around the island, though he’s the one brave enough to drive my grandpa’s (now my uncle’s) ancient red truck. That might be the craziest thing yet.
But a lot of things are still the same - the smell of incense in the temple, the piles of concrete houses behind the house, my favorite trinket shop still has its doors open, Baby Beach is spectacular at low tide, and nothing beats fresh mangoes from my grandpa’s trees. I really miss those mangoes. As many times as I’ve been to Maui, I’ll always say yes to going back again.
Kite surfers at Kanaha Beach Park.
Handmade cement pots stacked by the hothouse.
A sea turtle rests on exposed coral at low tide.
My grandfather's red pickup truck.
Paper lanterns with names of loved ones.
A small barge of lit paper lanterns are carried to the water to be released.
The afternoon's haul of mangos.
When my family headed back to the mainland at the end of our stay, I hopped on a different flight to spend a few days in O’ahu. I stayed with my wonderful friend who was another excellent tour guide as she took me around the island. One of the first things we did was feeding the fish at Waikiki Beach early in the morning - I’ve never seen so many tropical fish in the wild! Then we picked up scones from Diamond Head Bakery and hit the road. We visited two excellent botanical gardens and a very windy lookout point, ending the evening with July Fourth fireworks on the beach.
The second day I was there, we practically ate our way around the island - we had some fresh mangoes to start us off, then got a midmorning snack of kulolo and haupia ice cream from Waihole Poi Factory, had a delicious shrimp lunch from Romy’s Shrimp in Kuhuku, and of course got shave ice from Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa. All the while, I marveled at the beautiful views - lush green mountains meeting the sea, Byodo-in Temple, distant islands, and white sand beaches. It only took us a couple hours to drive around the island and we ended the day with a huge dinner at Highway Inn followed by pastries from Ialiha Bakery for dessert.
On my last day, we ate breakfast at Moke’s Bed and Breakfast where I had the most incredible lilikoi pancakes. Then we went downtown to do a guided tour of Iolani Palace. The building is so grand and detailed and the work put into the restoration and curation of the displays is super impressive. It was a great way to learn about Hawaiian history and the people of the royal monarchy. After that we did a quick walkthrough of the Hawaiian Hall at Bishop Museum, and I got to learn even more about Hawaiian history and culture and Oceania in another gorgeous building. We grabbed a quick lunch and before I knew it, I was on my flight back to the mainland.
Fourth of July fireworks.
Waiahole Poi Factory in Kaneohe.
Byodo-In Temple
A ti leaf lei hangs from the outstretched hand of the Queen Lili'uokalani statue.
The original statue of King Kamehameha stands in front of Ali'iolani Hale.
Iolani Palace
It was so cool to experience the differences of these islands. O’ahu is so much more developed than the other two - seeing the skyscrapers and hotels in Honolulu was almost jarring. The Big Island is so big and is so rural, to drive around it in a day feels like a rushed trip. On O’ahu, a day trip around the island with plenty of pitstops is much more manageable. Regardless, all three are incredible, and I can’t wait to go back.
Road Trip
Somewhere in South Dakota...
A road trip has always been on my bucket list, but has existed in my mind as a nebulous idea, something that would happen sometime further into the future. And the trip itself would probably be relatively short, probably just across California to check out some national parks.
So in July, pretty soon after I got back from Hawai'i, when one of my best friends suggested a cross-country road trip from Seattle to New York to keep her company on her move for a new job, I jumped at the chance. Everything came together fairly quickly - we figured out that it would take us eight days to get from coast to coast and we decided we’d book hotels the day of in order to allow us some flexibility with our travel. When mid-August rolled around, I flew up to Seattle and a couple of days later we loaded up her car and hit the road.
For the first few days, it was just us and Highway 90 with Critical Role Campaign 3 playing over the speakers. As someone who’s lived by the water pretty much my whole life, seeing the long stretches of endless flat land was something kind of crazy - fields full of giant hay bales, crops, cows, and horses under an equally unending sky filled with clouds.
Once we hit South Dakota, we started making more stops at attractions - Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug, and the Corn Palace. In Minnesota, there was the Jolly Green Giant Statue. It was fun to cross state lines - we’d keep an eye out for “Welcome to ___” signs and the GPS would interrupt whatever was playing and make it official. It was also weird to drive across timezones - we would look up and suddenly it would be an hour later because we hadn’t noticed the switch. Luckily, an hour difference at a time wasn’t all that bad.
Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota
Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota
Somewhere on Highway 90 in South Dakota.
Hay bales
Wall Drug, South Dakota
The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota
The biggest grasshopper I've ever seen.
The Jolly Green Giant statue, Minnesota
In Chicago, we explored the city a bit and saw the Bean (aka the Cloud Gate) and took a lovely evening walk by the river. We stayed the night with a friend and her adorable kitten, and then kept heading east. After we left Chicago, I wasn’t feeling well - even though I tested negative for COVID, I wasn’t feeling the best so the next two days were more of a blur. But just throw some scattered trees and dilapidated barns into the landscape of endless fields along with a handful of Amish horse-and-buggies and that’s what Indiana and Ohio were. We scooted through Pennsylvania and then we were in upstate New York, circling the same three blocks to figure out where to park to see Niagara Falls. We spent a day driving south to New Jersey - my flight was out of Newark International the next evening so we spent our last day together touring Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty because why not?
The Bean, Chicago
Clementine
Lake Michigan
Niagara Falls, New York
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal
New York City skyline
The Statue of Liberty
We covered 13 states in 8 days, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. I have added so many postcards to my collection. Also huge kudos to my road trip buddy for driving the whole way - what a brag! Even though we spent more than a week on the road, it all passed by in a flash. Definitely one for the books.
Boston
Back Bay neighborhood
In September I went to a San Francisco Giants game where they were giving away Alaksa Airlines vouchers as a freebie. Stay with me - this is relevant, I promise. The vouchers were good for two people, but the catch was that they needed to be used within three days. So I called up my friend Emma who had just gotten back from two months in Ireland and still had the travel bug and asked her if she wanted to go on another trip. We brainstormed a couple ideas and eventually settled on Boston. Neither of us has spent much time on the east coast and we figured the timing would be perfect - not too hot, not too cold, and just in time to catch that colorful autumn foliage we don’t get in California.
In the end the discount was pretty negligible so we didn’t even use the vouchers, but we still had our hearts set on the trip. So we went anyways! I checked out some guidebooks, did some Google searching, we came up with an itinerary, hopped on our redeye flight, and we were off.
I’m so glad we still decided to go. Boston might be one of my new favorite cities. It was walkable with lots of beautiful green space, quaint neighborhoods to explore, great food options, and a great vibe of both historical reverence and modern style. The city felt both diverse and historical in a way that San Francisco doesn’t - something I’m still trying to put my finger on to articulate.
Visiting in early October meant there were a lot of college students on the streets going to and from classes and the tourists were mostly older couples or families with young kids on vacation. It felt safe walking at night because it seemed like there were a lot of people out and about after the sun went down. Also, for all that the streets are very busy, people are very comfortable jaywalking, which was mildly terrifying.
I also have to mention that Bostonians have a really great outerwear game - I was so impressed with the cool coats and jackets people had, but that’s definitely the West Coast girl in me.
We stayed in a hostel just on the outskirts of Chinatown which was super centrally located so most things were a quick walk away. Even after coming off our redeye flight, we were able to check out Copley Square and the Back Bay neighborhood right away. I’m completely in love with the Boston Public Library - that courtyard! And Bates Hall? I could’ve stayed there all day. We walked along the Charles River for a bit, then passed through the Boston Common and Public Garden where the trees were just beginning to change color.
On our second day, we did the Freedom Trail and were enthralled with exploring the cemeteries (perfect spooky fall vibes with their eroded headstones carved with skulls and angels) and stopping at all the historical sites along the way. I fell in love with the brick sidewalks and brick building facades with the shutters and flower boxes on the windows.
Old South Church
The courtyard of the Boston Public Library.
Charles River Esplanade
Make Way for Ducklings statue in the Public Garden.
The Public Garden
Books for sale at Brattle Book Shop.
Tombstones at Granary Burying Ground.
Fun fall decor on the steps of a house just off the Freedom Trail.
On day three, after an incredibly filling brunch, we did the Black Freedon Trail which took us all around the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Later that evening we took the subway to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which we were able to get into for free for their Free First Thursday event. The museum’s collection is really cool, the building itself is gorgeous, and their free audio tour is excellent.
The main event of day four was the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, an interactive and educational attraction located on the water where the actual event happened. The museum has on display the one remaining crate that survived the actual Boston Tea Party, which was surprisingly surreal to see. There’s also a cafe where you can try the types of tea that were stored in the crates that were destroyed by the colonials and probably my favorite gift shop with a bunch of fun tea-related things.
A flower shop in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.
Fresh handmade pasta in the window of a North End shop window.
Boston Harbor
The Courtyard of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
The food in Boston was also great. We had amazing clam chowder from Union Oyster House. I splurged on a lobster roll and honestly, I totally get the hype now. On the other hand, I think cannolis are overrated - but if you’re a fan, Boston is the place to get them. Places like Quincy Market and Boston Public Market were really cool places to check out - they’re a lot like the Ferry Building here in San Francisco with lots of shops and vendors. Ironically, it was only when I got back home that I started getting Boston restaurant suggestions pop up on my Instagram feed. Even with all the great food I had on this trip, I can’t wait to go back and check out even more eats.
Our last day was a cold but sunny Saturday. We walked around the North End which has lots of open window restaurants, narrow streets, alleys leading to tiny sandwich shops, and the cutest Italian bookstore. I could’ve spent all day there. Then we took a stroll through the Rose Kennedy Greenway then cut back across to the Public Garden to people-watch. Every bench was taken with many more people spread out on the grass by the lake. The day really passed by all too quickly and soon we were navigating the airport to catch our flight home. With my 23rd birthday a week later, this was a pretty incredible way to end 22.
Our last moments in Boston were at the Public Garden.
These trips were so wonderful and I have so many great new memories. I learned a lot about planning and researching trips, and I’m so excited to see what trips and travel opportunities the next year holds!
