We had the most perfect first day in Hawaii. It was adventurous and relaxing and everything we could have asked for.

We started the day with an early morning cage dive on the North Shore with Hawaii Shark Encounters. This was one of Jared’s top activities he wanted to do while in Hawaii and though I was hesitant at first, I quickly warmed up to the idea.

We got up early and drove our rental Jeep (top down) to North Shore. We were surprised at how chilly it was in the morning! During the day the high is anywhere from 85-90, which is a welcomed relief coming from Florida where it’s reaching 100 in the afternoons!

We stopped at McDonald’s on the way for breakfast (I know, not the most “local” thing, but we needed something quick). On our tour was a group from India and a group of Asian women. We were really the only people who spoke English well, so we spent a lot of time talking to our guides – two guys around our age.

We took the boat out about 3 miles where the water was 400 feet deep. We have to go way farther out than that in Florida to reach that depth! Our guides told us the sharks come flocking as soon as they hear the boat motor because they know that usually means fishermen, which means a snack for them. We hooked up to the cage out in the water and instantly we could see Galapagos sharks all around us. Let me tell you, these guys aren’t small.

The group from India went in first and we stayed on the boat and chatted with the guides. They are both avid fishermen and it was fun to compare fishing and boating in Hawaii vs. Florida. I told them about the 72 lb. Wahoo my dad caught last year in the Keys and they were super impressed! At one point they mentioned their friend is starring on the Gossip Girl reboot and had no clue how big of a deal that was until I told them how huge Gossip Girl is!

We went in the cage with the 4 Asian ladies. Right before we got in the water, one fo them said to the guide, “3 of us can’t swim. Is that ok?” Don’t you think that’s something you would have asked sooner?! Luckily for them, all you have to do is hold on to the inside bars of the cage – no swimming technically required.

The cage was big enough that with 6 of us in the cage we had plenty of room. They provided us with masks and snorkels and encouraged us to hold our breath and work our way to the bottom of the cage to get a better view, which Jared and I both did throughout our 20 minutes in the cage.

It was incredible being so close to so many sharks. The crazy part was how they’d just appear out of seemingly nowhere even though the water was crystal clear. Our guides said we lucked out because the water was SUPER calm while we were out there and that’s not typically the case. At some points we could see 6 or so sharks swimming around and below us.

On our boat ride back to shore we saw a HUGE pod of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins splashing and swimming around. I’ve never seen so many dolphins at one time!

Our guides were incredible and the experience of swimming with sharks was one we will never forget. Jared even said afterward, “We do a lot of cool things, but that was definitely one of the coolest.”

By the time we got back, we were hungry for lunch, but it was only 9 a.m. in Hawaii (3 o’clock Florida time) so we drove around North Shore and explored. We found a stretch of beach that no one was on so we hung out there for a little bit and took some pictures.

When things started opening up for lunch, Jared and I went to KillerTacos and had a good lunch (with a slight run-in with an overeager rooster).

We were planning on going to the Dole Plantation just for some Dole whip and fresh pineapple, but the line was wrapped around the building and there was no parking so we decided just to head back to Waikiki where we’re staying and spend some time at the hotel pool.

After hanging out for a bit we went in search of shaved ice within walking distance. We found Island Vintage Shaved Ice, which had a super long line, but we had nothing better to do so we waited. It went extremely slow, but it was worth it! Before, I thought shaved ice was just a fancy sno-cone, but man it is so much better than that. I got the Heavenly Lilikoi that had passionfruit and strawberry flavored shaved ice with frozen yogurt and popping boba. Jared got the Super Island with açaí and strawberry shaved ice, frozen yogurt, blueberries, and popping boba. They were amazing and the frozen yogurt in the middle was the perfect creamy compliment to the refreshing shaved ice. We wouldn’t wait in such a long line for it again, but we’re glad we did and we’re hoping to get many more shaved ices on our trip.

Our original plan for dinner was to go to the famous Duke’s Waikiki, but when we got there, the line just to put your name in was a mile long, let alone how long the wait time was. We thought getting there at 5:30 would beat the rush, but we were very wrong. Instead, we waited just over an hour for the Hula Grill at the Outrigger hotel. We sat at the bar and while the food was really good, the company of the bartenders was even better (the Mai Tai’s were hard to beat too).

After dinner, we came home and crashed right away. It was such a long, fun-filled day and with the time change, it felt like 3 a.m. for us! We had to get some good sleep for another adventurous day in the morning!