It has been my goal to be a travel nurse from the first day of nursing school.Traveling has always been a passion of mine and through travel nursing I have been able to make my goal a reality.
Learning about new culture and people has grown me into a better person. My first 'technical' travel assignment was in Dallas, Texas. I moved there with Blythe and had a best time exploring a new city and adjusting to this new way of life. I worked at UT Southwestern in a permanent position for about a year and then took a travel position located south of Dallas.
Methodist Mansfield Medical Center was an excellent first travel assignment. I was very fortunate to work with an amazing group of nurses, aides and doctors. They really set the bar high! They were
welcoming and made me feel like I had been apart of the team from day 1.
After 2 years of living in Dallas, I decided I wanted to see more cities and use my profession to do so. Going from a comfortable first travel assignment to across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii for my second contract; it was quiet the change.
Again, I had the most amazing time. Straub Medical Center was an excellent facility and gave me appreication for all the night nurses out there! This was my first ever night shift assignment (I know, I am really fortunate to have only been day shift my entire career up until Hawaii). However, the facility did not make my experience, the other travel nurses I met along the way were what made my time in Hawaii unreal.
I met Gina on a travel nursing facebook group and took the plunge to live together. Well, that turned out well because now we are really good friends. We went from not knowing eachother to close friends within a couple of months.Brittmari, Kellie, Gina and Viv are amazing nurses, hiking warriors, beach buddies and supoort system while away; amongst many others. I fell into an immediate friend group and for those people I am eternally grateful. Through my travel nursing experience, I have really begun to understand we are really a different breed. We go out of comfort zone to care for others, open to making friends at a drop of a dime and adjust to any new situation. I am thankful to have an amazing family that was there for me and supported me through my change in career to be able to be where I am today.
I was also lucky enough to have my mom and grandma visit. We had a great time exploring Wakiki, going to a luau, chasing waterfalls, hiking and relax at the beaches.
Since Hawaii came and went wayyy too fast I want to highlight a couple of my favorite times.
Favorite hike: Crouching Lion. Short, sweet, steep and breathtaking views. Also my favorite shrimp truck was right down the street for a quick lunch break after the hike.
Hardest hike: Stairway to Heaven. Definitely the most difficult and scariest hike I have ever done. Some things I would change next time I attempt a hike of this difficulty; do not go right after a 12 hour night shift, bring plenty of bananas (cramps were killer), wear more sunscreen and make sure you are on the correct trail. We unknowingly, were hiking the wrong ridge and only realized it after about 1.5 hours.
When Gina, Kellie and myself hiked Stairway to Heaven we had every intention of hiking the legal way (aka the longer and more dangerous way) however, when we got to the stairway we were too exhausted and it was getting too late to try to attempt the long way back. So we did it all! Hiked the long way there and took the 45 minute hike down the stairway. The trickiest part of the hike was escaping the guard and the neighborhood once we completed the hike. After getting a bit lost, we found a fence we could crawl under and walked out of the neighborhood only mildy harrassed. I could barely walk the next 3 days, but Stairway to Heaven was worth the unbelievable views.
Koko Head was pretty tough also, many people used this hike as a daily workout.
Favorite beach: This one is difficult for me because I have 2 favorite beaches for completely different reasons. My favorite beach to swim and relax at is Ala Moana Beach. It was a 5 minute drive from my apartment, parking is easy to find (and free!), not crowded and calm waters.
My second favorite beach were any of the North Shore beaches where there was a surfing competition. I tried surfing and its tough!!! I thought since I can wakeboard and snowboard that I would be able to surf as well. I was proven wrong. So watching all the professional surfers were memorizing.
Favorite food: garlic spicy shrimp from the food trucks and pineapple whips. The seafood was so fresh and delicous. After being at the beach all day, there was nothing better than hitting up a food truck and watching the sunset.
Favorite water activity: Scuba diving- I know obvious. I did not dive that often, but when I did I saw a ton of turtles, a stingray, eels, octopus, colorful fish (big and small) and a shark. Next time I visit Hawaii I will be diving far more.
Islands visited: Oahu (obviously, thats where I lived), Kaui, Molokai and Big Island (in 2015). I did not have a chance to visit Maui; I guess I'll just have to go back to Hawaii again to visit there. All the islands were very different.
Molokai was very small but very welcoming. We made friends with the locals and went to all 3 main restaurants on the island. There were smaller beaches scattered around the island and not much hiking.
Kaui had very different terrain; it had a HUGE canyon. The hiking there was great and really gave a different view of Hawaii. There were multiple little towns with shops and restaurants to check out. Kaui may be the prettiest island.
Big Island is BIG! When I was there for a family trip in 2015 we visited both main cities on the island, which are located on opposite sides of the island separated by a volcano in the middle. Kona area is sunnier and dry while Hilo has lush greenery due to a lot of rain. Big Island had black sand and green sand beaches, that are very unique and uncommon. Michael and I did a night dive with manarays, which is an experience that I will never forget. It was one of the most nervewrecking
things I have ever done. You really need to prepare yourself to jump into cold, pitch-black, deep ocean water.
Oahu has the best of both worlds; city and nature. I really enjoyed living in Honolulu, my apartment had the most epic views. There were a ton of places to choose from for dinner to drinks. Oahu also has a ton of beaches, hikes and areas that do not feel like you are in a city. Oahu has 'island feels' also. I am very happy with my choice to live on Oahu and explore this island for about 4 months.
After my contract was completed at Straub I decided to not extend; eventhough it was offered. Many people question why I did not want to stay longer in Hawaii. And it is not that I did not want to stay longer in Hawaii, it is that I still want to explore and see other cities. I love Hawaii and hope to go back and visit. My contract also ended right before Christmas, so I wanted to take advantage of the holidays and spending time with family and friends.
I had the most memorable, fantastic time in Hawaii. I made the best friends and Honolulu will always be close to my heart.
Learning about new culture and people has grown me into a better person. My first 'technical' travel assignment was in Dallas, Texas. I moved there with Blythe and had a best time exploring a new city and adjusting to this new way of life. I worked at UT Southwestern in a permanent position for about a year and then took a travel position located south of Dallas.
Methodist Mansfield Medical Center was an excellent first travel assignment. I was very fortunate to work with an amazing group of nurses, aides and doctors. They really set the bar high! They were
welcoming and made me feel like I had been apart of the team from day 1.
After 2 years of living in Dallas, I decided I wanted to see more cities and use my profession to do so. Going from a comfortable first travel assignment to across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii for my second contract; it was quiet the change.
Again, I had the most amazing time. Straub Medical Center was an excellent facility and gave me appreication for all the night nurses out there! This was my first ever night shift assignment (I know, I am really fortunate to have only been day shift my entire career up until Hawaii). However, the facility did not make my experience, the other travel nurses I met along the way were what made my time in Hawaii unreal.
I met Gina on a travel nursing facebook group and took the plunge to live together. Well, that turned out well because now we are really good friends. We went from not knowing eachother to close friends within a couple of months.Brittmari, Kellie, Gina and Viv are amazing nurses, hiking warriors, beach buddies and supoort system while away; amongst many others. I fell into an immediate friend group and for those people I am eternally grateful. Through my travel nursing experience, I have really begun to understand we are really a different breed. We go out of comfort zone to care for others, open to making friends at a drop of a dime and adjust to any new situation. I am thankful to have an amazing family that was there for me and supported me through my change in career to be able to be where I am today.
I was also lucky enough to have my mom and grandma visit. We had a great time exploring Wakiki, going to a luau, chasing waterfalls, hiking and relax at the beaches.
Kalihi Ice Ponds
Since Hawaii came and went wayyy too fast I want to highlight a couple of my favorite times.
Favorite hike: Crouching Lion. Short, sweet, steep and breathtaking views. Also my favorite shrimp truck was right down the street for a quick lunch break after the hike.
The stairs were used by the US military to get to a communication tower and a look-out
The stairs have not been kept in working condition, which makes them dangerous. Which is why going up or down the stairs is illegal. But than again, most hikes in Hawaii are illegal and on government property.
The way we went up was FAR more dangerous than the stairs, so we took our chances with the law.
When Gina, Kellie and myself hiked Stairway to Heaven we had every intention of hiking the legal way (aka the longer and more dangerous way) however, when we got to the stairway we were too exhausted and it was getting too late to try to attempt the long way back. So we did it all! Hiked the long way there and took the 45 minute hike down the stairway. The trickiest part of the hike was escaping the guard and the neighborhood once we completed the hike. After getting a bit lost, we found a fence we could crawl under and walked out of the neighborhood only mildy harrassed. I could barely walk the next 3 days, but Stairway to Heaven was worth the unbelievable views.
Koko Head was pretty tough also, many people used this hike as a daily workout.
My second favorite beach were any of the North Shore beaches where there was a surfing competition. I tried surfing and its tough!!! I thought since I can wakeboard and snowboard that I would be able to surf as well. I was proven wrong. So watching all the professional surfers were memorizing.
Favorite food: garlic spicy shrimp from the food trucks and pineapple whips. The seafood was so fresh and delicous. After being at the beach all day, there was nothing better than hitting up a food truck and watching the sunset.
Pineapple whip and a churro... YES please!
Favorite water activity: Scuba diving- I know obvious. I did not dive that often, but when I did I saw a ton of turtles, a stingray, eels, octopus, colorful fish (big and small) and a shark. Next time I visit Hawaii I will be diving far more.
Islands visited: Oahu (obviously, thats where I lived), Kaui, Molokai and Big Island (in 2015). I did not have a chance to visit Maui; I guess I'll just have to go back to Hawaii again to visit there. All the islands were very different.
Molokai was very small but very welcoming. We made friends with the locals and went to all 3 main restaurants on the island. There were smaller beaches scattered around the island and not much hiking.
Vibrant rainbows on a daily basis
Kaui had very different terrain; it had a HUGE canyon. The hiking there was great and really gave a different view of Hawaii. There were multiple little towns with shops and restaurants to check out. Kaui may be the prettiest island.
Big Island is BIG! When I was there for a family trip in 2015 we visited both main cities on the island, which are located on opposite sides of the island separated by a volcano in the middle. Kona area is sunnier and dry while Hilo has lush greenery due to a lot of rain. Big Island had black sand and green sand beaches, that are very unique and uncommon. Michael and I did a night dive with manarays, which is an experience that I will never forget. It was one of the most nervewrecking
things I have ever done. You really need to prepare yourself to jump into cold, pitch-black, deep ocean water.
Oahu has the best of both worlds; city and nature. I really enjoyed living in Honolulu, my apartment had the most epic views. There were a ton of places to choose from for dinner to drinks. Oahu also has a ton of beaches, hikes and areas that do not feel like you are in a city. Oahu has 'island feels' also. I am very happy with my choice to live on Oahu and explore this island for about 4 months.
Sunrise at Lanikai Pillbox (military lookout)
Hosting Thanksgiving dinner
After my contract was completed at Straub I decided to not extend; eventhough it was offered. Many people question why I did not want to stay longer in Hawaii. And it is not that I did not want to stay longer in Hawaii, it is that I still want to explore and see other cities. I love Hawaii and hope to go back and visit. My contract also ended right before Christmas, so I wanted to take advantage of the holidays and spending time with family and friends.
I had the most memorable, fantastic time in Hawaii. I made the best friends and Honolulu will always be close to my heart.
Comments
Post a Comment