I had been on Oahu for two days when I got the call from San Lorenzo Bikinis that they wanted to send my best friend Amber and I to the island of Molokai to shoot. The moment I got off the phone with SL, I was so excited. I had never been to another Hawaiian island before, and Amber (who’s been to many) hadn’t been to Molokai either. It would be a new experience for both of us, and I was anxious to get there. San Lorenzo booked our tickets, and we were set to leave a few days after. Since we were only staying a couple of days, we packed really light. Here’s what we brought.
MOLOKAI PACKING LIST:
Cameras: Both Amber & I have Canon 5D Mark II’s.
Sapphire& sunscreen: I love this sunscreen because it’s organic and it’s made with coconut oil.
Maui Babe: This gives you a perfect bronzed glow.
LOTS of San Lorenzo Bikinis
Beach towels: San Lorenzo makes the cutest & brightest beach towels.
Good books: My all time favorites are The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle & The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Cute beachy clothing & jewelry: Whenever you do bikini shoots, it’s always important to bring accessories and cute clothes to mix it up a little bit.
Tea: Amber & I always try to keep it healthy and detox no matter where we are. Tiny tea by Your Tea is awesome. We bring this everywhere, and we’re always sipping on it.
A good playlist: Amber and I spent some time the night before loading some new songs onto our I-phones. It’s important to have good tunes to listen to on the plane ride. And also to jam to while we’re shooting photos for San Lorenzo.
Journal: I always bring my journal everywhere I go. It’s special to document your life no matter where you are.
Amber and I packed our bags that night and the next morning we were up early and off to the airport. Since Molokai is so close to Oahu the plane we ended up taking was really small. It was only a six-seater plane, and there were only two other people on it with us. The plane ride ended up being a little bumpy since it was windy out and in a small plane you can feel any kind of movement in the air. That’s where good tunes and cameras come in handy! Amber and I distracted ourselves by taking photos from the plane, and jamming out to some good songs.
The plane ride was so quick; we landed in no time at all. After Amber and I landed we had to get groceries since we were staying at a house, so the first thing we did was drive to the grocery store. The whole ride there was so beautiful. Molokai is known for how reserved and untouched it is. We enjoyed a 30 min peaceful ride to the store, and maybe saw 1 or 2 cars the whole drive there. Thanks to Google, we were able to find a really cool all natural grocery store owned by a sweet local of Molokai. We spent about fifteen minutes there and loaded up on a bunch of fresh fruit. Fruit is great because it’s so healthy, delicious, and it’s even good to use for props while shooting. After we stalked up on fruit we went to the other main grocery store to get a few more necessities. There we found a little farmers market, and we bought a few more healthy snacks such as avocado and a pineapple. All the locals in Molokai were such sweet, down to earth, loving people. Amber and I loved their energy and how welcome they made us feel.
After getting all our groceries Amber and I got back on the road and headed towards the house we were staying at. The whole forty-minute drive there, Amber and I listened to good music with the windows rolled down. The island was so raw and beautiful. It felt like we had gone back in time to some of the earliest days in Hawaii, there was no traffic, no buildings taller than a palm tree, dirt roads. Even the beaches we drove by were vacant of people. As we were getting closer to the house, we drove down this very narrow road that curved around a black sand beach, it was so beautiful and untouched I could hardly believe it. We were in for another surprise when we arrived at the house. Where we stayed was a hidden glass cottage that not only had outdoor bathtubs overlooking the ocean but it even had it’s own secret beach. Amber and I were in heaven. We spent the majority of our days lounging in the warm bathtubs, shooting photos around the house, laying out on the private beach out front reading good books, and exploring the other beaches on Molokai. No matter what we did, we were always in a San Lorenzo Bikini. The weather was off and on, and it was rainy and stormy for most of the trip but that didn’t stop us! We adventured around the island, found some stunning beaches, a cool palm tree grove, and tried to capture the simple and raw beauty of Molokai the best we could.
I’m so thankful the San Lorenzo team sent Amber and I to this gorgeous island to shoot and explore. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Molokai really taught me to appreciate natural & raw beauty, and I’ll always remember the Aloha the locals there showed us.
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