Busy but Beautiful Waikiki
We decided to take 2 days off on our own in Waikiki, a very different type of place than Kailua and honestly can't compare. Waikiki is lovely, or at least the coastline and vast ocean views are lovely. The bustling tourists, endless shops, and crowded restaurants are less alluring. But we had a good day yesterday.
We started our day in search of the perfect smoothie and I think we found it at the Hawaiian Crown Plantation shop, where all the smoothies are made with plants from their own farm. I actually had an acai bowl which was amazing ("Sorry, Lanikai Juice!") Instead of granola, they had toasted crushed macadamia nuts and cacao nibs on top, and even on the very bottom - yum! Well, the supposed benefits of acai must of have taken hold, because 20 minutes later, I said to Jonathan. "I think I'm going to go surfing right now." We were right by the beach anyway, and though I didn't have a towel, I did have my suit and rash guard. Perfect!
I was a little nervous, but paid my $10 for the hour (what a deal!), grabbed their largest non-learner board which was a 10 footer and kissed my husband farewell. I paddled out until my arms felt like they were going to fall off and sat up on my board (like riding a horse) to wait for some great waves. I'll make a long story short here. I think I made at least 15 attempts to get up with some waves but failed pretty miserably. You have to be in the right spot to catch the right part of the wave, especially as a beginner. You have to paddle while on your belly to keep up with the wave a bit so it can get beneath you and take you along. You have to learn not to hesitate but be ready to turn and lie flat and paddle at the slightest suggestion of a good wave. And every time you attempt to stand and fall, you have turn and paddle back out against some big waves. It's a crazy awesome workout. Finally at the end of my hour, a man who was helping a boy learn took pity on my. "Come on over here, honey. I'll give you a push." How "Aloha" of him :) He set me up, gave me a shove as the wave came rushing behind me and I had no trouble standing and rode that wave all the way in to the shore. I was glad that I'm at the point where I can basically get up any time I have a little help and excited that I did it on a non-learner board. But, I'm ready to head out again tomorrow and take another crack at it. I think the difficulty of surfing is something that draws me to it as well as the physical nature of the sport. It's definitely a full body experience. My bruises and lacerations are evidence of that. Jonathan has agreed to join me tomorrow in the water so we can sort of coach and help each other. I can't waiti!!
Last night as we were walking back to our hotel after dinner, and I was getting so excited watching the waves. Sometimes, two waves sort of come in to meet each other and as the white breaks over the waves they almost explode in the middle. It was sort of cool to watch in the dark. Jonathan turned to me and said "You really love the water. I mean, I knew you liked it, but you really love it, even just being near it." I think he's on to something :)
"Can we go to the north shore?"
It became a bit of running joke in the past week, that apparently over the past few months I've asked Eun if we could please squeeze in a trip to the north shore of Oahu. I guess I just didn't want her to forget. And it's partly her fault for making it such an unforgettable day of my previous visit. Well, she did it again :)
We headed out riding along the coastline, chatting while I my eyes bounced back and forth between the stunning inland mountain ranges ( I'm a sucker for mountains) and the incredible Pacific in all it's deep blue wave crashing glory. I always do this on these drives and have to work not to make myself carsick. We first stopped off at the Macadamia Nut Farm and took their amusing tour of the farm there. I love learning all about culture and plants from their gifted Samoan guides. This is where Lost, Gilligian's Island, Along Came Polly, and 50 First Dates was filmed. When you see the landscape first hand it's easy to see why Hollywood comes calling.
Next it was off to Romy's Original shrimp shack for some incredible farm raised (literally right behind the shack) garlic spicy shrimp over delectable sticky rice, It's a messy business, shelling and eating shrimp with sticky spicy yummy garlic bits all over it but someone has to do it. The best part was that there was NO WAIT! We were prepared to wait 2 hours. Hurray! This left plenty if time for the next destination: Sharks Cove. Apparantly this is a nickname adopted by locals to scare off the tourists. But there are few secrets on the island these days thanks to Yelp and TripAdvisor. This is a snorkeling and shell diving spot that can't be beat. Once I actually got past all the craggy rocks without being smashed upon them violently by inconveniently timed 4-5 foot waves, it was great. It was more than great, it was incredible. Once you get off the rocky shore into the heart of the cove, you just float on your belly, breathe through your snorkel and stare through your mask at some of the most beautiful creatures on earth all going about their business about 20 feet below. You can hear the big fish eating and tearing their food off the coral covered rocks. Their were rock fish wonderfully camouflaged that I didn't even notice til I got brave enough to dive down part way. Once I was there I saw either trumpet fish or cornet fish that made me think of eels and freaked me out just a little. There was one fish at I actually followed for about 15 minutes, as I was so transfixed by its beauty. It was pale pink with neon yellow horizontal and vertical stripes and finally blue side fins that look liked feathers and flapped like the wings of a sparrow. Amazing! After we got out, Eun told me that fish was likely the Hawaii state fish. Figures. Jonathan watched from the shore for this one, which was probably a wise decision. It was a little dicey out there. In the summer here, theses coves are much less wavy meaning clearer viewing, easier entry and better shell diving.
Next, we made our way to Haleiwa, a little tiny town right in the heart of the North Shore with restaurants, shopping, and most importantly Matsumoto's Shave Ice. We explored the shops, I got a cute little beach dress at a surf shop, we admired some paintings at some unique galleries before digging into the best shave ice on the island (anywhere really) at Matsumoto's. Eun always gets the green tea special w green tea flavored shave ice, ice cream, adzuki beans, and mochi balls. Jonathan and I shared a classic Matumoto shave ice which had coconut pineapple, and guava flavors. Mmmmmmm...
I know this blog post is endless but I did tell you I was just a little excited about this particular excursion. It ended with pulling over by the coast to watch the sun set, dipping slowly and submerging beneath the deep blue waters. I could stare at the orange tinted waves and pink clouds all evening.
The greatest gift of this day was spending it together with my sweet husband and dearest friend, sharing laughter and real conversations about life's struggles and joys. And in the midst, enjoying some of God's most beautiful creations here on earth.
Paddling to the Moks
The evening following this glorious day, I happened to tell a local resident of Hawaii that we'd "kayaked to the Mokulua Islands" that morning. This person looked at me blankly and asked "you did what?" Knowing that this was a pretty popular activity in Kailua, I was confused but later realized I wasn't using the correct terms. I should have said that we "paddled" to the "Moks".
After getting an all too thorough review of how the clip a life vest, we were finally released from the rental company with two lovely tandem kayaks tied atop the Strawser minivan. We pulled up to the gorgeous Lanikai beach, unloaded, topped off with some additional sunscreen for all and started off on our journey to the beautiful twin islands that look like small green covered volcanos dropped a mile off shore. In addition to the four adults, we also had little 3 year old Kyriella with us. I, personally, found it hard to focus on my paddling with her adorable dimpled and smiling face waving at me from Eun and Steve's boat shouting "Hi, Auntie Jill!" Jonathan had to redirect me more than once.
There is a continuous wave that makes it's way around the island, which is great for surfing but terrible for landing on shore Ina small craft. But, we made it with Steve's help and pulled up our boats on shore. You can hike around the island on specific paths so as to avoid the natural bird sanctuary that I so this particular island. The entire island is basically volcanic rock so shoes are important. Our destination was a famous pool that has been naturally carved out over time. It is probably 5 feet deep and is a lovely long oval. It is named The Queen's Bath and it's become a tradition to take a couple's photo in this salty tub. This trick is getting in and out as it's surrounded by high rock and lots of hidden sea urchins. But we did it with only minor scrapes and a great photo to prove it.
After a nice nap back on the warm beach for some of us, while Jonathan played with Kyriella by the surf, we got back in our kayaks and started the journey back to the Oahu shore. Oh but wait! Just off the Moks, we came upon not one but TWO beautiful sea turtles!! Right then, this officially became my favorite day so far (actually I've said that almost every day). The sea turtles, or "Honu" in Hawaiian, are so magical to me! I don't know how something resembling an alien head with a hard shell on its back and giant hands and feet can be so graceful and beautiful to me but they are. They swim up to the surface and appear to be smooth rocks until the heads pop up for air and they drift below the surface again and eventually drift out of site, making you wonder if you actually saw them or just imagined it.
Hawaii is such an amazing opportunity to use your body and strength to access and appreciate the miracles and exquisite moments in nature. Getting fit in such a beautiful place with such dear and beautiful friends is a gift like none other. I'm so grateful that we are able to be here.
