North Shore Outing

Yesterday on my day off I wandered up to Oahu's North Shore. It's just about a 20-min drive from where we live, and I could feel my heart lift, lighten, and start to dance as I began to see the mountains and ocean. Also, it was wonderful to see so much blue sky. Our part of the island has been very cloudy lately and I was hungry for some sunshine.

The North Shore is famous for its winter surf, but it's too early for the really big 20-30 foot waves yet. It's also a world away from Waikiki. Some folks call it the "real Hawaii." Don't know about that myself. They're both fun places to go experience, just very, very different in character.

The North Shore doesn't have much in the way of infrastructure. All the roads are two-lane, no shoulder. If there's an accident, traffic can literally be held up for eight hours. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of building codes, either! Houses that look like shacks can sit next to multi-million dollar homes. There's no major shopping up there, such as a Walmart.

It's very rural and very relaxing. Even many of the famous beaches don't really have parking lots --people just pull over to the side of the road in a clump.

I started out my day by heading to Waimea Valley. It's an area of ancient Hawaiian tradition and religion, but also an important botanical garden. Its recent history has been a bit tumultuous and recently it's been transferred to a public/private ownership plan to preserve its best qualities.

To me, it sounded pretty, so off I went. The gardens were very pretty, but mostly consisting of lots of different green plants. I'm not sure if it's the time of year and not much is in bloom, or if that's just the way this place is... I remember from other trips here that there's actually not a lot of color to indigenous Hawaiian plants, due to the lack of predators and pollinators, since the islands are so isolated.

But it was still interesting; in some cases, I was seeing huge versions of plants I associate with just being little potted house plants. Had NO idea a philodendron could get that big. There was also a hibiscus garden that showed the evolution of that plant, and there were some blooms there. But still, there were also plants I would have never guessed were part of that family.

One attraction I was looking forward to was the waterfall at the end of the valley. I'd call it more of a waterin' hole than a waterfall. It was pretty, but more of a trickle over a hill than a waterfall on that particular day. I was surprised to see changing rooms so you could get into your swimsuit; didn't realize they encouraged that kind of participation! It was an unusually humid day, and if I'd brought a suit, I would have jumped in.

I walked back and bought some turtle-themed items at the gift shop. I made a restroom stop before leaving and haven't seen my face that red in a long time! The humidity and warm morning had taken a toll.

Then I drove back towards the two towns of Haleiwa and Waialua. I stopped at a place in Waialua and bought the dark chocolate they make there, eating it as I drove along. My next stopping point, if I could find it again, was going to be a beach where they go kite surfing.

The kites dancing around in the air helped me see that I was in the right spot. I missed the entrance to the parking lot, so just went in the one-way exit instead. It's the North Shore; people do that there... No rules, dude...

I walked down to the beach with my camera, but couldn't really get a good picture, so just enjoyed the moment. I watched one woman walk down the beach holding her kite which was already airborne, surfboard under her arm. She made it look so easy as she walked into the water, turned the surfboard at a 30-45 degree angle, stuck her feet on it, and just let the kite pull her up and off. They go so fast. It's really neat to watch. I had fun just watching them and the waves. It was really therpeutic.

Our real estate agent showed us that beach when we were house hunting, and it wasn't any more occupied that day. But it's rocky and very windy, and not a great place to really just chill and enjoy the ocean, so the kite surfers pretty much have it to themselves.

Also nearby is the Dillingham air field, for small planes, gliders, parasailers and parachuters. As I was driving by, several tandem parasailers were coming in to land, so I pulled over to watch. That looked like a lot of fun, too. "Maybe a Christmas present idea," I thought to myself. As I pulled away, though, I saw a cross by the side of the road with flowers around it, so, er, maybe not such a good idea...

I enjoyed poking around on the two-lane roads coming home in all the sunshine. It was really a gorgeous day, and I felt so relaxed and mellow. Definitely going to have to do that again, but maybe bring a suit and stop at the beach for a bit next time.