Where We Be
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| Oahu, Hawaii -- North Shore |
For our last day on Oahu we decided to make a
circle tour of the island. We wanted to see more
than just Honolulu and this seemed like a good
way to take in Oahu's legendary North Shore.
Plus there's something enticing about circling
an island in its entirety. Our idea was a good
one in principle -- but learn from our mistakes
and rent a car instead of taking the public bus,
which was tedious and didn't give us much
flexibility to stop since we knew we'd have to
wait a full hour for the next one to come along.
Our primary stop was the quiet surfer town of
Haleiwa on the North Shore. Almost too quiet:
on the day we arrived the surf was definitely
not up. We quickly walked through what little
town there was before hitting on the great idea
of having a pineapple-mango-plum shave ice –
our first ever but not our last. We peeked into a
few more surf shops before catching the next
bus for the Banzai Pipeline at Ehukai State Park,
located just north of Haleiwa. Here we happily
relaxed on the beach while watching surfers
catch the waves. But I guess we'll have to come
back someday if we want to witness the truly
big waves for which the North Shore is famous.
circle tour of the island. We wanted to see more
than just Honolulu and this seemed like a good
way to take in Oahu's legendary North Shore.
Plus there's something enticing about circling
an island in its entirety. Our idea was a good
one in principle -- but learn from our mistakes
and rent a car instead of taking the public bus,
which was tedious and didn't give us much
flexibility to stop since we knew we'd have to
wait a full hour for the next one to come along.
Our primary stop was the quiet surfer town of
Haleiwa on the North Shore. Almost too quiet:
on the day we arrived the surf was definitely
not up. We quickly walked through what little
town there was before hitting on the great idea
of having a pineapple-mango-plum shave ice –
our first ever but not our last. We peeked into a
few more surf shops before catching the next
bus for the Banzai Pipeline at Ehukai State Park,
located just north of Haleiwa. Here we happily
relaxed on the beach while watching surfers
catch the waves. But I guess we'll have to come
back someday if we want to witness the truly
big waves for which the North Shore is famous.
| We got a kick out of this sign posted on the back of a truck at Haleiwa |
| Surf-N-Sea is located right on the beach at Haleiwa and is the starting point of the "7 Mile Miracle" -- seven miles of the best surfing beaches in the world |
| We walked the length of Haleiwa Beach before returning to the town of Haleiwa |
| Haleiwa Beach Park offers a much quieter Oahu experience. The North Shore feels like it's on an altogether different island. |
| Surf shops abound in Haleiwa. If you don't surf you'll feel a bit like an outsider looking in. |
| A shave ice was just the ticket for a hot Hawaiian afternoon |
| Worlds better than a crushed-ice snow cone |
| We spent a pleasant hour relaxing on the beach at Ehukai State Park watching surfers ride the waves at the Banzai Pipeline |
| Sunset over the water at Waikiki Beach |
| We arrived back in Waikiki near sunset |
| This landmark on the North Shore is Hawaii's oldest surf shop |
| A surfer at the Bonzai Pipeline near the quiet surfer town of Haleiwa scopes out the waves |