Turtle Tales: Day 24 - Sun, Sand and Shrimp!

Today we really didn't have a definite agenda regarding what we were going to do or see. We started out close to "home", by exploring the Harbor and the Hale-iwa Beach Park which are located right across the street from where we are staying. There was a lot of activity going on. There were surf lessons, paddle boarding and kayaking activity every where we looked! The life guards on Oahu certainly have their job cut out for them! After checking out the activities close to the house, we proceeded along the coast to see what was going on - and need I say more when I say the roads and the beaches were busy, busy, busy! We had planned on stopping along the way to visit Turtle Beach to observe the sea turtles that come up on shore, and to watch the surfers surf the "pipeline" at Ehuaki Beach. Suffice it to say we were not able to find a parking spot, and even if we did find a parking spot, we would have never been able to get back on the street to go back to our rental house! It is obvious that the weekends are not the time to be out and about on North Shore! During the work week, we had no problem navigating the roads and found lots of parking along the beach!

We did manage to stop by Waimea Bay Beach Park which is known for its "jumping rock" where those who dare, climb the cliff rocks and once on the top jump into the ocean. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong! In this case, timing is everything! One must be very careful to jump at precisely the time the water has been pushed into shore by the waves, or they could be seriously hurt. It was fun to watch but scary too!

Next stop was Kuanala Beach, just above Sunset Beach, where we did manage to find a parking spot and walked the beach looking for sea glass. We did find some pretty pieces, including another red piece! We have noticed that the sea glass here is much more rounded at the edges than the sea glass we find on the Texas and even the California coast.

We drove on up the coast to the town of Laie, which is the town just before the Polynesian Cultural Center. On the way we passed Turtle Bay Resort where there were many golfers out enjoying the sun and the game. This resort is very exclusive and rates start at $252.00 a night (Bottom of the scale). On top of that you pay a $28 per person accomodation fee (whatever that means), plus $15.00 a day parking and if you have pets, a $150 pet deposit! I will have to say it is a beautiful resort. Check it out at www.turtlebayresort.com.

We decided to head back to the house and on the way noticed that there were several Prawn and Shrimp stands that appeared to be very popular, so we decided to stop and have lunch, and experience some of the "flavor" of the island. As Jim says, "You can never have too much shrimp"! We stopped at a place called Rowy's near Kahuku. We waited in line for thirty minutes to order, and waited another fifty minutes to get our food! We ordered shrimp with garlic and butter (I know, I know!) and it was very tasty - not sure it was worth the price ($13.95 a plate)! Other customers had ordered prawns, and they were about the size of Jim's hand! Huge! They seemed to be as popular as the shrimp! May have to try those before we leave!

After fighting the traffic to get back to the house, we took a much needed break and left for Schofield Barracks to pick up Jeremy around 4 PM. He will be spending the night with us and then we are planning to go snorkeling tomorrow.

Hawaii is full of such splendor! Tonight as we were eating dinner there were about a half-dozen red-crested cardinals out in the yard. They are different from the standard cardinals we are use to seeing in Texas. The heads are red, and the tummy is white and they appear to have a black tux on the rest of their body! They are really beautiful. I tried to take pictures but they sensed my presence and kept taking off before I could get a picture!

Aloha!

Harbor Scenes