Oahu's North Shore
Today was our first full day in Oahu. We woke up Thursday morning to a beautiful view of the harbor.
First, we went to pick up my rental snorkel gear and some flippers for Will. After picking those up we stopped for a quick breakfast: acai bowls from Jamba Juice. Can't get enough of those things!
Then it was off toward the North Shore. On our way up we stopped at HARC, Hawaii Agricultural Research Center. Here they are growing some pongomia trees that were planted several years ago. They also are growing some cuttings that are doing pretty well. The older trees were even flowering and growing pods, which is happening a little earlier than they usually anticipate. The trees at HARC aren't really meant for a large scale operation, rather just find out how the trees grow in Hawaii, how much water they need, how they withstand the weather. They're doing quite well so that was good news!
We continued north with Haleiwa as our destination. We enjoyed lunch at Jameson's by the Sea. Next, Will met with a woman from the Kameamea schools to view some land for a proposed planting site. While Will was at the meeting shopped in town, and Will joined me soon after.
After an afternoon of shopping, it was time to try out our snorkel gear! I had heard that Shark's Cove was good for snorkeling (don't worry, its name is deceiving!). When we got into the water, we were not disappointed! We saw TONS of fish. There were purple fish forming a mini school around us and following us around as we swam. We also saw two types of fish forming one school and eating off the coral. It was amazing!
On our way to Shark's Cove we saw signs for Waimea Valley and the area it was in was breathtaking. We wanted to get snorkeling while we still had a good amount of daylight left, but returned to Waimea Valley afterward. We walked around the main entry of Waimea Valley and they were even having a farmers' market with a bar! We got a refreshing beverage to enjoy while we walked around the market. One of the highlights was locally harvested sea asparagus. It could be purchased in jars with some seasoning, and it was also made into pesto! It was so good. Again, too bad I wasn't checking any luggage so that we could have brought some home. Waimea Valley was so beautiful and we learned that there was a waterfall within the botanical gardens in which people can go swimming. We decided we would go back tomorrow!
We continued to drive back toward Haleiwa just as the sun was setting. We stopped at Laniakea Beach to enjoy the sunset and check out the sea turtles that came on shore to rest for the night. One turtle named Scallop was just coming up on the shore! We watched him come up on shore and talked with the "Turtle Docent" who was there to make sure people were keeping their distance and share information about the turtles. I decided that this is my new dream job! I will move to the North Shore of Oahu and become a Beach Babe and Turtle Docent.
We went back to the North Shore Marketplace in Haleiwa for Mexican food at Cholo's. Yummy! It was time to drive back south to Honolulu. We had a busy day!
First, we went to pick up my rental snorkel gear and some flippers for Will. After picking those up we stopped for a quick breakfast: acai bowls from Jamba Juice. Can't get enough of those things!
Then it was off toward the North Shore. On our way up we stopped at HARC, Hawaii Agricultural Research Center. Here they are growing some pongomia trees that were planted several years ago. They also are growing some cuttings that are doing pretty well. The older trees were even flowering and growing pods, which is happening a little earlier than they usually anticipate. The trees at HARC aren't really meant for a large scale operation, rather just find out how the trees grow in Hawaii, how much water they need, how they withstand the weather. They're doing quite well so that was good news!
We continued north with Haleiwa as our destination. We enjoyed lunch at Jameson's by the Sea. Next, Will met with a woman from the Kameamea schools to view some land for a proposed planting site. While Will was at the meeting shopped in town, and Will joined me soon after.
After an afternoon of shopping, it was time to try out our snorkel gear! I had heard that Shark's Cove was good for snorkeling (don't worry, its name is deceiving!). When we got into the water, we were not disappointed! We saw TONS of fish. There were purple fish forming a mini school around us and following us around as we swam. We also saw two types of fish forming one school and eating off the coral. It was amazing!
On our way to Shark's Cove we saw signs for Waimea Valley and the area it was in was breathtaking. We wanted to get snorkeling while we still had a good amount of daylight left, but returned to Waimea Valley afterward. We walked around the main entry of Waimea Valley and they were even having a farmers' market with a bar! We got a refreshing beverage to enjoy while we walked around the market. One of the highlights was locally harvested sea asparagus. It could be purchased in jars with some seasoning, and it was also made into pesto! It was so good. Again, too bad I wasn't checking any luggage so that we could have brought some home. Waimea Valley was so beautiful and we learned that there was a waterfall within the botanical gardens in which people can go swimming. We decided we would go back tomorrow!
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| Hale O Lono Heiau Temple in Waimea Valley. |
We continued to drive back toward Haleiwa just as the sun was setting. We stopped at Laniakea Beach to enjoy the sunset and check out the sea turtles that came on shore to rest for the night. One turtle named Scallop was just coming up on the shore! We watched him come up on shore and talked with the "Turtle Docent" who was there to make sure people were keeping their distance and share information about the turtles. I decided that this is my new dream job! I will move to the North Shore of Oahu and become a Beach Babe and Turtle Docent.
We went back to the North Shore Marketplace in Haleiwa for Mexican food at Cholo's. Yummy! It was time to drive back south to Honolulu. We had a busy day!
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