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Published: February 5th 2009
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Day 2: Friday
Slept well and woke up refreshed and very hungry. So we headed out to Denny’s for a big breakfast of omelettes, toast and hash browns and fresh pineapple juice. With a full stomach, we set out to do our first adventure for the day - A drive to the North shore to see sharks, hump back whales and dolphins in the deep blue Pacific Ocean. I love the Pacific more than the Atlantic. ABC stores are located every 100 yards in Waikiki, selling everything from water to Hawaiian clothes. We stocked up on some water, snacks and wine and Niki insisted on buying an underwater camera before heading out.
We took H1 west and headed out to Kamehameha highway. The drive was so scenic, lush green mountains formed by volcanic eruptions, cliffs and waterfalls and the highway was basically a country road. We passed the Dole plantation and stopped there. The kids wanted to ride the pineapple express and so we did. The train took us past the pineapple fields, sugar cane fields, orchids, and other tropical vegetation past a reservoir. It was a different experience. We stopped at the snack shop that sold all kinds
of pineapple treats and bought a slice of pineapple upside down cake and a large bowl of pineapple ice cream with fresh pineapple bits and ate away without a care in the world. I love pineapples and they taste extra delicious in Hawaii.
It was lightly drizzling on and off in the Dole plantation and the Hawaii Govt. had issued a storm warning that day with winds of 40 mph. Living in NY, it seemed very petty to us, as we have experienced more severe winds. But the storm was out in the Pacific Ocean and never hit the mainland.
We drove to Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu, passing more beautiful scenery on our way. By then the sky had cleared and the sun was out, but it was windy. As we neared the ocean, we noticed that the waves were rugged. And the shark adventure was cancelled due to the storm in the ocean. We rescheduled it for Sunday and sat on Haleiwa beach for a while, on the rocks, letting the waves come and splash our legs. The beach was so quiet with just a couple of people around, that’s how I like it.
We drove thru the small village of Haleiwa, just one street filled with intriguing shops and eateries. We stopped at a restaurant that caught our fancy - Haleiwa Joe’s sea food restaurant. We ate delicious and spicy Cajun cat fish sandwiches and sautéed garlic shrimp and drank mai tais - a Polynesian cocktail, sitting out on the deck and looking into the ocean. What a calming effect it had - whether it was the Mai Tai or the ocean, I do not know!
After lunch, we drove further down Kamehameha Highway. The entire drive had the Pacific Ocean as the backdrop and a rural charm. Along the way, we passed a succession of small coves and bays and miles of white sand beaches, most of them nearly deserted. We stopped at the Lanai beach (also called as turtle beach) well-known for the sea turtles to come on shore and relax in the shade. It was hard to differentiate the turtle and the rocks. The ocean that day was a surfer’s paradise, the waves were so high.
We stopped at couple more beaches - Sunset beach and Kawela bay. The waves were monstrous and I felt that we owned those
beaches because we were the only people there. There was a road-side vendor peddling local delicacies - coconut water, fresh pineapple, Kahuku sweet corn, and cold shrimp. We bought some coconut water and chatted with him. He said that hump back whales came off shore during the winter months from Alaska, mainly to mate. Interesting! He also enlightened us that the waves may hit 25 to 30 feet or more - the largest surfable waves in the world.
It was 5 pm and we decided to head back to our hotel as the kids were tired. We passed the Kualoa ranch where numerous movies were filmed, especially the Jurassic Park. Then we headed to our hotel. Meg and I took a nap. Niki read her book on the balcony while Rajesh sat with her and finished a bottle of wine. We were so full from our sea food lunch and the pine apple delicacies that we wanted to eat very little for dinner. Megna wanted pizza and so we ate at Pizza hut and roamed around in the Waikiki area for a bit. It was truly a very enjoyable day and thank god the storm didn’t hit the mainland.
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