There's nothing like waking up...looking out your window and seeing the ocean. There's also nothing like sitting on your lanai, sipping Kona coffee with your breakfast while the trade winds lovingly blow over you. Hawaii...home.
This morning I was greeted by the sun and I was excited to get up and start our first full day on Oahu. I brewed us some Kona coffee and started to make breakfast. Remember my Hawaiian Breakfast?
Michael joined me on the lanai and together we enjoyed a fried egg, rice, fresh pineapple, mango and some fried spam.
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| Hawaiian Breakfast |
After our wonderfully filling breakfast we got ready and made our way to the North Shore. I wanted to stop at the Dole Plantation so we could do the garden tour, since we were there too late the last time we were here. We enjoyed our stroll through the gardens, they had some beautiful flowers, trees and even a large koi pond.
After our stroll through the gardens we made our way inside to get some Dole Whip. This is nothing short of amazing! It's a soft serve of sorts...but it's made from pineapples! We actually got these cheesy plastic souvenir cups that it was served in...and I hate to admit that they actually made it taste better! HA! I feel like such a kid sometimes!
After our stop at the Dole Plantation, we made our way through Haleiwa, which is a cute surfing town on the North Shore. We stopped at one of their little shopping "malls," if you can call it that. We wandered through the shops looking at the art and the cheap souvenirs that tourists were buying. On the way back to the car I noticed one of the local residents...a wild chicken. And much to my delight she had chicks with her!
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| I loved how the chicks kept running underneath her! |
Not going to lie...seeing all the wild chickens running around made me miss my girls at home. I know...I know...crazy! :)
We continued on our way around the North Shore, but we had to stop at a few places so we could take in the sight and sounds of the waves. This time of year is a great time for surfing on the North Shore because the winter weather brings large waves. Actually there is a storm rolling in tonight and tomorrow that is suppose to bring 35 to 45 foot waves!! I would say that most of the waves today were in the 5 to 10 foot range, still fun to watch! The sound of the water as it roars onto the shore is amazing. What's even more amazing is that people actually go out in the water and surf! I'm perfectly happy on the shore!
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| Waimea Bay |
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The Waianae Mountain range had storm clouds rolling over them most of the day, which was a perfect backdrop for the waves!
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After spending some time watching the waves and the surfers, we continued our trip around the north east tip of the island and down the windward coast. I've been seeing people post pictures of The Valley of the Temples near Kaneohe. I have to say that it was the best $6 we've spent on admission to anything so far. The temple is located in a beautiful cemetery that is nestled back into the Ko'olau Mountains. The minute we crossed the bridge towards the temple I felt this calm come over me. It was such a beautiful and sacred place.
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| The Temple with the Ko'olau Mountains in the background. |
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| I rang the bell. :) |
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| Inside the temple. |
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| Standing in the front of the temple looking towards the cemetery. |
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| They had black swans! |
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| I also got mooned by a peacock! WTF! |
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| While we were walking out, the sun poked through the clouds and a beam of light came down onto the roof of the temple. This picture doesn't even capture how beautiful it was! |
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My final view of the temple.
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As we walked to the car we talked about how beautiful it was and we were both very happy that we made the choice to stop here. This is definitely something I would suggest for people to do if they have the chance. What a serene place.
Now I'm going to be 100% honest with you all. My main reason for the drive today was because I wanted to eat at a place in Waimanalo that I saw on Diners, Drive-ins & Drives. But, as we got close I had Michael look it up...and just as my luck always is...it's closed on Tuesdays! **sigh** So we continued our way down the windward coast back into Honolulu to find something for lunch. We settled on a Korean place in an Asian grocery store. Michael was in heaven...he loves Korean food...and all things fermented. All things that don't quite tickle my fancy. :) But I had chicken katsu again! :)
After our very late lunch we made our way to the grocery store to get supplies for dinner. We came back to the Hilton Hawaiian Village and enjoyed an adult beverage before attempting to make it to the beach to watch the sunset. Ummmmm...the sun sets FAST! We did miss the sunset, but it was still nice on the beach. The wind has been really blowing for most of the day, so there were quite a few kite boarders out on the water!
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| Diamond Head in the distance. |
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We missed the actual sunset...but it was still a lovely night.
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We did quite a bit of driving today, but it was so nice to see the island again and stopping someplace that we'd never been. I'm not sure what tomorrow has in store for us since it's suppose to be stormy most of the day. But hey...that's the best part of vacation...going with the flow! That being said, it's been a long day and I can't wait to crawl into bed. I hope you all had a fantastic day!
Until next time...Keep Cooking!
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