What a difference a day makes. Today I walked out of my hotel in Waiki with a laptop in hand, along with my camera, Hawaii guide book, and beach coverup on. My hair was down for once, and I was sporting my flipflops and clear sunglass (which for the record, have next to no real sun protection, but do look cool- oh, and I lost my real pair in Maui in case you care :)). I’m probably in one of the most touristy spots in the world and I actually don’t mind. It’s sort of a welcome sight after the remote settings on the big Island. Last night we walked around the city after sunset…Wow….we actually saw stores, and lights, and lots and lots of people…quite a difference from the other islands where the sun goes down, and then the towns shut down. We had pizza on the beach, and then margaritas at a super hip Mexican restaurant.
This morning we got up early to avoid the malahini’s (that’s Hawaiian for stupid tourists) at Diamond Head Crater. We wanted to get a hike in before our day at the beach. Well, apparently everyone had the same idea. It was a “people watching” hike… complete with starbucks in hand, I followed all sorts of people….families with cute kids, couples, teenagers….just about everyone was hiking up to the top of the crater for a view of the city and ocean from the top. I’m not sure this was the best hike to be enjoying and “extra hot” hot chocolate. The shadeless switchback trail continued to climb until it was replaced with steps going straight up, then a cool tunnel, followed by more steps that of course we just had to run up. By the time we reached the summit, I felt ready to burst into flames. The view was well worth it though.

Now I’m in the car, with Jessica behind the wheel (navigating expertly through the crazy traffic….she’s awesome (how’s that for your shout out? :)). I’m happy not to be driving, so I can enjoy the sights on our way to the North Shore. We have no real plans, just a beach, maybe some surf time, and one more hike just for good measure. We’re trying to fit in as much as possible before we fly out tomorrow evening- I’ll use another blog to whine and cry about that later..:) Until then I’m enjoying the warm sunshine in Oahu.

So, I’m back in my hotel listening to Friends on the “internet box” thinking about the day. Hmmmm let’s see, what to say about the North Shore? Oh, I know….you know that really cool, fun, summer, Hawaii activity called surfing that everyone thinks is so great….well, let’s just say, it’s not as easy at it looks. Oh sure, when you’re at your little rinky dink surf lesson and your instructor is pushing you into the puny shore waves and coaching your every move, you think you’re a stud. The real thing is a bit more challenging. We rented boards today from a guy named “Uncle Bryon” who claimed to be a surf coach for a lot of famous surf champions…I partially believed him…I also believe that he was trying really hard to sell us a surf lesson. We declined…after all, I had a surf lesson on Kauai and as a teacher I felt completely qualified to coach my friends on how to ride the waves…..Wrong again…..I told them everything I remembered and then left them on the high seas to fend for themselves…..nice. The water was so rough, it was like it forgot which way it was suppose to flow… “Go toward the beach stupid waves!” Instead the water was whipping us to the left….always away from the waves we were trying to ride. There was no time to rest. If you stopped moving your arms for one moment the wind and current would just take you more and more away from where you were wanting to be. I was determined to ride some waves so I continued to drive my way through the rough sea…all the while thinking how much my arms hurt, and how badly my eyes stung from all the salt water and sun screen….I began singing some beach boy’s classics in my head to try and liven my mood…that didn’t really help…the cheerful little surf ditties that they sing just sort of felt like lies at that moment…I needed some “I of the Tiger” rocky stuff to get me through this. Meanwhile, my surf buddies were struggling too. Jessica was tossed like a rag doll…I could hardly see her through the waves. She later told me that about 10 minutes into the “fun” she had abandoned the goal of riding an actual wave, and adopted the new goal of making it back to the shore, which was now about a mile away. I later had to pull a bay watch and rescue her…it was a good old fashion adventure at sea. (“yeah, it was bitchen”- Jessica’s quote- apparently she’s still a little pissed :)) I only crossed paths with Beth a few times, but the look on her face told me exactly what she was thinking, “this is the worst $20 purchase ever!” I think I rode maybe two actual waves- one of which was pretty awesome. I guess I could say that made up for all the hardships I encountered…..then again, maybe not. Did I mention it also started to rain (that really helped to calm the seas…) While attempting to stand up I fell and hit my chin on my board, another fall and I scraped my foot on the rocks below, the third fall I wound up under my board and banged my head, and then when I tried to get out of the water, the huge ass board attached to my leg (which I find quite dangerous) whipped around and hit me right in the ankle. I think that was my breaking point. I was done…get this stupid rash guard off of me, and take me home!

Alright alright, I’ve had my hot shower and my final mai tie of the trip….I think I’m in a better place to discuss the North Shore. I’m not going to erase any of my previous writing…my feelings were true about the surfing, however, I will say… “ I went surfing on the North Shore of Hawaii!” How awesome is that?….and let’s face it, you know deep down I loved every minute of it. I live for that….so hard you want to quit, challenge yourself, kind of stuff. The beach we went to was super nice and sandy. The weather held up until 5:00, so the tanning was good, and we took the long way around the island home, so I got to see some amazing mountain/ocean scenery. All in all I would say it was quite a good day. The drama queen stuff just makes the writing more fun :). However, I have an even greater respect for the “real” surfers of the North Shore….they are the true studs.