Honolulu, HI

I recently moved to Hawaii and I’m pretty much seeing and learning things first hand here. I have to say, I think I made the right decision.

My cousin recently bought an SLR camera and he took me to a beach-hopping drive starting from Waimanalo to take his toy on a field test. Try to imagine driving between the powerful rise of moutains that leave your mouth open to your right AND the vast blue-green-white ocean to the left.

You will drive by Bellows Field Beach Park at Waimanalo, characterized by many tents and trees on the shore (most are homeless people, I think). Eventually you will see the Manana island or Rabbit island, as they call it. Probably because at a certain angle the island is shaped like a rabbit’s head (without the ears). By that area, there’s a house by an isolated port, where, 50 First Dates was shot (scene where kids were jumping off) and along the road is Sea Life Park where you can swim with and kiss dolphins.

A couple of sea-strolls away, there is a scenic point by the top of the climb. There are three things to experience at this view point: 1.) Smell and feel the fresh air fill up your lungs - make sure you’re facing the view though. Looking down from the ledge, you will see Makapu’u Beach Park 2.) Watch out for other people on the same cliff - they are either giddy and bubbly tourists taking photos like there’s no tomorrow, just married couples having their post-nuptial shots, hot models in bikini up on the rocks posing for a certain product or for a marketing flyer, or they are the police on the look-out for people who will attempt to do something not nice like jump off. 3.) Since you are high on sea level and a little closer to heaven, I would suggest you to try and reflect on your (I bet) crazy life for a while - it would be a nice place to propose to a girlfriend, confess something to your mom, call a loved-one or listen to your favorite song.

Drive along the zig-zag road some more and you have the option to stop-over at more scenic points along the way. You will see the same things - people looking out like you, the beautiful ocean, rock formations but all on a different point of view.

The next beach we went to is Sandy Beach. This is definitely not a beach for kids. Because of the interesting interaction of the sea and the shore, the beach waves will seem to pummel you down hard on the sand. The waves rise too short for surfers but excellent for body-boarders. You can just sit all day on the sand and watch the waves, really. (Don’t forget to bring food though, the next store is miles away!)

A few snapshots more and we hop on to our last beach - Hanauma Bay. As you may have read in previous posts, Hanauma Bay is a charmer. It used to be the crater of a volcano centuries ago and over the years, nature developed it to be a perfect habitat for sea creatures. Snorkeling is the thing in Hanauma Bay. You are lucky if you catch sea turtles and octupus under there. I saw a humuhumunukunukuapua’a (hope I got that correctly), a fish, which happens to be my favorite because of the name. There is a rental stall but I would recommend you bring your own snorkeling gear - don’t forget the fins! Otherwise, wear surf shoes or anything the can protect your feet. The corals can be sharp.

And again, please DO NOT feed the fish. My mom told me there were a LOT MORE fish 10 years ago. And true, they are dying because people feed them all sorts of crap. Swim with the fishies - you’ll love it.

And so the beach-hopping ends there. We reach Hawaii Kai and familiar roads and buildings greet us back to reality. After an exhausting but very fulfilling overdose of sea, sand and blue skies, we stopped by Hungry Lion near Pali Highway which offers the best Green Tea Azuki Ice Cream. Now you try an experience that day!