Honolulu, HI

My wife and I live in Waikiki, and one of our favorite beaches is Sans Souci, which translates to “without a care” in French. This beach is next to Diamond Head fronting the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. The beach is protected by a coral reef out front, which makes for gentle waters suitable for family swimming, although there is a lifeguard tower here. There are showers as well as a nice restaurant (The Hau Tree Lanai) right on the beach in the hotel. The beach is also a bit wider here than on the main Waikiki beaches.

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My boyfriend and I had a wonderful 4th of July spent in Waikiki. We were both tired from having walked from one end to the other of Waikiki with the sun upon us. We drove back to his place in Kaimuki, took a shower and a refreshing nap. When we woke up we were both very hungry.

Ali’i Beach Park is located on Oahu’s north shore. Situated just at the edge of historic Haleiwa, Ali’i Beach Park is within walking distance of the boat harbor, gas station, and grocery store. There is also a surf shop on the beach itself for snacks and drinks. There are also three sets of restrooms, conveniently placed throughout the beach.

Last weekend I hunted for treasure at Waikiki Beach. I wasn’t even the only person doing it. My only tools: a waterproof metal detector and a sand scoop. By now the image of an old guy wearing headphones walking Waikiki Beach sweeping a metal detector over the sand as he goes is a familiar sight. After watching people do this over the years, I decided to try it for myself—with a slight twist—I wanted a fully submersible detector so I could go snorkeling, or even scuba diving with it—and I must say it has been a fun hobby.

For first-time visitors to Hawaii, the luau is almost considered a rite of passage. My wife and I have been to several luaus since we have been living on Oahu. Each has its own unique blend of food, entertainment and setting. There are many different luaus on the island of Oahu, but I will writer here about three of the more popular ones. My wife and I recently attended each of these luaus with friends and family.

Whales! We were about three miles offshore from Waikiki Beach—the pink Royal Hawaiian Hotel was visible as a small dot in the distance. Outside on deck, people were pointing toward shore. A Humpback mother and her calf cavorted not far from our boat. Then the mother slapped her huge tail (called a fluke) against the water, before diving beneath the surface. Cameras were clicking like crazy. Suddenly the mother Humpback erupted from the water—a full breach—leaping into the air! People screamed, and I was lucky enough to point my camcorder just in time to catch it.

No, I don’t mean whitewater rafting, as in the adventurous kind. I’m talking about relaxing, lay out on your inexpensive, 1-person-dayglo-green or pink raft as you float just off the beach in the gentle near-shore waters of Waikiki. My wife and I enjoy this activity (especially my wife), when we want to go to the [...]

Then, promptly at 8:00: boom! The first fireworks lit up the night sky with blazing reds and whites. There were some really impressive explosives—firecrackers, rockets, pinwheels and what have you—which can be heard throughout Waikiki. A few boats also lead fireworks cruises and could be seen bobbing not far from shore to witness the spectacle.

The most commonly kind of shark seen was called a sandbar shark. These are your typical gray, predatory-looking sharks-on-the-prowl. We were also lucky enough to see a couple of large Galapagos sharks. Every now and then, the boat crew told us they see the much bigger (and more dangerous) tiger sharks, and even less frequently than that—the mighty great white, but we didn’t see any of those on our trip. It was really cool to watch the sharks thrashing around and cruising on the surface of the water while we waited our turn for the cage.