Hawaii, North Shore of Oahu 2009

Waikiki Beach

The last day we were in Hawaii, we decided to visit Waikiki Beach. Everyone has talked about how beautiful it was there and since we have spent so much time on the North Shore, we decided to branch out on the last day. Arriving in Waikiki is like driving downtown. You start seeing soaring skyscrapers, parking decks, and crowds of people. It was nothing like I had expected. The Hotels were lined up along the beach front, strip malls lined the opposite side of the street, and the beach access was in between the hotels and buildings. There really wasn't much beach to see. Where there was sand, there were tons of people. It was not like the North Shore at all. The North Shore had just endless beaches as far as the eye could see. Even on a crowded day, the beaches would be very spacious. We did however, find a great little noodle place to eat lunch at. Spending the day in Waikiki was like spending the day at the outlet malls in Florida. Not to say it was a bad place, just not what I was looking for.

God of Surfing?!

A little too crowded for me to relax

The sand was only like 2 inches deep

Umbrellas as far as the eye could see

How do you surf without hitting someone?

The view is totally different on the North Shore

This is not what I imagine when I think of beach bronzed bodies in skimpy bathing suits!

Nice hotels though

Don't ask! I had to jump in her arms!

Hawaii, North Shore of Oahu 2009

Jemison's by the Sea

Most local restaurants around the North Shore are little mom and pop stores. Driving down Kamehameha you will find a hundred shrimp buses but very few sit down restaurants. The nicest restaurant off of the resort was a reastaurant in Haleiwa call "Jemison's by the Sea". The apparently fill up pretty quickly around sunset for patio seating. We luckily just showed up at the right time and got a great table. As you sit on the patio, you're greeted by a beautiful young wait staff that are eager to please. The warm gentle ocean breeze blows by and the sound of ocean waves crashing gives you the euphoric feeling of being right on the beach. the food was mediocre and somewhat odd, but the drinks were delicious and the view was to die for. Definitely a dinner you will remember for a lifetime.

Hawaii, North Shore of Oahu 2009

Driving the Coastline

Renting a car in Hawaii was one of the smartest things I could have done on that trip. They don't tell you that in order to get around the North Shore, you need a car or have to take a bus. There is nothing within walking distance. The main road we travelled down was Kamehameha. It pretty much goes all around the North Shore and then into downtown Honolulu. The drive itself was even calming and serene. we took some pictures along the road, ate farm raised shrimp cooked on broken down buses, stopped at attractive beaches to sun bathe and snorkel, and found huge rock on Waimea Beach that everyone was using to dive into the ocean. We didn't get the chance to jump off of it because it was so crowded.