A Blowhole, a Lighthouse Trail, and an Awesome Beach: Road Trip in Hawaii

We had an amazing day on Wednesday, driving around the tip of Oahu. We woke up to clouds and light drizzle in Honolulu, with rain forecasted across the island. We decided to try our luck by driving southeast towards Hanauma Bay.

Our road trip for the day

As soon as we got on the road it began to drizzle. Hoping things would get better, we kept on, along this route. We drove past Hanauma Bay, without stopping, as we have been there before and it was still raining. Our first stop was the Halona Blowhole, which overlooks Sandy Beach. We parked there and looked around. The scenery was nice, but not particularly impressive.

We kept driving to our next destination, the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail. We spotted a trail to our right, with no signs, but drove in anyway, figuring it must be the trail. The marker read “Ka’Iwi Scenic Shoreline,” but we suspected it was the right place. As we were walking up this trail (which is 1.5 miles round trip), the rain began to clear and the sun shone down on us. By the time we got to the top, we were hot.

Near the top, there were several people whale-watching. We saw a few splashes, but didn’t make out any actual whales. Then, we noticed that some people were walking down the cliff. When we walked to the edge to see what there was at the bottom, we saw amazing, clear tide pools and a blowhole that spewed out sea water every few minutes. The kids asked if we could go down. At first, we were hesitant, as we were unprepared for a hike. All of us had on some version of flip-flops – not ideal hiking shoes. We decided to give it a try.

View from cliffs down to blowhole

I walked down very slowly. I was wearing Naturalizer slip-on sandals, which are great for walking, but not good for climbing down cliffs. When we finally made it to the bottom, we were treated to an amazing place. The tide pools are crystal clear and the waves crash up on them on one side, and the blowhole spews water on the other. The kids loved it! We stayed down there for at least an hour, cooling off and enjoying the sound of the waves.

Waves crashing onto the tide pools

The way up the cliff was actually easier than the way down. We made it out, and drove just a bit down the road to a small beach where we had lunch. Then, we hopped back in the car and drove to Waimanapolo beach. When I first walked onto this beach, I couldn’t believe how picture-perfect it was. The sand is powdery and white. The sea is light turquoise with crashing waves, and the water is clear. To top it off, a green hill sits on one side of the beach; there is a small island just off shore, and the rest of the beach is lined with greenery. Even better, we were the only people on the beach. This beach was an amazing find.

Waimanapolo Beach - beautiful and isolated

We arrived there at 4pm and managed to drag the kids away at 6:30, just after the sun set. The kids had a fantastic time playing in the waves and did not want to leave. I didn’t want to leave either. Waimanapolo beach is so beautiful I didn’t want to close my eyes, for fear I might lose a second of admiring its beauty. To top it off, the beach is practically isolated. Don’t ask me why.

Kids having fun in the waves

Here is Raymi, my eight-year-old daughter’s rendition of the day:

Yesterday we walked up the mountains and then we saw the blow hole. I don’t have any idea what the blow hole is so I’m just going to make things up. We were looking for the magic sea star until dante farted. His fart was big. It was stinky. Then we kept looking for the magic sea star. Than dante saw a gold fish and named it rubber ducky. I said “What kind of person names a gold fish rubber ducky?”. Then we kept looking for the magic sea star. And finally we found it in the middle of the ocean. It was worth it to go to the middle of the ocean to get the magic sea star even though we had to swim a lot. People could still smell Dante’s fart. THE END.

Notes from Paradise: Enjoying Kahala Beach, Hawaii, Alone and with the Kids

I woke up this morning, in Honolulu. It is awesome to wake up in Honolulu every day. Today, like most days, I woke up and opened my eyes to an amazing view of the turquoise Pacific Ocean, bordered by palm trees. Today, I woke up just in time to catch a glimpse of the pink tones of the sunrise.

I had coffee with almond milk, a handful of almonds, and Greek yogurt for breakfast before heading out for a morning walk around 8am. A long walk on the beach is one of my favorite ways of starting my day. Today, the sun was shining, the breeze was light, and the sky was clear, making it an ideal morning for a walk along the beach. From where I am staying near Kahala Mall to the beach is about a 15-minute walk. The walk is alongside a golf course, which you can’t really see. Along the way, however, there are plenty of trees and birds, even though it is a somewhat busy street.

There are three trees I always look at as I pass by on my walks to the beach. The first is a gigantic mango tree. One of the first days we walked by this tree, a mango had just fallen off. Nando picked it up, and found it to be in good shape. When we enjoyed it later on, it was delicious. I always hope to have such luck again, but haven’t so far. Today, I noticed the owners had taken all of the mangoes off of the tree, dashing our hopes of that happening again. The next tree I often look at is another mango tree. It has no fruit. I wonder if it is because they have already harvested the fruit or if because it did not bear fruit this year. The third tree is a tangerine tree that has abundant fruit. Each time I pass this tree, it is clear that no one is tending the tree or taking off any of the enticing fruit. I suppose my fascination with these trees is a fantasy of having a fruit-bearing tree in my own backyard. I have five chickens now in my yard and it is amazing to me that they produce eggs we can eat. Being able to get breakfast from my backyard is simply fabulous.

A full rainbow from a cloudy day

Walking along this route, I also often see rainbows. Today, however, was a clear day, and there was not a rainbow in sight. To see a rainbow, it usually has to be at least a bit cloudy.

When I made it to the beach at Wai’Alae Park, I was pleased to see that the sky and the water were perfectly clear. I took off my sandals and walked to the end, wading through the cool water whenever I got hot. As I walked, I thought how wonderful it would be to start each morning of my life this way, with a walk on the beach. I let my thoughts drift where they wanted, thinking of my dear friend who has let us stay at her house, of projects I have taken on, of my children (especially my 10-year old daughter who has gotten a bit rebellious lately), and of my mother, who also loves the beach.

Kahala Beach: Empty and Beautiful

Walking on the beach is a meditative act for me. It is a beautiful place to be. I don’t have to watch out for cars or look down for rocks. I can just walk, and turn my attention to the Ocean or to the palm trees, or to the sand, as I please. Walking on the beach relaxes me and allows me to live in the moment and to enjoy doing so immensely.

The end of my morning walk on Kahala Beach

After my morning walk, I came home and prepared a lunch for myself, my husband, and my children of rice, black beans, baked salmon and fish sticks. (You can guess who had fish sticks and who had salmon.) After cleaning up and eating, it was mid-day, and Nando and I took the kids back to the same beach I had walked to this morning. It was such a perfect day for that beach that I insisted we return today.

On the way to the beach, we passed the tangerine tree again. This time, I picked off four tangerines and gave them to the kids to eat. They enjoyed them and loved the idea of being able to pick fruit on our walk to the beach.

When we got to Wai’Alae Park, we turned right and walked west, towards the Diamond Head Crater. As we walked along, I asked the kids to choose a place for us to set up. We stopped at the first place we saw clear water. However, the kids found the water too shallow, so we kept on. We found another place a few hundred feet down, but Tatiana and Soraya still found the water too shallow. Raymi liked the place, but agreed to keep looking. We all settled on a place about half a mile from the park. This place had lots of sand to sit on, as well as plenty of sand beneath the clear waters. Tatiana and Dante put on goggles and swam straight out. I had to call them and ask them to wait for me, as they were going too far.

A clear day at Kahala Beach

I put on a pair of goggles and swam out with Tatiana and Dante. It was amazing to swim in such clear waters. I saw a couple of fish, but mostly enjoyed being able to cool off and enjoy the clear, cool water. After a while, Soraya let us know that she wanted to swim as well. Tatiana, Dante and I swam back, and Soraya went with Nando to check out the underwater world.

Tatiana, Dante, and I ventured further down the beach, to where there is a huge pipe that goes straight out to sea. We saw people walking along this pipe to get to the reef. We thought it was odd to walk on the pipe, but decided to do so anyway. The first part of the pipe was a bit slimy, then got less slick as we walked. Towards the end of the pipe (which must have been about 300 meters), there were more things growing on the pipe, some of which hurt our feet. Despite this, we decided to try and make it to the end. We did, and found a pool of clear water at the end of the pipe. We jumped in and it was great to cool off.

We wanted to swim back, but had not brought our goggles. It is hard to swim in this part of the ocean without goggles, because some parts are very shallow and have lots of coral and sharp rocks. So, we got back on the pipe and made the trek back.

After all of that, we had been on the beach for nearly three hours, and it was time for everyone to get out of the sun. We packed up and walked back to where we are staying. I was glad the kids got in three miles of walking today. I got in six miles, as I made two round trips.

When we returned, the kids wanted to watch iCarly. I was happy to let them, so that I could relax, reflect, and process an amazing day of walking on the beach, both alone and with my family.

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