Some R&R in paradise
Trip Start
Oct 16, 2007
1
83
Trip End
May 09, 2008
Kaneohe, Hawaii
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Frank's favorite was of course the kiteboarding at nearby Kailua Beach. One of the top kiteboarding spots in Hawaii and only 20 minutes from my parents place! There aren't as many kiteboarders at Kailua Beach compared to Cabarete, but on weekends the beach can still get fairly crowded with windsurfers, kayakers and swimmers all sharing the beach. Anyway, the kiteboard community at Kailua Beach is pretty cool and friendly. Frank actually bought his board from one of the locals and got all kinds of tips from fellow kiteboarders on the local conditions and regulations and also some good tips on jumping. When we left after three weeks he felt pretty much like one of the local kiteboarders and was very sad to go.
We also tried kayaking at Kailua Beach which was cool, as there are a couple of islands nearby you can kayak to. Most of the islands are fenced off to protect nesting sea birds, but you can still walk along the perimeter of the island. Another time we rented a paddlesurf board, which is like a surf board, but you stand on it and paddle yourself around. That was actually a lot tougher than it looks! Most of the time we spent falling off the board into the water. The best part of Kailua Beach aside from the nice breezy weather and beautiful turquoise waters is that almost always you will see sea turtles swimming around near the shore. We'd be swimming and several feet away, we see a turtle sticking his head out of the water as he comes up for air. What's funny is that couple times we saw a woman swimming with her 2 dogs, one being towed on a boogie board. The dog would bark non-stop as he was riding along, and the woman said the dog thought he could call the turtles!
We did a little bit of sightseeing while we were there -- we went up Diamond Head, Pali Lookout, snorkeled Hanauma Bay, and drove around the North Shore, all the way to Kaena Point where the road ends (Frank's favorite spot on the island). I also got to really enjoy time with my parents and eat a lot of great local food -- fried rice, smoked pork, kalua pig, ramen , malasadas , kalbi , dim sum, mochiko chicken etc, etc... Thanks Mom & Dad!!!! Frank was also happy to have fresh pineapple and watermelon, and ice cream pretty much every night. We'll definitely need to go on a diet when we return back to Seattle!
