First, have had some time recently to try and get caught up on video editing
- The first of the Road to Hana videos – this one has views of Kipakeone State Park.
- I didn’t get any pictures of the black sand beach…I did get video.
- Also took some video at the red sand beach. I’m very happy that the new camcorder got such great footage of the fish on the rocks.
- And…..also taped the boys on the hike to Waimoku Falls at Haleakala National Park.
- Last, three stops on the Road to Hana.
Second, wanted to spend a quick moment talking about food. Suzanne and I have found that trying to eat at any kind of nice restaurant is wasted on the boys, so, have opted for a cheaper approach….this has been good on the pocketbook but left Suzanne and I without a lot of food experiences to talk about. That being said, here are the four most memorable food things of the trip so far.
- Pineapple – it’s everywhere; it’s awesome. The one pineapple memory I’ll savor more than any other was after the hike to Waimoku. We didn’t have a lot of water on the 4-mile round-trip hike, so, when we got back to the car, it was a priority. We also had a chunk of pineapple the boys had asked for at one of the roadside stands but hadn’t eaten; instead of going for the water I went for that first. Had pineapple juice running down my chin…was simply delicious.
- El Pollo Diablo – one of the few times we went out to eat we had Mexican…and I ordered the spicy chicken. Suzanne’s palate is more…spicy..than mine, and she was thinking of ordering this, so, when it came, I cut her a piece and before I started she gulped and said “that’s really hot!”. Which certainly meant bad news for me, because it was going to be way hotter than I was expecting. Tasty, but hot.
- Macky’s shrimp truck – On the North Shore of Oahu, we stopped here for lunch. Christopher, gourmand that he is, had the butter garlic shrimp plate and I had the spicy shrimp plate. They both were simply awesome. These roadside trucks are common in Haleiwa.
Must point out here that I’m pretty sure I’ve lost some serious pounds here because I’ve been way more active and am snacking less than a home…will be curious to get to the scale at home.
Today started with Suzanne and I going snorkeling in the lagoon near the hotel….saw some fish, it was ok, but not great. Will try again here later this week. Left the hotel after football and headed out to the Dole Plantation. Boys had fun at the World’s Largest Maze; Dad enjoyed the world-famous Pineapple Whip (soft-serve pineapple ice-cream with chopped pineapple topping).
After the plantation, we headed out to the North Shore….boys went to the beach while Mom went shopping.
stopped first at Laniakea Beach…where the sea turtles like to come and beach themselves. Happily, a turtle had done this as we arrived, and we saw two swimming in the ocean as we watched this guy (who had a name, Brutus, because he had been tagged before)
Ended up swimming at Waimea Beach…..surf forecast was 5 to 7 foot waves and they were big and they came often. Finally reached a level of comfort by assigning Kevin to follow Matthew everywhere; that kid is a daredevil and at one point was the furthest human being from shore, even past the other adults! After having a discussion with him about that (“I just want to have fun!”) the rest of the afternoon went better.
I did walk out into the waves and held down the button on the camera as a wave came in, and also have some video that helps to show how rough it was
I’m taking this photo looking straight ahead…I think the water was up to my knees where I was standing….
