Photo Diary: The North Shore to Waikiki

After a wonderful time on Kauai, the second half of my recent trip to Hawaii brought me to Oahu, “The Gathering Place”. It’s the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands, but the most populated of the island chain. Home to the state’s capital of Honolulu, Waikiki Beach and the famed North Shore, Oahu really has it all. There’s something for everyone and a change in scenery is just a short car ride away, around (or through!) the island.

We started out in Kailua, on the Northeast side of Oahu. It’s a quieter, residential town with an amazing “white sugar beach”. Unfortunately, I never did take a picture of the beautiful white sand beach, since I was often hunting for sea shells. Perhaps that’s for the better – you’ll have to go experience it in real life!

Justine and I took one afternoon to drive around the North Shore. We stopped at the legendary Banzai Pipeline and while the waves weren’t as immense as in the winter, they were still clearly sizable…

On our way back to Kailua from the North Shore, we stopped at a little cluster of food trucks on the side of the road in Kahuku. Coconut mocha iced lattes made for the perfect thirst quencher and pick-me-up!

The sun was starting to go down and clouds were rolling in, but we had to stop the car to capture another beautiful and powerful scene:

[I’m wearing a Billabong T-shirt, Guess jean shorts, Cardinal Eyewear sunglasses]

A couple days later, we celebrated Justine’s birthday and enjoyed a sunset dinner at the Halekulani’s House Without A Key:

For the final few days of our trip, we checked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village. For our first meal at the resort, I enjoyed coconut haupia waffles with coconut syrup – delish!

Kahanamoku Beach, in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village was rated the #1 beach in America this year and I can certainly understand why. It’s a beautiful stretch of fine sand with calm turquoise water, perfect for swimming and all ages to enjoy.

Sunset view from the room: