Oahu

After we left the Big Island, we went to Honolulu for a week. Xander is doing some research with a colleague at the university there, so this was the main purpose for our trip. We stayed with his colleague rather than in a hotel, which was really nice. It meant that we got to have a more local experience rather than a week at Waikiki, which is just not our style. We really liked Honolulu. It's got the benefits you'd expect in a city, but it's small and manageable. And it's a bit gritty, which we really like. You can drive fifteen minutes in either direction and be out of the city, too, so it's really easy to get away for some quiet time outdoors. There are tons of nice local beaches, too. It's not necessary to go to a resort in order to swim in calm blue waters. Most of the people we met were really friendly. And the food was good, too.

While Xander was at work during the day, I went to one of the beaches or wandered around Oahu. I visited a botanical garden and saw a peacock.


I admired abandoned buildings and city landmarks.


But mostly I just hung out at the beach, reading and writing.


Occasionally, we got to do things together, like go to the Triple Crown on the north shore.



We also drove up on a morning that the competition was canceled to see the 25-foot waves that were predicted for that day. What I didn't know is that they measure the waves from the back, so a wave that measures only 15 feet at the back actually looks more like 30 feet from the front. Crazy. Very few people were out surfing that day, but there were a handful of crazies attempting to catch waves. At those heights, most surfers require a jet ski to pull them in, because the waves are too strong and too fast to catch otherwise.


One morning we hiked Diamond Head, which was a bit touristy but still nice. And we saw ruins.



We learned how pineapple grows.


We went snorkeling in Haunama Bay and, much to Xander's amuseument, spotted a humuhumunukunukuapua'a. (He spent the next week interjecting "humuhumunukunukuapua'a" into just about every conversation.) And we went to Pearl Harbor.


And before we could leave, we felt obligated to swim at Waikiki, go drink mai tais, hear some ukelele, and watch some hula by the ocean at sunset.



And that's all until after Christmas. Happy holidays, one and all!