Simple day Trip, Big Realization

About two years ago I had still been living in Hawaii. I had a friend that wanted to spend the day at the beach with some friends. So we tried to make plans with a bunch of people, but no one could go except us two. Since it was just the two of use, we thought, why don’t we go somewhere different? So we decided to take the long bus ride up to North Shore. Neither of us had really been up there before, so we weren’t sure what to expect, especially since we were used to the tourist crowded beaches of Honolulu.

We got up really early that morning and caught the hour and a half bus ride up to Haleiwa. When we got there, the first thing we did was go to Killer Tacos. Another friend of mine told me they hade the best tacos, and they were the best tacos I had ever had in my life! So we had our lunch, and now we had to get to North Shore, which was still very far away. Luckily, another friend of ours was in Haleiwa with his car, so he dropped us off at the beach.

When we got their it was amazing! The beach was huge, longer and wider than any of the skimpy south side beaches, and the sand was soft and warm. What we found really amazing was the lack of people; there were probably only four other groups of people there. So we went and found an awesome spot under a cliff overhang and set up our huge blanket and all the other stuff we brought with us. After a few minutes of rest, we finally got in. The water was saltier than any other ocean water I had been in since then, but it was also the perfect temperature and it was clear enough to see down 50 meters, if it got that deep. We spent the day swimming out to rocks and looking at starfish, jumping off the cliff (a 10 meter drop) and napping under a cliff face.

The whole day was absolutely amazing. Before that day I had never realized what amazing places were so close to me. Yes, I lived in Hawaii, but when you live there you really get sick of the tourists. They take away from the experience of getting to live there and to just hang out for an entire day. We had managed to find a place rarely visited by tourists, a part of Hawaii that hadn’t been touched by the consumerist nature that has engulfed the little island I called home. I learned that day that with a little bit of effort, you can find untouched and unique places wherever you are, you just have to look in the right places.