Oahu Day 3

North ShorNorth Shore! This was the one place on Oahu I have been most looking forward to going back to. My high school years were pretty much spent up here and it is by far my favorite place on the island.

We left after breakfast to make the long drive up from Waikiki, the total opposite side of the island just about. On our way up, we made a pit stop at Wheeler Army Airfield, where we used to live. We stopped at the retired helicopters on display to visit Nick's old project and see dad's helicopter before we continued on and drove through our old neighborhood. It looks exactly the same just about; I guess that's the beauty of having lived in the historic houses, it has to stay the same!

We continued our drive leaving Wheeler behind and going through Wahiawa, the local town where Sarah and I went to high school, on our way to the road to get up to North Shore. Our next stop on the way up was the Dole Pineapple Plantation. This is the home to the largest pineapple maze in the world! We stopped in for some Dole whip (so delicious), but it started raining, so we gave a walk around outside a miss. There was also a lot we were trying to fit in today.

We left Dole and kept travelling up Kamehameha Highway further north. The start of North Shore is a town called Haleiwa. This is a cute little place with colorful wooden buildings, a burgeoning food and shopping scene (it has really grown with tourism), and beautiful scenery. We drove over the white rainbow bridge marking the entrance to Haleiwa and I nostalgically looked to the left at the place I used to paddle as we continued our drive in stopping at Killer Tacos for an early lunch. We used to go to Killer Tacos on our visits to the Big Island, but they got really popular and were able to open a branch on Oahu too. Allan and I shared some kalua pork tacos and some chicken tacos. He also got a fish taco to try.

After lunch, we finished the drive north up to the beach to Waimea. Waimea Beach is known for its huge swells for surfing in the winter and the rock your can jump off of when the tide is good. When we got there, it was a bit cloudy, but we stayed optimistic that the sun would come out. The tide wasn't great for the rock, but some locals were tentatively jumping every now and then. Teddy had never been to the beach, and boy was it a treat for him, and everyone else. He loved the sand, especially eating it and burying his face in it. Allan also enjoyed the beach for the first time because playing with Teddy gave him something to do! Sadly, the weather didn't cooperate, and it started to pour with rain. We all covered up with towels hoping it would pass, but it didn't. We got packed up and back in the car. Beach day tragically cut short and no time to jump off the rock.

Heading back down Kamehameha Highway, we stopped in Haleiwa again for shave ice at Matsumoto's. They have the best shave ice on Oahu, hands down. There wasn't even a very long line which was also a bonus. Allan and I both got ours with ice cream and picked some tropical flavors. Allan also got condensed milk on top of his (probably reminded him of his acai bowls). After Matsumoto's, we started making our way out of Haleiwa, but not before stopping at the shrimp truck. Hannah really wanted to go here, but I also told Allan we would have to stop so he could get garlic butter shrimp from a Haleiwa shrimp truck. It is a staple of North Shore.

Finally, our day at North Shore came to a sad end. I could have spent all my time up there; it's the best. Before making our way back to Waikiki and the hotels, we dropped Hannah off with some friends because she was going camping the night before graduation (risky business...). Then, we got back to our hotels, showered, changed, and met back up for an evening drink at the Barefoot Bar. It was really nice just to laugh and chat over drinks in a chill setting.

We stayed until the bar was about to close. Mom, dad, Nick, and Sarah all went one way to their hotel, and Allan and I went the other way to ours. Tomorrow is graduation day, and we all needed our rest.Læs mere