Hope In Hawaii
The alarm blares from my iPhone across the living room. The lovely sound of a nuclear fallout comes in full blast as I wipe the sleep from my eyes. I’ve been relegated to a lumpy old pull out in the living room of my Airbnb in Honolulu.
Being the good brother that I am, my sister and her fiancé (now husband) were waking up in their Hawaiian Shangri-La. I mean…standard master bedroom.
My sister hollers at me to get up and get a move on! I’ve always been the haste-deficient one of the family. But not today, I was ready! The three of us set out into the wild wonder. Our quest for the perfect beach day was underway.
Views of Honolulu from atop Diamond Head 🌋
Outside the apartment, the air smelled of ocean breeze and possibility. We had heard from reliable sources that the north shore is where it’s at. Coming from the island of Kauai just two short days ago, Honolulu had felt like an utter metropolis. Far too much stimulation! We left the chaos of New York behind 10 days prior, and had adapted quickly to the new speed of Aloha time. We had to get away.
We were primarily on Oʻahu for a family friends’ wedding. And when you receive an invite to a Hawaiian wedding, you don’t decline. With the wedding looming, the three of us had a free day to try and have the most epic beach day ever.
Hawaiian weddings are the best weddings 🤙
Tempted by fried morsels of heaven also known as malasada. We assured ourselves that a minor detour to Leonard’s Bakery was fine on our way to Waimea Bay.
These fried Portuguese donuts will rock your world. Seen on many food shows and food insta accounts, Leonard’s has been around since 1952 slinging some legendary desserts that’s made them quite the iconic Honolulu pit stop.
Dragonfruit was the special flavor of the month at Leonard’s 😋
I had a major sugar spike after gulping down half a dozen of these fried morsels. Plenty of energy to go hike up and down Oʻahu’s volcano Diamond Head.
We got back into our boring rental car and I started to reminisce about the yellow mustang I drove on Kauai just a few days prior. On Oʻahu we opted for a more modest vehicle as we had learned that you really pay to be obnoxious. Consider it a tourist tax. But I was happy to pay for the experience of driving a flashy convertible in paradise.
Anybody who knows me, would say I’m very mindful of local customs. But in an instance like this you have to fulfill your most childish instincts and go full tourist.
A sudden rainstorm brought me back to the present moment. Now torrentially down-pouring as we drove up Kamehameha Highway. Speechless we looked at each other and just shook our heads in disbelief. How could this be happening? We had eyed the weather reports and it was supposed to be the optimal beach day. On Hawaii the weather can be quite unpredictable. So as we drove up the North Shore we were hoping and praying to Lono the Hawaiian God of rain that this storm would blow over. And soon enough we got some divine intervention…The rain stopped and the clouds opened up just as we approached Waimea Bay!
We parked along the cliffside as the locals do. Instead of walking the long winding mountainous road, we stumbled upon a rough man-made path down to the sandy beach. The only problem was that this was a near vertical drop with slick terrain from the rainstorm. Staring at the 20 foot drop, we slowly traversed down the path. Latching onto branches as we made our descent down to our soft sandy salvation.
Waimea Bae 😍
Sprinting and shouting with pure jubilation. We made it! And what a scene it was. Overcome with so much emotion Waimea Bay lived up to every expectation but the best was yet to come.
We snorkeled and saw a family of giant sea turtles swimming right around us. And soon as we got out of the water there was not only a rainbow but a DOUBLE rainbow. It was like something out of a movie. A once in a lifetime experience.
“If you want the rainbow you have to put up with the rain.” - Dolly Parton 🌈
On Hawaii there’s this mantra: “Lucky we live Hawaii.” An expression of gratitude to experience life on these beautiful chain of islands.
Lying on the beach we watched kids jump off the rocks as the sun began to set. Witnessing the most amazing sunset I’ve ever seen with vibrant hues of yellow and orange. My cares in the world simply melted away. Overcome by an immense feeling of peace and love.
This scene has been etched into my mind forever. Utter paradise 🌅
The New York mentality cannot persist here. We were on Aloha time. The rise and fall of the sun was the only time keeping we needed. Lucky we lived Hawaii…if only for a few days.
