Three Day Weekend - Day 1

It's a three day weekend thanks to Martin Luther King, so we decided to spend day one searching for whales. The whale is Hawaii's state mammal. Whales come here to birth their young and relax over the winter. Starting in December, they hang around off shore through March before returning to Alaskan waters in the summer. There are a few spots along the shore that are supposed to be really good to spot them.

Our first stop was on the windward shore along the cliffs above the Dragon's Nostrils at Makapu'u. This cliff used to be a war time observation post, but these days, the road to the top has been converted to a paved pathway. After about 20 minutes of lung-bursting hiking in the morning, we reached a vantage point about 400 feet above the waves and gazed at the water below. Eventually, we saw a lone whale cruising just beneath the waves. Finally, he broke the surface and we saw his fluke before he disappeared. (The picture here is cropped and zoomed in as far as it will go)

We were underwhelmed but not deterred. After lunch, we drove to the leeward side of Oahu. It was the first time we'd visited the western shore, so it was an interesting experience. In general, it is 'poorer' than the rest of the island. Lots of broken-down houses and literally miles of homeless people living on the beach. The mountains are very pretty, but mostly covered with grass because this side of the island doesn't get much rain. By the time the trade winds come across the windward side mountains, any moisture is condensed out as rain so the eastern side is tropical and wet, but the western side is arid.

Anyway, we drove along the Farrington highway until we found a nice beach that wasn't populated by homeless people and we stopped to take a look around. Makua beach is stunningly beautiful in the afternoon sun.The waves arrive without the impedance of an offshore reef and thus crash onto the shore. There is a lot of surfing along the Wai'anae shore, especially here. As we walked down the water, lifeguards came over to warn us about the waves. Things didn't look that bad until we got right down to the water's edge...

That's when we saw just how big the waves really were! Since both DeAnna and I got waterproof cameras, we took different pictures and movies. I chose to get an in-depth (some pun intended) perspective. DeAnna chose to get a more editorial view of things.


Here is a movie that DeAnna took of me getting involved in some wave action...



And here is the view of that same wave from the inside...



I came away with sand in my pockets and embedded into my skin, but it was fun with this great camera. Watch for more adventures on Day 2 of the three day weekend!