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| Wading in the tide pools at Ai'opio Beach. We didn't see the no wading signs until later. |
Ai’opio Beach, an ancient Hawaiian fish trap where fish
entered at high tide and were easily captured for food, was a short stroll from
the harbor. This is also a popular
feeding and resting area for green sea turtles, who, like so many other
visitors to these shores, love to laze on the beach all day. We saw three or four dried to the color of
rock, and listened as a volunteer guide explained how the early islanders prepared
the tender meat for eating and used the large outer shell for cooking vessels
and bowls. It harkened memories of
learning how Native Americans would use not only the meat of the buffalo, but
also fashion the skins into blankets and clothes and the bones into tools,
letting nothing go to waste.
After our walk, we picked up some poke (pronounced, po-kay) from
a fish market at the marina. Poke is a
Hawaiian fish tartar mixed with seaweed, and marinated with sea salt and other
spices. It comes in many varieties and my
wife and I found ourselves purchasing it every chance we got, even once at a
gas station deli counter. Though the
kids, after taking a small taste, preferred just about anything else. |
| Jonah, having the time of his life at Hapuna Beach |
Our destination for the day was Hapuna Beach. I had read that this beach was consistently rated
one of the top beaches in the world and had made it a point to let everyone
know this. While the beautiful palm tree
lined white sand beach was beautiful, the reason that this beach will forever
be remembered by my family is the size, redundancy, and ferocity of its waves. We spent an unforgettably tremendous afternoon
boogie boarding, body surfing, and generally getting pounded into the sand.
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| Maya catching a gnarly Hapuna Beach wave |
After enjoying a fruit smoothie from the concessionaire and strapping
the boogie boards onto the roof of Mahana Pu’u, we drove the short distance north
to Spencer Beach. Because it was
mid-week, we got a better parking/camping spot than our first night there. After stringing our laundry line and sweeping
out the sand from the floor of the van, we sat down to a dinner of grilled fish
and mango.
With the sun at our back and
the ocean laid out below us, my wife took out the camera. My son, in typical 7-year old exasperation,
said, so you’re taking a picture of us eating dinner, Mom. That’s epic.
Epic. It is a fitting
caption for the day.
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| Maya and me settling down to an epic meal at Spencer Beach State Park |
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