A Day At The Bay
With our body clocks still needing a little tweaking we all had a pretty major sleep in and breakfast really became brunch. We had stocked up on cereals at the supermarket yesterday and trying to navigate our way through a whole aisle of sugary, “candied” offerings, of colours not usually found in nature, we thought we’d found some that were of at least some nutritional value. Not an easy task! Amongst other things, we found peanut-butter-filled chocolate Coco Pops, Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup “Wheaties” , “Candy Coated Pop Rocks”and mini choc chip cookies that said “just add milk”! Hmmm. I don’t think Rosemary Stanton would have approved! We got some “Corn Flakes”, which seemed remarkably close to our version, some “Wheatabix” (the Italian version perhaps?) which were fairly similar but had rounded edges (a bit cute) and some “Raisin Bran” (didn’t realise they didn’t know what sultanas were in America) but the raisins were covered in sugar, just in case the flakes didn’t already contain enough.
The weather was perfect. 30 degrees with a gentle breeze. We just had to hit the beach. Adam suggested we go to Waimea Bay. Immediately I had images of HUGE surf, surf contests, wall to wall surfers and lots of action but…. Waimea Bay was completely flat! It was so tranquil and peaceful and the water was crystal clear but there wasn’t even a ripple! In fact, it was like a giant pond. It’s hard to believe that this beach, about the size of Freshwater Beach, can actually cope with such massive swell in the winter. There wasn’t a shore break to speak of at all. We grabbed our snorkels and flippers and just floated around enjoying the serenity.
On the left-hand side of the Bay (Ross tells me it’s the Western end) there was a big rock, known to the locals as “Jump Rock”. The Gallaghers had tried it out the last time they came here and Adam’s new GoPro, waterproof video camera was ready to get a work out. He, Molly, Ebony, Ross and Keryn all took the plunge, diving off the cliff to the pristine waters below. Adam got some great footage! I nominated myself as the chief photographer, both feet planted firmly on the sand. I get freaked out by the tiny diving board at the Aquatic Centre after all. Molly, Adam, Keryn and Ross, the daredevils that they are, all dived off without an ounce of hesitation, to the cheers of the locals atop the rock. Ebony was a little more hesitant and spent a fair bit of time deliberating on whether or not to go. She eventually took the drop and was very glad she did.
Ross and I took a leisurely walk up the road to grab some supplies and we were struck by just how laid back everyone in Hawaii seems. They are all so friendly too! I did have my first translation glitch today though when the guy in the surfshop told us he was “driving by the beach this morning” and I swore he said he was “drilling for iron this morning”. Wow, drilling for iron. I inquired further about this drilling and he looked at me with the weirdest look. Ross explained what he said and I’m sure he thought I was the biggest weirdo!
We’ve come across quite a few fellow Australians on the island as well. You can usually spot them by their pasty, straight-from-winter bodies! We were all giving off a fair bit of glare ourselves (except Keryn of course!) and no amount of lathering up of suncream was going to prevent us from all getting a little bit sunburnt, some a little more than others. Poor Adam was probably the pinkest (actually that’s an understatement! He and Keryn together now look quite Jaffa-like), closely followed by Ebony and Ross. Even Keryn got a spot of sunburn, though her swarthy complexion hid the facts.
After a few hours at Waimea Bay we went in search of the famous, but elusive, Pineapple Juice Man. After a couple of false starts we came to the sad realisation that he has in fact retired. His legend will live on in the Gallaghers’ memories. We did find a great little Hawaiian roadside fruit shop where the kids got to try coconut milk straight out of the coconut. The elderly women running the stall were hilarious. They must have been about 90 in the shade but they were running a tight ship. They even had tour buses stopping by to sample their wares. We also got some dragon fruit, “a bit like kiwifruit but a bit different” according to Maisy and some of the sweetest pineapple we’ve ever eaten. It was delicious! They also had some yummy deep-fried banana.
For lunch, which was by now, really afternoon tea, we headed to the equally famous “Ted’s Bakery” at Sunset Beach for some pies – not hot pies mind you, which you’d usually expect to find at a bakery – but cream pies! The pie they are most renowned for is the Chocolate Haupia cream pie and it was definitely all it was cracked up to be. De-licious! Chelsea had a yummy chocolate brownie and Adam and Tobes had two of the biggest chocolate profiteroles you have ever seen! They were the size of a hamburger! The bread in Hawaii is really sugary and sweet and Maisy’s plain bread roll tasted exactly like a croissant.
The North Shore is such a gorgeous place. Everywhere you look there are frangipani trees and the gardens are beautiful, full of really colourful flowers and lush green manicured lawns. We walked past a church near Waimea Bay this morning and even the statue of Jesus out the front was wearing a lei!
Poor old Rog, the Jeep, never fully recovered from his flat tyre incident yesterday and though we’d all grown quite attached to him, regrettably we had to trade him in for another model. The new one is actually much nicer but don’t tell Rog I said that. The cars here are all huge, with massive grills on the front and big tyres. The Hawaiians certainly love their “pick-up trucks” and today Ross and I saw a stretch Hummer limo that had a ute tray on the back! It was 8 windows long! It’s not unusual to see a whole heap of guys sitting in the back of their ute with their surfboards. Apparently, for native Hawaiian islanders, it’s perfectly legal – even on the highway!
With only a fraction of the day left, we decided to have a quick look around the Waikele (why-kell-ay – I was laughed at when I asked where to find the “why-kear-lee”) shopping outlet centre. It didn’t close until 9 so we had a quick whip around to see what was there. It was a bit of a reconnaissance mission because we knew that Sam would want to go there once he arrived. Keryn was excited to bag a few bargains which she has an uncanny knack for, and we finished off the day with a great dinner at “Chili’s”, where Becky our waitress looked after us with unwavering enthusiasm.
