Aloha from Oahu

Trev and I just returned from a week-long trip to Oahu to attend my good friend, Veronica's, wedding on the North Shore. To view our photo slideshow, click here: Oahu 2014 photos.

We spent 2 days in Waikiki, where we went snorkeling with turtles, sailing with a pod of dolphins, and walking along the shores of the beautiful Waikiki beaches. On our first day in Waikiki, we took the Island Magic Eco Snorkeling and Sailing Tour at 8 a.m. We hopped on board the catamaran with 5 other passengers and sailed for about 5 minutes until we reached Turtle Canyon.

Turtle Canyon is a place where turtles come to get their shells cleaned by fish. I jumped into the water with my snorkel and headed toward Turtle Canyon. The guide found some turtles and I swam as fast I could to them. There was an entire family - 2 big turtles and 2 baby turtles - about 10 feet below us surrounded by fish (who were cleaning the turtles' shells). The fun part was waiting until the turtles surfaced to take photos. During the 45 minutes of snorkeling, 4 turtles surfaced within about 3 feet of me. It was a great photo opportunity - so great, that I ran out of film on my disposable waterproof camera in about 20 minutes.

Once all of the passengers returned to the catamaran (I was the last one on the boat because I wanted to stay with the turtles), we started sailing. A pod of 20+ dolphins surfaced and we sailed with them for over an hour. The dolphins were jumping, spinning, and surfing alongside the boat. The catamaran had boom nets that we could lay on and watch the dolphins directly below the boat.

After two days in Waikiki, we rented a car and drove to the North Shore of Oahu for Veronica's wedding. We stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort, and since we arrived early, we were given an upgrade to one of the nicer rooms on the top floor. Our room had a spectacular view of the ocean. I spent countless hours on the balcony just watching the waves roll in. During our first night there, we ate at the poolside bar to watch the sunset and we were treated to a Polynesian show with hula dancers and fire twirlers. The poolside bar had very expensive, but very delicious s'mores for dessert, so I tested those - yum! 

On our second morning at Turtle Bay, I looked up the surf report for Bonzai Pipeline and found that the waves were 10-12 feet with strong offshore winds. We jumped into the car and drove to Pipeline beach. There were many surfers and boogie boarders out. The offshore winds created an incredible spray over the backs of the waves (many times the spray had rainbows). The waves were huge and the surfers and boogie boarders were incredible to watch. After spending 2 hours watching the surf, we headed to Hale'iwa, a historic surf town, to explore and eat lunch.

In the afternoon, we went to Veronica's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. The ceremony took place in the backyard, which overlooked the ocean. Veronica looked stunning in her wedding dress and her new husband, Jerome, seems like quite the catch. Jerome is from New Zealand, so we were treated to a Maori haka during the reception.

On our final day at Turtle Bay, we drove to Laniakea beach, which is a popular spot for turtles. As soon as we arrived, I spotted a turtle swimming only 5 feet from the shore, so I ran out into the water (in my clothes) and snapped some photos. More and more tourists showed up as the time passed, but none of the turtles came on to the beach. By the time we left, there were 5 turtles swimming in the clear water just off the shore.

I also took advantage of the free snorkeling equipment at the Turtle Bay Resort and explored the ocean. I saw tons of tropical fish - humuhumunukunukuapua'a (my favorite), wrasse, Moorish Idol, needle fish, and unicornfish.

humuhumunukunukuapua'a

We lucked out with beautiful sunny 75-80 degree weather the entire week. As we were heading back to the airport, a big storm was coming in and it started pouring. After a 12 hours of travel, we made it back to the mainland.