Ha

If you didn't know, Ha is the breath of life according to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We went to the Ha show on Saturday night. It was pretty cool to see the different types of dance and music. You can't come to Oahu and not go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, right?!

The west side and Kaena Point

Peter got home a little early on Thursday so we decided to explore the west side of Oahu. We started off at the Ko'Olina Lagoons for some snorkeling. We saw a couple really cool fish that we had not seen anywhere else that we've snorkeled. Then we drove up the coast to see that was around. I was shocked at how brown everything was at first. Then I was even more shocked by the homeless communities along the beach. There are these communities of tents all along the beach. It was so surprising to me to see all these people living on the beach and the tents and the trash. It was shocking!

We took the time to hike out to Kaena Point, the farthest point on the island. The hike was long, but you really felt like you were on the edge of the world. It was really pretty and so cool that we were all alone out there. Well, except for the Monk Seals that we say. As we were walking out on the rocks at the point Peter said, "Jen, don't panic, but turn around" he then pointed out several Monk Seals just feet away from us. We had just walked right past them and did not even noticed them. What if I would have stepped on one of them?!

Being the west side, there was a beautiful sunset.

Columbus Day Celebration

We took full advantage of this holiday Peter had off and saw more of the island. We started off bright and early at Pearl Harbor. It's always so beautiful to be there and it has a way of putting things in perspective and making you grateful.

Our next stop, Sunset Beach on the north shore. The waves were amazing that day so we lived it up. I'm pretty sure all of us caught some of the best waves of our lives.

Snorkeling at Sharks Cove was the next activity. It was really beautiful to see the fish and the rock formation. The current was really strong out there, so there were some times I got a little panicky about being able to get back.

Paddle boarding and cliff jumping at Waimea was a must. I'm really starting to love paddle boarding. Thanks to my cousin Elle's suggestion, we had Thai food at Haleiwa Eats to end off the day. The food was so good and of course had to be capped off with a shaved ice. We were all so exhausted after this long day, but we loved it. I pretty sure I took several naps on Sunday to recover from our amazing weekend.

Kailua and Mok Islands

Saturday was another really great day. The boys had the day off to Peter, Josh, Jo, Robbie and I rented some kayaks and headed out to Kailua. We kayaked over to the nearby Mok Islands. One of the islands had a beach to dock our boats on. We then set off exploring the island. Around the back of the island were some rock cliffs to jump off of. We had a blast!

We ended the day off with boogie boarding at Sandy Beach (where I got worked by the waves) and a BBQ with some friends. I love Saturdays, it is so fun to explore this beautiful island with Peter.

Point Panic

Friday was spent boogie boarding at Point Panic. Although Jo and I were out there with all of the surfers and they were giving us "the look" for invading their space. We got some good rides though and had lots of fun.

Kahana River

Since we already had the kayak, we spent the next day kayaking the Kahana River. It was a very quiet, jungle-like river. It was green everywhere!

Unfortunately, it was a shorter ride than we thought, so we spent the remainder of the day lounging at the pool.

Kaneohe Bay

On Wednesday of last week Jo and I rented a kayak and set off for Kaneohe Bay. We kayaked over a mile out to the sand bar in the middle of the bay. The water was the most beautiful blue and it was really cool to be able to get out in the middle of the bay and walk around. We also had some visitors while out there, sea turtles! There was one we tried to follow for a while and then we saw two huge ones bop up right in from of our kayak. It was really cool!

Then we kayaked out to an island not too far off, just over another mile. We encountered some waves along the way that gave us a little scared because by this time we were about 2 1/2 miles out from the shore. We felt pretty cool out there in our kayak, while everyone else were out there on their tour boats.

We explored the island and loved it. The rocks were so different and we loved the little creatures we found. The kayak ride back to our car was long, but I felt pretty cool when we got there and realized we had kayaked about five miles that day.