Oahu In November

Last November my family and I took a trip to Oahu, and I wanted to share some of it with you.

We stayed in Kailua, a town on the east side of the island, about forty minutes from Honolulu. It's surrounded by lush green mountains, the tops of which were constantly disappearing behind mist. It was grey most of the time, but still pleasant out, the winds warm and comforting. We spent time at Kailua Beach, where the water is turquoise and children trade sleds and snow for body boards and sand. We drove up to the Pali Lookout, which had sweeping views of Kailua and Kāneʻohe, and the ocean beyond.

We spent a day in Honolulu, with its high rises and tourists and ABC Stores on every corner. We had malasadas, Portuguese donuts filled with coconut cream, so delicious and warm and fluffy. I tried my first and last Mai Tai, a rum & Curacao & lime cocktail, made popular in the 50's and 60's as a kind of kitsch Polynesian drink. We people watched on Waikiki Beach, and decided we were happy to be staying outside the city.

We drove along the Kamehameha Highway, winding around the edge of the island, till the people thinned out and the landscapes become more wild and natural. We stumbled across the Vans World Cup of Surfing (a day too early) at Sunset Beach, where the glassy waves reached toward the sky. We stopped at Mokule'ia Beach, where they filmed the LOST pilot, and watched sea turtles poke their heads out of the surf.





At the Dole Plantation we ate pineapple soft serve topped with more pineapple and felt content. In Haleiwa, a cheap souvenir was bought in order to spend the required $10 to use a credit card.



On our last night we experienced the most magical sunset, right in our own backyard. It looked as if the mountains themselves were aglow. We departed early the next morning, our bags full of little trinkets and souvenirs, sad to say goodbye but knowing we'd return some day.

A hui kaua, Oahu.

Oahu on Dwellable