Best Day in Hawaii - Our Drive Around O'ahu

From 25 Oct 2015

My husband, son and myself on Waikiki Beach.

After years of touring the Caribbean, I finally decided it was time to head west to Hawaii with my husband, Mike, and son, Braden, in tow. Our first full day started early at 4 am (8am back in Denver). This worked out well since I wanted to get an early start to our big day driving around the island of O'ahu.  We got dressed and walked down the block to a 24 hour diner called the Wailana Coffee House.  Braden had the best waffle of his life covered in strawberries and whipped cream.  Our nice waitress jokingly called it his birthday waffle because it looked similar to a birthday cake. Mike and I had fresh pineapple juice with coffee and pastries.  The food was delicious, the hospitality was top notch and the atmosphere was that of an old time diner.  We were big fans and knew we would be back (especially for their advertised $4 Mai Tai's)!

  

There was so much beauty on our drive around the island!

After a yummy breakfast, we hopped into our rented Chrysler and headed east to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, the best snorkeling on the island in a bay formed by a volcanic crater.  This was our first stop of the day because I wanted to make sure we got there early enough to get a parking space. Shortly after getting out of Honolulu we saw a bright green mountain with a slanted top and evidence of past lava flow.  We pulled over to get a picture and would later see that beautiful mountain as part of the back drop at Hanauma Bay.  That was just the first of many stunningly beautiful Hawaiian island vistas. 

Hanauma Bay

At Hanauma Bay we paid the $7.50 fee and went inside the park to wait for an orientation movie which is shown to everyone in order to keep the bay safe.  We watched the movie and walked down a steep path to get down to the the bay. The bay was stunning with green mountains jutting up on each side and looking like the Hawaii I was picturing in my mind.  We got in the water and found that the snorkeling did not disappoint. We saw a myriad of tropical fish including a big rainbow colored one, a long skinny one with a trumpet like nose and the state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua'a.  We all had a terrific time snorkeling and agreed that it was indeed a great place to snorkel with the variety of tropical fish and the gorgeous setting.

The view from Nu'uanu Pali State Wayside Park & Lookout 

Our next stop was the Nu'uanu Pali State Wayside Park & Lookout with supposed amazing views of the island from above.  While the view was nice, I found the vistas on the drive to get there more impressive.  At times during our drive, the tall lush green mountains next to the blue ocean almost took my breath away.  

The Shrimp Shack Truck

Next we headed up the coast on the windward (east) side of the island with lots more beautiful views in store.  Our target was the North Shore with a lunch stop on the way.  We drove through a couple small towns without a lot of lunch options and then saw a sign for the The Shrimp Shack.  We thought that looked perfect and it was!  We found it just as we were beginning to think we had passed it and it was a truck parked across the street from the ocean. We parked on the ocean side of the street and crossed over to order. I ordered the garlic shrimp, Mike, the coconut shrimp and Braden, the chili and rice with a delicious pineapple orange float.  We put our towels on the grass by the beach and a had a delightful picnic by the ocean.  It was a wonderful lunch with some of the best shrimp I've had and lovely ocean views!

Lunch with a view!

By this time Braden was dying to get back into the water but I held him off for the North Shore.  We drove on and found the birth place of surfing, Akukai Beach Park, aka the Banzai Pipeline.  The flag was red and the waves were huge but they let us swim at own risk and so we did.  Beat up, however, would be a more appropriate verb than swim. At one point just as I was getting comfortable with body surfing, I missed badly and lost my pants!  The mighty ocean tossed us around like leaves on a windy fall day.  We walked away with bruises, sand burns and sand in every crevice of our body but we had the time of our lives going up against those mighty waves. I also enjoyed watching the many surfers catch a wave and ride it effortlessly to shore.  After that last hit that took my pants down, I was feeling a little dazed and confused (and humiliated!) so I was ready to find another beach with smaller waves so we could swim without getting beat up. 

Akukai Beach Park aka the Banzai Pipeline

We left the long stretch of the beautiful tan sand at the Pipeline and drove on to the next beach.  We had trouble finding a suitable beach for swimming.  They either had no parking or had huge waves.  Finally we found that the Hale'iwa Beach Park had plenty of parking and virtually no waves.  Poor Braden was uncomfortable with all the sand in his pants and everywhere else so he was happy to jump in the water to clean off. Mike and I were happy to do the same and the water felt heavenly and serene compared to the Pipeline.  After swimming and relaxing in the pretty bay albeit rocky beach, we decided it was time to make the trek back on the inland Kamehumeha Highway back to Waikiki. 

Braden and Mike in Hale'iwa

First, we decided to stop in the cute town of Hale'iwa for coffee and a snack.  We found a very nice and quaint set of shops with a coffee house and stopped there.  Parking was again sparse but we managed to find a spot.  I ordered an Island Latte (macadamia nut and coconut) and it turned out to be the best latte of my life.  I was excited to get my first latte with a pretty foam picture on top, a Hawaiian flower.  Mike ordered the Lava Mocha and Braden the Hot Cocoa with whipped cream. The nice boy making Braden's cocoa exhibited his Aloha spirit and worked hard to get a picture of a bear in his whipped cream for him. We all enjoyed our drinks along with the island hospitality and grabbed a few snacks at the gift ship before hitting the road.  Mike and I had chocolate covered macadamia nuts that were amazing!  

The best latte of my life!

The drive back to Waikiki didn't take too long and overall we found island driving to be easy and fun although congested at times.  The three of us agreed that our drive around O'ahu was our favorite day in Hawaii.  I know I would not have truly appreciated the island of O'ahu had we not taken our drive around the island.  It gave me a picture of the diversity of the island, the beauty of the island and the charm of the people who inhabit the island.

I loved the mountains on the windward side of O'ahu.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my entry from this Traveling Travel Agent's travels.  I am a travel agent because I am passionate about seeing as much of this big beautiful world as possible and I love helping others to do the same. If you would like to learn more about our travel services, visit us at www.PurplePalmVacations.com.

Happy Travels!