Hawaii - Chapter Eight

I covered a lot of ground today, my last full day in Hawaii. My day began with coffee and one of the most delicious pastries I've ever tasted. It was called a Jesuit Custard - a triangle shaped pastry filled with custard. Yum, yum, yum.


From there, I went to Kailua beach and got some sun. While driving along the coast, I saw several cars on the side of the road and many people looking at something on the beach. Curiously, I stopped and grabbed my camera as well. It was a large seal sunbathing! How neat!

Next stop was at a "shrimp truck" - one of many trucks parked on the side of Kamehameha Highway that sell freshly cooked shrimp.

the truck is the small yellow thing you see on the far left

After lunch, I discovered this beautiful spot called Laie Point. Several cars were parked with people having picnics and watching the huge waves crash into the rocks. Can you imagine living in a place like this?

This picture doesn't do it justice - the rocks were huge and the waves were even bigger!

Next, I went to the surfer mecca, Banzai Pipeline, with hopes to watch expert surfers taking on the day's huge waves. Unfortunately the waves were so big, no one was brave enough to ride them!

easily 12 foot waves

While I didn't get to see surfers, I saw something better... whales! Know that I am not the best photographer - here are my shots!

see him on the horizon? three of them jumped OUT of the water!

same picture, zoomed in

Then I went to Laniakea (or Turtle) beach - great sights there, too!

very large green sea turtle sunbathing

There were many more in the water, but I was not able to get a good shot.

Finally, on the way back to Honolulu, I passed through Dole's pineapple farm. Here is a shot of some of the pineapple fields:

All in all, it was a great day! Tomorrow I think I will journey into Honolulu and check out the Bishop Museum and the Palace - the only royal palace in the United States. I'm so sad that I will be leaving tomorrow, but am excited to see and talk with everyone, not to mention sleeping in my own bed!