Hawaii 2018, Day 5: Hanauma Bay and Surf Lessons

Saturday morning we went to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. We had been warned before that parking fills up quickly at the bay, but we didn't have trouble parking this time. We lugged all of our beach gear out of the car and into a small theater to watch a brief safety video. The movie basically told us to avoid the dangerous areas, leave the marine life alone, and not take anything home. We then began a long steep walk down into the bay. The video explained that the bay was a crater that has now opened up to the ocean, which is why it is such a good place for snorkeling. The weather was overcast and almost chilly. The water was probably the coldest it had been for the entire trip, but we swam anyway. Everyone really enjoyed seeing all the different types of fish, sometimes even without goggles on.

Snorkeling leaves an impression on you.

Last year, Erik really wanted to take surf lessons but didn't get to. This year he tried to convince one of us to take lessons with him, but nobody wanted to. He decided to take lessons by himself this time. The lessons were given by North Shore Surf girls for 2 hours. We dropped Erik off at Pua'ena Point at Haleiwa Beach while the rest of us at lunch at McDonald's. It was just Erik, the instructor, and one other girl taking a lesson. Even though the water was chilly, Erik said that water didn't bother him the whole time.

Surfing involves a lot of paddling out to where the waves are breaking, waiting for a wave to break right behind you, paddling to catch the wave, and keeping your balance as you stand up and ride the wave in. Erik was able to catch a wave and stand up on his first try! He said that he caught more than half the waves he attempted. The most tiring part was paddling back out after riding a wave all the way in. 

After we ate, we watched Erik surf from the shore. The kids got tired of waiting to see him, so they played in the water most of the time. Actually, they must have spend more time in the sand, because they had sand everywhere after playing. When Erik finished surfing, he showed us the sores on his knees and his toes. I guess the constant waves caused his knees and toes to rub against the surf board to make the skin raw. The salty water probably didn't help either.

Erik had to sign a waiver before his surf lesson.

Elisa found a big snail shell in the McDonald's parking lot.

Waiting for a wave. Sometimes 4-5 waves would go by before the instructor told Erik to go.

First you get up on your hands and knees.

Then you get up on your hands and feet.

He's surfing!

Erik trying to keep his balance and wave at the kids.

The hardest part is paddling back out to catch another wave.

There was a really big Banzai Tree by the beach. I love these trees!

There are several shrimp places along the North Shore, and we didn't get to try them on our last trip. For dinner, Erik decided to get shrimp from several places so we could try them all and see which place we liked the best. He and Marsha picked up garlic shrimp from Fumi's, Giovanni's, and Ted's Bakery. After we all tried the shrimp and picked our favorite, Erik revealed which shrimp was which. The winner was Ted's Bakery for the best flavor and the cheese on top. Second place went to Fumi's for the biggest, freshest shrimp. Giovanni's was last for smaller shrimp that didn't taste as fresh.

Left to right: Giovanni's (3rd place), Fumi's (2nd place), Ted's Bakery (1st place).