Weekend in Oahu

I'm going to have to start this post off with the "Meal of the Week." On Thursday, I went fishing after work and caught a Moi fish (same type I posted a pic of a few weeks back). These fish are known on the island as the best eating fish you can catch from shore, and I've been told that they were once reserved for royalty only. I brought it to the nice lady at the local store where I purchased all of my fishing gear at, to thank her for all of her help, and since I don't really know how to scale/gut/cook it. She brought me in the back, taught me how to scale and gut it, and then graciously gave it back to me to bring home and cook. It was delicious, although fish always taste better when you catch it yourself...

This weekend, I took a quick trip over to Oahu, and stayed with my friend Andy's girlfriend Anna in Honolulu. We went to a local spot called Side Street Inn to eat Friday night, and then out to the bar with some of her friends, who were all very friendly.  Oahu is very different from Kauai, and Honolulu is much like any other major city, so this was a much needed change of pace for me. Saturday morning, I got up early and did a short hike to the top of Diamond Head Crater. The views were really awesome.

After that, I drove up to the North Shore and went swimming with the sharks. While the first group was in the water, the group of us that were still on the boat got very lucky and saw a few whales surface. When it was our turn to enter the water, I surprisingly wasn't nervous at all. The water was extremely blue and clear, and there were sharks everywhere. They were mostly Galapagos sharks, anywhere from 6 to 15 feet. We were out in an area where crabbers often go, so the crew told us that the sharks have been conditioned to associate the sound of the boat's engines with food (crabs that don't meet the size limits and get thrown overboard). But I never once saw one of them make an aggressive move of any sort. It is really cool how close you are to them, with just some metal bars between you.

The crew told us that there was a big surfing competition a few miles away at a beach called Banzai Pipeline. Well, apparently this was pretty big surf event, and the road going there is 1 lane, so the "few miles took" me almost 2 hours... But it was a very nice drive, passing by some really cool beaches, and extremely expensive looking houses. The drive proved well worth it, because the event was really something else. I was shocked to see the thousands of people on the beach, as well as how close I could stand to the water. At one point, Kelly Slater walked by me and I got a great picture. Kelly Slater by the way is known as the hands down greatest surfer of all time (7 time world champ), and is still doing it in his 40s. The waves were massive, many well over 20 feet, and far bigger than I have ever seen in person. I got there just in time to see the two Semi Final heats, and the Finals, so it was some great surfing. Each heat was 35 minutes, and the surfers got to use their two top scores. Whenever someone dropped into a big wave and briefly disappeared into the "pipe," the whole crowd kind of gasped and held their breaths, and if the guy emerged still standing, the crown went wild. Overall, very different and worthwhile experience. I think I heard the word gnarly well over 50 times...

After that, I headed back to Honolulu and went to a BBQ with Anna and some of her friends. It's very cool to hear people's stories about how they ended up in Hawaii. Some grew up there, some moved for school or work, and some just wanted to try something new. Sunday morning I went to Pearl Harbor, which was a very humbling and captivating experience. The tour started with a half hour long video, which explained the events leading up to Pearl Harbor, footage from the attack, and the events that followed. Then, a boat captained by the US Navy took us out to the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits on the water on top of the actual sunken wreckage itself. The smell of oil which still seeps from the ship was surprisingly strong. It was fascinating to hear some of the stories from the park rangers. The one that stuck with me was the fact that many of survivors from the USS Arizona's crew (of which 1177 perished and 335 survived) choose to be laid to rest with their fallen brothers. So when they pass, they are creamated, and after a ceremony aboard the memorial, a Navy diver brings their urn down to the wreckage to be laid.

After Pearl Harbor, I caught a glimpse of a few of the NFL games over lunch, and then headed to the airport and back to Kauai. Oahu was awesome and I'm going to try and make it back in a few months if I can, as there are some awesome hikes I would like to try. I'll be home the two weekends for the holidays (very excited to see everyone!), so next post won't be for a few weeks. Mele Kalikimaka everyone!