Gouda's Cheesewheel

Monday--Kayaking, beach, and bar food

Monday morning was our last planned activity: sea kayaking. We had to catch the shuttle (everyone seems to have Waikiki shuttles, which is convenient) at 8:10 AM, and we figured breakfast was a good idea since we'd be expending a good deal of energy on the excursion. We walked down the block to Wolfgang Puck Express in hopes of obtaining some quick eats (because of the "Express" part, see?) Brent ordered an omelet and a breakfast sandwich for us, along with some fresh fruit. He waited around for them to cook it, while I went to the shuttle stop. I checked us in on the list, but by the time 8:10 rolled around, Brent still wasn't back with the breakfast! He ended up being almost 10 minutes late because the restaurant took so long! So much for Express.

Once on the shuttle, things went better. We arrived in Kailua and got oriented for the guided kayaking trip while gobbling down our breakfast (they wouldn't let us eat it on the shuttle). Then we were off to the beach, Brent and I trading off pulling our double kayak. Our group paddled halfway out to our final destination--a smaller offshore island called Mokulua--and took a rest on the beach, where we did a bit of not-too-impressive snorkeling (though I did see some little striped fishies in the abundant coral). Soon we were on our way again. As we approached the island, the waves began to become bigger and some of them started breaking near us. On the guide's instruction, we turned our boat into the wave to avoid being capsized. The crest splashed over our little kayak, which was quite exhilarating, and after this happened a couple times we were safe to begin progressing again. Landing was easier than expected, and we pulled our boats onto the shore to enjoy a break and a short tour of the island.





After seeing seabirds, deep tide pools, and lots of volcanic rock, we had our lunch then headed back to Kailua. This time there was no stop in the middle, which was fine since the waves were in our favor going this direction. Brent ended up doing most of the paddling, apparently, and he teased me about my weakness for the rest of the afternoon. We rolled the kayak on its dolly back to the headquarters, returned the equipment, rinsed a little sand off, and waited for our shuttle. Since we had about 15 minutes, we got ourselves a tasty treat from a nearby bakery and coffee shop.

The shuttle had several stops in Waikiki. Rather than get off at our hotel, we decided to get off early and play at the beach some more. The waves were a little better than they had been the first day, since we were on a different, less protected portion of beach. Brent had a hard time getting me out of the water, but our sunscreen was wearing off, so it was for the best.

Back at the hotel we showered and formulated a plan for the evening. We had a few last gifts to buy, so we did some shopping while seeking a place for dinner. After checking several menus we finally settled on a modest bar/restaurant called the Red Lion, which had tasty food at reasonable prices, plus good drink specials. We sat at the bar since there were no tables available, and it was just as well because we got our drinks very promptly. I must have had about four Blue Hawaiians, but at 2.50 apiece I couldn't feel too bad. Brent sampled a couple of local Kona beers as well. Conversation centered around brainstorming ideas to start our own bar and restaurant someday.

We called it an early night after dinner, since we had to get up early for our plane home. I was sad to leave, but over all it was a very pleasant trip.

posted by Greta @ 10:05 AM