Backup Plan

Knowing that tours to the USS Arizona Memorial have been cancelled in the past due to high winds or dock repairs, when I made reservations eight weeks ago, I bought tickets for both today and Monday, just in case. The cost was minimal ($1/person), so it was well worth it to give us two shots on goal.

As it turned out, all tours out to the memorial were suspended the day we arrived on Kauaʻi because the shoreside dock required repairs. I have been stalking the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Facebook page for updates ever since. Yesterday I saw a post that visits were set to resume tomorrow. Yay!

So, our backup plan for today was a scenic auto tour around the island!

Our first stop was Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua for Snow Puffies, a puff pastry filled with custard and dusted with powdered sugar. A little messy to eat, but soooo yummy!

We decided against spending time in Haleiwa, so as a result, Matsumoto Shave Ice got skipped over, too. Continuing on Kamehameha Highway, we saw signs for Waimea Valley although we weren't exactly sure what there was to do/see here. When we realized that there was an admission fee of $20/person, we knew that we didn't want to pay that much to find out.

However, it was completely free to watch a surf competition at Banzai Pipeline (Google says it was HIC Pipe Pro 2021). Luckily we found a place to park along the road and walked a short ways back to ʻEhukai Beach Park. 

Need a lot more surfing lessons before attempting these!

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Beautiful beach!

We kept driving clockwise around the island to Turtle Bay, but the surf was too high to do any snorkeling at Kulima Cove. So we pushed onward to Kahuku for lunch! Since there is a big food truck scene here, we opted to divide and conquer. M and R picked Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, while J and I chose Mike's Huli Chicken. ʻOno grinds broke da mouth!

Lemon butter shrimp and shrimp scampi 

Huli (rotisserie) chicken and kalua pork plate

On the windward side of Oʻahu, we hopped out of the car for a photo op at Kahana Bay...

...and then again at Kualoa Regional Park for views of the mountain cliffs of Kualoa Ranch (filming location of Jurassic Park and many other movies/TV shows) and Mokoliʻi.

aka Chinaman's Hat

At this point, the boys really wanted to find someplace to snorkel, so we thought our best bet would be on the south shore. One of M's friends from UCLA Concrete Canoe was also here for a family vacation and staying in the same building (small world!), so she met up with us at Kaimana Beach. 

After a nap on the sand for me and some so-so snorkeling for the rest of the family, we packed up for the short drive back to the condo. Then the three Bruins walked over to Kuhio Beach to catch the sunset.

Final stop for the day was Marukame Udon for dinner. Since it was only a couple blocks from the condo, we walked over and got in line, which stretched around the block. The handmade udon noodles and side dishes are served cafeteria-style, so thankfully the line moved reasonably fast. Definitely worth the wait!