Ko'Olina

I have been told how great Ko'Olina is and how beautiful and peaceful it is there, but it went above and beyond my expectations and that seems to be the case with most new places I visit here in Oahu. Anyway, after I got done with the gym I decided instead of heading home I would check out the lagoon's at Ko'Olina. It was a quick drive down to the shore with the windows down and the smell of the ocean air filling up the truck. Ko'Olina delivered...big time! I practically jumped out of the truck just excited to explore a little. After walking around for a bit I found a little spot along the rocks, sat down and put my earphones in and listened to general conference. {side bar: Best place ever to listen to conference by the way!} The peace and serenity engulfed my body and the the little bubble that surrounded me with thoughts of this beauty of earth and that it has been created for us. I felt such gratitude to be there. The waves that would roll and come crashing against the rock came in perfect harmony with the one speaker who spoke on having a sure foundation. I also felt that it wasn't a coincidence that I had ended up in Ko'Olina today and to listen to conference. One speakers talk allowed for perfect imagery as  foundation of the shore line was being thrashed with each coming wave. The primary song kept coming to mind along with thoughts about our foundations being sure and unwavering...

"

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."

Life is a lot like the ocean. It comes in sets. At times it seems overwhelming with each toppling wave after another, but as it soon as seems to be just to much to bear the set lets up and the ocean is calm for just a couple moments.

^^^this little guy has seen better days^^^

Waimea Bay

Julius and I spent the day at Waimea Bay up on the North Shore. The weather was overcast with a light sprinkle of rain every now and then. Honestly, the North Shore makes up for Oahu. Big Time. It's basically the island's saving grace. When I was picturing Oahu I pictured a quaint ocean front surfer's paradise, scatted with hole in the wall surf-n-turf restaurants in their original dilapidated charm filled state...Boy, was I wrong. Thank goodness for Haleiwa and the North Shore they definitely picked up the slack from Waikiki and Honolulu and gave me exactly what I was hoping for and had pictured. If only we lived up there. 

Waimea is just so chill. The bay parking lot was full that day and we ended up having to park in the Waimea Falls parking lot (which hopefully we get a chance to see sometime soon). The waves were intense and I was just wanting to observe and watch all the boogie boarders get tossed and turned in the shore break. Julius was riding and loving the waves so much that he attempted multiple times at "encouraging" me to come into the water. I went reluctantly. Unfortunately I'm not a little mermaid who can just dive in  head first to waves much taller than I am and a shore break that is crashing literally straight down on the shore line. I try to be brave but the ocean makes me a little nervous...and to be honest rip-tides scare the living day lights out of me.

I did muster up some courage after one of the sets were over to go and ride some of the little "baby" waves as julius calls them. I did enjoy it...Julius was very patient with me and allowing me to freakout a little when I would see a wave about ready to crest, and my immediate reaction would be, "babe!! it's going to get us!!" So after my short session I decided to jump out of the water and take some pictures of my swimmer dude riding the waves. I think I got some good ones. He was definitely pleased with the outcome.

 ^^^favorite^^^

 ^^^if you look closely you can see people getting tossed^^^

 ^^^deciding whether or not I would go out again...um, maybe next time^^^

 ^^^it was a good day^^^

Irma

This is Irma. She is 17 years old. Is very much alive just taking a rest {I thought she was dead but lucky for me a sweet little man informed me that seals rest and digest on the beach}. There are only 1,000 left of her kind in the world. 4.5% die every year. She's a momma. She is also a loner unlike most of the seals from the northwest coast of the mainland. And I love her.

Tails & Spouts

The first couple of pictures were taken at a blowhole scenic stop and park place. The waves weren't quite strong enough to really see and anything blow but there was a tiny bit of activity happening just not enough to keep me interested. So I turned my attention to the ocean and as we were looking out admiring the big blue all of the sudden I saw a whale tail {that was it! it was a moment} & then I saw mists in the distance of a pod of whales spouting as if the whale tails weren't enough. Thanks whales, you officially made my first day in Hawaii perfect. I was completely giddy and excited!!! Never in my life have I seen a whale in the wild {because does sea world really count...} and on top of the whale tail another pod's spouting mist. Pretty cool Hawaii. I have fallen for you. Fallen hard.

Diamond Head Hike

I'm here!! I finally arrived in Hawaii. Julius took me to Diamond Head State Monument early in the morning to get our day started. It was gorgeous. The view was incredible but {sorry in advance} by far the best part was just being with Julius again... 2 months apart is just TOO long. Just being able to hold hands or crack an inside joke or just glance over and have my love next to me was enough and exactly what I was looking forward too.

Am I really in Hawaii?? agh! I keep kind of pinching myself in hopes that reality will set in. This new adventure of ours is going to be lots & lots of fun!