Surfing & Rainforest Hiking on Oahu

This week had memorable moments that re-affirmed why we love travel nursing. I'm so thankful God put the desire on Caleb's heart years ago to pursue this. We are enjoying new activities, new sights and places, and meeting new people (I could write a whole other blog post about meeting new friends in Hawaii). This week had some surfing, sunset walks along the beach, rainforest hiking to waterfalls, tropical ocean views, fireworks over the beach, and us enjoying all of this time together.

I met with a few moms this past week to talk about babysitting on some days Caleb is working. While I was chatting with one mom -Rosalie- she invited Caleb and I to come surfing with them the next day! That's the Hawaiian and island culture for you. Ohana means family in Hawaiian. This sweet couple treated us as ohana and welcomed us right into their lives. Danny, her husband, took Caleb out to teach him how to surf. Caleb loved it! I enjoyed sitting on the beach with Rosalie and their daughters. Caleb said it was a lot more physical work than the good surfers make it look. And he also said as a beginner the waves feel bigger when you are riding on them than they look. He is ready to go surfing again. I may try learning getting out on a board sometime soon.

Rosalie and Danny introduced us to Japanese Udon noodles. We had never tried this before and Rosalie talked us into going even after Caleb said he wasn't too hungry and was so tired after surfing. I'm glad she talked us into trying the udon. They were delicious and the price was much better than you would expect to find a block from Waikiki. We will be back! Caleb was glad we went when he realized he had worked up an appetite after surfing.

I learned the shaka sign or "hang loose" sign isn't just a thing of the movies. I may sound funny saying that but I thought it was more of a movie thing and not really something you would see in Hawaii. We have seen people making the shaka sign to say aloha or thank you or that was awesome! It can mean so many things here but always a friendly gesture.

The mountain ranges on Oahu are volcanos which are now extinct. The eastern and northern shores are the windward sides of the island. The eastern coast receives a lot of rainfall and has dense lush rainforest areas in the mountains. We hiked in the Koolau range to the Lulumahu waterfall. We also did another rainforest hike nearby which followed a beautiful stream. The water sounds and the natural landscape of the rainforest felt like a whole other world to us.

After one of our rainforest hikes, we drove the Pali highway from Honolulu to the east coast. I was excited to see the east coast because I read the colors of the water were even more tropical with its bright blues and greens. I wasn't disappointed with the tropical ocean views! This picture above is looking out towards two islets off the coast of Oahu. These are called the Mokulua twin islands. We want to ocean kayak to them one day. We will be back on the east coast when we have more time to explore and relax at its beaches.

Caleb captured some great photos during one of our sunset walks. This was taken in Ko Olina where we live. The waves were crashing hard against the rocks this night. I love how the photo below shows how big the setting sun looks on the horizon over the ocean.