Oahu has surprised me on many levels so far.  With access to a car, you can really go explore every corner and find yourself on a turquoise secluded beach easily. That’s exactly what I did on the North Shore.  Ron and I drove to the North Shore to do the Shark Cage Experience early in the morning and decided to make a whole road trip out of it.  My North Shore day turned out to be one of my favorite days so far!

After floating with the sharks near the town of Haleiwa, we grabbed a big breakfast and then took off for the end of the road…literally. We drove towards Ka’ena Point until we could go no further.  The road used to go around the Northwest corner of Oahu, but due to poor road conditions and erosion, it is no longer a functioning road.  So we drove until the road turned to dirt, and then pulled over and parked near a little beach.

There was NO ONE at the beach.  I was in Hawaii…on a beach…a beautiful white sand beach…..turquoise waters….waves lapping up on shore…and not a single soul around me.  It seemed impossible that this could be Hawaii.  I promptly laid out a big blanket, put my bag down, kicked off my flip-flops and laid down to take a nap.  Now this is my definition of paradise.

After a quick power nap, we were up and heading back to Hale’iwa for a ‘must-eat’…shave ice.  No, that’s not a typo, it’s called shave ice – not shaved ice.  (If anyone knows why – please let me know!)  I had heard about this cool treat and now it was my chance to dig in.  My verdict…it was like a snow cone, but the ice was much more fine. My mango, passion fruit, and strawberry shave ice hit the spot and we were on our way again.

Next, we came face to face with the quintessential Hawaii – Waimea Bay – home of the biggest waves around.  I was quite excited to see these monster waves and the surfers who ride them, however, luck was not on our side – the surf was flat.  Just another reason to come back one day.

The North Shore drive is dotted with tantalizing treats.  Food trucks like Giovanni’s are famous for their shrimp.  As we pulled up there were lines and lines of people waiting for their styrofoam plate of shrimp flooded in garlic.  And so I sauntered up to the counter and ordered my very own plate of garlic shrimp.  After using an entire container of napkins, I was finished with my garlicky, bathed in butter shrimp, and realized that I would be wreaking of garlic for days…but it was worth it!

On the healthier side, the North Shore is also dotted with fresh fruit and vegetable stands.  We filed our back seat with plenty of Hawaiian-grown produce and kept moving along the North Shore.  After all of this food, it was time for another nap.  Beaches line the North shore so it was only a matter of minutes until we found another little beach to spread out the blanket and take another power nap.  Yes – that’s right…two beach naps in one day; this very well may have been the best day ever!

Discover things to do on Lanai – not your typical Hawaiian island

Finally – it was time for dessert at Ted’s Bakery where we had yummy haupia (coconut gel) pie.

Yes – all we did was eat and sleep all day.  It’s a rough life on the North Shore.

We finally turned the corner towards the mountainous Windward Coast and pointed the car full of food towards Kailua.

Quite possibly the perfect day.