February 2025

We visited the island of Oahu in the Aloha State. It’s been about thirty years since we last visited Oahu. We flew into Honolulu and quickly made our way from hustling-bustling Honolulu to the peace and tranquility of Turtle Bay on the North Shore.

We took advantage of the trails in and around the resort to hike and bike to the view the nesting albatross, the golf courses, the gorgeous shoreline and the resort’s farm. The resort farm supplies much of the fresh produce for the restaurants and hosts several fruit stands.

Brian played golf and I spent time playing tennis and pickleball. There are two golf courses, two tennis courts and six pickleball courts at Turtle Bay resort.

The North Shore is a renowned surf spot. We were delighted to find that the first event in the World Surf League competition was on: the Pro Pipe at the Bonzai Pipeline. Thrilling to watch and so fun to photograph. The stars were out and we were able to see the local hero and three-time world champion, John John Florence, Betty Lou (Sakura) Johnson -gotta love the name, and Lee Slater, a golden oldie, and the mens winner Barron Mamiya of Hawaii. At the end of final day, we dined a couple tables over from Barron Mamiya and his boisterous posse. Excitement was in the air.

It’s been a goal of mine to photograph a whale breach. It’s an elusive goal because the breach happens so fast and it almost has to happen in the spot where you have your camera pointed and it also has to happen when you have your eye to the viewfinder to get good focus. I took a whale watching tour at Hale’iwa and sure enough, the whales were present. I found a fun mom and baby and many dolphins. The best breach was not on the tour but from our hotel room balcony, about 3/4-1 mile away. The goal persists…

In addition to surfing, the North Shore is abundant with food trucks. It’s a food truck culture and parks are everywhere. We ate our share and enjoyed it very much. The highlight though had to be seeing the wild pig, “Harold”, running through while we dined at Seven Brothers for burgers and shakes.

Aloha,

Betty and Brian