At last, I am taking you all on the second part of my daily drive from Mililani to Kahuku. Thanksgiving weekend turned out to be the perfect time to make the trip with lots of stops to take pictures. In Part I, we left off our little drive just past Hale'iwa, a quaint North Shore town. Here we are again on the two-lane Kamehameha Highway that connects Mililani, Kahuku, and much of the island.
As we begin this part of the drive, a little house with this sign posted out front has always caught my eye. Only in Hawaii:
My drive then takes me up a little hill and then opens up to this amazing view of Waimea Bay. On the far side of the bay, you can see the steeple from St.Peter and Paul's Catholic Church which overlooks surfers, swimmers, sunbathers, and boogie-boarders.
On a day with big winter waves like today, surfers wait out in the bay for the perfect wave to ride in.
Across from Waimea Bay, along "Kam" Highway, I pass the Waimea Valley Audubon Center. I've never actually been inside, but the entryway looks inviting. Its on the list.
Then, I come to the Pupukea area, which is the last business district of any sort before I arrive in Kahuku several miles further down the road. The Foodland grocery store is always packed with surfers, tourists, and other North Shore inhabitants. When I stop there to pick up treats for my students, I inevitably run into another Kahuku teacher doing the same thing.
Across from the Foodland is the Sunset Beach Fire House. Probably the best view for a firehouse anywhere in the whole U.S.A.
Next door to the Foodland, I pass Shark's Cove Grill (Yummy!) before arriving at Shark's Cove itself.
On my left, I pass Shark's Cove. For the record, it gets its name from its shape. While not impossible, I've never heard of sharks coming into the cove. When the surf is calm, Shark's Cove is an amazing place for snorkeling as it is filled with beautiful coral reefs and colorful reef fish.
After passing Shark's Cove, I come to Ehukai Park - home to the Banzai Pipeline - which sits across from Sunset Beach Elementary School. I tend to think that kids that can walk across the street after school and watch the waves at a place as beautiful Ehukai must be some of the luckiest kids on earth. These same kids attend Kahuku High and Intermediate School after they finish 6th grade.
Check out how the nutty surfers have covered the stop sign at the park in surfing stickers:
The next landmark on my drive is this large tiki-looking object, which sits adjacent to a few little shops.
At last, I come to Sunset Beach. This is my favorite beach in Hawaii. The wave forecast on the day of these pictures predicted 15-25 foot sets. I don't think they'd reached that height, but they were still bigger than I'm willing to swim. In the summer time, Sunset Beach is an awesome place to swim and snorkel. Now that the winter swells are coming, it is a supreme place to watch expert surfers.
In fact, O'Neill was getting ready to host something when I stopped by.
Another great feature of Sunset Beach is the running/biking trail which parallels the shore.
I don't usually stop on my way to school, but I jumped out of my car to get my picture taken.
Just past Sunset Beach, I come to Ted's Bakery. If you come to the North Shore, Ted's Bakery is a great place to stop for food. They have scrumptious pies and baked goods. They also have the best burgers on the island, in my humble opinion.
Past Ted's is a little University of Hawaii Agricultural facility. There are usually sheep grazing in the fields, but they must have been asleep on the day I came through with my camera.
Still, I got this nice shot of the windmill.
The next unusual place I pass is Crawford's Convalescent Home. Should I ever need to convalesce, I would happily do it here.
This odd and gutted historic building sits adjacent to the home, too. I'm not sure what the connection is, but its a neat sight.
After passing Crawford's, I start to see more and more little fruit stands. While they are closed in the early morning, in the afternoon I can stop in and get fresh pineapple and all kinds of other fresh produce that comes straight from the many farms in the area.
This little park is the next eye-catcher on my drive. I'm not even sure what its called, but its such a beautiful little spot and surprisingly un-crowded.
After Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay, the last famed place along my drive is the Turtle Bay Resort. It is a beautifully groomed section of the shoreline, but it has a tenuous relationship with its North Shore neighbors. Its owners have dreams of expanding the resort, but most residents of the North Shore fear that this will jeopardize the rural quality of the area. Bumper stickers that read "Keep the North Shore Country" are seen everywhere in this area and are quietly directed at Turtle Bay and other hopeful developers.
Still, it has a beautiful golf course that is host to major PGA/LPGA competitions.
One of the last places I pass on my way to Kahuku is Fumi's Shrimp Truck. Besides football, Kahuku's claim to fame is its farm-raised shrimp. Fumi's shrimp truck serves fresh shrimp straight from the farm. They will cook the shrimp for you a dozen or so different ways. You can sit and enjoy the salty sea breeze, delicious shrimp, and icy beverage in a totally relaxed atmosphere.
The shrimp is grown in little ponds some of which are less than 50 yards from the truck. Talk about fresh!
After passing the shrimp ponds, I come to a wildlife preserve. Its another place I've never been, but its on my list.
At last I reach Kahuku. As I roll into the tiny one-stoplight town, I pass the Kahuku Sugar Mill. Now a historic site, the Sugar Mill used to be an important part of the North Shore's economy.
And finally, I reach Kahuku's one and only stoplight. Kahuku High and Intermediate School sits here, in the heart of the little town, immediately across the street from the Kahuku Suprette.
The unremarkable looking Kahuku Suprette has some of the best Poke (Hawaiian style raw tuna) anywhere on the island. Yummy! Believe it or not, this haole mainlander loves the stuff!
Last but not least, the Pride of the North Shore: Kahuku High and Intermediate School. The school of 1800 students sits at the foot of the mountains, less than a 1/2 mile inland from the beach. Like Sunset Elementary kids, I wonder if these students know how lucky they are. I certainly am lucky to be a teacher there.
It was a mighty fun evening to be in Hawaii. The chatter over the Warriors had already spread from the die-hard fans to virtually every person on the island. Even signs on "TheBus" city buses flashed "Go Warriors!" in between route numbers. George and I watched the nail-biter against Washington last night from the comfort of our living room, but nearly 7% of the island population watched the game live at Aloha Stadium. The other 700,000 of us cheered from our living rooms. And with windows open, you could hear the cheering over the intermittent rain showers. When the team finally locked in its victory (in the last minute of the game), it sounded like New Year's Eve or some island-wide party.
