Speaking of shopping, we stopped at a little strip mall this morning to get some traditional Portuguese donuts, or masaladas, which were being made on the spot by some local women, to kick off Fat Tuesday. My dad was telling us that these deep fried pastries are made on Fat Tuesaday as a means to rid your pantry of lard and sugar, lest you be tempted to indulge yourself during Lent. Hmmm...
Unfortunately, before we were even able to enjoy our morning, we sat through a timeshare sales presentation at our resort. My parents listened too, and in the endwe of course declined. However, we graciously accepted the major discounts they had offered us for a sunset catamaran trip!
Anyways, once that fun little waste of time was over, we changed into swimwear and left for the North Shore. My dad was the official tour guide/driver and my mom assisted by shooting some video for us from the front seat, since Josh and I were packed into the back of the Escape.
Along the way we stopped at a few scenic overlooks. We took some pictures, bartered with old hippies over bamboo flutes, and fed cheese to chickens.
The views were breathtaking (to sound cliche).
When we got up to the North Shore, we stole glances of Princeville, but really nothing more. We also looked into the wet and dry caves as we drove past, but didn't stop to spelunk. Our goal was to get to Tunnels, a beach up North with tunnel-like caverns between coral reefs. The plan was to do a little snorkeling, but upon our arrival, we found "No Swimming" signs posted on the beach due to the high waves (not seen in the photo below).
We waded just the same, but unfortunately, weren't able to partake in any underwater sightseeing. So, after braving the mildly cold water and the rip currents, we sat on the shore for a bit and just screwed around.
Once we tired of Josh's "dancing" we drove to the end of the highway, turned around and scoped out the next place of interest. That place ended up being "Banana Joe's" where we stopped for smoothies. You don't get to request a flavor here; you get what you get. And what we got was good!
Our last stop before heading back to Kapa'a was 'Anini. There we were able to snorkel, but aside from the coral reefs just a foot underwater, there wasn't much to see. My mom and I kept swimming out farther and farther in hopes of seeing more fish, but we eventually came to a massive drop off in the seafloor which was enough to spook me back to shore!
Josh and I got in the hot tub for a bit when we got back to our resort and chatted with two older women from Rhode Island and a young unmarried "Morman" couple from Salt Lake City. The ladies were absolute dolls; however, the couple, total freakers. We were literally saved by the Grace of God from these weirdos when He Divinly interevened by pouring rain on us just as they were cornering us. I don't know what their intentions were, but they were honestly just slowly pinning us up against the side of the pool like zombies. Eek!
Well, I think it's about time for bed. Tonight we stuffed ourselves silly at a local joint with fish, chicken and steak and I just don't think I have the mental capacity to sum up any more thoughts from today.
