We all met again at Surf Lanai for breakfast. I had other breakfast choices planned but this was easy and it was good too. This time I got muesli, fresh juice and toast and guava-strawberry jam, yum!
We got on the road around 9:30 am and started the drive to the north shore. Just getting out of the Waikiki area took a while but soon we were on the road driving away from Honolulu. We had downloaded a driving guide called Shaka that would tell us when to stop and what we were seeing along the way.
Our first stop was the Byodo In Temple which is a replica of a Buddhist temple in Japan. It was dedicated in August 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.
There is a bell outside the temple that is customarily rung before entering the temple. It is said that ringing this bell will bring you happiness, blessings, and a long life.
There were lots of birds and chickens that would come and eat bird food right out of your hand!
We left the temple and continued our drive stopping at several of Oahu's north shore beaches.
By the time we made it to the two big surfing beaches on the north shore, there was no parking, something that I was concerned might happen if we didn't get an early enough start. When the waves are big, the local surfers are there and everyone wants to see it, so the parking lots were completely full. Ben really tried but I told him, don't worry, just get us out of here and keep driving!
The Shaka guide directed us to the Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau which is the largest sacred temple on Oahu dating from the 17th century. Puʻu o Mahuka means "Hill of Escape." According to Wikipedia, the upper platform appears to have functioned as a sacrificial temple to bring success in war.
We stopped for lunch in a little town called Haleiwa and rewarded Ben with a shave ice at the famous Matsumoto's for all the driving!
We made it back to Waikiki around 6:00 pm and dropped off the car at Avis. Ben and I decided to walk back to the Royal Hawaiian via the Sheraton beach path and saw a beautiful sunset.
I went back to the hotel room while Ben and Jason and Alice went and had pizza. I started packing up our suitcases since we would be boarding the ship the next day!
