Day 2: RIP The Beet Box Cafe, Long Live Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Startled awake at 5:30am by a sense that I'd overslept (11:30am EST), I got up after a few hours of sleep and watched the sun gradually lighten the sky from Janine's porch.

I engaged in my usual inner struggle - to run or not to run? - and eventually geared up, heading down Janine's complex driveway, where I startled some petite white cranes with my all-around speed, and out toward the military base. Last time I took up running in Hawaii I usually followed one of two paths - right out the driveway or left - I turned right this time, not wanting to deal with the hills and twists on the left-route, and huffed and puffed along while rocking out to some inspiring jams.

The sun was high and I was feeling okay, albeit struggling to breathe. The views while running were appropriately breathtaking on their own and did a good job of distracting me from my discomfort. I ran along a path to the start of the Marine Corp Base, where I would have needed Janine and two forms of ID to enter, then jogged back home with a sense of mild accomplishment.

After a light breakfast and some morning activities, Janine's tenant, Jess, and I packed up to head out to the North Shore for the rest of the day. My short-lived refresher course to driving Zac's standard in Rochester turned out to be unnecessary as Janine had upgraded her old car for... a Mini Cooper! Specifically a red, convertible Mini Cooper. The controls in the car looked like a space ship and as we drove, hair all over our faces and the sun beating down, I felt a little bit like I was driving on the set of an Austin Powers film.

Lemon and Vanilla
 Macadamia Nut Ice Cream

The whole drive I talked up the Beet Box Cafe, my favorite place on the North Shore, until I could practically taste the tofu, broccoli, egg, and ginger scramble and was thoroughly torn by the prospective smoothie options. Sadly, when we pulled up to the unassuming red-shingled building, it was closed and my dreams of consuming their sweet, sweet organic vegetarian fare were dashed. No one in Haleiwa could explain why it wasn't open and their Facebook page issued some vague excuse about being closed for a few weeks. I later learned that they are reopening in a new location, although not for a few weeks. We wandered the boutiques in search of a suitable replacement, unsuccessful, until I caved in and ended up eating ice cream for lunch from the delicious Scoop of Paradise and smoothies from a stand called Haleiwa Bowls.


Our next stop was Three Tables Beach on the North Shore, where we set up in the shade (it was 92 degrees) and bathed in sunscreen. Heading down to the water with snorkeling gear, we tried to enter the water at one point on the beach only to be bowled over by some persistent waves. A second attempt further down the beach was more successful.

 Upon plunging my face into the salty water an entire world not visible from the shore came clearly, and delightfully, into view.

Here's what I love about snorkeling: once you get past the feeling that you are suffocating and learn to take long, deep breaths through the snorkel, you can focus on the underwater terrain, which is diverse and, at times, rather unexpected. I spent about half of my time actively swimming from one part of the reef to another, taking in the dozens of species of fish that were gently kissing the coral, and the other half of my time just drifting with the waves, being surprised by what passedbeneath me, and bobbing back and forth with the current.

Sometimes schools of fish, startled by my presence, would take off in a cloud and I could feel their tiny fins on my legs as they struggled to get away from the danger of the giant fish swimming clumsily above them. Most were unthreatened by my presence and would go about their business in all their beautiful splendor. I saw fish in hues of electric blue, neon yellow, and olive green; fish the size of large dinner plates and others the length of my pinky finger; one that I'm certain inspired my favorite children's book, The Rainbow Fish, and many of Marlin's friends from Finding Nemo. Most notably I swam through a school of my favorite Hawaiian fish - Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - whose painted lips resemble thickly-applied white lipstick. I hope to acquire an underwater camera to capture some of these images next time I snorkel!

Upon returning home I rinsed the sand and salt from my body and got ready for dinner with the lovely Janine, who was off working with sea lions and birds at Sea Life Park for the day.

We went to Tokoname Sushi, a sushi restaurant that Derrick and Janine had taken me to two years prior for my birthday. Here we feasted on edamame, dumplings, Ahi Tataki (seared ahi tuna with cajun spices), and my new favorite, Salmon Furikake (boiled salmon served with spicy may, cabbage and micro greens, and a topping of chopped seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, and spices).It was wonderful to talk, catch up, and laugh with my old friend, whom I usually only get to see once a year (if I'm lucky). I am looking forward to a time (possibly soon!) when we will live closer to one another and will not need to cross oceans to have happy nights like this one.


On the way home, realizing that I still needed to complete one more thing off my "must do" list for the day, we stopped for an acai bowl just as Lanikai Juice was closing, and indulged while watching the most recent episode of Game of Thrones together. Looking forward to watching next week's episode with Alicia, Jesse, and Justin, who arrive tomorrow evening. Jet lag caught up with me around dinner tonight and I crashed hard, waking only once at 3am during an exciting dream in which I was slashing at White Walkers with my obsidian glass sword.