We rented a house on the North Shore just outside Hauula which would sleep 9 people. It was said to be “27 girly steps” from the beach. It seemed to me to be further than that, but it was still very well located. This was the part of the trip for relaxation. The days were mostly composed of going to the beach, napping, eating and cruising the web on the fast internet connection at the house.

The beach was a good swimming beach this time of year. In the winter the north shore sees big waves and surfers but this time of year we did not really see enough waves to bodysurf at any of the beaches we stopped at.

Thursday we drove around the north shore. We stopped at some food spots like Giovanni’s shrimp truck. Giovanni’s is an institution that had a big crowd each time we passed. They have tables and awnings setup and were parked with a shave ice truck as well. The whole area is thick with the aroma of garlic. Our group had mixed reviews of the shrimp. Some really enjoyed it but Joan thought they were way too tough and chewy. Giovanni’s truck has been signed by the various customers. Look for “Christensen, San Jose 09″ near the passenger’s side window.

We stopped briefly at the Turtle Bay resort. It is a lovely resort built much closer to the ocean than is currently allowed. Although, what stood out for us was the color of the stop signs.

We stopped at Waimea beach which would be filled with surfers surfing the big waves during the winter but had a calm surf this time of year. Waimea also has a particularly strange form of tree called a shoe tree which holds footwear that apparently was left at the beach.

We ate in Haleiwa with half the group at Kua ‘Aina Sandwich Shop and half at Pizza Bob’s‎. We enjoyed both of them. Kua ‘Aina Sandwich Shop is a chain with two shops in Hawaii and the rest in Japan. Dave also just managed to duck into Matsumoto’s for shave ice before they closed the door. The rest of us had to “settle” for ice cream at Scoop of Paradise‎.

Friday we visited the Pu’u O Mahuka Heiau state monument.

Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau is the largest heiau (religious site or temple) on O’ahu, covering almost 2 acres. The name is translated as “hill of escape”.

The road to the heiau is potholed and narrow with bone crunching speed bumps.

We also made a quick visit to Waimea Arboretum Botanical Garden‎ where we took pictures of the peacocks but opted not to spend $10 each to see the whole garden. After all, as one of my traveling companions pointed out, any place you put a fence around in Hawaii could be a botanical garden.