Sears, Journey Around the Island, Local Artist By Chance, A Touch Of Sunburn, Another Wedding Party

Today's post will be heavy on pictures.
I decided tho drive around the island, but I wanted to do it differently than I have "traditionally" done it. This time I want to travel counterclockwise. A couple of reasons for this. One is so I see familiar sights from a different perspective, and another is to avoid having to traverse Honolulu in rush hour traffic. I've done that before and it really colored the positive enjoyment of the drive.
I start by heading to Sears in the Pearlridge Shopping Centre. I realize it's a strange place to start but I have a need for some additional clothing. I found an invitation slipped under my door late the other night. It was an invitation by the hotel to a sunset cocktail party in the Leahi Lounge on the 30th floor. http://www.sheraton-waikiki.com/roomsandsuites/leahiclub
Why they have invited me is a bit of a mystery. In most of my regular life I try not to attract attention to myself (current reading excepted), and I definitely don't show up on the radar of "executive level" lounges. This lounge has a touch of exclusivity to it as it's only available to those who have "purchased" Club Level rooms. I don't recall having done that. I RSVP'ed and now need appropriate clothing. I didn't pack any dressier clothes as I was hoping for a beach bum/quiet sun and sand vacation. I should have known my father was right (usually was) when he suggested to always pack something decent, just in case.
So I bought some Dockers and an inexpensive, yet tasteful (at least in my eyes) Hawaiian style shirt.
Leaving Sears I manage to find my way back to the Freeway heading north, through the Schofield Barracks area and over the top into farm country.

This field has just been harvested and, sadly and shamefacedly, I don't know what they grew here. I just found a break in the side of the road and drove into the field. The color of the soil and the color of the sky are so different to what we see at home, that I stood there for 10 minutes just soaking it up.
Heading down into the area where turn off is for north to Hale'iwa or west to Mokule'ia Beach and Dillingham Airfield.

I discovered Mokule'ia on my last visit and fell in love with it's purity and simplicity. It's also the end of the road, again.

If you walk along this dirt track you will eventually reach Kaena Point. If you keep walking another couple of hours beyond that you will find yourself at Yokohama Bay. That's where we were the day before, the other end, of the end of the road.
The surf here is more aggressive than it currently is at Yokohama, and in winter when Yokohama is really high, it is even higher still here. For now, it's just the right height, just the right shades of blues and greens, and just the right volume to let me sit and stare for a while more. I shoot some video, and some stills, and get sea mist on the lenses of my glasses and the camera. I don't mind at all. There is peace in the sounds and sights, and the wind itself is friendly and warm.

I have the good fortune to meet a couple from the Pacific Northwest. They got married on this spot twenty years ago. They ask if I can take a picture of them both with their backs to the sea and volcanic rock. I am always happy to oblige people in these things. They are very happy with the picture and say it will be their Christmas Card image they use this year.
One of the more fascinating things I discovered the last time I was here are the seashells buried in the rock. like fossils they are caught in the lava rock, as if the molten stew could not conquer the hardness of the shell.

Leaving the end of the road I head east again stopping here and there to get shot's of more of Mokul'eia beach. This is not a small beach, it runs for a mile or so.

I have spent nearly an hour and a half here already, and it's just after 1. Some of you LOST fans might even recognise the scenery. A lot of the beach scenes were shot here and all along Mokul'eia Beach.
I need to press on if I want to get back for supper. I almost don't stop when I see some kite surfers on the water, but I make a heartbeat decision to turn into the parking lot. I'm glad I did.

As I'm walking back to the Malibu I spy a vintage 1940's era car in almost immaculate condition. In front of the car is a gentleman prepping his windsurf board. Just as I'm about to ask if I can take a picture he says he doesn't allow pictures of the car itself, but he'll take a picture of me in front of it. I couldn't decline that offer, but I'm also not posting the picture here. We start a great conversation. His name is Michael Hemperly and he's a local artist who practices the ancient and almost lost Japanese art of Gyotaku. That's the art of making and inked impression of a recently caught fish on to rice paper. He shows me a framed sample and I'm quite taken with it. So taken with it, I buy it on the spot. Michael then wraps it up in multiple layers of stiff cardboard so it's safe to travel in my suitcase.
You can check out the work of both him and his wife, Ilona on their website here:  www.alohaislandart.com
I drive on out to Hale'iwa, but take a wrong turn on a dismally signposted road and wind up almost back at the farm field where I started. I begin to feel a time pressure then laugh at my pathetic ignorance. I'm supposed to be on Island Time!!
I finally see a rusty sign as I pass a high school for the second time, then nearly make the same mistake again and only spot the "Hale'iwa Road" sign at the last second. There were almost squeals of brakes and horns as I quickly turn left. The original plan was to stop and wander through the town but I choose to gas up and continue the road trip, sometimes in very slow traffic especially in beach areas. I pass through some small villages, past the legendary surfing spots of Pipeline, Sunset, and Banzai. I get dumped on in a short but heavy rain shower, all the while being tailgated by a Ford Explorer. Don't know why she was tailgating me, there were seven other vehicles ahead of me.
I also get sunburned. On my left thigh. By the sun coming through the window. Not the whole thigh, just the bottom one third. Today it looks both funny, and silly. I never had mismatched kneecaps before.
I pass the sugar mill at Kahuku and just east of there pass by a large wind "farm"

I press on through the afternoon, past shrimp trucks, and small towns, and through Laie which is the home to Brigham Young University. The light off the water to my left and through the foliage to my right, as well as the mountains shrouded in late afternoon cloud are visually stunning. I have Jeff Golub and Euge Groove playing on my i-Pod Classic and their jazz artistry plays well with the visuals.
I stop in Kualoa Beach Park to look at Mokoli'i Island or as it's better known, Chinaman's Hat.

I stay here about half an hour watching the gentle surf, listening again to the sea and the wisdom of the wind. This never gets old, and I hope in all my days it never will.

As I'm walking back to the car, I spy another wedding party. Or maybe it's the same one following me around. Regardless, there seem to be an awful lot of them.

I through  Kanehoe by the skin of my teeth as the roads, the turns and the changes in highways are poorly marked. Some of it is instinct, and a lot of it is remembering some landmarks from previous visits, even though I am heading in the opposite direction.
On past Makapuu Point, through Hanauma Bay, the expanded suburbs of Hawaii Kai, and once again try to get into Waikiki. Somebody has traffic coned off an entire lane and is preventing left hand turns into Waikiki. Following in the footsteps of so many other drivers, I pull an illegal U-turn on Kapiolani Drive and head back into Waikiki.
Tired, sun sore, and somewhat exhausted after the bad sleep of the night before I opt for the familiar and head the half block to Buffet's At The Beachcomber. A couple of Landsharks, a fabulous Surf 'N Turf, and some great music later, I head back to soak up some starry night sky and a couple of bottles of Kona Longboard from the stash in the room's fridge.
The sleep was great.