Hawaii June 11th.

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Thank you Hawaii for having more holidays than any other state. With a whole day off, what better place to explore than the North Shore. Oahu is a baby compared to California, but even the drive up to the North Shore feels like a road trip. So all the interns jumped into a car and prepared ourselves for a long day of island sightseeing.

Our first stop was an old fish pond along theĀ Kamehameha highway. Not a single tourist was there. You pull up on the side of the road, walk down the water a little, and hidden behind some trees is a hundred year old fish pond. There was a pretty view of the mountains, but what was spectacular was knowing that this was a piece of untouched land still hidden from most visitors. I felt like such a local visiting this hidden spot.

Down the road we pulled into Turtle Bay resort. The main reason we decided to stop was because I knew Zac Efron was filming a movie there. Growing up as a High School Musical fanatic, I did not second guess this opportunity to track down my elementary school celebrity crush. To our complete surprise, we found him. We wandered around not really knowing what we were doing or where we were going. We passed piles of film equipment and knew he was close. Then we turned the corner, noticed lights and a camera pointing to a balcony, and as we got closer and closer there he was with a pink collared shirt on. Before it sunk in for us to take our phones out and take a picture, he went inside and was replaced by a big, bald security guard. It was Zac Efron, we swear by it.

As we continued driving we finally made it up to Haleiwa for lunch. I’ve always thought there wasn’t much in Haleiwa, so my stomach was excited to see all the different food trucks. My stomach grew even more excited when I ordered a plate of garlic shrimp at Giovanni’s. It was delicious and just writing about it is making me hungry all over again. We decided to walk off our meal and stopped at the HE>i store. I bought my sister a new tank top and my dad a new shirt. If ever I were to get family members souvenirs, it would have to be from that store. After that I got pretty lazy and protested to walk any further.

So we went to the beach! Our first beach stop was one of my favorite stops along the coast- the one beach with the turtles. I can almost guarantee that when you stop at this beach there will be a few sea turtles laying out in the sand. I’m so captivated by sea turtles, and I think they’re so beautiful and majestic and cute. I’ve never been lucky enough to swim by one but seeing one from behind the roped off barrier is good enough for me. Sometimes I just want to hug them.

Our second beach stop was at Waimea. I remember going to Waimea Bay as a kid. I remember my cousins pressuring me to jump off the rock and my uncles catching me as I got up from the water. This time around there would be no rock jumping- been there, done that. So instead I took a nap on the beach, swam for a little bit, took a nap on the beach, swam a little bit more, and then I watched as the sun hid behind the ocean.

I was busy the whole day. Busy being surrounded by good company. Busy looking around at God’s amazing creation. Busy enjoying the island I get to call home for the summer. Busy eating and walking and swimming and sleeping. Thank you King Kamehameha. You gave me a day off of work to be busy doing fun things.