Years ago, when we first started talking about our ten-year anniversary plans for Hawaii, we decided a few nights at Turtle Bay Resort in O’ahu was a necessity.
Welcome
Turtle Bay is on the North Shore of O’ahu, so literally the opposite side of the island from where we were our first few days in Hawaii.
Lance and I are overly obsessed with the movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and the movie’s setting is what sparked our stay at Turtle Bay.
We even stayed in a cottage similar to the one used to film the movie.*
*I’m pretty sure ours wasn’t one of the cottages used for filming, but I like to pretend.
It’s no wonder the resort is often used for filming movies*. It offers magnificent views, plenty of dining options, and endless activities for guests.
*Or the rest of the island for that matter.
Oh, and we had a hammock. So life was pretty great.
We planned to spend our first full day on the North Shore at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We heard this was the place to go for a good luau in O’ahu, however, we didn’t realize the fullness of what the center had to offer until we were there.
We learned the staff is comprised of students of Brigham Young University who work at the center as a way to earn money for their education. Once they finish their degrees, most students go back to their home and work towards preserving the culture, arts, and crafts of their people.
It was like traveling to various Polynesian countries in one day. We learned histories of the people, tasted native foods, saw several performances, and finished the night with a luau and their special show, Ha: Breath of Life.
The rest of our time in the North Shore, we spent between shopping in a nearby surfing town and relaxing at our resort.
We did sunrise yoga…
Tried Loco Moco (Hawaiian beef and egg over rice)….
Snorkeled…
Watched the sunset…*
*We did this more often than watching the sun rise.
Relaxed pool side…
And paddleboarded…
This was one of my favorite activities of our entire trip. We had talked about paddleboarding back home for a while now.
After paddleboarding in Hawaii, I’m not sure I can do it in Jersey. In Jersey, it looks like a cinch. The water is calm, peaceful, inviting.*
*Also dark and dirty.
In Hawaii, our instructor told us he finds paddleboarding to be more difficult than surfing. We had to navigate our boards over waves, avoid rocks, avoid each other, and avoid falling down.
And friends, I’m proud to say I beasted it.
While Hubby had a little difficulty staying up on his board, during our two-hours out, I fell only five times*.
*Yes, I’m a dork. I counted.
Because I grew up with absolutely no involvement in the athletic world, I may or may not have rubbed my skill at paddleboarding in Hubby’s face.*
*But in all fairness, our instructor did say women have a better center of gravity than men and therefore they often do better.
All I know is, I ended up with this picture* and Hubby didn’t.
*Ignore the terrified look on my face and my thunder thighs.
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