Filed under: Film, Hawaii, North Shore, Surf | Tags: cheese, North Shore, Surf
North Shore: massive nug of 80s cheese, rich like Velveeta. Kind of like the Karate Kid on a surfboard. Love the local color. And to be honest, it’s not all that far off the mark. As a haole with the kind of questionable surf skills possessed by Rick Kane at the outset of the story, I have had a couple close calls with the locals that were practically carbon copies of scenes in the movie.
“He so haole he doesn’t even know he haole.”
Filed under: Dining, Hawaii, North Shore | Tags: coffee gallery, haleiwa, watery
A few weeks ago found us in Haleiwa – which deserves a post of its own, but I have no photographic evidence to speak of – the day was cloudy and I was not in a photographic mood. Late in the afternoon in Haleiwa I found myself craving a caffeine kick, and the family needed a break from trolling the boutiques. I asked a surf shop owner where one might procure a cup of the black stuff, and he pointed us toward Coffee Gallery.
Entry to the shop was full of promise, a blast of fresh roasted beans hitting me in the face like an angry woman. I immediately launched into a diatribe about how one of the ways in which Starbucks lost its way was by automating everything, which caused the aroma to vanish from the customer experience. But here, here was authenticity! A raw, handmade, organic, lived-in environment. I was so excited I decided to buy a mug.
Then I tasted the coffee.
Colossal letdown. A thin, watery, weak brew. It was like opening a bottle of red with a luscious bouquet that belies a bitter taste. At least it is comforting to know that I don’t have to drive all the way to Haleiwa for the best coffee on the island. So far, Coffee Talk, which I wrote about before, wins my prize for the best local cup.
Unfortunately, I am stuck with the mug.
Snorkeling is to scuba diving as body boarding is to surfing. It is the sport of the casual enthusiast versus a passionate commitment. And yet, just as body boarding has gained cred through the existence of a pro circuit dedicated to its most intense practitioners, snorkeling also has a lot to be said in its favor. For one thing, it is low maintenance, low budget. A five dollar rental and you are swimming with the fishes for a day. Pull over the car, strap on the plastic gear that, while intended for benign interactions with nature, in a few years will be dumped at sea, and enter the mirror world of water. That, in my book, is a price of admission that bests Disneyland any day of the week.
I am not a snorkeling fanatic by any means, or even a frequent snorkeler. So I don’t really have much to compare the snorkeling wonderland of Shark’s Cove to. But it must be pretty decent to attract the scuba set, who you can see laboring on shore with their heavy tanks and troublesome bodysuits, and gliding beneath you like henchmen in a James Bond movie.
The crazy thing about the cove is it starts at ankle deep and by about fifteen feet out you are airborne, gazing down at the canyons of coral below. Like all of the coral I have seen off Oahu so far, it is not in good shape, but the abundance of marine life more than makes up for it. We glided about for an hour that felt to me like twenty minutes. I’d wax poetic about the varieties of fish species if I hadn’t failed my Intro to Marine Biology class back in college. Just imagine the calming effect that that giant fishtank in your doctor’s office has on you and magnify that by about a thousand. There are also some caves that you can swim through if your lungs and balls are big enough. We took a pass. I think it is the kind of thing someone needs to show you.
On Friday we drove up to North Shore and lunched at a little roadside gem we found by accident when we were here over the holidays last year. Little more than an aqua camper with an aluminum awning, fronted by a covered patio with plastic seats and tables and populated by a family of chickens and cats lazily coexisting on the property, Sharks Cove Grill is the perfect location for a low-key, delicious and healthy beach-side lunch. Grilled skewers topped with a variety of tasty sauces and seasonings (such as the pinenut pesto on the shrimp shish kabobs) are the main draw, and most dishes come with brown rice and mixed greens topped with papaya dressing.
If the North Shore view is not enough entertainment, your kid can get a kick out of feeding french fries to the chickens.
