North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

ALOHA!!!!!

     I step off the plane and the sweet scent of plumeria and tuberose flowers dazzle my olfactory glands. I am greeted by warm tropical breeze and that familiar Aloha spirit. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and Bam!! I get "Leid"!!!!...I must be in paradise. 

    The first leg of this Hawaiian journey starts in The North Shore of Oahu with a visit to my best friend Lyndee's home. She has chickens..and roosters...lot's of them...but I'll get to those later...
The North Shore of Oahu is a  famous destination for surfers all over the world and is known for its gnarly winter swells that can sometimes reach over 50 feet in height. As most of you know, I am not a surfer. Actually, I look at those swells and my stomach does silly little back flips. However,  Lyndee is an extraordinary lil' surfer girl and took me to my very first professional surf competition.

     It just happened to be The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which is the second largest and most prestigious surfing competition in the world .Should I be embarrassed that I have never heard of this competition before?? Of course not! I live in Chicago for crying out loud. Now ask me where you can find the worlds largest beer pong competition and I may be able to help you with that...

I don't think this guy is competing

  Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap any jaw-dropping photos of the surfers in action  (I was too busy looking at eye candy onshore...see left.), but if you're interested, there are some outstanding pics and more info on their website. http://www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com/
    It's always nice to travel like a local, with a local. We pulverized killer burritos as big as our heads, devoured fresh ahi poke (which is my favorite Hawaiian treat), cruised to "Pipeline" to watch some more epic surfing, and decided to finish off our evening like a couple of old broads...We cooked a healthy dinner and were asleep by 9pm.... Wow...Am I growing up or becoming a total bore??? Don't worry, this is only the beginning of a very long journey..There will be plenty of naughty and much more entertaining stories to come, and that is a promise.
     Lyndee lives in a Geodesic "Dome Home" (which actually used to house a sex cult) on an acre of land. She grows a variety of organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs and is self-sustaining. She owns and runs an exceedingly successful local vegan raw organic food company called Divine Living. She makes delectable healthy treats for seven stores in the Hawaiian Islands, is at several of the local farmers markets, and donates a variety of healthy snacks to local schools for snack time, offering a much healthier option for the Keiki (kids) of the North Shore. Yup. She's pretty awesome. Check her out at http://www.divinelivingoll.com/

                         Oh yeah...how could I forget about her adorable little 4 lb pooch named Viola and those chickens and roosters!!! They like to chase me. It's kinda creepy...

Signing off- The Savvy Nomad