Waimanalo Beach, I like this place. It’s on the east side of Oahu at the midpoint between Kailua and Hanauma Bay. Even though it’s fairly close to town, there’s no direct route to drive here. You have to drive around the mountains. This little inconvenience keeps this beach less crowded than most other beaches on this side of the island. It seems to have the best of everything. The water is clean, the sand is soft, the scenery is gorgeous and there are fun waves to body surf on.

We spent the weekend here at a beach house for a friend’s birthday. Some serious relaxation occurred.

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I woke up at 6am yesterday. That’s early for me. And it was a Saturday. I don’t even wake up at 6am on weekdays. So why so early? Well, some friends were doing the three peaks hike up Mt. Olomana and I didn’t want to miss out. It’s one of my favorites. And, it’s much more enjoyable if you start before it gets hot. I learned that the first time around.

Mt. Olomana is a small mountain that sits between the Koolau mountain range and Waimanalo Beach. When you’re at the top of the first peak, you have an unobstructed 360 degree view. While many trails in Hawaii give you great views of the ocean, I haven’t been on any that give you such a broad view of the mountains like this. I found a panorama to be appropriate.

I hiked to the peak between Mariner’s Ridge and Kuliou’ou Ridge again today. There are some views that can only be conveyed in panorama.

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