Everyone does it differently. Some take it to the extreme, some keep it low tech, but everyone does it. I’m talking about BBQing at the beach by the way.

The beach BBQ is part of the island culture. In Hawaii, when it’s your birthday or there’s a holiday, you gather at the beach to eat, drink and play. You know the drill. You wake up late on Saturday, load up your folding chairs and beach gear, then hit the market. Poke – check, beer – check, red cups – check, and let’s see…something different this time, ah yes, a pineapple. Smell it to make sure it’s ripe (it should smell really really sweet). Wait, should I bring a knife to cut the pineapple? No, they’ll surely have a knife. (They never have a knife.) Now pick up a bag of ice and you’re off.

You get to the beach and your friends are sipping beers and starting coals. Some are in an intense game of Portuguese horseshoes or throwing the football or waxing up their surfboards. You jump in on one of these activities. But first things first, crack that beer. And don’t forget to put it in your red cup. The cops are cool as long as you do.

As the day goes on you talk, laugh and eat with your friends. And as and the sun goes down you find yourself with a pound of meat in your belly, some toasty bronze shoulder blades and a nice buzz. Now where did I put that pineapple.

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We get our surf report from Surf News Network over here. They’re reporting that first summer swell is going to hit the South Shore on Monday and carry ’til Saturday. Maybe a little longer. When we get a good swell, the vibe of the entire city changes. You’ll notice the energy is more mellow and happy. It’s gonna be a good week. See ya all out there.

One of the great things about living on an island is that everything is close by. After a mellow South Shore surf session in the morning and a Kua’Aina burger for lunch, there was plenty of time left in the day to go climb with Joe (ClimbingEnthusiast.com / @Surfer9Joe) in the North Shore.

There’s a town up there called Mokule’ia. It’s known for a few things: an amazing hike to Kaena Point; the set for the “Others” camp from Lost (which is really a camp for kids) is there; and, it’s home to the best top-rope climbing spot on Oahu. That would be the Mokule’ia Crag or, the Moke.

At the Moke there are a few walls to climb on but the main spot, with around 50 routes, is appropriately called the “Main Wall.” This is where we climbed.

I’m a newbie to climbing and this trip was my first time top-roping outdoors. The only experience I’ve had so far has been at our local climbing gym. The words I’d use the describe climbing the Moke are: challenging, stressful, tiring and completely rewarding.

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This big rock wall is at Laie Beach Park. When your done playing in the waves try climbing this rock. I don’t know too much about bouldering yet so I can’t say how good or bad this rock is but it’s climbable. Has anyone tried climbing here?

This shows you the full rock face. The overhang on the left looks pretty sweet. I didn’t get to check it out though so I’m not sure yet how deep the water is or how solid the rock is. If anyone has any info on this, please post a comment and give us a heads up!