A veiny tree offers plenty shade.

A garden sculpture / bench.

There’s a small museum tucked away up in Makiki Heights. You can come here to check out the art in the gallery, grab a cup of coffee or eat lunch. You can also simply walk around the premises and take pictures. That’s what we did.

It’s a nice place to start your day on a weekend.

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You can get here via kayak, boat, outrigger canoe or stand up paddle board.

The beach on Moku Nui Island faces Lanikai and Kailua.

There’s a cove on the backside of the island where you can cliff jump.

You’ve seen the Mokulua Islands countless times I’m sure. They are the two small islands that sit off the coast in Kailua and are commonly referred to as “the Mokes.” The larger island is called Moku Nui and is a popular destination for kayakers. The smaller island, Moku Iki, is currently off limits.

Last memorial day, we rented some kayaks and paddled out to Moku Nui to BBQ on the beach and explore the island.

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I’ve always wanted to see Koko Head from this angle.

You see, I like guns.

The thing is, I don’t own any. But, Reanne’s friend John has a bunch. Big ones. And he offered to meet us at the range and let us shoot them.

If you’ve ever hiked up Koko Head during the day you know where this place is. It’s inside a smaller crater between Koko Head and Hanauma. You can hear the guns firing during your entire hike up the stairs. It’s unsettling and for the entire hike you need to remind yourself to have faith in humanity. And now that I’ve been to the range I can confirm that yes, hikers are totally within firing range. But, I’m happy to know that there are several range attendants on duty that monitor the shooters with eagle eyes.

On this day Reanne’s friends John and Jeff generously let us shoot their custom built rifles. They taught us the rules of the range and showed us how to handle and aim the weapons. We had a blast. Get it? A blast.

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Pele’s Chair is the prominent rock formation that you can see while driving to the Windward side of Oahu. It overlooks a small beach called Alan Davis (named after a guy that owned a ton of land back in the day).

Alan Davis is a very popular beach with Windward side locals because of this pole. The kids here do crazy tricks off it. You’ve probably seen a bunch of pics on Facebook of your friends jumping off it. I know I have, and I’ve been wanting to go.

The chair and beach are easy to get to. You park in the same lot that takes you to the Makapu’u Lighthouse and tide pools and after a 10 minute walk, you’re at the beach. Last weekend, we wanted to go do something outdoorsy but we didn’t have all day. Coming out here fit the bill nicely.

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