Hawaii: My Collection of Seashells

If you remember, I shared some of my experiences in Hawaii to celebrate my 30th birthday here and here, and I also talked about what I learned from the ocean. One of the things that I learned is what the ocean gives, it quickly takes away. I experienced this as I was trying to capture seashells before they were taken back into the ocean by the returning wave. 

Above are the seashells that I managed to take from the ocean, and I am so excited to share them with you. I have always been fascinated by sea shells and the different forms that they come in. The top three rows were collected on the South Shore of Oahu at Waikiki Beach, and the bottom row was gathered at the North Shore of Oahu at Waimea Bay. 

What I love most about these shells is how different the two collections are: from the South Shore most of the shells are round and large, and from the North Shore the shells are small and flat. I also like how worn some of the shells are -- like they have been waiting in the ocean for me to scoop them up.

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What I Learned From The Ocean

Like most things, I never really understood the ocean until I experienced it myself. Now looking at this photo I am quickly transported back to the exhilarating experience that I had while surfing. It was during my time in this vast body of water that I learned some important lessons.

Before we began our surfing lesson, my husband and I went for a swim on a nearby beach. My husband was having fun jumping off the bit of an edge that the surf had created in the sand, and I was building a little sand creation with a flat top on which I was placing pieces of shell that were washing up on the beach. There were some amazing colours of shells, and even some sea glass particles that I discovered. But what I soon realised was that although the ocean was giving me these amazing things, it was washing them away even more quickly than I could grab them, and I learned that what the ocean gives, it can quickly take away. We noticed this too as the beaches looked different every morning after the water had crashed upon it over and over again the day before.

During our surfing lesson our instructor told us that, if we caught a good wave and had to swim back to him, we should swim up the side of the waves instead of crashing through them. I had an amazingly good ride on my first wave, and was making my way back towards my husband and our instructor when I quickly forgot what he had told us. I didn't understand. I had never been in the ocean before and this was my first experience with any natural waves -- let-a-lone 10 foot waves. The only thing I remembered him telling me was to push my body up off the board as a large wave approached me so that the water would go between me and my board.

I had been attempting to swim back to them for several minutes and wave after wave after wave kept crashing into me. I was exhausted from attempting to paddle back to them, and it felt like the waves were pushing me even farther back to shore and I wasn't going anywhere. Several times I laid my head down on the board in frustration, ready to give up, but then something in me kept pushing me to get my arms moving again. The last time that I laid my head down I actually said aloud to myself: "No! Keep going." It was then that my instructor showed up and towed me back to our spot. After that I remembered to swim around the waves and I had no more troubles.

I learned something important about myself that day: I had literally experienced that proverbial situation where people talk about not giving up when the waves are crashing down on you, and I did not give up. I learned from the ocean that I have a strength in me that I did not know was there.

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Hawaii and Back

Do you know how hard it is to share an entire vacation in 10 photographs? I could share so many more with you, but I know that it would become a bit much and you don't really want to see all of the different bathing suits that I brought with me anyway.

We had an amazing time in Hawaii. During the trip we were already talking about what we were going to do the next time that we were there, or how we would do things when we brought our son with us. Hawaii had us hooked. I do wish that we had explored the North Shore a lot more, but that is a lesson learned for next time. It was such a vastly different experience from the city.

What I enjoyed most about the trip was waking up, putting on our suits and sunscreen -- you gotta live in that stuff -- and heading to the beach. I learned so much from the ocean in the short time that I was there, and I can still feel the energy of the waves as I lay in bed paying attention to my breathing. I love it!

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The Best Way For Me To Turn 30

I am so lucky to have been able to celebrate my 30th birthday in a beautiful place such as Hawaii. We took a tour up to the North Shore of Oahu with a group called Epic Hawaii to swim in Waimea Falls and hike through the beautiful valley that is filled with lots of tropical flowers and trees. We then walked to Waimea Bay and swam in the ocean. It was an amazing time, and after swimming in the fantastic waves at Waimea, we were a little sad to have to go back to Waikiki.

Elliott, our tour guide from Epic Hawaii, then picked us up and took us to look at the sea turtles that were hiding amongst the waves and munching on the deliciousness on the coral that encroaches on the beach -- I circled one that I managed to snap a photo of as a wave came in. Both us and the other couple that went on the tour decided to stop at the Waialua Bakery instead of the Hawaiian Shaved Ice shop or the shrimp trucks, and we were not disappointed. The bakery is family owned and operated and uses ingredients that they grow on their farm, and the cookies are only $1 -- now that's my kind of shop!

After such a busy day, my husband and I had a nap and then began our journey to find a special place to eat my birthday dinner. We ended up at the restaurant called House Without A Key where I ate a delicious steak dinner while listening to beautiful Hawaiian music. I was very excited to be at that restaurant because the entire time we were in Hawaii we would open up our patio door to listen to the sounds of the ocean as well as some music that wafted up from one of the hotels across from ours. I was so happy to find out that I was actually eating in the restaurant where the music originated from. It just felt so right, and it was the best way for me to turn 30.

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