Pupukea Beach Park

This past weekend was a long weekend, Friday was a day off in honour of "Admissions Day"... I think the day Hawaii became an official state. So on Friday we ventured out on our favourite north shore drive with resolve to stop at some different spots and explore. We originally planned to stop at Waimea, but so did a gazillion other people. Interestingly enough even though the lot was full and people parked halfway up the hillside the beach did not look that full. Optical illusion or is there some hidden paradise there...hmm, worth exploring for sure. At any rate, it was then we made our decision to test out some new spots and are we ever glad we did. We stopped at the Pupukea Beach Park/Nature Preserve, at a place called Three Tables. This places was amazing! As you can see in the photographs there is a tide pool, very large but completely encircled by volcanic rock (I assume though I'm no geologist). We explored in there and let Jaden walk around, spying several small fish. We then climbed over the rocks - extremely sharp rocks I might add, I felt very brave - and explored the other side. Basically it was a shelf, a nice flat walking area where the ocean flowed across but then at the edge was a 15 foot (I'm guessing) drop, a nice shelf that beckoned underwater exploration. We could see some orange fish way down there at the bottom and a couple of snorkelers just off the shelf about 20 feet out, snorkeling their way back to their catamaran (nice - in fact you can see the top of the vessel in the bottom photograph. I must admit I have no idea if this was a catamaran or a yacht or what, it was a boat.). Not sure if I'd have the nerve to snorkel at this spot yet with the open ocean RIGHT THERE and in 15 feet of water....but boy did it look pretty. I might be brave enough to sit on the edge and stick my face in the water....then again, maybe not.