Sunrise and some beach fitness!

 The other day, mrC wanted to get up early and watch the sunrise at the beach. Umm, yes! 

Since the beaches just re-opened here on Oahu (well, technically for solo activities), I was in full LET'S TAKE ADVANTAGE mode. I downloaded my FASTer Way workout to my iPad, put on my bathing suit and favorite sunscreen and packed the beach bag with towels. 

We sat for awhile listening to the waves, drinking our coffees and watching the the morning walkers. There is a very large number of people who walk their dogs on the beach, so it can be quite entertaining. 

The beach might seem like a crazy place to do a workout, but I love doing mine outside. Plus the scenery was A LOT better than my normal view on our lanai. FASTer Way workouts are available through the app and can be downloaded so you can easily take your workouts anywhere. I chose a HIIT Boxing workout from the workout studio because it is ALL BODY WEIGHT ---> perfect for doing it at the beach.

After a quick dip in the water, mrC and I decided to walk the entire length of the beach. I don't know why this appealed to me on this day except that it was so beautiful out and I wasn't ready to go home!

Even though it is one long stretch of sand, the beach has a different name depending on the location: Kailua, Kalama, Dunes, Oneawa, Castle's. At the dead end, the beach becomes blocked by lava rock which is the foundation of the beach front homes that continue. It's pretty private, but there was too much seaweed.

Hawaii (at the time) had a social distancing mandate that stated, "Individuals may engage in any lawful activity (e.g., walking, running, sitting, fishing, etc.) on the beach, but only by oneself. No group use or group activities are allowed." Believe it or not, this meant that even family members couldn't be together!! 

We knew that the Kailua Police would be patrolling the beach on their 4-wheelers, so when we heard them coming, we made sure that we were by ourselves! 

We haven't had that many beach days this year, because COVID restrictions closed them for months except to access the water for exercise.

I am planning to make up for it, big time!

What has been closed in your area that was frustrating?

Duke's on Sunday

For the past year, I have been wanting to go to Waikiki to Duke's - an iconic beach front restaurant that personifies the aloha lifestyle. With the help of miss Devan's dinner gift and tourism being pretty much non-existent right now, I convinced mrC that we should go there for his birthday!!

So, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we put on our swim suits, packed up our beach bag and drove to town for an afternoon on the beach, exploring and Duke's on Sunday.

Love the board storage along the walkway to the beach. Wish we had this at Kailua Beach.

This was my first visit to Waikiki even though we have lived on Oahu for over a year and the view was not disappointing! 

We found a spot on the beach (which is actually not very roomy!) and got in the water for a little bit, but after the waves almost drenched our belongs a few times, we decided to take a walk.

It didn't take us long to find an acai bowl! We shared this soft serve version from Banan and it helped cool us off.

After wandering around International Market Place, we were ready to head to Duke's. Luckily there was one table remaining at the Barefoot Bar, even though it was not fully shaded. Before our nacho order arrived, another table opened up and mrC snagged it!

The best part was the table had a much better view of the outdoor stage and Henry Kapono!! Henry (of Cecilio (d.) & Kapono, a Hawaiian pop music duo) and his band play at Duke's every Sunday from 4-6. 

Normally people would be up and dancing, but because of COVID-19, there was no dancing allowed. We didn't mind though because we were enjoying the whole view. 

mrC has been a fan of Cecilio & Kapono since he was stationed here and he introduced me to the music when we got married. It was so awesome to see Henry Kapono and his band in person, but even better to get this pic before we headed up to the dining room for our dinner reservation.

Our table overlooked the Barefoot Bar, so we continued to enjoy the live music over dinner. mrC had the fish and chips and I had the Baked "Duke's Fish" - white fish (I didn't catch the name) with garlic, lemon and sweet basil glaze served on basmati wheatberry rice. It was soooo good! 

Our server surprised mrC with a complimentary birthday Hula Pie! He absolutely loved the macadamia nut ice cream, chocolate cookie crust and hot fudge.

Duke's on Sunday was the perfect way to spend mrC's big day!!