Hawaii Day 6: Ala Moana, paddleboarding, swimming - my favorite day of the trip

We started Day 6 with a slower morning in the hotel.

I love this picture of Riley reading to Camden.


When we eventually got up and moving we decided to go paddle boarding at Ala Moana.

TG and I tried paddle boarding at Waikiki near our hotel in 2012, but I was not successful. The water at Ala Moana is notoriously calm, and protected by a reef, so we decided to head there on this trip. 

After consulting Google I found an awesome deal on this website - the reviews were 50/50 - mostly complaints about their slow response time - but once they did call us back their package deal could not be beat. They delivered two boards, paddles, chairs, umbrella and a cooler full of ice to us at our spot on the beach for four hours. If you are going to Honolulu, I highly recommend them.

Even the minis got in on the paddle boarding action.  Notice how calm (and of course beautiful) the water is.  Riley had Gammy and Gampy helping her while TG assisted the little man.




I was much more successful paddle boarding this time and took several long trips with TG and my Mom. Actually she let the current carry her almost all the way down the beach and I went on a rescue mission of sorts. We both worked out our arms hard on the way back against the current.

Then I took a much needed break in the shade on the beach with little man.

It was about this point that my Dad solicited me for an open water swim with him.  So I fairly enthusiastically agreed.  The water at Ala Moana isn't that deep and it's reef protected so I was less afraid than I usually am.  The swim went great - we went 1000 yards and I was tired by the end, but in a good way.

However, what I hadn't counted on was the sunburn I was left with after being face down on my stomach for an hour.  Please note that even though I am part Hawaiian, I apply good strong sunscreen every hour in Hawaii.  The sun there is intense and my skin is not as young as it used to be.  Despite careful sunscreen application before the swim, I had a new swimsuit for Hawaii that exposed a part of my back that hadn't seen the light of day in years, and I got the worst burn of my life.  So bad that now, several months later you can still see a scar of sorts on my lower back.  It's hideous.  Lesson learned.

BUT even though I left with a terrible sunburn it was totally worth it.  Ala Moana is bliss and it will definitely become a stop on every trip we take to paradise in the future.