"A man's got to know his limitations."
I made it half way through my first surfing lesson on Waikiki Beach. Maybe not even half way.
That probably won't surprise you if you've read many of the 75 straight reviews of places and businesses in Hawaii that I have posted on Yelp.
If you've read any of my beach stories you'd already know I can barely swim. I have no business even being in the ocean. Much less on a surfboard.
But my wife thought it would be fun to take a lesson. And, me? Well, let me tell you, there's practically no place in Honolulu that I like more than Waikiki Beach. So even though I knew there wasn't much chance I'd succeed at surfing, I thought what the hell, Waikiki Beach? I'm in!
My wife is a strong swimmer and very athletic, so she had no problem. With the guidance of the instructor, after just a few tries she was able to catch a wave and stand up on the board. She was having a blast.
I'm so fat and out of shape I was exhausted before we even got in the water. The instructor had us practice on the beach how to go from horizontal to vertical on the board, so we'd have some sort of idea of what to do when he lined up a wave for us. But after popping up like ten or fifteen times, my knees were shot.
Even so, I paddled out and tried a couple waves. I rode one wave in, clinging to the surfboard on my belly. That was super fun. I was astonished how fast I was going. I paddled back out. Eventually another wave came by to pick me up, but I just couldn't catch it and plunked into the water. After missing that wave I was so tired that it was hard as hell to even get back on the stupid surfboard.
Although it was hella fun being out there on the board, I decided I was done with surfing. I spent the rest of the lesson watching my wife absolutely shred some huge ass two foot high waves.
My wife had so much fun she booked herself abother lesson here at Chun's Reef. Her instructor was super chill. And the waves here were very similar to the ones at Waikiki, which is to say the perfect size for beginners. She got to ride a lot of waves here at Chun's and learned a lot about how to read the ocean and spot the sets coming in.
I got to chill in the sand and watch her put on a show. She had the time of her life out there.
There isn't a sign or anything on K Highway that lets you know where Chun's Beach is. You just have to look for all the cars parked on the side of the highway with all the peoples scurrying across the road. Check out my attached photos for a view of the entrance to the beach.
Mikey C says: back to Hawaii reviews soon, but first, get ready Vegas, here comes Mikey! read more