Hawaii with Kids: Surfing on Oahu

We went to Oahu undecided about surfing lessons. I thought that the kids would enjoy it, but didn't want to sacrifice half of a precious day in Hawaii to it. Matt thought we could wait and book them the next time we were in California visiting family. The kids had no opinion.

On Oahu, however, everything changed. Everyone surfs on Oahu, and this had Will, at least, eager to try it (it had the opposite effect on Syd--she saw all the people surfing and decided that this was perhaps not the sport for her at this moment). Numerous surfing schools took place on the beach just a few blocks from our hotel, so we often saw those, in particular, in operation, and could therefore check out their prices and how they operated. And since we were there at that beach so often, anyway, AND Will wanted to take a lesson, well...

Off they go! 

I was happy to stay on the beach with Syd, as I'm not a confident swimmer and it would be pure foolishness to put me out there in the waves with only a surfboard as a flotation device. Matt still laughs about the time in our early twenties when I panicked in ten inches of water during a tubing trip and he had to wade over and rescue me, although I stoutly maintain that I WAS ABOUT TO DROWN.

Instead, I documented their adventure with the help of my handy-dandy telephoto lens. After a lesson on the beach and a paddle out to the waves, the instructor set them up--

--pushed them off-- 

--and off they went! Well, off Matt went, more or less:

This girl, however, turned out to be actually kind of a natural:

Matt's instructor was hilariously frustrated with him the entire time. Matt reports that every time he fell, the instructor would yell at him. I actually heard him a couple of times from the beach!

Will, however, has excellent posture, don't you think?

Oh, look! There's another kid that I'm supposed to be supervising!

Will came away from her lesson very happy, very confident, and with some experience of the very rudiments of surfing. It was perfect:

Oh, and she's also eating sushi for breakfast. On the beach. Because we are in paradise.

 Of course, our brand-new surfers simply must pose with Duke Kahanamoku:

On another day, we drove up the North Shore so that the children could watch some surfers REALLY surf.

Obviously, there was shave ice involved:

The kids were dutifully impressed by the big waves, and the brave souls who rode them:

And Will is still definitely taking more surfing lessons the next time she's in California!