My Mini Adventures In Salem: Waikiki Beach

This past Sunday was a HOT one. I am a summer girl through and through and it was almost too hot for me. My friend Nicole called me and suggested that we should go take a dip in the ocean, and I was totally 110% down with this plan.

Nicole suggested . I had a quick dream-like thought — are we going to Hawaii, because I am seriously all in and I am sure I can pack quickly (I dream of going to Hawaii frequently; OK, I dream of it all the time). She then kindly burst my dream bubble by saying, "no not that Waikiki". Ok I was intrigued, what the heck was she talking about?

She then told me that there is a beach on in Salem called Waikiki Beach. I have lived in Salem for about 10 years and I never knew this...hmmmm how could I be out of this beach loop!

Nicole picked me up and we were on our way to Waikiki. We found out when we got there that if you are a Salem resident, you can buy a parking pass for $20 that will last you 2 years...sweet! Nicole purchased the pass, we parked, and then we were off to Waikiki Beach.

We were greeted by a friendly tropical sign announcing the presence of this beach; all of a sudden I started to feel like I was on vacation! I asked Nicole to take a picture of me in front of the sign...I was acting like a tourist in my own city. We walked down a short boardwalk and there was the beach. Soft sand, colorful umbrellas, people having fun, and a clear and clean blue ocean; my kind of beach and so close to home!

We easily found a spot to put down our towels and then we were off to the ocean. There was no time for sunbathing it was so hot, and I needed to cool down quickly. It was such an easy walk into the water (not many rocks or shells at my feet, which is very important to me because of my hip issue, less chance of me falling), and the water was very calm. It was quite cold at first, but after 5 minutes of slowly wading into the water, we counted to three and dove in (that's how I roll when diving into chilly waters...a good 1-2-3 count forces me every time.

It was beautiful! I was refreshed and relaxed; this is what summer is all about! While we were chilling (literally) in the ocean, we watched The Friendship sail on by. We made our "Goonies" movie reference's/jokes and admired the beauty of that ship. A kind woman in the ocean heard us and gave us some extra information on the ship; Wow a friendly and informative beach to boot!

After relaxing in the cool water, we decided to head back to shore and dry off. We hung out on our towels while staring off at the pretty views. Nicole let me borrow her iPhone to take a few shots of "our trip to Waikiki" (I left the house so quickly that I didn't have my phone or camera with me; two things I usually never leave home without.)

One of the many reasons why I want to go to Hawaii besides the beautiful beaches is for the wild life. I am a huge animal lover and sea animals fascinate me, especially sharks, and I know Hawaii has many of them! Nicole then said to me "Hey, I see a whale, an alligator, and a seal over there." In my Waikiki dreamlike state I think I may have believe her for a second. Well she wasn't completely lying, all three animals were there, only they were made of plastic, but hey it was still kind of an "animal sighting" on our day at Waikiki.

After we dried off and I took a picture of the "wild life" we packed up our stuff to go...seriously it was to hot to just hang at the beach. We passed by the friendly sign again, and the campers who were enjoying Winter Island, and got back into Nicole's car. It was fun and refreshing quick getaway...I love mini adventures! Aloha!

P.S. Thank You Nicole!