My Favorite Beach - Bellows

Our visiting friends decided to spend their last day on island at Bellows Beach and my kids and I joined them for some fun in the sun. Bellows has got to be my favorite beach on Oahu, maybe my favorite beach anywhere. So why haven't I been going there weekly, or at least monthly? I'm not sure, but I need to fix that.

I love the first glimpse of the ocean at Bellows. I'm always amazed at how beautiful the water is there.

The adult to kid ratio was good so even though my husband wasn't there I was able to get in the water with my boy and help him catch some waves on a boogie board. (Thanks friends!) The water stays shallow for quite a ways out so I could stand next to him and help him get the board pointed in the right direction, give him a shove when a wave came and with a little kicking on his part he could ride it all the way to shore. Sadly I didn't get any pictures, but he caught some good waves and had fun!  Since it was shallow I wasn't worried about him falling off or getting tumbled in a wave because I knew he could just stand up if that happened.

All the kids enjoyed playing in the sand building castles and walls and digging holes. My girl played 'til she was so tired she just laid down on the sand, but surprisingly she didn't get as much in her mouth and eyes as she often does. My boy has recently gotten into writing his ABCs and he had fun using the beach as a canvas.

And me? I got stung by a Portuguese Man O' War. I was standing in the water and felt a tingling/stinging sensation around my ankle. I looked down and could see the Man O' War with its long tentacle trailing along behind it. For all the times I've seen them I'm surprised I haven't been stung before this. I think I got a minor sting because it didn't hurt that bad and only for a few minutes; although now, two days later, I do still have welts on my ankle and they really itch. But that didn't keep me out of the water on Sunday and it won't keep me out of the water in the future, especially at my favorite beach!

Do it yourself on Oahu

• Bellows is located just south of Waimanalo off of the Kalanianaole Hwy.

• This beach is part of a military installation. The northern part of the beach is always open to military members and dependents. The southern part of the beach is open to the public on the weekends.