Riding on the beach

Today we started with a trip to one of the nearby beaches, to swim and walk a bit.  The water is warm, but the power of the waves is hard to imagine until you experience it.  Just ask Christina!

The sand between the parking and the water gets extremely hot, so some sort of sandal or flip-flops are really helpful.  Otherwise, running through deep sand is the next best alternative.  

After a leisurely lunch, we headed down the coast to the Oahu Polo Club where we had reservations for a ride on the beach.  The horses were primarily "retired" polo ponies, and were extremely well-schooled.  The ride lasted about an hour and a quarter, most of which was right along the edge of the beach (no closer than about 20 feet from the high-tide water level).  The breeze off the ocean kept us comfortable, but when we took a brief turn into an area of reeds and bushes, the breeze stopped and it got very hot very quickly.  Once the ride was over, we had a chance to watch a polo scrimmage between students and instructors, and talked with the guy who maintains the polo field, who gave us some insight into the game.