The second night at Malaekahana we parked our VW right by the beach. This is how good it felt to wake up there.

Upon waking up, the first thing  I saw was this, to my right.

Then, this, looking down and straight ahead.

When living in a van, one becomes very good at crouching.

We had a classic Hawaiian breakfast of papaya with lemon.

Then, we left our camp to embark on the day’s adventures.

The people at the campground recommended that we go to this place called Hukilau Café for an early lunch. The place is famous locally beacause scenes from the movie 50 First Dates were shot there.

It was on a street called Wahinepee, which was funny because Wahine means Girl in Hawaiian. I had a decent salad for $1.50, probably the cheapest meal I had all trip.

After falling asleep by the fire at our little grass shack in Malaekahana, it was nice to wake up and be right there on the beach. Who needs beach chairs when you have awesome trees like this to lay on?

We took a morning walk and quickly realized we were the only ones on the beach—that’s what I call luxury.

We were surrounded by amazing nature…

…every which way we turned.

I sat down on a huge piece of driftwood to just admire it, while digging my toes into the soft sand. Paradise.

One of the main reasons that we opted to spend a night in one of the grass shacks at Malaekahana was that it came with a fire pit.

You called a guy who, a half hour later, showed up with a small truckload of firewood and made a big beautiful fire.

The shaka sign is widely used by Hawaiian locals. It’s pretty universal and can mean anything from “cool” to “thank you.” This is me doing, trying to look tough, throwing up a double(!) shaka.

We had wine, sake and ice cream (given to us by the very nice people in the neighboring shack) by the fire, pretty much the perfect camping “dinner.”

The fire guy came back several times to dump giant logs onto our glorious blaze, it kept burning long after we had fallen asleep, lulled by the sound of the crackling fire and the waves crashing on the beach. Pretty much a perfect night.

Bumming around Oahu in our ’78 Westfalia, we stayed at a few different campground. Our favorite, though, was Friends of Malaekahana, on the Windward side, near the North Shore.

The first night, we decided to stay in a grass shack on the beach instead of our camper van, this was our view straight ahead…

…and to the left.

Number 6—our little grass shack. I could totally live in one of these, if there was clothing storage and a bit more padding to sleep on.

It was so peaceful to sit in there, listening to the sound of waves crashing in the beach. We had no cups and I was totally busted chugging wine straight from the bottle (thank god for screwtops), while reading a book.

There are quite a few of these little shacks on the premises, as well as more “upscale” digs for those who are not into roughing it. The land is owned by the state and run by a non-profit, which makes staying here very affordable (something you don’t find a lot in Hawaii).

This, my friends, is my idea of happiness—ocean view, peaceful surroundings, a good book, a glass (well, bottle) of wine and, most importantly, good company.

I Watch Hill kan man även åka på en gratis guidad kanottur. Området är ett naturreservat, och i ledning av två Park Rangers paddlade genom fin oförstörd natur. Efter halva tiden parkerade vi kanoterna på en liten ö, badade och åt medhavd lunch. Det blev en tjejkanot och en killkanot, och tur var nog det för kanotpaddling är nog inte bra för friden i något förhållande. Min mamma påpekade att hon inte tyckte om att jag inte hade flytväst på mig när vi åkte båt förra helgen, så ni ville jag bara visa att jag hade det. Ibland lyssnar jag!

TRANSLATION:
In Watch Hill you can also go on a free guided canoe tour. The area is a nature preserve, and guided by two Park Rangers we paddled through pristine nature. Halfway through we parked the canoes on a small island, went for a swim and ate the lunch we brought. We split up into a girl and a boy canoe, which I think was good since canoeing can probably disturb the peace in any relationship. My mother pointed out that she wasn’t happy that I didn’t wear a lifejacket when we went on the boat last weekend, so I just wanted to show that I did wear one this time. Sometimes I listen!

Allt annat i Watch Hill är underbart, men det var stranden vi kom för. Vågorna var höga som den och efter att ha blivt meddragna på en undervattenstur av en särskilt stor våg som kom helt oannonserad så strandkantsbadade vi bara andra dagen. Men det gjorde inget alls. Att ligga i solen på stranden och läsa en bok tills man somnar in lite är ju bara bland det bästa som finns.

TRANSLATION:
Everything in Watch Hill is lovely, but we came for the beach. The waves were crazy strong and after being dragged along for an underwater tour by a particularly large one that came unannounced, we stayed at the shoreline the second day. But that was completely fine. Laying in the sun on the beach, reading a book until you doze off a bit is just one of the best things ever.

I Watch Hill tar mig sig runt på Boardwalks. De leder till campingen, stränderna, färjehamnen, baren, restaurangen, marinan och (tacksamt nog) toaletten. Man kan också gå en ca halvtimmes naturvandring på dem, men vi tyckte vi hade fått nog med myggbett så vi skippade det denna gång.

TRANSLATION:
In Watch Hill you get around on Boardwalks. They take you to the camping, the beaches, the ferry port, the bar, the restaurant, the marina and (thankfully) the bathrooms. You can also go on a half-hour or so nature walk on them but we thought we had gotten enough mosquito bites and skipped that this time.

När vi åkt Long Island Railroad till Patchogue så tog vi en färja över till Watch Hill på Fire Island. Man kan antingen vildmarkscampa på själva stranden, men då måste man vandra allt från 2km till en mil (beroende på hur många andra som haft samma idé), och det kändes inte så lockande med 30-gradig värme och tung packning. Så vi reserverade två av de få platser som fanns kvar på the “Organized Group Campsite,” där alla som inte bokat i förväg får campa. Vi tyckte att den borde heta “Unorganized Group Campsite” istället. Tältet restes ganska fort och väldigt enkelt. Köpt på Target förra sommaren för $39:95 är det nog den bästa investeringen vi gjort på ett bra tag. Vi hängde upp vår namnlapp i trädet ovanför och begav oss till stranden, som låg ett stenkast bort, på andra sidan en sanddyn. Till vänster på sista bilden ser man boardwalken som går till vårt lilla luager, men tälten är dolda bland träden. Först tyckte vi det var mysigt, men sen insåg vi att det är där alla mygg bor. Trodde aldrig att det kunde vara mer mygg än i Sverige på sommaren, men det visade det sig att det kan! Som tur var hade vi laddat upp med naturlig myggspray och lärde oss snabbt hur man tar sig in i och ur ett tält på rekordtid.

TRANSLATION:
When we got off the LIRR in Patchogue, we took a ferry over to Watch Hill on Fire Island. You can either do wilderness camping on the beach itself, which we had planned to do, but that means hiking anywhere from 1 to 7 miles (depending on how many other campers had the same idea), and that was not too appealing in 85-degree heat and with heavy bags. So instead we reserved two of the few remaining spots in the Organized Group Campsite, where everyone who has not booked in advance can camp. We thought it ought to be called the Unorganized Group Campsite instead. We put up the tent quickly; bought at Target last summer for $39:95, it’s probably one of the best investments we’ve made in a while. We hung our nametag in the tree above and headed to the beach, only a stones throw away, on the other side of a sand dune. In the last photo you can see the boardwalk that leads to our camp on the left, but the tents are hidden by the trees. First we thought that was really cozy, then we realized that’s where all the mosquitoes live. Luckily we had stocked up on natural repellant and quickly learned how to get in and out of a tent at record speed.

Jag är tillbaka i staden efter en mysig campinghelg på Fire Island. Insåg snabbt att vi inte var de enda som hade tanken att åka österut med Long Island Rail Road i helgen, så sittplatser var bara att glömma. . Men, tåg är ju alltid bättre än bil, psykologiskt (bilköerna ut till Long Island/Hamptons är inte att leka med) och miljömässigt. Denna tröja, en av mina favoriter eftersom den är mjuk som en snuttefilt, numera har ett hål i bak efter lite trädklättring, samt rester av både middag, lunch och myggblod lite här och var. Ja ja. Nål och tråd och tvättmaskin så var det fixat. Mer bilder snart!

TRANSLATION:
I’m back in the city after a lovely camping weekend on Fire Island. Quickly realized we weren’t the only ones that had the idea of heading west on the LIRR this weekend, and that we could forget about getting seats. But, trains are always better than cars, psychologically (the traffic out to Long Island/Hamptons is quite nuts) och environmentally. This shirt, one of my absolute favorites since it’s soft as a baby’s blanket, now has a hole in the back from a bit of tree climbing as well as traces of both lunch, dinner and mosquito blood in various places. Oh well. Needle, thread and a washer will fix that in no time. More pics soon!

Jag ska iväg och campa i helgen! Imorgon bitti blir det vakna tidigt, sen tunnelbana, tåg, färja och vandring innan vi kommer till sanddynerna på den öde stranden där vi ska resa våra tält. Det bör bli mycket strandchill och lite kanotpaddling. Så nice! Icke-hälsovådligt myggmedel står definitivit på dagens shoppinglista.

Modereportage från Elle Italia Mars 2010, Tori Praver fotograferad av Matt Jones.

TRANSLATION:
I’m going camping this weekend! Tomorrow morning it’s wake up early, then subway, train, ferry and hiking before we arrive at the sand dunes on the pristine beach where we’ll pitch our tents. There will be lots of chilling on the beach and some canoeing. So nice! Non-toxic bug spray is definitely on today’s shopping list.

Fashion editorial from Elle Italia March 2010, Tori Praver photographed by Matt Jones.