Surfer Girls

The best time to visit the North Shore is probably starting about now through April, after the Triple Crown crowds have vacated, the swell's holding and the weather is fine. Of course, I couldn't say this for sure, because I've never been to Hawaii in the spring. But I did go at the end of '07 for about a month to profile a couple of my favorite surfer girls, Kassia Meador and Jen Smith. The story is now out in the April/May '08 issue of Bust Magazine.This photo, taken by photographer Jacqueline Di Milia, is from an early version of the layout. The final spread they ended up using is cool, too, but there was something about this as the opening image that really did it for me.

What I do know for sure: the best poke (poke-ee, a Hawaiian dish of raw fish marinated in sesame oil, scallions, peppers, onions, sea salt, etc) can be found at the Kahuku Superette, along Kamehameha Hwy, past Turtle Bay if you're heading east. They have several different types, including ahi and octopus, and are laid out in stainless steel trays in the back. After a surf, order samples of them all with a couple sides of hot rice, chow down on the outdoor deck of your friends' waterfront digs, and life will be the most awesome.