As part of our winter migration in early December, the Flock landed in Oahu for our annual North Shore odyssey at the BYRD house. Take 15 steps from the back door and your feet touch the sand. Look to the left…it’s Rocky Point and over to your right is Sunset. Everyone agreed, Mondays weren’t so bad when you were in Hawaii.

Word spread quickly that BYRD had officially landed and soon Flock members began to make their appearance. Michael Dunphy made himself a permanent houseguest for the week, while guys like Ian Crane, Evan Geisleman and Balaram Stack stopped by for beers between surfs. And even though big waves are the primary focus during winter months on the North Shore, BYRD had a busy week planned both in and out of the water. 

After a couple days of giving the boys fresh cuts by Karu Kyosuke, our first stop was Aloha Beach Club in Kailua.  It’s a must do while on the island. We spent an afternoon enjoying shave ice at The Local while hanging with Kahana, Billy and the rest of the gang.

We said our goodbyes and took the scenic drive around the island until we found ourselves in Waikiki at the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau memorial event. The evening was a great mix of food, music and art with portraits on display by Bernard Testemale.

The next day we found ourselves back in Waikiki at the legendary Outrigger Canoe Club. This was a longboard type of day and the vibe was focused on fun. Our day in the water quickly turned into a night full of laughs after we made our way to Roy’s.

And the perfect way to close out our week? A BYRD Slick Saturday’s BBQ of course!  Our North Shore pad provided an excellent stomping ground for the event and the crowd came flocking. Upstairs…Karu giving cuts on the deck with a BYRD’s eye view of the surf and plenty of ice cold beers while Michael Donovan killed it grilling fish tacos.  Downstairs…The Girl and the Water pop-up shop.  Bikinis and babes, need we say more?

It wouldn't be a proper North Shore trip if there wasn't at least one (ok, maybe more than one that week) night spent at Lei Lei’s drinking Mai Tai’s and eating way too much poke.

Our week’s fast pace had just started to slow on Sunday when the North Shore was hit with some hard news; Flock member Evan Geisleman nearly drowned at Pipe. Thanks to some quick action by fellow watermen and the North Shore lifeguards, Evan was taken to the hospital where the entire surfing community sent prayers and positive thoughts that evening and has since made a full recovery.  

By Monday night, our odyssey had come to an end and we found ourselves back in Los Angeles, back at The Nest. Mahalo Oahu, until next time.