Continuing our shameless Web traffic grab with the Hawaiirama Obamarama Vacation Tour....So Barry (as he was called during his Punahou days) apparently was a keen bodysurfer. As a town guy, that means he probably spent a few days getting pounded into the sand at Sandy Beach, a world Mecca for bodysurfing on the stunningly rugged Ka Iwi Coast along Oahu's southeastern flank. If Barry dropped in at Sandy's, then he definitely had some cojones because the place is truly nuts -- a five to 10-foot wall of churning, sand-blasted madness that breaks in about a foot of water. Sergeants regularly warn their platoons to steer clear of the place due to the high number of broken necks. Sandies, as the locals call it, is also the primo summer cruise beach with clouds of fine young bettys and well toned lads hanging out celebrating the young and the fabulous life in Hawaii.

If he was dropping in at Sandy Beach then chances are he was also taking the plunge at Sandy's twin sister, Makapu'u Beach Park, just a bit down the road. Makapu'u can be equally as steep and hectic as Sandy's but is a bit more isolated and enjoys prevailing offshore winds which tend to groom up the surf a bit more nicely.

If Barry was a bit more timid, he probably rolled up at the Wall, just of the Kapahulu Groin. It's a mellow and excellent bodyboarding spot that pitches headlong towards a retaining wall then backs off just in time. It's not a place surfers bother with so Barry would have been happy among his fellow spongers. Had Barry been a hard core fin man, he probably would have aired it out at Point Panic. I think the name came from the regular shark sightings around there. It's at the mouth of Kewalo Basin Boat Harbor, the primary commercial and sportfishing boat slip on Oahu and place that spills its fair share of chum into the tropical blues each day. Panics is an amazing wave, one o the best in the world for bodysurfing (there are no boards allowed here, no even the sponger type). It's steep and fast and barrelling. Dang it, wish I could surf it. But Barry probably would have pulled in.

Map of Sandy Beach, Makapu'u, the Wall, and Point Panic

—Alex, 02/24/07