Lanikai Beach

This guide to Lanikai Beach in Honolulu traces the shore's older name, Kaohao, from a Hawaiian legend about two women punished after losing a game of konane, and the newer name's own quirk: a 1924 developer meant to say heavenly sea in Hawaiian but got the grammar backward. Offshore sit two small islands known as the Mokes; kayakers can land on the near one, while the smaller island beyond is a protected seabird sanctuary. Notice, too, that there is no parking lot or gate behind you — just a narrow public walkway between houses.