A Bigger Drive

On Sunday we decided to take another drive, but this time it was to go and see the Halona Blowhole. It's quite the ways away! It was over by Hawaii Kai, just past Hanauma Bay. It was a pleasant drive, and we all talked a lot on the way there. Donovan was just a chatterbox, having a big story to tell to Porter. It was pretty cute.

We got to the blowhole and got out of the car to go take a look. Oh boy was it windy!! Guess that's why they call it the windward side of the island, huh? Donovan did NOT like the wind! But Jocelyn was smiling through it!

We stood up against the railing and took a look. It was pretty neat! I forgot to get any pictures, though. :-(

On our way there, traffic was pretty bad headed back home, so we decided to continue up and around the island and then come back down Pali Highway. There was a little traffic for about 15 minutes, but after that it was smooth sailing. We saw some great beaches and scenery!

A little drive

This Saturday we didn't have a lot of time to do something. So we decided to take a short drive and see what we could see. What we did was drive down Kunia Rd all the way from Schofield Barracks to Ewa Beach. From end to end. It was fun. We stopped to get Icee's from 7-11 as well. They had a watermelon-lime that looked real good, but, sadly, it wasn't ready. Boo!

It was time for the boys to go to their martial arts class, so we headed over there. But things happened that made class not start for another hour. So we all went and played at the park across the street.

Short family day, but fun!

Reef walk

Today we took a trip our near Waianae to Ma'ili Beach and participated in a reef walk guided by the naturalists at the Living Art Marine Center. No one under the age of 4 was allowed, so I hired a babysitter to come with us and hang out at the beach with Jocelyn. We arrive at 9:45 and signed in. First we all gathered around a picnic bench and listened to a few rules and safety concerns. After that, we had a little discussion about the type of critter we might see out there, and how to treat them with kindness and respect. We could expect to see sea cucumbers, sea urchins, fish, and a variety of crabs. They handed out nets and we headed to the water.

What fun!!! Kyron and Porter took off and had a blast and Donovan stuck with me and held my hand through most of it. He loved having the net!

Mom, there's a sea urchin!!

Wow, I got something! Look, look!!!!

It was rocks. Haha! Donovan loved collecting rocks, sand, and flotsam.

We got a sea cucumber. So cool! It was squishy.

Porter and Kyron caught a bunch of sea snails, hermit crabs, and a fish!

It's hard to tell, but if you look closely to the left of the yellowish rock, and to the right of the edge of the large rock, there is a little black triangle. That was an eel!

None of the naturalists came to look at this, but we're assuming it was a sea cucumber of some kind.

The best laid plans...

We were full of all kinds of plans today. The Bishop's Museum, or the Dole Pineapple Plantation followed by shopping and then the beach in the evening. David wanted to get our rooms cleaned up first, so we got that done and then headed out. That's where things started to unravel. We stopped by ITR to pick up discounted tickets, but the line was super long. I waited, but then gave up. Next we went to the PX and returned some stuff and found David a swim suit and Donovan some new shoes. Next was the post office to mail off some packages. Without tickets to the Bishop's Museum, we decided to do Dole, but then it started raining. So no go on that. We then went to Costco and got David his membership card and walked around, enjoying the samples. It was here that a miracle occurred. We walked out of Costco spending less that $10. Wow!! Does that ever happen? Haha! Next up, Costco dogs for lunch, in Hawaii and we fed our family on less than $10. Whoo-hoo!

Since the outdoor activities were out, David decided to look up what movies were playing. Madagascar 3 was on and there was still a matinee showing. And THAT's the fun family day we had. Shopping and a movie. However, the kids were thrilled!! Thanks goodness, right?! We finished off the day with dinner at Chili's.

Oh well, maybe next time. We do have 3 years after all!

Hawaiian Bucket List

I've decided to make a post with our bucket list, so that I have it all in one place. Then I'll cross them off as we do them and leave my thoughts. The prices listed are the military or kama'aina rates. First price is the adult price, second the kids price.

Hikes - More hike details for kids
Makapu'u Lighthouse
Kawainui Mrash
Diamond Head - $5 parking
Manoa Falls - $5 parking (there is a placee for free parking)
Stairway to Heaven - just me and David
Lanakai Pillboxes
Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
Waimano Falls
Hau'ula Loop Trail
Waimea Valley - $13, $6
Kolekkole Pass
Judd Memorial Trail
Likeke Trail to Pali Falls
Makiki Forest Recreational Area
Puu Ohia Trail
Ualakaa Loop
Maunawili Trail
Kaunala Trail
Kealia Trail

Attractions
Children's Discovery Center This was great! I was worried that my 10yo would be bored, and that my infant would just be carried around. But they had two great play areas for infants, and all three boys had a wonderful time running around and playing. I don't think I'd pay for a season pass, but I can see us going again.
Sea Life Park - $30, $20, $5 parking
Honolulu Zoo - $8, $4 This was a great zoo! Not so small that it was over right away, not so big that we didn't get to see everything. We spent about 3 hours and I thought it was great. We all had a great time!
Polynesian Cultural Center  So much fun, we bought season passes! We'll try to go on an overcast day next time.
Dole Plantation We've been here twice now. The first time it was to do the train ride. We also had the Dole Whip - Yum!! - and opened an oyster for a pearl. I plan on putting it on a pendant and saving it for Jocelyn when she gets older. The second time we did the maze. That was fun, but we were so hot by the end, that they just followed my directions as I looked at the map to get it over with. We finished in 1 hour 1 minute.
Hawaiian Railway - $10, $7
Wahiawa Botanical Gardens Great little garden, and it's free. They have pamphlets for a self-guided tour.
Bishop's Museum - $18, $14
Valley of the Temples -$3 each
Ho'omaluhia Park Botanical Gardens
Waikiki Aquarium - $9, $2
Hawaii Plantation Village - $13
USS Arizona
USS Missouri - $20, $10
USS Blowfin - $10, $4
Foster Botanical Gardens - $5, $1
Waimea Valley Audubon Center - $10, $5
Koko Crater Botanical Garden
Hawaii Nature Center
'Iolani Palace
Ice Palace


Shopping
International Marketplace  - I finally made it here. Yay! I had an awesome girls night out with Sara and Lindsey and this was where we decided to go. Love it! I will have to go back with David.
Ala Moana Mall
Hilo Hatties
Aloha Stadium Swap Meet It was an adventure! Got some neat things, but probably wont go back again.
King & Zelko
Tropical Farms We came here as part of our circle island tour. So many different seasoned mac nuts to try. Yum! We also got a young coconut cracked open for us. We drank the milk then at the meat. Only Jocelyn was a fan.

Shows
Torch lighting ceremony at Kuli'o Beach - 6-7pm at Waikiki beach every night.
Sunset on the Beach - movie
Hilton Hwaiian Village Polynesian show & Fireworks on Friday nights
Sunday Showcase at Waikiki Beach Walk - 5-6pm
Ha, Breath of Life at PCC - $0 with Season Passes

Things to See
Drive Around the Island We did a bus tour that the Army paid for. It was a long day, but we saw and learned so much! 
Drive along Tantalus and Round Top
Pu'u Ualaka'a State Wayside Park
Halona Blowhole We took a Sunday drive to go see the blow hole. It wasn't much to look at. But then it really blew just before we left. Wow! So neat! If you go, you need to be patient and wait for it. It was VERY windy there!
Dragon's Nostrils
Kawainui Model Airplane Field
Surfing at the Banzai Pipeline at 'Ehukai Beach

Beaches
Hanauma Bay
Ko'olina
Nimitz Beach We came here for a work function. It was very nice and not crowded at all. Nice pavilions with picnic tables. The beach was good, a little bit steep, but fine even for the kids. Waves were nice.
Waikiki
Kailua - Boogie Boarding
Sandy
Turtle
Yokohama Bay/Keawa'ula Beach
Makua/ Ka'ena Point State Park
'Ohiki-lolo
Makaha
Poka'i
Ma'ili  Fun beach! Not so great for swimming, but fantastic tide pools and lots of sea glass. Nice bathrooms and showers, picnic benches.
Ala Moana Regional Park - Boogie Boarding We didn't go boogie boarding, but we did come here for a little while and played on the sand. It's nice
Magic Island
Halona Cove
Lanikai
KailuaKualoa
Punalu'u
Laniloa
Hukilau
Goat Island/Moku'auia Island
Kawela Bay - park at stables
Chun's Reef - beginner surfers
Hale'iwa
Mokule'ia Nice patches of sand in between rocks in the water. But it's a looooong walk to the nice part. Great place for sea glass.

Activities
Horseback riding at Kahuku Kai - $65
Seabee Cottage on Kaneohe
Bellows Cabins
Helicopter Tour - $250
Kayak at Kane'ohe Bay to Kapapa Island - $59
Dinner Cruise
Parasailing - $80
SCUBA
Learn to Surf
Whale Watching
Night Snorkel at Hanauma Bay
Swim with Dolphins - $250
Swim to Chinaman's Hat
Night Shipwreck Dive
Reef walk - $10, 6.50 - We were able to rent water shoes for those of us without any. This was a lot of fun.
Gliding - $200 for the family This was awesome! All of us but Jocelyn went up for a ride, and Kyron got to ride twice.
Walk from the Hiltion Hawaiina Village to Kapiolani Park during the sunset


Dining - prices per person average
Bogarat's Cafe - Breakfast - $6-15
Chart House - $25-75
Cheesecake Factory - Dessert - $11-25
Hale Koa - Lunch by the pool - $4-9
               - Koko Cafe - $18-30 Yum yum!! Highly recommend the campenelle in pesto cream sauce
Hy's Steak House - Best Steak - $35-60
Oceanarium - Lunch - $9-18
La Mer - Romantic Dinner - $50-140
Arancino - $12-35
Morio's Sushi - $8-20 need reservations
La Cucaracha - $12-35
Original Pancake House - $6-11
Hale'iwa Joe's at Haiku Gardens - $20-40
Teddy's Bigger Burgers - $7-12 It was okay, not great, but the shakes were yummy!
Killer Taco's - $3-7 This was good! Think New York Burrito, or Chipotle. Build your own burrito kind of place. I'd go again for sure!
Opal Thai food truck - $7-15
The Old Spaghetti Factory Just as good as all the other OSF's. Mizithra Cheese sauce is so great!

Swap Meet

What fun! The kids and I headed off to the swap meet this morning. We arrived around 10am. It's not the weekend, so it's not as crowded nor are there as many vendors. It wasn't what I remember it, though. I knew there would be vendors, but I thought I remembered there being a bunch of people "garage selling". Maybe? Maybe not. Either way, we had a good time. We went around the stadium twice. Only one layer of vendors, so we saw them all twice.

I got a new bathing suit, a skirtini to be exact, a big sunhat, and a toe ring. I'm very excited about the toe ring. When I went to Hawaii in 2002 to visit my Mom and Larry, they took me to get a toe ring. It became a thing. When one of her  daughters came to Hawaii, she would buy her one. I loved mine. But, I had to take it off once, and as such it ended up lost. So now that I'm back, I swore I'd find another one and replace it. I found the exact same one! Yay!! However, I went with the sterling silver instead of the gold. I like the color better. Hopefully my skin doesn't react to it. If it does, I'll have to go back for the gold one.

Donovan found a flip flop keychain that he wanted, so we got him that. Then we got a shaved ice to share. We found a curb to sit on to eat it while I nursed Jocelyn. Unfortunately, I parked the stroller over a storm grate, and when Donovan got out of the stroller, his keychain fell down the drain. Oops! I told him we'd replace it, but he decided to get an umbrella instead. That's what Porter picked as well, along with a back scratcher. Kyron found some things that he liked, but they were too much money. In the end, he chose a ukulele.

Father's Day is on Sunday, so we were looking for something for David. We picked out a Hawaiian tie, because he actually likes ties, but I wanted something more. I found a beautiful ukulele, and when he'd seen them before he expressed interest in getting one and learning how to play. So, while it was expensive, I went ahead and got it for him. When we got home, he reminded me that he already had a Father's Day present that he got before we moved here. Oops! Oh well, looks like he's getting more this year! Haha! (Good thing he doesn't know what my blog address is. Haha!)

Costco

That's right. You heard correctly. Our latest adventure was going to Costco! Our goal...get a membership again and a case of diapers. We usually cloth diaper, but while we're in the hotel using a friends machine or the coin machines, it's just too much of a hassle.

We found the Costco, it was within 15 minutes from here, so that was great. We went ahead with the Executive membership for the 2% cash back. I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Hopefully we can at least pay for the difference in membership prices at the end of the year, if not more.

Wow, so much fun! The items that are here are so different from other places. And I expected that, but it was fun to see. Not many Costcos would you find taro rolls, paddle boards, surf boards, lei's, so many varieties of macadamia nuts, etc.

There was a sample table up with Lindt truffles. LOVE those things! So of course we went to eat one. It was the variety pack, and I grabbed on that looked like the milk chocolate. But it wasn't that. It was PEANUT BUTTER!! Oh.my.gosh!!! It was amazing! I wouldn't buy the variety pack, but if I ever find a single bag, you better believe I'm buying it.

Another favorite? Macadamia Hershey Kisses! So very yummy!

I love Hawaii!!