Cake Storage, Island Style

A friend asked me today if we've done anything fun recently and the sad answer was 'no.'  So since we haven't been getting out and about having fun adventures I went through old photos to see if there was something from the past few weeks to share and here's what I came up with.  This goes squarely in the "living in Hawaii" category.

Okay, let's start with a picture.  Anyone know what this picture shows?  

Did you guess an ant-proofed cake?  If so, * ding * ding * ding, we have a winner!  Ants are so pervasive here in Hawai'i that no matter how clean you keep your kitchen the pesky critters will come from miles around the minute you leave a tasty treat within their reach.  So here is my boy's birthday cake, safely stored overnight on two glasses set in bowls filled with water.  With this handy trick, things in my kitchen are safe from the ants, at least until they figure out how to build themselves a raft or parachute in.

And just because I'm so proud of how it turned out, here is a picture of the finished cake on party day.  I didn't use a cake mold - just found a couple pictures of cakes and ships online and went from there.  I thought it turned out great, especially considering it's only the fourth cake I've ever decorated.

Great Aloha Run

My husband thought it would be fun to do the Great Aloha Run this year and invited our boy to join him.  Our boy was excited about the plan and we thought he would do just fine on the 8 mile race course between the Aloha Tower and the Aloha Stadium based on a couple of 5 mile hikes he has done successfully.

However, when race day arrived our boy apparently just wasn't feeling it.  Maybe it was from staying up past his bedtime the night before, or because he had to get up early on race day, or because of the way the stars were aligned...?  Hard to say, but instead of the Great Aloha Run my family members did the Great Aloha...what's the best word...walk...meander...shuffle...carry?

Let's just say their forward progress was slow.  My husband reported that our boy walked about a half of a mile, MAYBE.  The rest of the time my husband carried him on his hip or up on his shoulders.  He'd taken our Ergo carrier so it would be easy to carry him piggy-back style but apparently our boy boycotted that idea.

Their frequent stops also affected their pace.  They stopped for pictures with policemen, fire fighters and mile markers.  They stopped for snacks and porta-potties.  When our boy was walking he was enthralled with the reflectors on the road, the rock walls they passed and countless other details most of us would overlook and stopped to check out all of them.

Somehow, in spite of all of this, they completed the course before the roads were opened up to traffic.  And somehow they BOTH enjoyed the activity and want to do it again next year!


Do it yourself on Oahu:

• You'll have to wait a year, but the Great Aloha Run is held every year on President's Day.  It is a charity event and proceeds go to local charities.  About 20,000 people participate each year.
• My husband's advice: "If your child's age qualifies them as a 'stroller child,'  take a stroller!"

We interrupt this blog...

...for the Olympics!  No, I don't plan to wait until the end of the Olympics to post again, but it sure has slowed down forward progress in many areas of my life, including blogging.

For two weeks every two years we become avid sports fans here in our house, sacrificing sleep and abandoning our normal routines to cheer for people we've never met, many from countries we've never visited.  For two weeks, the world is a smaller place, a more friendly place, and I like that.

Avatar and Mekong II

We started Valentine's Day off with a few treats for the kids to open and a delicious breakfast of homemade waffles with berries and whipped cream for all of us.  Then we ditched the kids (sounds mean, but they were excited about spending the afternoon with some big kids) and headed off for a movie AND dinner with some friends.  It's not often we have enough kid-free time to do both in one day, so even though dinner and a movie sounds like a generic date we were excited!

We finally gave into the hype and watched Avatar in 3-D and really liked it!  Then we headed to dinner at Mekong II.  I'd definitely recommend the restaurant if you're on Oahu and you like Thai food.  (And if you've never tried Thai food you should!)  Thai crispy noodles, sticky rice, a couple different curries, pad Thai noodles, a sweet and sour dish: we left feeling very full!


Do it yourself on Oahu:

• Mekong II is located at 1726 S. King Street.  Parking is located in a small lot behind the restaurant.  Double parking in the lot seems to be accepted, just let the hostess know if you've double parked.

• Check Mekong II's webpage for a menu, map, hours and all that good stuff.
• We went and saw Avatar on the IMAX screen at the theaters at Dole Cannery.  And in case you haven't seen a movie on that screen, a quick heads up that it's not the seventy-some foot screen IMAX has traditionally been known for, just a really big theater screen.  Just so you know what to expect.



Thanks to Steady Mom for hosting the Mom's 30-Minute Blog Challenge!

Kobe Japanese Steakhouse in Waikiki

Our boy is now 5!  We had a birthday party last weekend and then to celebrate the day itself we took him out to dinner.  We thought he would enjoy a restaurant where they cook in front of you on a teppanyaki table but we weren't thrilled with the idea of struggling all through dinner to keep our girl from climbing onto the hot cooking surface.  So we got a sitter (three actually, but that's another story) for our girl and drove to Waikiki.

If you've never been to this type of restaurant, the seating is different than most.  It's more like sitting at a bar, but instead of a bar the cooking surface is in front of you.  If your group isn't big enough to fill the seats around the table, other patrons are seated with you.  A waitress (dressed in a kimono) came and took our drink and meal orders and then there was a little wait while they prepped our meal in the back.  Before long though, the chef came out with the ingredients for our meal and cooked it in front of us.

Our chef wasn't as animated of a showman as some are, but he flipped his spatulas around, juggled his salt and pepper shakers and built a volcano out of onions.  Our boy definitely liked that and it always makes it into the story when he tells people about our evening.

When we made our reservation we had told them we would be there to celebrate a birthday and at the end of our meal they brought out some sorbet with a candle.  No song or dance, but free dessert!  And then we headed home, happy and full and smelling very much like the restaurant.

Do it yourself:

• If you're not on Oahu you might still be in luck.  Kobe Japanese Steakhouse is a national chain and there might be one in your area!

• On Oahu, the restaurant is at 1841 Ala Moana Blvd. on the edge of Waikiki (on the town/airport side of Hilton Hawaiian Village).

• There is no parking lot at Kobe Steakhouse.  You can pay $5 plus gratuity for valet parking or park elsewhere and walk.  There's free parking by the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and if the free parking is full, the hourly parking is very reasonable.

• I forgot to do this, but check the tourist magazines for coupons and/or ask about military and kama'aina discounts.  They asked us if we had a coupon (we didn't) and their website says they have military and kama'aina discounts (but I didn't see that 'til just now).  :(  Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes!

• Other restaurants to try for the same type of experience are Benihana and Tanaka of Tokyo.  It's been awhile since I've been to either of those so I can't give an up-to-date comparison, but my memory of them is that they were very comparable to Kobe Steakhouse.  Although I know at least one of them (maybe both) included tofu in their meals and Kobe Steakhouse doesn't, so depending on where you stand on tofu that might affect your choice.  :)

Lanikai Park & Playground

Swimming lessons were cancelled today so we had some extra time in our schedule.  I often use unexpected free time to catch up on chores around the house or run errands but today I decided to do something outdoors with the kids.  I thought of walking on the beach but I didn't feel like dealing with all the sand, never mind that it's almost impossible to keep my boy out of the water whether he's in a swimsuit or not.  I thought about walking along the marsh in Kailua but that idea just wasn't quite right.  Then my boy said he wanted to go to a park with a playground and that seemed like a great idea.

Hoping for a shady playground I headed to Lanikai.  I'd seen the playground there numerous times but had never paid close attention to it.  We got there and it was indeed in the shade, hooray!  Both kids had a fun time climbing, sliding and swinging.  I enjoyed the beautiful weather and the time away from my chores and errands.

Do it yourself:

• The playground in Lanikai is on the corner of Aalapapa Drive and Kaiolena Drive in Lanikai.

• There's parking along Kaiolena Drive, though on the weekends parking spots in Lanikai can be few and far between.  Check for parking signs, there are some 'no parking' areas and some 'no parking after a certain time' areas too.  Also, park in the direction of traffic on the side of the road you are on.  I've heard of the police ticketing in Lanikai for people parked on the left with their car facing oncoming traffic.

• Next to the playground there is a workout station, a big grassy field and a basketball court.  A great spot for burning off extra energy!

Halftime in Hawaii

Flag football during halftime.  Made possible by our time zone, our great weather and our friends who host a fun Superbowl party at their house, just down the block from the park.  Have I mentioned recently how much I love living here?!

This post is part of the Mom's 30-Minute Blog Challenge over at Steady Mom

Whale Watching on Maui

My favorite activity on Maui is whale watching!  I can't get enough of the whales when we're there.  When we're in view of the ocean I keep an eye out for whales.  I like sitting on top of a cliff with binoculars and watching for spouts and breaching whales.  And most of all, I like going out on a boat to see the whales up close.  

The humpbacks are protected and boats are not allowed to get closer than 100 yards away from them, but for an animal so big that seems quite close.  Plus, if the boat is turned off and the whales choose to come closer that is fine so sometimes you see them even closer.

Whenever we visit Maui in the winter we book a morning whale watching cruise.  Before kids, we went on the first boat out at 6:45 AM.  With kids, a boat leaving around 9 works better.

I don't think there are many places in the world where your whale watch tour passes by not only the first, but the second whales you see because they're not quite in the area of the ocean where they want to be, but that's how our tour started out this time.  

The captain liked where we were the third time whales were spotted and we stopped to watch a female humpback and her calf.  The calf breached completely out of the water three or four times while we watched them.  After the first and second jumps our boy excitedly told my husband, "Dad, I ALMOST saw that!"  My husband kept telling him to just keep watching and finally on the third breach our easily distracted boy said, "Dad, I saw that!  I wasn't looking at my shoe!"  

After watching those whales for 30 minutes or so we headed on in search of more.  We found a group of three that they thought were a male, female and calf.  They were all active and we got to see lots of tails in the air, pectoral slaps, and some partial breaches.  I tried to take pictures but after getting a few nice pictures of splashes like this I gave up.  

I need a faster camera and fewer kids to keep track of to really capture the whales, but putting away the camera and just enjoying the show was really great.  Words can't do the whales on Maui justice, so plan a trip to Maui sometime and see them for yourself!

Do it yourself on Maui:

• Whales are in the Hawaiian waters from December to May, but their numbers are highest from January to April.

• Many companies offer whale tours.  We have always gone with the Pacific Whale Foundation and I highly recommend them.  Their staff are very knowledgeable about the whales and will teach you a lot!  Kids 6 and under are free on their cruises and are treated very well!  They remind everyone to let children up to the railing so they can see, they have models and pictures of whales for kids to see and hold and sometimes they have coloring books and other activities for the kids too.

• The whales are close enough that even our 21 month old girl could get into watching them, but after awhile they're ready to do something else.  Snacks are our trick for keeping our kids happy for the two hour tour.  

• You cannot pick up or carry children in your arms when you walk around the boat, even infants, so take some kind of a carrier that allows your hands to be free if you have a child who will want to be carried a lot.

'Thar be pirates in the land. Arrrr!!

I have one more post to write about our trip to Maui, but preparing for a certain boy's pirate themed birthday party has been front and center on my schedule, leaving little time for blogging.  We're getting to the final countdown to the party though, so I'll be back here soon to share my all-time FAVORITE thing from Maui.

In the meantime, happy weekend to you!

Ono Gelato Company on Maui

In Hawaiian 'ono' means delicious, and the gelato we found at Ono Gelato Company definitely lived up to its name!  We liked it so much on Saturday night that we paid them a visit again on Sunday.

It is a cute little shop and the people working there seemed to actually enjoy their job as evidenced by the cheerful, friendly service we received.  How amazing is that - great customer service AND a great product!

My only complaint would be that they have too many yummy flavors to choose from.  Lots of tropical flavors and lots of other flavors too.  Guess we'll have to go back (multiple times of course) on our next trip to Maui!


Do it yourself:

• They have keiki (children's) sizes, hooray!  They advertise a keiki cup, but if you ask they'll do it on a cone too.
• We went to their store on Front Street in Lahaina.  According to their website they also have a store in Paia.

Maui Ocean Center

Rainy weather nixed our plans for a hike on Saturday and we went to the Maui aquarium instead. I was afraid everyone else on the island might have the same idea but thankfully they didn't. There were quite a few people there but it wasn't overly crowded.

We enjoyed the tanks and displays in the first building and I decided garden eels have to be one of the weirdest creatures. They're like a sci-fi cross between a plant and an animal. My husband pointed out shrimp that had a number of little pinchers that all seemed to work like arms and we contemplated what it would be like to have six hands to use to put food into your mouth.

Between rain showers we headed outside to see the hammerhead shark tank and the touch pool, which our boy called the petting zoo. It seems many touch pools mainly have rocks and shells on display, but amazingly they had actual sea creatures (star fish, sea cucumbers and a couple other things) in theirs. Our boy loved it, our girl was curious about it all but afraid to actually touch anything.
The second building had fewer small aquariums and more hands-on and interactive displays, including a large section about Humpback whales. The tunnel through the biggest tank was a peaceful place to sit and watch the fish.

We ended our visit with some time at the turtle lagoon where we got to see the turtles enjoy a meal of lettuce. The aquarium was a little pricey but by the time we left I felt we had gotten our money's worth and I was glad we'd visited!

Do it yourself:

• This aquarium is very nicely done. They have a wide variety of creatures on display and the set-up is very kid friendly with steps for the kids to climb on to see into many of the aquariums and quite a few hands-on activities for them to enjoy.

• Only one discounted ticket allowed per local or military ID, so if that applies to you, make sure everyone in your group takes their ID.

• There is a little cafe and a restaurant inside the ocean center but we didn't eat there so I can't offer any specific recommendations.

• Visit their official website for more information.


Thank you to Delicious Baby for hosting Photo Friday!  Check it out to see travel photos from around the globe.