Nature Hour at Ho'omaluhia

Last week I took my kids to the Nature Hour for Tiny Tots at Ho'omaluhia.  I've been wanting to go to one of their programs for awhile now and it finally worked into our schedule!  The theme for the nature hour was Ducks and they started by reading books about ducks and other farm animals and doing some song and finger skits too.

After the story time there were a number of stations the kids could go to where they could learn about ducks and farm animals through hands on experiences.  At one station they had blocks where you could build a pen and then sort the animals by farm animals and wild animals.  Another station had snorkel fins that kids could wear and walk like ducks.  There was a barnyard puzzle, a chance to play duck, duck, goose and a couple other stations I don't remember right now.

In addition to the stations, the kids got to do a craft where they made a little duck.  One of the ladies in charge of that station nearly drove me crazy with her micromanaging - "no, don't put the glue on the blue felt, put it on the orange feet" - talk about no room for creativity or self-expression, but I bit my tongue, followed her exact directions and moved on to something else as soon as I could.

After going through the stations, we walked around outside and saw some real live ducks.  We followed the trail next to the visitor's center until it ended it a grassy field.  It looked like a lot of families had packed a lunch and were heading down to eat it by the lake but we didn't take a lunch and didn't walk all the way down to the lake.  Maybe we'll do that next time.

Do it yourself:
• Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens is located in Kaneohe at 45-680 Luluku Road.
• For information on their Nature Hour for Tiny Tots visit this webpage and scroll down to Ho'omaluhia.  The next two scheduled dates & times are from 10:30 to 11:30 AM on May 18 with a theme of Rocks and June 15 with the theme of Seeds.  It says a reservation is required but oops, I didn't know that and there was no indication of that when we went last week.


Thanks to SteadyMom for hosting her Moms' 30-Minute Blog Challenge and helping me to be efficient with my blogging time!

Maunawili Demonstration Trail

Another weekend, another hike!  This time we went on the Maunawili Demonstration Trail, sometimes called the Pali Trail.  We also call it the Hairpin Hike because you park at the hairpin turn on the Pali Hwy (see "Do it yourself" below).

We've been on this trail before but I had forgotten that it starts with a short uphill section.  I remembered correctly that most of the hike (the first few miles anyway, I haven't hiked the whole thing) is shaded and you hike between trees and see lots of tropical plants like these wild orchids.

But I had forgotten all about the great views of the windward side from the trail.  In fact, I'd told the visiting relatives we took on the hike that there weren't many/any views.  How could I forget seeing great vistas like this?!

I have to say, blogging has helped me pay more attention and notice the details more in life.  A benefit of blogging I hadn't expected!

We barely saw our boy the whole afternoon.  He assumed his favorite place in the lead and let me tell you, his pace has definitely picked up.  I think he was afraid the teens in our group would pass him if he didn't keep a move on it so he rose to the occasion and kept up with them the whole hike.  They put up with him and even made him feel like part of their group.  Anyone who has a negative perception of teenagers hasn't met the ones I know!

The trail is mostly level and the majority of it is smooth so we let our boy wear these, knowing he would come begging for the socks and closed toed shoes we wise parents stuck in the backpack.  But nope, he happily wore these the whole way.

I used to be a reluctant hiker but I have to say, lately I've not only enjoyed, but looked forward to our hikes.  So stay tuned for more hikes to come I'm sure!

Do it yourself:

• No restrooms at the trailhead or along the trail.

• This trail is 10 or 11 miles long and goes all the way to Waimanalo.  We always hike until we are half worn out or half out of time and then turn around and head back.  I'd like to do the whole trail one of these days and have someone pick me up at the other end but I'm not sure the kids are ready for that long of a hike.

Parking for this hike is at the hairpin turn off the Pali Hwy on the windward side.  From the leeward side, go through the tunnels and look for a pullout on your right just as you begin the hairpin turn.  To get there from the windward side you have to go past the hairpin, through the tunnels, exit at the Pali Lookout, and get back on the Pali heading back toward Kailua.  The lot can fill up on weekends, but we've always managed to find a spot.  Hope you do too!

To get to the trailhead, walk up the Pali behind the guardrail.  Pass the sign warning you about the water and at the end of the guardrail you will see the trail head into the trees.

When you get to this junction, a turn to the right and up the stairs will take you to the Pali lookout.  To go on the Maunawili Trail, keep to the left.

Toys 'R Us

My girl is having a birthday soon so the kids and I headed to Toys 'R Us to look at tricycles.  Gotta love the age where you can take your kid with you to shop for their gift and they are none the wiser!  :)

I have mixed feelings about Toys 'R Us.  On the one hand, a great place to see lots of selection and variety at once but on the other hand, total sensory overload!!  And that is for me, can't imagine what it must be like for kids!  Although as I kid I remember I loved that store, but now I leave feeling overwhelmed and a bit dizzy.  Oh, and tired.  I think subconsciously I feel like I am fighting advertising, consumerism, materialism and other 'isms the whole time I am in the store, with the fear that if I let my guard down my home will be overwhelmed with stuff and I'll spend all my days picking up toys.  Oh the drama!

When we didn't find exactly what we were looking for at Toys 'R Us we headed over to Target.  The prices seemed much better there to me, so do some price comparison before you purchase.  As for me, I didn't find the perfect tricycle so the birthday shopping isn't over.  Makes me tired just thinking about it!

Do it Yourself:

For directions and other info to Toys 'R Us on Oahu, click here. 

Hike: Ko'olau Golf Course to Pali Lookout

The weather was beautiful this weekend and we got out and enjoyed it Saturday afternoon with a hike.

We started at the Ko'olau golf course and headed up toward the Pali Lookout.  We've done this hike before and I wrote about it here, but last time we just hiked up to the Pali Highway and turned around there.

This time we went under both lanes of traffic and up these stairs.

That got us onto another trail that we headed uphill on and soon we were on the upper part of the Old Pali Road.  The views were beautiful!

We hiked up the road for awhile but the grumbling from the kids started to grow and so the group split and the kids and some of the adults started back down while the rest of us continued on up the road all the way to the Pali lookout.  It was really windy up there and our girl remembered our last visit and decided she liked it even less this time.  She started crying and would not be consoled so we headed back down the old road and she promptly fell asleep in the most uncomfortable looking position.

We caught up with the rest of our group and continued on down the road until we got to this little bridge, where we headed up over the bank to our cars.

Do it yourself:

I paid better attention to the trail this time so I can be a little more specific with my directions than I was last time.  

Park at the Ko'olau Golf Course and head up the road that leaves from the back left corner of the parking lot as you're facing the mountains.  

When you get to a big water tank, take a left on the trail that leads through the trees there.  This trail will later become an old stone road and then turn back into a trail.  

Later you'll come to a junction of trails.  Turn left for a short walk to a lookout point or go straight to continue on the trail.  

You will eventually come out at a junction of three old roads.  Take the highest (and least cleared) road and go up toward the Pali Highway.  

After you go under the Pali Highway, you will come to another trail.  Take this to the right to get up to the Pali Lookout.

On the way back down, when you get to the junction of the three old roads, instead of going back on the small trail you can take the road on the left (as you're facing the ocean) and it will get you back to your car.

Happy Hiking!!

Na Pohaku O Hauwahine

Awhile ago some friends told us about a spot off of Kapaa Quarry Road (i.e. Dump Road) that they liked to visit.  We had some time one weekend afternoon and went and checked it out.  Calling it a hike is probably a bit of an overstatement – it’s more of a walk, but there are some slight elevation changes and you walk over varied terrain so that’s the hike part of it.

There were a number of trails to choose from and we started out by hiking up to the highest spot we could.  Our friends said they call that spot Pride Rock and as we stood on the top we could see how they came up with that name.  

We told our boy, a huge Lion King fan, that name and he got super excited and immediately tried to assign each of us roles from the story and wanted to act it all out right then and there.  We declined and instead enjoyed the view of the marsh and Kailua in the distance.

We continued to follow various trails and made our way down to the marsh and found a trail built out over it. 

Walking on that reminded me of walking on tundra.  It was really neat.  Our boy quickly headed up to higher ground though to find more rocks to boulder on.  That was definitely his favorite activity!

We didn’t take our backpack carrier and instead let our girl walk when she wanted and carried her in our arms when she wanted up.  The trails were short enough that worked out okay.

This was definitely a neat spot, and quite a surprise.  It felt like we were much farther away from the road than we really were, and the view was different than I’ve seen from any other place.

Do it yourself:

The trailhead for this spot is between the Pali Hwy and the Kapaa Transfer Station (the dump) on Kapaa Quarry Road.  There are pull-outs on both sides of the road and a sign marking the trail.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  Our family celebrates our risen Savior on this day.  I like the Paschal greeting.  In English it is "Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!" and in Russian (according to Wikipedia) Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес! (Christos voskres! Voistinu voskres!) 


Last year we were here for Western Easter and in Russia on Orthodox Easter.  This year they are both on the same day and we are celebrating here in Hawaii.  The kids have already had their candy fix for the day (although I'm sure there will be more to come) and are excited about an egg hunt with their friends later today.


No matter what, why or how you celebrate on this day, I hope you have a wonderful Easter!