Aloha Friday: Weekend Events

Here are a few events happening on Oahu this Saturday and Sunday that I think keiki would enjoy.  If you know of other family friendly events this weekend please share them in the comments.  Mahalo!


Saturday, October 2

What:  Windward Ho'olaule'a

Where:  Windward Community College, great lawn; 45-720 Keaahala Rd, Kaneohe, 96744

When:  9am to 8pm

About:  Live entertainment, face painting, imaginarium/CAE open house, book sale and culinary arts food booth
For More Info:  windward.hawaii.edu/Hoolaulea/

What:  Duke's Uke Contest
Where:  Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach Hotel, 2nd floor; 235 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, 96815
When:  10am to 12pm
About:  Four age categories of nonprofessional ukulele players compete onstage at Duke's.

Sunday, October 3

What:  1st Annual Hawaiian Honey and Arts Festival
Where:  Senator Fong's Plantation, 47-285 Pulama Rd in Kaneohe
When:  10am to 5pm
About:  Craft vendors, honey vendors, food booths, keiki activities and live entertainment

What:  17th Annual Children & Youth Day
Where:  State Capitol, Iolani Palace Grounds, Washington Place and other downtown locations.
When:  10am to 3pm
About:  Building tours, live entertainment, food booths, rock climbing wall, inflatable obstacle course and more.
For More Info:  http://www.kipchawaii.org/index.aspx

Lei Stands at Honolulu Airport

When I meet visitors at the airport I like greeting them with flower leis.  I stop at the airport lei stands and buy leis there.  When my parents came to visit last week my kids and I made our traditional stop before picking them up.

I often let my kids pick which leis to buy (within my target price range).  My boy always has to check out several of the stands before deciding on a purchase.  It's pretty cute, unless I'm in a hurry.

I like to see the variety of leis and watch them being made.  When we stopped in last week one of the lei sellers was making this beautiful haku lei (a lei worn around the head like a garland).

To appreciate the fragrance of the leis you will have to check this place out yourself.  The tuberose and plumeria leis smell especially wonderful.

Do it yourself on Oahu:

Directions:  The lei stands are well marked when you drive to the airport.  Head towards arrivals until you see the sign for the lei stands on your left.

Hours:  Each lei stand has its own hours, but from talking to one of the vendors it sounds like you should have no problem purchasing a lei as early as 6am and as late as 10pm.

Parking:  Free parking directly in front of the lei sellers.

Prices:  Better than your local drugstore or grocery store.  Prices range from $5 to $20 or so.  Some vendors will bargain with you, especially if you are buying multiple leis.

Many people like to buy leis in Chinatown, but for me the convenience of the airport lei stands is hard to beat.  We stop here for leis for special occasions like graduations and birthdays too.


To see lots of great photos from around the world, check out Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Kaneohe Bay Airshow

We went to Kaneohe Marine Corp Base to watch the Blue Angels up close on Sunday.  We got a great spot right along the flight line with just a single row of people in front of us.  

While this was going on in the air above our heads...

...this is what was happening on the ground:

Yes, our boy is napping and our girl is digging in the dirt.  So glad we took them.  Ha!  But we enjoyed the show and were glad we went.

Thanks to Steady Mom for hosting the Moms' 30-Minute Blog Challenge.

Scenic Sunday: Blue Angels on Oahu

It's been fun having the Blue Angels in town!  Took the first photo standing on my roof Friday, watched them across Kaneohe Bay yesterday and today we're going to the Marine Corp base to see them up close and personal.

Did you get to see them while they've been here in Hawaii?  Anyone watched them other places?  Share your stories in the comments!

Aloha Friday: Weekend Events

I want to start posting upcoming events here to help Oahu readers get out and have some extra fun on your weekends.  I haven't done my research for this coming weekend, but with the Blue Angels in town, really, is there anywhere else you'd want to be besides the Marine Corp base in Kaneohe?  (If you don't share my enthusiasm for fast, loud jets flying in formation then sorry, I've got nothing for you this week.)

This Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25 and 26:
Kaneohe Bay Air Show 2010 at MCBH
Free and open to the public
Activities from 9AM-6PM
Air show from 11AM-5PM
There will be food booths and carnival rides.  Probably static displays too but I don't know that for sure.  It is rumored that the Blue Angels will fly about 3 PM, but that's not official and I can't remember where I heard those rumors.
For more information: http://www.mcbh.usmc.mil/Airshow/

New Name, Same Blog

Welcome to Oahu Mom!  First off, I want to assure you that the only thing changing around here is the name and the url.  So if you enjoyed Sun with Passing Showers then you will definitely enjoy Oahu Mom.  If you've never cared for Sun with Passing Showers...well, then why are you here again?  :)

Why did I change the name?  In the course of documenting my family's Hawaii adventures I believe I've created a site that can serve as a good resource for other families who live here and those who visit too.  Since I think this site is useful I want it to get used and I hope the new blog name will help more people find this little corner of the web.

The old url is supposed to redirect to this one, but just an fyi, the new address is:  www.OahuMom.com

Thanks for visiting!

Farmers' Market in Kailua

On Thursday mornings my favorite place to be is the Farmers' Market in Kailua.  For awhile this didn't fit into our weekly routine but when our schedule changed up at the beginning of the year I made sure the Farmers' Market made it back on the list.

Kailua's Thursday morning Farmers' Market, not to be confused with the evening Farmers' Market in Kailua, is my favorite place to get fresh fruit and vegetables.  Most of the items are locally grown and fresh from the farm and the prices are generally better than the grocery store.

I have my favorite vendors for certain items.  The papaya man who offers my boy a job after watching him carefully select and then help carry our papayas, the banana guy who often gives my girl a free banana to eat while we're shopping, etc.  Most weeks I buy papayas, apple bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions and bell peppers.  Depending on my menu or mood for the week I might also buy lettuce, okra, eggplant, pineapple, plantains, beets or even breadfruit.  Fresh fish are often available as well.

The market has a small town feel to it and if you've lived here for any length of time you'll probably see someone you know.  And how could you not be inspired to eat more vegetables when you get to see them like this?

Do it yourself on Oahu:

• Time:  9-10AM on Thursdays
• Location:  The morning Farmers' Market is located behind the Kailua fire station in a parking lot along S. Kainalu Drive.
• Directions: Heading makai (toward the ocean) on Kuulei Road, turn right onto S Kainalu Drive.  The Famers' Market will be on your right.
• Parking:  Along the street or in the nearby neighborhoods.
• Vendors accept cash only.
• A tip from me: The vendors all have plastic bags but I prefer to take my own bag.  Less to throw away when I get home and easier to carry one big bag than give small ones.
• A second tip from me:  The market begins promptly at 9 AM with the sound of a horn.  If you want to be sure to get fresh cut flowers then you might consider getting there early and getting a number so when the horn blows you can grab your flowers before they're all gone.  If you're going with kids though, I recommend going a little later, say 9:15, to avoid the mad rush that is the first few minutes of the market.  But don't go too late, by about 9:45 the vendors start packing up to head to their next market.
• Check this link for more information on the People's Open Market, including times and locations of other markets around Oahu.


I am happy to share that this post was included in Homespun Honolulu's Blog Carnival.  Visit Homespun Honolulu to see the entire Carnival of Rainbow Colors, October's carnival theme.

Scenic Sunday: Shower Tree Blossoms

It's that time of year again - the shower trees are blooming!  We have a rainbow shower tree in our front yard that is currently covered in these beautiful flowers.  Love them!

Soul Cafe in Kaimuki

A few months ago I joined the coolest book club.  We discuss the book (and life and kids and anything else we think of) over dinner.  But not just any dinner; the food has to go along with the book.  For example when we read Shadow of the Wind, which is set in Barcelona, we all made Spanish food.

Our most recent book was The Help which is set in the South so naturally we decided we needed some good Southern cookin'.  Someone suggested we make a reservation at Soul Cafe and that's what we did!

I'm not a food critic or a restaurant reviewer but here are my thoughts on Soul Cafe:

Set-up:  Indoor and outdoor dining available.  No matter where you sit, you go to the outdoor counter to place your order and pay for your food.  The counter is also where you can get the key to the restroom which is behind the restaurant.  If it's after dark I'd recommend you take a friend with you, but maybe I'm just a chicken.  

Food:  Delicious and authentic.  Cornbread with maple butter on it.  Collard Greens.  Sweet tea.  Fried chicken.  Southern vegetarian chili made with black eyed peas.  Cole slaw.  Lots of other stuff too.  Very generous portions and we all left feeling very full.

Chef:  Good at his job and friendly too.  He stopped by our table and asked us about our book and posed for a photo with us.

Parking:  Limited free parking in front of the restaurant.  Lots of pricey parking across the street.  Park at City Mill at your own risk.  Probably better to pay for parking than discover your car was towed, but once again, maybe I'm just too much into being on the safe side, i.e. a chicken.

Do it yourself on Oahu:

• Soul Cafe is in Kaimuki at 3040 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, 96816.  Phone is 808-735-7685.  It's tucked in with a number of other restaurants and several of us drove by it once or twice before we saw it.  

• I didn't take my kids so I can't give you the full scoop but I can say that the atmosphere is nice and casual and children would definitely be welcome here.

Jackass Ginger Pool

Oh my, please pardon the language in the post title, I know this is a family site.  But that's what everyone calls the spot we went to this past weekend.  I could make up a new name I guess, but that would just be really confusing.

To get there, we hiked the Judd Trail and then took a side trail down to the pool.  We had a group of teens and tweens with us and they enjoyed swimming in the pool, jumping in off the rocks and swinging on a rope swing and landing in the pool.  I'm not really an advocate of jumping into water when you can't see the bottom and I'm completely against diving into water when you can't see the bottom, but no one was injured while we were there.  Hooray!

There's a natural little rock slide on one side of the waterfall (water cascade is probably a more accurate description) and our boy enjoyed sliding down that into the pool a couple times.  Our girl waded in the water above the falls/cascade until someone pointed a crawdad out to her and then she wasn't so sure she wanted her feet in the water.  I think I'll wear my swimsuit and get in next time, crawdad and all!


Do it yourself on Oahu:

• If you hike the Judd Memorial Trail in a clockwise direction, the cutoff to Jackass Ginger Pool will be on your left after you've started on the downhill portion of the loop.  You can see the stream from the loop trail at the cutoff.  If your main destination is the pool, then hike the loop counterclockwise or head directly down the stream to get to the pool.
• Beware that leptospirosis can be found in Hawaii's streams.  We stay out of the water if we have open cuts and I remind my kids to keep their mouths closed when they swim in the water.

Scenic Sunday: Shoreline

Scenic Sunday...because I never cease to be amazed by the beauty of these islands.

shoreline in Waikiki

Visit Delicious Baby to see more beautiful photos from around the world.

Moanalua Gardens

We met up with friends for an after school picnic today at Moanalua Gardens.  Hooray for kindergarten that gets out at noon!

I've always liked this park but it never made sense to me.  It's well maintained and beautiful, has an odd collection of buildings, feels randomly located and attracts busloads of (mostly) Japanese tourists who walk a little ways into the park, take lots of pictures and leave. So I googled it before sitting down to write this post and now it makes more sense!  That and a sign I saw at the park which explained the Japanese tourists.

The buildings include the summer house of King Kamehameha V (pictured below) which is closed to the public for safety reasons and an old tea house that I couldn't find much information on.

I think the reason the location feels odd is just because of how the land around the park has developed through the years, sort of isolating this beautiful spot.  And the Japanese tourists?  They come to see a famous monkeypod tree that is the symbol of the Hitachi Group.

Never heard of this famous tree?  Me neither, but if it wasn't famous before it is now that it appears in every Japanese visitor's travel album.

After our picnic the kids all had fun climbing trees, checking out the koi pond and playing in the shade.  There are beautiful wooden benches throughout the park that I liked to sit on and my girl liked to climb on.  There is also a trail that goes along the back of the gardens.  We didn't explore it today, but the kids did check out a stream that flows through the gardens.

koi pond                                                    stream

This place is called "Moanalua Gardens" which makes it sound like a botanical garden where you should "look, but don't touch" which isn't that much fun for children.  But I felt just the opposite here.  We stayed out of roped off areas and didn't do anything destructive of course, but in some gardens kids being kids would be frowned upon - not here.  A great place with so much to explore.  No playground, but the kids didn't even seem to notice.  We'll be heading back again I'm sure!


Do it yourself on Oahu:

• As for so many places on Oahu, Moanalua Gardens is easy to find (you can see it from the freeway) but a little tricky to actually get to the first time.  It's not intuitive and it's not well marked, but really it's easy.
Directions:  From the Moanalua Fwy. (Hwy 78) take the Pu'uloa Road exit and drive toward the mountains / Tripler Hospital.  Take the first left which is Mahiole Street (there's a signal and a street sign).  Take the very next left which will go under the road you were just on.  At this point you will probably feel like you're in the wrong spot but just keep going and you'll be in the Moanalua Gardens parking lot before you know it.
• Take koi food if you want to feed the fish.
• Public restrooms are available.
• It's free!

Surfing at Queen's Surf Beach in Waikiki

On Sunday we spent the day with a bunch of friends at Queen's Beach in Waikiki.  While we were there my boy got his very first surfing lesson - and in my proud opinion he did really well!  We sure had the right crew there for it.  A friend with a long board who would help launch him into the waves, Daddy to catch him before he ended up on the sandy shore, and even another friend on a surfboard with a video camera in a waterproof case to film the whole thing.  

It was really flat on Sunday but not quite as flat as it looks in the picture.  The waves were indeed big enough to give him forward momentum.  It was a perfect spot for a first lesson.  Shallow enough for adults to easily help, deep enough that he didn't get banged up on rocks when he fell in, and right next to a rock pier where I could stand and be close to the action with my camera and document his progress. 

Do it yourself on Oahu:

• Queen's Surf Beach is on the Diamond Head end of Waikiki across from Kapiolani Park.  

• Hawaiian royalty used to frequent this beach and Queen Liliuokalani had a beach house here, hence the name.

• The beach is known for its body boarding (some areas are exclusively for body boarding), snorkeling (there's a nice reef out in front of the Waikiki aquarium), and of course swimming (although it is a little rocky in some areas) and playing in the sand.  The beach is popular with the LGBT community but on any given day a wide variety of people can be found enjoying this beautiful spot.  There is a nice lawn next to the beach with some shade and a couple great banyan trees with roots that are fun to swing on.  

• There are restrooms and outdoor showers here.

Scenic Sunday: Sunset in Waikiki

I didn't post earlier because we were gone all day, enjoying the great outdoors.  It was a beautiful day to the very end!

Ulupo Heiau in Kailua

Over the summer I took my kids and some friends to the heiau in Kailua but didn't get a chance to blog about it until now.  (For those who don't know, a heiau is a temple built and used by ancient Hawaiians.)  I'd driven by it countless times and even peeked at it from the YMCA pool area but had never taken the time to check it out.

From the top it is an impressive foundation of stones, upon which wooden structures are thought to have been built when it was in use.  But it's when you walk around to the lower side of the heiau that it's massive size can really be appreciated.  It is clear that a lot of time and energy went into building this place.

My kids would have loved to climb around on the rocks of the heiau, but out of respect for the site and those who hold it sacred I took them down the path below the heiau to explore there instead.  There are a number of taro patches planted below the heiau and it was interesting to see the taro in various stages of growth and to check out the ditch irrigation system that waters them all.  

The path ends at the Kawainui marsh where it is built out onto the marsh for a short ways, similar to Na Pohaku O Hauwahine which can be seen from this spot.

This was a fun spot to spend time outdoors and teach my children a little about ancient Hawaiian culture at the same time.

Do it yourself on Oahu:

• Directions:  Tour buses use a pull-out on Kailua Road to get to the heiau, but if you have a car it is better to park at the Kailua YMCA.  Coming from Kailua on Kailua Road, take a right on Uluoa St., another right on Manu Aloha St., and one last right on Manu Oo St. which will end in the YMCA parking lot.  Take the sidewalk to the left of the YMCA building which will lead you to the entrance to the heiau.

• Here is the Hawaii State Parks' website for the Ulupo Heiau State Historic Site.

• There are no restrooms or other facilities here.