Lyon Arboretum

Lyon Arboretum is a botanical garden that is owned and operated by the University of Hawaii.  It is used for research and community education and is open to the public!  It's location in a tropical rainforest in the back of Manoa Valley is a gorgeous spot.

When you sign in at the visitor's center you can get a map of the place which I would recommend.  I found the map a little hard to read and match with the trails themselves but we would have been even more lost without any map at all.

My friends and I began by exploring the trails located near the visitor's center.  My son loved practicing his new reading skills by reading the labels on the trees and plants, my daughter loved carrying our map and all the kids had fun walking on the trails.

Near the visitor's center there are several small gardens you can visit, a traditional Hawaiian hale (pictured here, it has since been completed), and a nice gazebo and adjacent little pond.

We fueled the kids up with a picnic lunch, stopped at the restrooms and then we were off for a grander adventure.  We explored a number of the side and loop trails shown on the map and the kids had fun leading the way as we hiked.  

It was great to see and hear their excitement over birds, flowers and other treasures discovered along the way.  

There is a trail that leads to a small waterfall in the back of the valley and we spent some time on this trail but didn't go all the way to the waterfall.  Something to explore the next time we visit this beautiful spot!

Do it yourself on Oahu
Location:  3860 Manoa Road, Honolulu, HI  96822
Directions:  Here's a link to directions and a map.
Hours:  Mon-Fri from 8am to 4pm; Sat from 9am to 3pm; Closed holidays
Cost:  The arboretum is technically free, but there is a suggested donation that I believe was $5 per person.  I think I decided kids were half-price and donated $10 for the three of us but I can't remember exactly.
Parking:  There is a parking lot adjacent to the visitor's center.  If it's full, wait a bit and hopefully a spot will open up.
Facilities:  There are restrooms next to the visitor's center.  There is also a covered pavilion nearby with benches - a nice spot to have a picnic.  Oh, and there's a small gift shop inside the visitor's center.
Other:  All visitors must sign in at the visitor's center.  •  I'd recommend you take bug spray no matter what time of year you go.  Even in the summer Manoa valley can get a lot of rain, making it a nice place for mosquitos.  •  You could probably take a jogger stroller on some of the paths here but I think a backpack carrier would be a better choice for little adventurers.
More info:  808-988-0456

Urban Garden Center

The Urban Garden Center is visible from the H-1 in Pearl City.  I used to pass it daily on my commute to work and often wondered what it was and now I finally know!

We begin our visit with a stop at the main office where they requested we sign a safety waiver and they gave us a map of the gardens.  My daughter thought the map was awesome and referred to it often even though she doesn't have any map reading skills just yet.

We started our adventure at the Hedge Maze (small but the kids liked it) and then walked through the plumeria collection.  They have beautiful plumeria in a large variety of colors (I should do a Scenic Sunday post on them sometime) and I was tempted to break off branches to plant at home but I didn't.  I also checked out the Herb Garden and Idea Garden to see what I should/could be growing in my own garden at home.

The rest of our time was spent in the Children's Garden.  The favorite with the kids in our group was the Alika Rabbit Garden that follows a Hawaiian adaptation of the Peter Rabbit story.  There are plastic bins along the way with various activities in them for kids to do.  Gardening at the little house was such a big hit we had to go there twice.

We visited just about every sections in the children's garden including the Caterpillar Tunnel

 

 and the Pizza Garden where they grow things you would serve on pizza.

The entire complex covers 30 acres and obviously we only saw a small part of it.  I think a lot of the land we didn't visit is covered in fruit tree orchards.  

This was a fun place to visit and I'm sure we'll head back again.  It's a great place for kids to explore the great outdoors and gives everyone a chance to learn a bit about plants along the way.  

Do it yourself on Oahu
Location:  955 Kamehameha Highway, Pearl City, Hawaii 96782
Directions:  Turn into the Home Depot parking lot off of Kamehameha Hwy in Pearl City.  Take a left and drive towards the Public Storage building.  Just past the building you will see the entrance to the Urban Garden Center.
Hours:  Mon - Fri, 9am to 2pm (except holidays).  They also have a "Second Saturday at the Garden" program but it does not happen every month so call them to confirm dates for that.
Cost:  Free
Parking:  There is a parking area next to the road near the office.  Parking is free.
Facilities:  There are restrooms and a drinking fountain.
Other:  • There is a large gazebo in the children's garden that would be a perfect spot for a picnic.  • They recommend closed toed shoes and I put my daughter in tennis shoes but I just wore slippers - we were both fine.  • I would recommend wearing sunscreen and taking a water bottle.
More info:  808-453-6050

Moanalua Valley Park and Playground

The last time I went to the park in Moanalua Valley (not to be confused with Moanalua Gardens, a completely different place) I didn't have children which means it was more than 5 years ago.  I remembered it as a nice place so I invited a few friends to meet me there today.  The weather cooperated and we enjoyed a picnic lunch, some adult conversation for the moms and lots of running around and playing for the kids - enough that both of mine took a nap when we got home.  If that's not a sign of a successful outing I don't know what is.

The park has a standard playground set and no swings.  The shreds of caution tape on the playground were a little concerning but, although it looked like it had seen better days, I didn't see any major problems with the structure.  The park also has a circuit-training setup and the kids enjoyed playing on that too.

There are beautiful trees in the park, but no shade on the playground itself.  The park has a gentle slope to it and some of the kids had fun running up and down the hill.  At the back of the park is the trailhead for a hike back in the valley, but it has been such a long time since I've been on it that I need to hike it again before I blog about it.

Do it yourself on Oahu

Location:  1857 Ala Aolani Street, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96819

Directions:  Access to this park is off of the Moanalua Freeway (A.K.A. the 78).  

If you are headed east on the 78, exit at Red Hill.  Go straight at the first stop sign at the top of the offramp (you'll be on Moanalua Rd), then take a left at the second stop sign onto Ala Napunani St. and go under the freeway.  Take a second left at the next stop sign onto Ala Aolani St.  You will pass a golf course on your left and then go through a residential area for about 1.5 miles before the road dead-ends into the park's parking lot.  (When you leave, don't retrace your steps but instead go straight at the intersection of Ala Napunani St. and Ala Aolani St.  This will put you on a frontage road that, if you keep going straight, will get you back on the 78 going east.)

If you are headed west on the 78, take exit 2: Moanalua Valley/Salt Lake/Red Hill.  The road will split and you want to turn right to Moanalua Valley.  You'll then be on Ala Aolani St.  You will pass a golf course on your left and then go through a residential area for about 1.5 miles before the road dead-ends into the park's parking lot.  (When you leave, I believe you make a right turn on Ala Napunani street to go under the freeway and get to an onramp to head west on the 78.)

Parking:  Free parking in the parking lot

Facilities:  There are restrooms which were clean and stocked with TP when we were there.  There is a drinking fountain.  There is a covered lanai type area attached to the restrooms which extends to the edge of the playground.  There are also a couple of nice picnic tables in the park.  Oh, and last but not least there is a basketball court.

On the web:  Moanalua Valley Neighborhood Park

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!

Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe

What do you do when you want to go on an afternoon adventure but there's not that much time between the end of nap time and the beginning of supper time?  We decided to go to Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe. The kids had never been before and the only time we'd been there was ages ago so it was practically a new place for all of us.

Haiku Gardens is adjacent to a restaurant and is a popular spot for weddings.  It feels very private but it's open to the public.  It's a beautiful little spot, a hidden gym, an oasis...whatever cliché you might use would probably fit.  It really is a spot worth visiting.

Our boy's favorite activity was playing tag with Daddy and Grandpa on the big lawn.

Our girl's favorite activity was looking for fish in the pond, which meant that my primary activity was making sure she didn't accidentally join them in the water.

A little trail leads around the pond and we all had fun walking on that, checking out the plant life, looking at the koi fish and listening to the bullfrogs.

A fun place to spend a bit of time!  If you live on Oahu or come here to visit, stop in and see it.  If you live somewhere else, look for an overlooked place in your town and pay it a visit!


Do it yourself on Oahu:

• First off, a map link.
• And then a link to the website for Haiku Gardens.

And now, my thoughts/advice/tips:

• Haleiwa Joe's is the restaurant located next to Haiku Gardens.  Haven't eaten there so can't give you any info on it, but if you see the restaurant you're in the right spot.
• To get to the gardens, walk like you are going to the restaurant and just before you go in the entrance turn right. There's a sidewalk there that turns into a path that takes you along the side of the restaurant and down into the gardens.
• Probably wouldn't be quite as much fun for kids to visit here when a wedding is underway or when a bridal party is taking pictures, but when you have the place mostly to yourself it's great!

Starting the Weekend at Magic Island

I lived on Oahu for quite awhile before I figured out what/where Magic Island was.  I think I thought it was an island, which it isn’t.  It’s more of a peninsula.  It also isn’t magical really, although the peacefulness I feel after an evening there makes it feel like maybe there is a little magic there.

Now that we know what and where Magic Island is we like to go down there on Friday evenings for a picnic supper and an evening in the park.  It’s become a family tradition that we all enjoy.  Our boy likes to take his bike or scooter to ride on the paved paths there and during the summer we sometimes take swimsuits for the kids so they can swim in the protected area at the end of the island, I mean peninsula.

It’s a beautiful spot and a great place to watch the sunset.  A few months ago it was there that I finally saw the first green flash I’ve seen in Hawaii.  As if all of the above wasn’t reason enough to head down to Magic Island there are also fireworks.  Hilton Hawaiian Village shoots off fireworks almost every Friday at 7:45 PM and Magic Island is a great place to watch them over the water.

The only bad part about evenings at Magic Island is it’s hard to get our kids to stop running around and playing long enough to eat their supper.  But no matter how much or little they eat they sleep well from all the exercise they have gotten.

Do it yourself on Oahu:

• Magic Island is on the Waikiki side of Ala Moana Beach Park, across from the Ala Moana Mall.  Here's a map link.

• Parking is free and there’s usually plenty of it, although in the summer months it can sometimes take a little while to find a spot.

• There are outdoor showers and a number of bathrooms that are usually decently clean.

• Fireworks are at 7:45 PM except on the rare occasions when they are cancelled due to bad weather.  There are no fireworks on Good Friday.

Lox of Bagels & Sand Island Park

There is a bagel shop on Sand Island where we love to stop for lunch.  If you come to visit us and your plane arrives around lunchtime there's a good chance this will be the first place we take you after we pick you up.  In fact, this has become sort of a tradition that our more frequent visitors expect and look forward to.

We were fans of Lox of Bagels when we lived here back in the day and were very happy they were still here when we moved back.  We were also happy when our ever-opinionated boy decided he liked to eat there too!  Not that we would have let him veto us, but it's always more fun to do things when your children are enthusiastic than when they are whining about them.  Our girl isn't verbal enough to be super opinionated but so far she seems to enjoy lunch there too.

Last week we met up with family who were visiting us here on Oahu for lunch at Lox of Bagels.  We got there at 11:30 and thought we would beat the rush but they were starting to run out of certain bagels and all of their tables (their seating area is small!) were taken.  My husband suggested we get our food to go and take it out to the park at the end of Sand Island.

I don't remember ever driving all the way to the end of Sand Island before, but that's where the park is.  It definitely wasn't the prettiest one I've seen but we stopped right at the entrance and found a spot where we had a great view of Aloha Marketplace and downtown Honolulu.  We had a nice little picnic there and afterward our girl had fun running around and pushing her stroller and our boy had fun tree climbing and checking out things at the water's edge.

Do it yourself:

• Lox of Bagels is located at 111 Sand Island Access Road, which is off of Nimitz Hwy.  Once you turn onto Sand Island Access Road you will go down several blocks and it will be in a strip mall on your left, just a few doors down from West Marine.  After you see it, make a U-turn and look for a parking spot.

• They have a lot of different bagel sandwiches to choose from.  My favorite is the veggie sandwich on a toasted sun-dried tomato bagel.  My boy always gets a bagel pizza which I ask them to cut into quarters for him (it cools much faster that way!).  My girl is happy eating a blueberry bagel.  They also have fresh fruit cups and pasta salad for sale, as well as plain and flavored creme cheese.

• If we get there at the end of lunch or after lunch they will be sold out of many of their flavors of bagels.  But if we're there early enough I like to get a dozen bagels to take home.

• As I mentioned, their seating area is small but this is actually the first time we haven't managed to get an empty table there.  Unlike many restaurants, the temperature inside this one is usually on the warm side - probably because of their ovens baking all those yummy bagels.

• Check their website for their hours.

UPDATE • Bathrooms!!  Learned today that the nearest bathroom is a few doors down in the West Marine store, and they are very nice about loaning out their key to kids who just can't wait!

• I'll have to go back and check out the entire Sand Island Recreation Area sometime.  I did notice they have picnic tables and bathrooms.  As you can see in this picture there wasn't much green grass there.  Guess it's been too dry.

• I was there as part of a group of 6 so I felt safe there.  Not sure if I'd be as comfortable if it was just me and the kids.  As always, use your best judgment and common sense when it comes to safety at this park or anywhere.

Kaka'ako Waterfront Park

Here's a picture of my kids eating a picnic lunch at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.  How lucky am I to get to include views like this in my weekly routine?!  The tropics aren't for everyone but I'm sure happy living here!  And would you believe this was Plan B for a picnic spot?

When we have an activity/appointment on the Windward side before lunch and one in town after lunch I often pack a lunch and we picnic at Nu'uanu Valley Park on the way.  If it's raining there we just keep driving until we find sunshine, which is how we ended up at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.

There's no playgroung but there's lots of wide open space and both my kids enjoy running up and down the big hills.  There are lots of places to picnic - near the parking lot, at the top of one of the hills, under a pavilion by the water or, as shown in the picture above, on the grass facing the ocean.  I loved this spot we found.  Sure can't beat the view!!  We all had fun watching tugboats pulling container ships out to sea and watching people take parasail rides.  We were a bit windblown when we left but were no longer hungry and were refreshed and ready to continue on with our day!


Do it yourself:
• Kaka'ako Waterfront Park is just across from the Children's Discovery Center at the end of Ohe Street, which intersects with Ala Moana Blvd. between the Aloha Tower and Ward's Warehouse.  Look up Ohe Street, Honolulu, HI on Google maps and you'll see it!
• The park has bathrooms and picnic tables.
• It's a popular spot for school groups to have lunch on their field trips but there is still plenty of space there even if you see five school buses in the parking lot.


Thanks to SteadyMom for hosting her Moms' 30-Minute Blog Challenge.

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!

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!

Pohakupu Park in Kailua

My kids and I met up with friends at a new (to us) park and a good time was had by all. It was a beautiful day. One of those rare ones when there are absolutely no clouds touching the mountains and they just stand out in all their glory against the backdrop of the blue sky. I don't think I'll ever get over the beauty of this island and I'm glad for that!

We had a nice picnic in the shade and then the kids had fun playing on the playground equipment. They were much more impressed by the dinosaur to climb on, the swings (even a toddler swing - my girl liked that!), and the playground structures than the view of the mountains. My girl impressed/worried me with how high up on the dinosaur's back she was able to climb on her own. Most of the play equipment was in the sun, but there was shade nearby and a nice breeze blowing so it wasn't too hot, even at noon.

Before we left we took a walk around the fountain at the corner of the park. I've seen it countless times from the road, but had never seen it up close and personal. I decided it looks prettier from the road, but the kids liked walking around on its outer wall.

Do it yourself:

• This park is located at Castle Junction in Kailua, catty-corner to Castle Medical Center.

• The official name of this park is Pohakupu Park, but it's also known as Dinosaur Park, Fountain Park, That Park by Castle Junction (what I've always called it) and who knows what else.

• The park and the highway are only separated by a single chain, so be sure to keep a close eye on little ones and their wanderings.

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

UPDATE: The next time we went to this park I realized that there are no restroom facilities there, so pee before you go! :)

Nu'uanu Valley Park

Today we had a late morning class/appointment on the windward side and an early afternoon class/appointment on the leeward side. Rather than try to rush home in between for lunch I decided to pack a picnic and spend our lunchtime at Nu'uanu Valley Park. It's off of the Pali Highway which was our chosen route for the day anyway so it was super convenient.

The park was/is beautiful! The giant trees are amazing to see and provide tons of shade. It was a hot day today but even at high noon it was very comfortable at the park with the shade from the trees and the trade winds that were blowing. It was quiet and peaceful but there were enough people there the whole time that I felt safe. When the mothers and kids vacated the playground (probably to go home for lunch) other people came to eat lunch at the picnic tables in the park.

We had a fun little picnic which thankfully was not interrupted by rain. I was worried for a few minutes when I spotted a huge gray cloud and felt the breeze pick up a little but the cloud went a different way and we stayed dry.

After our picnic we spent some time at the playground. I was surprised to see swings! They don't have any toddler swings for the younger kids, but any type of swing seems to be a rare thing at playgrounds these days.

A little side note here. Do you know how tricky it is to take a picture of your oldest child on a swing (with a slow digital camera) while simultaneously trying to keep your youngest child from walking in the path of said swing? Had a couple close calls but no one was hurt in the taking of this picture. Whew!

This was definitely a successful outing! It was more fun and more relaxing than a stop at home would have been and I think we'll add it into our week any time we have appointments on opposite sides of the island that bracket lunch - which happens more often than you'd think.

Camping at Hoomaluhia

I have a cautious interest in camping. I do occasionally go camping and I've made some great memories on camping trips but I'm not a gung ho or hardcore camper by any means. However, I've decided that camping at Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens has the potential to make me truly enthusiastic about camping. Pitching your tent under a shady tree on a nice grassy lawn with these majestic mountains as a backdrop - what's not to love?!

Yes, they have funky gate hours so you can't come and go quite as freely as you might want to, but once you figure out the schedule it's very workable. Oh and yes, it's not at the beach but in a way that simplifies things a bit and with a toddler and a preschooler in the family I'll take every bit of simple I can get. They have showers and flush toilets and lots of wide open spaces for playing Frisbee, running, exploring, hiking and other fun family adventures. There's a big lake kids can fish in and they have fire pits for marshmallow roasting, yum!

Now before any friends start adding comments about what a hypocrite I am I will on my own accord admit that I haven't actually spent the night in our tent which is pictured above. No, I've packed up my girl after campfire time and we've taken advantage of the 9 PM gate opening and headed home to sleep in our own beds, leaving father and son to have some quality bonding time before we return when the gate opens at 9 AM the next morning. But when she gets just a little bit older we'll all stay overnight and I'll get to enjoy the sunrise on the beautiful Koolau Mountains from our camping spot. This tentative camper can hardly wait!

Byodo-In Temple

We went to Japan today! No, not really, but this temple is often used to portray Japan in movies and magazines. In reality it’s here on Oahu in Kaneohe.

The setting and grounds are beautiful and there are a number of activities that make it fun for kids. Feeding the wildlife, exploring a small bamboo forest, talking in a pavilion with neat acoustics, staring up at the giant Buddha and of course ringing the big bell.

Oh, and almost forgot to mention the ever popular activity of playing with and eating gravel - I think that was my girl’s favorite part of our outing today!

There’s a little store next to the temple that sells fish/bird food for $1/bag and we did our best to keep them in business. We fed the koi fish, the pigeons, some sparrows, a swan and even a turtle.

My girl wanted to walk into every body of water we came to and my boy wanted to stand on the edge of the bank when feeding the fish but somehow everyone came home dry. A friend went with us and having an extra set of adult eyes and hands was helpful, plus adult conversation for Mom is always nice!

To Do It Yourself:

Just google ‘Byodo-In Temple’ and you’ll find everything you need from hours (8:30 – 4:30 daily) to directions. Prices shown online vary. Here’s what was posted today:

They just charged me for one kid. Maybe the one year old was free? Mosquito spray came in handy when our exploring took us away from the temple itself.

Enjoy! And if you don't live on Oahu - put it on your 'to see' list when you come to visit!