Oregon Coast

I haven't updated this blog as much recently as I would like to. Our adventuring took us off-island to the Oregon Coast for a long weekend to attend a wedding. That side of the Pacific Ocean is quite different from this one and we enjoyed the scenery and the time with family and friends.

We weren't gone that many days but the trip prep, trip itself and resetting after the trip cut down on our adventures closer to home for awhile. We're finally unpacked and caught up on our sleep (mostly) so I should have more fun times on Oahu to share soon. We did go see the Thunderbirds perform at Hickam Air Force Base this weekend but I forgot my camera so decided not to devote a post to that outing, but it was fun to see them!

Sea Life Park

We had family visiting from the Mainland over the Labor Day Weekend (yes, I'm a little behind on updating my blog) and they asked about Sea Life Park as something to do while they were here and we went on Labor Day. I'd been there years ago when I took a bunch of my students on a field trip but hadn't been back since and my husband and kids had never been.

I knew it was a pricier activity than most but was surprised to find they even charge for parking. Paid for parking, unloaded everyone from the car, bought our entrance tickets (yay for kama'aina (local) rates!) and we were off on our marine animal adventure.

We started the day with the sea lion show. For me, watching our boy's face was even more fun than watching the show itself. He smiled and laughed and grinned and just had the greatest time. Our girl got into it too and made her universal animal sound (a little growl she uses for all animals except birds) every time a sea lion came out. She also got into applauding with the rest of the audience. It was too cute!

We missed all the feeding times where you can buy food to feed the sea lions and turtles, but we did get to the touch pool area where we got to pet a baby sea turtle and we got to watch the sea lions swim around and lounge on the rocks in their area.

We watched both dolphin shows and they were good. The snacks we took helped the kids wait patiently for the shows to start and kept them completely content during the shows as well. I thought the pace of the shows was a little slow but the tricks the dolphins did were neat to see and the backdrop of the ocean behind the show venues was beautiful.

Before we left the park we watched the giant sea turtles, looked at the bird and monk seal rehabilitation areas, let the kids run around in a play structure they have there and then spent some time looking at the large aquarium that you circle as you enter and exit the park. Divers were feeding the rays and that was neat to see.

We were all tired and hungry by the time we left. There's too much to see in half a day at the park but not enough for a whole day. We'd opted to push lunch back a bit and have a long morning there and then head to Kailua for lunch rather than taking time to buy food in the park. I think next time I'd either pack a lunch or take snacks for the adults too to avoid dragging out of there like we did this time. Lunch never tasted so good!

In the evening's conversation I discovered that the other adults in the group thought Sea Life Park was very run down and in need of painting and other maintenance. We watched the scenes from 50 First Dates that feature Sea Life Park and the pools were definitely cleaner then than they are now, but the need for more maintenance wasn't what I noticed at the park. I noticed the awesome scenery and the delight on my children's faces as they got to see creatures up close that they more often see at a distance or in books. Would I recommend it for tourists with limited time to see the island? Probably not, but if you live here and are looking for something different to do with your kids definitely put this on the list. It's not Sea World by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it a place we'll visit monthly, but this won't be our last trip to Sea Life Park, that's for sure!

One last picture - the penguin habitat and the beautiful mountains beyond. The park really is in a gorgeous setting!

If you go:

Don't forget your water bottles and sunscreen!

If you have a choice I'd recommend going sometime other than the middle of summer when it's not as hot.

They have lots of "animal encounter" options if you want to pay the big bucks to swim with a dolphin, etc. Seemed really pricey and we skipped those options, but if it's your dream you can fulfill it here!

If you live here:

Take your kama'aina ID. You can buy two tickets at kama'aina rates with each local ID.

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!

Aloha Tower

This week we met some friends at the Aloha Tower Marketplace for a morning of adventure. I've been there a bunch of times but had never gone to the top of the tower itself before for some unknown reason. After this outing it's now on my "not to be missed at Aloha Tower Marketplace" list, especially if I have my kids and/or off-island visitors with me. (And if it's during the day - the elevator is closed in the evenings I believe.) The elevator is small but we squeezed two Maclaren strollers, two boys and two moms into it and rode to the 10th floor - the observation deck. There's a small balcony/lanai on each side of the tower just above the clock.

We checked out the view from each side of the tower. There's a great view of the harbor and the reef runway at the airport on one side, downtown on another side, Kaka'ako area on another side and Sand Island and the ocean beyond on yet another side. Some of the scenery:

After enjoying the views from the tower we walked around the Marketplace and then went upstairs to the food court for lunch. There are a number of nice restaurants there too but we were in the mood for something fast and simple. How's this for food court seating? Much nice than most I thought, and it had a nice view too.

Lunch at Subway filled our tummies and got our parking validated, savings us some money on our adventure. Oh, and speaking of money, the elevator ride was/is free! My favorite price!