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.