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.

Snack Bar at the Honolulu Zoo

When we go to the zoo I often pack a picnic meal but a couple Sundays ago we ended up at the zoo at lunchtime, hungry and without food.  We headed to the zoo's snack bar, Kapahulu Market, expecting to part with a lot of cash.  We were happily surprised!  We got a personal pizza, a soft pretzel, an order of nachos, an order of french fries and two large lemonades.  The serving sizes were very reasonable and the four of us were satisfied and re-energized at the end of our little lunch.  Thanks to the 20% discount we get with our zoo membership (the basic family membership, 'Tiger' I think it is) our grand total was only $20.  Not as cheap as Taco Bell would have been, but not bad considering the lack of competition in the zoo and the convenience of the snack bar.

The clear plastic cups our lemonade came in are those cool ones that are made of corn or something and are 100% biodegradable.  We brought ours home to compost and they haven't turned into dirt just yet, but it said it could take a couple months.  Our own little science experiment in progress!  :)


Related post on this blog:  The Honolulu Zoo

Do it yourself on Oahu:

• The Kapahulu Market is adjacent to the playground in the zoo.
• They don't have straws at the zoo so you may want to take an empty sippy cup if you plan to order drinks for younger children.

King Kamehameha Day

Update: Here is a link for information on the 2011 Lei Draping Ceremony.

On Friday we stopped to see the statue of King Kamehamea draped in leis for Kamehameha Day.  The leis were beautiful and amazingly long, as you can see in this picture.  For scale, the statue is eight and a half feet tall and the pedestal is even taller than that.  The longest leis were made of plumeria flowers.