Scenic Sunday: Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon

Scenic Sunday...because I never get over the beauty of these islands.

The Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village

Waikiki, Hawaii

Head over to Delicious Baby's Photo Friday to see more beautiful pictures from around the world.

Weekend Events: January 30 and 31, 2011

Happy Aloha Friday!  This weekend is a great time to head to Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year. There will be food, activities and a parade.  If you go, take a handful of $1 bills so your children can feed them to the lions doing lion dances and participating in the parade.  When we went a couple years ago our boy got up the nerve to feed a couple of the lions and he loved it.

Visit the Weekend Events Page for all the details about the Chinese New Year Celebration as well as an opportunity to tour the Battleship Missouri for free.  Have a great weekend!

H-3 Scenic Lookout

It has been SO BEAUTIFUL lately!  The weather has been pretty close to perfect, the skies have been clear, everything is green -- what's not to love?

On one particularly gorgeous day last week I kept getting distracted from my chores and projects by the amazing weather and clear skies outside.  I would have loved to head to the bay and jump in a kayak but my responsibilities for the day wouldn't allow for that.  So instead, I grabbed my camera as I headed out the door to pick my son up from school and stopped by a scenic lookout on the way.  I tried to capture a bit of the beauty and here's my best shot:

My favorite time of year here is probably winter.  For those planning a vacation to Hawaii, November through February can be a touch-and-go time to visit because the chance of lots of rainy days is much higher than at other times of the year.  But for those of us who live here, the days between the rainy ones are some of the most beautiful of the whole year.  My kids get to hear me say, "Oh, look how BEAUTIFUL it is!  Look at the mountains!  Look at the water!" quite often this time of year.  The neat thing is, instead of saying, "Oh Mommy, enough already" they get excited about it too.  They tell me "Come here, you HAVE TO look at the sky.  It's SO beautiful!"  I hope they continue to see beauty everywhere throughout their lives.

Do it yourself on Oahu

Location:  The scenic lookout I stopped at is off of the H-3.  It's a great place to get a panoramic view of Kaneohe Bay and the Ko'olau Mountains.  

Directions:  There's a lookout on each side of the freeway.  On the town-bound side it's located between the Kaneohe Bay Drive on-ramp/exit and the Kamehameha Hwy. on-ramp/exit.  If you're heading towards the Marine Corp Base the view point is located between the Kailua off-ramp and the Kaneohe Bay Drive on-ramp/exit.

Bishop Museum's Science Adventure Center

The Bishop Museum has a planetarium, five main exhibition halls and often a visiting exhibit as well.  That's a lot for young children to see in a day and too much, I've decided, to cover in a single blog post.  I recently purchased a membership so we'll be repeat visitors in the coming year and over time I'll blog about all of it.  For now, the Science Adventure Center.

The Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center focuses on science as seen, experienced and researched here in Hawaii.  That means it's a great place to learn more about the ocean and volcanoes.

The center was definitely designed with children in mind.  There is a giant volcano in the middle of the exhibit hall which includes a lava tube kids can walk through and a lava flow they can slide down.  There are hands-on exhibits throughout the center to keep young children engaged and signs and displays with more information to hold the interest of older children and adults.  There's really something for everyone here.

My kids love simulating a lava flow, trying on animal costumes in the "tree house" area upstairs, exploring the lava tubes, driving the robotic submersibles, creating waves in the wave tank...basically they enjoy all of the hands-on activities available.  And once in awhile we can even get them to stop and look at a display or let us read a sign to them too.

We were there at noon on our most recent visit and so we went to the Lava Demonstration they have at 12 and 2.  The program includes pictures, some video footage, a few demonstrations and hands-on props they pass around.  At first I thought the pace was going to be too slow for the kids and we weren't going to make it through the whole thing but they enjoyed it and didn't want to leave early.  I'm glad they wanted to stay because this was the grand finale of the program:

Oh, and my camera isn't fancy enough to photograph it, but be sure to go through the lava tube that is lit with black lights.  Who doesn't get a kick out of glowing teeth and t-shirts?

Do it yourself on Oahu

Location:  1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI  96817
Directions:  Why reinvent the wheel?  Click here for directions to the museum from wherever you might be.
Parking:  Plenty of free parking right in front of the museum.
Hours:  9am to 5pm Wednesday to Monday (i.e. closed on Tuesdays).  Also closed on Christmas.
Cost:  Adults $17.95, Seniors (65 and over) $14.95, Children ages 4-12 $14.95, Children 3 and under are free.  They have reduced rates for kama'aina and military visitors with proper identification.  To save money, consider purchasing a membership (they have several levels available) or be on the lookout for free admission days; they have a couple a year and I try to post them on the Weekend Events page when they occur.
Facilities:  There are restrooms inside near the entrance to this building.
Other:  The Bishop Museum has a large gift shop and a café.
Related:  Read my post about the Bishop Museum's Hawaiian Hall and the Bishop Museum's Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kahili Room.
More info:  You can contact the Bishop Museum at 808-847-3511