Honolulu City Lights Electric Parade

Sorry for the lack of activity on my blog lately.  I've been spending every spare moment working on photo books of the year for my kids for Christmas and pretty much everything else in my life has been neglected.  I completed and purchased the books today and now I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

I plan to update the Weekend Events page sometime tomorrow (Thursday).  In the meantime, I'm reposting what I wrote about the Honolulu City Lights electric parade last year.  It's a fun parade with lots of bands, floats, and city vehicles covered in lights.  For my family it's a "not to be missed" holiday event and the 2011 version of the parade is happening this Saturday night.  

Reposted from December 2010

The Honolulu City Lights electric light parade has become an annual tradition for our family and we enjoyed it again this year.  It's always on a Saturday night, probably the first one in December but I'd have to check my calendars from previous years to be sure.  Lots of people go early and enjoy the rides and activities around Honolulu Hale but we prefer to watch the parade as it comes through Chinatown.  It's less crowded there and getting in and out and finding parking is pretty easy.

Our kids enjoyed dancing along to the Christmas music as various bands marched by and they loved getting candy that was passed out by parade participants.  Our son remembered this from last year and asked that we take a bag to put his stash in.  During the parade he decided the candy bag should sit back next to me rather than by him, so the people passing out the candy would think he didn't have any and would be sure to give him some.  As soon as he'd get a piece of candy he'd turn around and toss it to me for safe-keeping in his bag.  Our daughter's technique was to eat as much candy during the parade as she could and she may or may not have eaten candy stolen from the big kids she was sitting with in addition to her own.

There were some nice floats in the parade but my favorites were the utility vehicles bedecked in lights.  Have you ever seen such a nice looking dump truck?

And look at this fancy sewer pumping truck.  

I didn't get a picture of the Handi-Van that was tripped out to look like a low-rider, complete with a spoiler on the back, but it was one of my other favorites.

This parade is happening this Saturday, December 3, 2011 starting at 6pm in downtown Honolulu.  More details to come on the Weekend Events page.

Scenic Sunday: Sunset Over the Ko'olaus

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

Sunset over the Ko'olaus reflected in the Kawai'nui Marsh

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day!

I am thankful for many things this year including each of you who visit this little corner of the internet and read my blog.  Thank you for your emails, your comments and your contributions to this space.  

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Swap Meet at the Aloha Stadium

Have you started Christmas shopping?  It's not quite Thanksgiving and usually I take one holiday at a time but this year I decided to get as much shopping out of the way in November as possible.

I always do some Christmas shopping at the Aloha Stadium.  I once overhead a vendor say people who live here go to the stadium when they have visitors from off-island and at Christmastime and I know that's true for me.

The term 'swap meet' makes me think of a community garage sale, but the vast majority of the items at this one are new.  There are a lot of different types of things available at the stadium swap meet and over the years I feel like I've bought at least one of every type of item they have.

This is the perfect place to shop to buy Hawaiiana type things for friends off-island and prices are better than in Waikiki.  But don't think it's only tourist stuff for sale here because there's a lot more to buy than that.  Items for sale include: Hawaii t-shirts, aloha wear, sunglasses, board shorts, hats, prints of photos and paintings, beach towels, luggage, bags of all sizes and styles, baskets, handicraft items, quilts, cheap plastic toys (my kids always want to spend their money on these), musical instruments, jewelry, hair accessories, and the list goes on.

For those of you who are more visual, here's a list in picture form:

And one last picture, the aloha wear outfits I got at the swap meet for my kids to wear for Christmas last year.

The vendors are positioned in a circle around the stadium so you get a bit of exercise while you shop.  I always take a stroller and I use it for keeping my wandering daughter with me and for giving my son a ride when he gets tired of walking.  

Speaking of kids, mine usually enjoy going to the swap meet.  It's a great place for them to spend their pocket money because a lot of things are available in their price range.  My son has bought toys, necklaces, wooden bookmarks and a bunch of other things there.  When they get tired I can motivate them to keep going with the promise of fresh sliced fruit or shave ice which are both available there.

Happy shopping!  Some of the vendors will bargain with you, so happy bargaining too!

Do it yourself on Oahu

Location:  Aloha Stadium, 99-500 Sale Lake Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96818

Hours:  Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 3pm  (They usually have extended days and/or hours during the holidays but I'm not finding those anywhere right now.)

Cost:  $1 admission for ages 11 and older

Parking:  After you come in the entrance there is a parking lot immediately to the left, there is parking all around the perimeter of the stadium, and there is a big parking lot near the front side of the stadium.

Facilities:  There are restrooms at a couple locations around the stadium.  

Other:  Although there is some food for sale there I always take snacks for my kids.  I would also recommend taking water bottles and an umbrella and wearing a hat and/or sunscreen, especially in the summer when it gets really hot there.

More info:  Official webpage for the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and Marketplace