Jamie wanted to spend his birthday in Hawaii and thought it'd be fun to go to Honolulu for 3 nights and then relax on the Big Island for 5 nights. We thought there would be more kid stuff to do in Honolulu than the Big Island. The flight to Honolulu was okay. No major screaming from the boys thanks to mini M&M's and an iPad with headphone splitter. Lucas managed to keep it together despite not napping. We arrived at our
hotel pretty tired so we ordered a snack from room service, settled in, changed clothes and then headed to Duke's for an early dinner.
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| Freshening up with a cold towel |
The next day we were all up early. It was Jamie's birthday and he wanted to go to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. We got to Hanauma Bay to find out that it was closed on Tuesdays. So we kept on driving up to the North Shore where we stopped to get lunch. We then went to the Dole Plantation for pineapple ice cream and the train ride. Thankfully the boys napped on the drive back to the hotel. I took the boys down to the beach while Jamie went to the spa. I just about had a heart attack every minute we were there since the boys were running into the water. The waves that came on shore weren't bad but BOTH of them were having a good time frolicking and I was paranoid about not turning my back on either of them. I think I lasted 30 minutes at the beach. For Jamie's birthday dinner we went to Roy's which was just a block away from our hotel. We wised up and brought the iPads so Jamie and I could eat our dinner at a normal pace. We felt like bad parents but felt relaxed so that eased our guilt.
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| Dole Plantation Pineapple Express train |
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| Had to make an emergency stop at an ABC store to get new clothes. This was the only one that had shorts. |
The next day we decided to go to the Bishop Museum. There was a Sesame Street exhibit that we thought the boys would enjoy. After that we went to the Disney Aulani hotel to check it out. It was a nice huge resort with waterslides and very kid friendly. We changed into swimsuits and hung out on the beach for a little while. We then had an overpriced lunch before heading back to our hotel. When I put our beach bag back in the trunk of the car, I realized that we left the borrowed hotel stroller with our gift shop items at the Bishop Museum. We went back to the museum and luckily the stroller and bag was right where we left it. For our last dinner in Honolulu we went to the Hula Grill for a casual dinner. Lucas didn't nap well that day so he and I had to leave dinner a little early. Plus, we had to pack up for our flight to the Big Island.
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| Tried to get Caleb to say "Next up Elmo's World" but he said it in such a rush it was not understandable. |
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| All about the digestion system. There was the mouth chewing food, the stomach, and then the intestines. The one on the right you can press a button and fake poop comes out. |
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| Jamie was able to quickly check out other exhibits in the museum. |
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| Beach at the Disney Aulani hotel |
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| looks like we got some sun after 3 days |
It was short flight to the Big Island. On the shuttle to the car rental place, I checked our reservation and it was then that I noticed that the reservation was made for JUNE 12th and not JULY. OOPSIE! Luckily they had a minivan available and I was still able to get the "family" discount (Thanks G!). The boys were going to bed late and still getting up around 7 -7:30am. On the drive from the airport to the hotel they both fell asleep. Luckily we were able to check in before having to wake them up from their nap.We freshened up and decided to go to the nearby shopping mall because there was going to be a hula dance performance. There was also a grocery store so we could get some diapers, milk and snacks. The boys were enjoying the show and at one point the dancers pick someone from the audience to go on stage. Jamie got picked and did his best.
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| Shake it! |
The next day we took a drive to the
Hawaiian Vanilla Company. There we got yummy vanilla and chocolate milkshakes and learned about growing vanilla beans. We also got some goodies to bring home. After lunch we went back to the hotel for a much needed nap. We made plans to go to a luau. For the luau we dressed in our matching aloha outfits. Festive and cheesy. At the luau we sat next to another family of four from San Francisco. We chatted a bit and found out their kids were 6 and 11. The mom asked us how old the boys were and said "ah yes, I remember those days... that's when you go on relocation instead of vacation". It totally made sense. The luau itself was decent. Decent food and entertaining show. The boys were mesmerized by the fire dancer.
The next day we went on a long 2 hour drive to Hilo to go to the Farmer's Market and check out the town. For breakfast Lucas had some POG juice (papaya, orange, guava). For most of the ride Lucas was doing okay but towards the end he was getting real antsy so we gave him the iPad to play with. He started to make some noises and then when I looked back to check on him he "lost his cookies" all over his clothes. I think it was the juice. We're not sure if he was feeling carsick before we gave him the iPad or if playing with the iPad caused the carsickness. Well I was unprepared and did not have a change of clothing for him. So we searched for the nearest store and found a Ross already open and got Lucas a new outfit.
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| Needed to stop on the side of the road to clean him up. |
After the Hilo Farmer's Market we went to the
Pana`Ewa Rainforest Zoo to see the white Bengal Tiger. There also was a playground at the zoo and the boys loved that. The boys were getting tired and napped on the long ride back to our hotel. After spending 5 straight days with the boys, Jamie felt we needed a break and so arranged for a babysitter so we could go to the spa and then have dinner. Each night thus far the boys have gone to bed pretty late and would only go to sleep if I went to sleep with them. Since the babysitter put the kids down to sleep we were able to stay up late and watch a movie in the room when we got back. So exciting isn't it?
My goal for the next day was to not leave the hotel. Jamie wanted to take a drive around the island so the boys and I headed to the beach after breakfast. The boys played around in the water and on the sand. At one point they were running back and forth from the beach chairs to the water. Luckily there weren't too many people lounging around in the chairs yet. The boys had a lot of fun and I only freaked out a couple of times. The hotel beach area was calm and I didn't have to worry about waves. I only got a little nervous when they tried to go out farther. We had lunch by the beach and then headed back to the room for a nap. By then Jamie came back from his drive so he hung out in the room while I went back to our cabana on the beach reading "The Girl Who Played with Fire." It was the 2nd most relaxing time of the vacation next to my spa treatment. We went to Kona that evening and stumbled upon a street fair/farmer's market event. We then went to dinner at a
local restaurant recommended by the valet guy and had a yummy dinner.
The following day we ate a leisurely breakfast and did not have a clue as to what to do. We asked the concierge for advice and decided to go on a glass bottom boat tour. We were almost late for the boat since we got lost getting there. We weren't in swimsuits so we weren't really prepared to wade in the water above knee deep to get to the ramp that led to the boat. The tour was actually really cool. We got to see different kinds of fishes and several turtles. The boys were very excited and kept asking what the name of the fish that they saw. I had to keep one hand on Lucas the whole time because he sometimes would stand up on the bench and point to other things in the water. I felt like he would've hurled himself overboard if we didn't hold on to him. The tour was a hit since there wasn't actual snorkeling involved and both boys loved seeing all the fish. After lunch and nap we went to the pool for a little bit. That night we ate at one of the hotel restaurants
Brown's Beach House. The boys were pretty restless and luckily there was a huge grassy area in front of our table where they were able to run around. A couple of other Japanese girls the same age as the boys also were doing the same thing. It was cute to see.
All in all the trip was good but not as relaxing as a vacation that we had hoped. Nevertheless Hawaii never disappoints and we'll definitely be back.
I have no idea why he said he didn't like the beach. He loved throwing sand and running into the ocean.
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| Took him a LONG while to get to this point but worth the quiet 2 hours on the plane. |
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| Mahalo Hawaii! |
