A Day in the Life

I have to say, tagging along on a business trip is not as fun as vacationing all together, since Zac had to be at work all day from Monday to Friday. But we found plenty of stuff to keep us busy until Zac could join us in the evenings. Here is day 6-10 (minus some pictures, because I left the “big” camera in Hawaii with Zac, and he doesn’t get home until Saturday).

Day 6:

• Adelyn and I took the bus to the Bishop Museum, to see the exhibit on Hawaiian culture and history. Unfortunately, it hasn’t opened yet (I guess “Summer 2009″ hasn’t happened yet), so we found other Polynesian cultures to explore. We went to the Science center, where there are a ton of hands on activities for kids. Since Adelyn isn’t old enough, I just explored them myself (I learned how waves are made, and how volcanoes erupt, etc). The picture below is of Adelyn in front of a HUGE butterfly, from the “Bugs” exhibit. She looks concerned.
• Then, I met up with Joy again, and she taught me how to surf! We went to Waikiki Beach, and I had a blast! I used a huge 10 foot board, so it wasn’t that hard to stand up on, and she had to give me a push to let me know when to start paddling, but it was awesome, and I’d totally do it again.
• Dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise was good, as were the Malasadas at Leonards (we couldn’t get enough of those things).

Huge Butterfly

Day 7 was laundry day. I had to do 2 loads at the nearby laundromat, and it cost me over $11. I haven’t been to a laundromat in a while, but this seems preposterous, considering I dried both loads in the same dryer simultaneously to save cash. After I spent all my quarters, the clothes were still a bit damp, but I didn’t want to break another dollar for just one more quarter, so I took the clothes home and hung them up all over the hotel room.

Laundry Day

We went shopping at the Ala Moana Center (just a huge mall), and for dinner we all went to Roy’s. We ordered the macademia crusted white fish, which was scary for me because I’m not really a fish lover. But it was SO GOOD. We also ordered the souffle, which we had heard really good things about. It lived up to the hype.

Day 8:  Saturday (Zac doesn’t work)!!!!!

• Hanauma Bay was AWESOME. Zac and I had to take turns holding the baby while the other one snorkeled, but it was still awesome. As soon as I get the pictures off the waterproof camera, I will post some. But we got there early, the morning was warm and beautiful, and the fish were so cool. I love that you can swim right up to them and they don’t get scared. I loved it!
• Polynesian Cultural Center – Great cultural experience. We learned how to make coconut bread like the Tahitians, split a coconut and make fire from the Samoans, and how to dance a Polynesian dance. We watched a cool IMAX film about protecting coral reefs (the kind of movie that makes you want to totally get involved with saving the world). The show was a new one – “Ha: The Breath of Life” has replaced “Horizons”, and it was really good. Even Zac loved it. Adelyn had a few minor meltdowns, but lasted until the end without a total breakdown. All in all, she was pretty good on this trip, but we did have a few difficult days, where she was so tired and grumpy that all I could do was take a drive to calm her down.

Day 9:

• Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona. This is a must see while in Oahu. The visitor’s center is being remodeled, and will be so awesome by next Fall. But it was still neat to learn about the attack on Pearl Harbor, and it was sobering to see the actual ship, lying just a few feet below the water’s surface, where many soldiers still lay. I thought it was interesting that many of the soldiers that survived the attack and have since passed away have been buried in the ship in the years since.
• Wailana’s Coffee House for lunch was another recommended spot to eat at. It was right next to our hotel, and we thought it was pretty good.  Not amazing, but good.

Dad and Addie at Hanauma Bay

Unhappy Face

Day 10: Last day in Hawaii

• Honolulu Zoo: Adelyn was a little young for this, although she has recently been taking an interest in birds, so we spent a lot of time near the bird cages. Apparently before Hawaii was discovered, it was full of birds, so the bird exhibit was quite large. It was a pretty good zoo, and was very open. There were open grassland areas with no cage around it. I guess the animals just know where to stay. There were peacocks roaming the grounds, and we went right up to one and Adelyn stared at it for awhile. I was surprised she didn’t squeal at it and scare it away. Her squeals are pretty ear piercing.
• Dinner was Round Table Pizza on the beach. It was a great evening, and Adelyn even tolerated us taking her in the ocean one last time before we went home. Adelyn and I flew home that night on an overnight flight (neither of us got much sleep, but it wasn’t a screamfest either, so I was grateful). Zac had to stay and work this week, so he’ll be home in a few days.

We are so happy we went, and had a great time overall. If we do this again next year, I’m looking for others to go with us to keep us company. Any takers?