Hanauma Bay & Waikiki

Wednesday, June 2

We started the day off by going to the Swap Meet. It's official -- I'm not a swap meet kinda girl. Too hot, too much walking, I don't love to barter, all the junk starts to look the same, and you have to pay to get in. The kids were not thrilled with it either.

Purchases: Ukulele for Harrison (He was dying to have one).

Really cute Hawaiian print dress for Elizabeth (After looking at every stall, poor Nate had to walk back to get the one I wanted and then walk back again to get a smaller size -- while we all sat in the air conditioned car. He's a saint that way. He didn't even bat an eyelash. I would have been really ornery about it.)

Tee shirts for both kids. This was when it all really started to fall apart. It took us way too long to pick out 4 shirts for $10. Johnny was hungry, hot and tired. We all were, actually.

Turns out they sell almost all of that stuff at Wal-Mart, which is air conditioned and you don't have to pay to get in.

Later that day we went to Hanauma Bay, which wasn't my favorite for a lot of the same reasons. You have to pay to get in (all the other beaches are free, but this is a wildlife reserve so I guess they can charge) and too much walking!!! Especially if you get lost and go the wrong way. And even more so if you fall asleep on the way and are really cranky when you get there. That was me, not the kids.

After all the waiting and walking and paying, it was really pretty. Nate, Harrison and Faith snorkeled.

While Sis, Baby, and I did our usual chillin' on the sand.

You walk down a huge hill to get there. Which of course means you have to walk up a huge hill to get back. I was DREADING it. The walk down had been bad enough with carry all sorts of heavy stuff and complaining kids. (And a mom who wanted to thrown her own little fit but somehow held it all inside. Like I said, very cranky.) But after some nice relaxing time by the ocean, we were all rejuvenated. With bribes of cake and ice cream for all who could make it up the hill without crying and the encouragement of singing songs the entire way up, we made it happily. A miracle indeed. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but the view was spectacular.

I wondered if people thought the girls were twins. Kell, I was in your shoes for a few hours.

The cake and ice cream bribe was awarded in honor of Nathaniel's 11th birthday! Guava cake -- a local delicacy. Very delish!

Thursday, June 3

In the morning, we went to Boots & Kimo for the much acclaimed Banana Pancakes with Macadamia Nut Sauce. So yummy. My goal is to figure it out so we can enjoy it here on the mainland. Then we went to Don Quijote (A Japanese market, naturally. Didn't the Spanish name give it away?) This is where we first encountered the culinary highlight of our trip -- MELONA BARS. I think these amazing melon-flavored ice cream bars deserve a post of their own. They're that good.

That afternoon we went to Waikiki. After being spoiled by the less crowded local beaches, Waikiki was way too touristy for us. Note the long line of teenagers in the background that I refereed to as "Spring Break 2010." They were pretty entertaining with their teenage drama. Especially the part where one of them got really ticked when Harrison got sand on her towel. Her friends tried to calm her down and remind her that he's just a kid. But she said she would have never done something like that when she was his age. Hopefully her detailed memory is still intact when she has a child at the beach someday.

This was the one and only time I got in the water on the whole trip. The stars were all aligned -- it was hot enough, the water was calm, there were no blue bubbles, and probably the most motivating factor of all. . .nature called.

As long as Johnny has his fingers, he's a happy guy.