Lots of Water

Do you remember the TV show Fantasy Island? I don't, but apparently it was pretty popular. There is a waterfall in the show and it just so happens to be here on the garden island!Levi & Kara wore their orange & blue on Saturday...maybe I should have worn mine too. We couldn't catch the game here, but maybe that was a good thing. War Eagle anyways!

Beach Time!

Our first day on Kauai was gorgeous! There is a fabulous stretch of beach just down from our condo in Poipu that is perfect for kids. The rocks form a little pool that keeps the big waves out. It is perfect for letting the kids splash around in and the water is so clear! Then, of course we had to follow up with Hawaiian Ice!

Good-bye Oahu, Hello Kauai

Our last day on Oahu was a little smelly. We decided to take the bus over to the international marketplace. As we walked into the marketplace, Kara decided to stick her finger down her throat and vomit all over everything. Her outfit was soaked, the stroller was soaked, and Garet and I had puke all over us. We tried to get the smell out, but it remained with us for the day. Needless to say we didn't buy anything because we made a beeline for the airport.

At this point, we were very ready to move on and thankfully the flight to Kauai is only 25 minutes! Levi enjoys the baggage carousals, so we let him put his carry-on bag on the carousal and "pick it up" after it went around. It was too cute:
Arriving in Kauai was a breath of fresh air (literally). All my cares quickly washed away and I finally felt relaxed. The island is so beautiful.

Kauai is known for their chickens. We had been telling Levi about them for a couple of weeks. However, he had some questions when we actually got here. He asked if they were "short". After saying "yes", he asked, "So, they can't open the doors?". The things that go through a 3-year-old's mind.... He has warmed up to them now though, and has become an expert in telling us which are the "boy" chickens, the "girl" chickens and the "baby" chickens.

I took this picture of the rooster because I thought it was funny that it was next to an old beer bottle. It did have it's mouth on the opening, but I clicked too late:

Polynesian Cultural Center

After visiting Pearl Harbor, we choose to continue on around Oahu via city bus to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Not the best decision on our parts...it was crowded and took 2 hours to get around the island. I honestly wanted to kiss the ground when we got there.

Let me caveat here for a moment and tell you about a lady we met while waiting for the bus. She and her son had just moved out of a homeless shelter a month prior and she was helping us navigate the bus system. As the bus pulled up, she told us that we needed exact change (which we did not have). She gave us the money and wouldn't accept anything in return. I was so humbled by her generosity in what I'm sure was a lot of money to her.

Due to the length of our bus trip, we did not have very much time to explore the grounds at the Center, but I was so impressed by what we did see! They have all these "islands" that represent Polynesia (ex. Hawaii, Tahiti, Easter Island, etc.). The place was amazing and so relaxing! After a very stressful ride on the bus, we were able to float down this river through paradise!We only had about 30 minutes to walk through the islands, so I know we missed out, but what we did see was beautiful. We chose to do the luau and we headed over to eat. The eating part & show here were typical of every luau I've been to, but still good none the less.Where the Polynesian Cultural Center shines though is in their nightly show. Can I just say "Amazing"?!?! Wow. It was so good. We had only been in Hawaii a day at this point, so the kids where still jet lagged. Kara fell asleep, but Levi fought sleep as he was mesmerized by the show - he loved it. If you ever find your self on the east side of Oahu - go see this show!

USS Bowfin Park

Across the parking lot from the USS Arizona is a nice park where we had lunch and the kids enjoyed "manning" the guns & the submarine torpedo control center.

Pearl Harbor & The USS Arizona

The theme of our time on Oahu was "the bus". We opted not to rent a car and rely on public transportation. It worked for most of the trip, but we are still undecided about whether it was worth the money saved renting the car, paying for parking ($25/day) and navigating the city on our own.

Our first day, we were all set to climb Diamond Head. People had warned us that we were crazy to do it with kids, but I always say, "It can't hurt to try". I really think we could have done it, but Diamond Head is closed right now. Boo. They are paving the path and it won't reopen for another 10 days.

Plan B. We hopped a bus to Pearl Harbor. It took about an hour, but I think it would have taken about that long in a car. I was lucky enough to snag a seat next to the local Hawaiian drunk who told me all these amazing stories (he had lived in 40 out of the 50 states by the time he was 10 and he had the very Rolex on the back of the magazine he was carrying) - good times by all.

Since it is low season, we only had a 40 minute wait despite arriving in prime time to view the USS Arizona. Can I say that I love low season? Plus, it is a national park and so the kids got a stamp in their National Park Passports!

Viewing the ship with the kids was difficult. Levi asked some hard questions. I told him that we had to be quiet because there were a lot of sad people. He asked if there were people on the ship and I told him yes. He then told me that not all of the people on the ship were sad. He said there were happy people on that ship too. How do you explain things like this to a 3 year old?

For whatever reason, Garet and I both thought the viewing area was a glass-bottom floor (which it is not). I also hadn't anticipated in my mind all the sea life that had grown on the ship or that it was in so many pieces. It was a much different experience that I had imagined. I really wanted it to be an emotional experience, but trying to keep the kids quiet and away from the rail was quite a distraction. Also, having not grown up around my grandparents, I never heard first-hand accounts of that dreadful day. I think I got more emotional watching the Coast Guard guys that drove us out to the memorial...again, so young. Regardless, I am glad that we went and were able to witness a huge piece of American/World History.

I do not heart Waikiki

I've only flown through Honolulu, so we decided to spend a couple of days in Waikiki and explore what Oahu has to offer. I have to say that I was not impressed. From the minute we got the bus to the hotel and encountered rude service, I thought "this can not be good". Everyone I've ever encountered in Hawaii has been fabulously friendly. Apparently that is not the case in the Waikiki area. From the transportation staff, to the hotel staff and even to the other guests - bad moods everywhere! Ugh! I'm not sure what was up with that. There was not a laid back atmosphere at all.

Regardless, we were finally on land and the kids were ready to get in the pool: The "super pool" was freezing and so my lovely husband braved it with Levi:
We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (remember those points) and since this is low season, were upgraded to an AMAZING room. It was a huge corner room and we had a gorgeous view of the ocean, Waikiki and Diamond Head. This was great. We also used a bell service for the first time and I must say that I couldn't have imagined anything else greater with the amount of luggage we had - I'm going to remember that. This complex is a small town and I would imagine some people stay here and never leave, but oh what they would be missing. I kept telling Garet that it makes me so sad that some people save all their money to go to Hawaii and Waikiki is all they see. In case you are planning a trip, go elsewhere!!! Hawaii is a dream vacation, but Waikiki is not.

Here's our view (the Waikiki side), although this picture doesn't do it justice. At night, the lights were gorgeous:
Anyway, that is my rant on the airport/Waikiki area. We did go to the other side of the island...more to come.

The Flight Over

To say I was a little worried about the flight to Hawaii with two kids ages 3 and 1, would be an understatement. It was quite literally, pure dread. Thankfully, we only had one layover which meant 12 hours from wheels up to wheels down. After the first flight (30 minutes), Levi said "See Mommy, that flight wasn't long". I quickly told him that the long one was still to come. Long it was - 9 hours to be exact.

The first 3 hours were amazing - the kids were stellar. Despite some really bad turbulence during lunch (no doubt), where Levi spilled his orange juice everywhere, things were looking spectacular.

The next 3 hours were decent. Levi slept for almost all 3 of them, but Kara was a little squirmy (although quiet). Our flight was smooth during this time though and we could get up and walk around with her. She, of course, charmed everyone she walked by.

Here's a picture at about 6 hours into the flight. This was all I got since I didn't want to disturb everyone:
The last 3 hours were the hardest. We had a lot of turbulence and so we had to stay in our seats a lot. Everyone was starting to get restless (I mean we had been in a plane for hours at this point) and we were running out of things to entertain the kids with. Kara did sleep some during this leg of the flight. Despite all that, the kids really were amazing. Of the entire 9 hours, I really think there were only about 30 minutes where I wanted to pull my hair out. Thank you for praying! Our lifesavers were the DVD player, a Planet Heroes figure, a baby doll, milk and Teddy Grahams.

We like to play this game when we fly where we book the outside seats on a grouping of 3 in the very back of the plane. The middle seats in the back are usually the last to be booked and I would say we have been successful about 90% of the time in having an open seat between us. Thankfully, our game worked and we had an extra seat on the long flight (for Kara since she was a lap baby) - I really can not tell you how wonderful that was. Also, a note to all of you with the Britax Marathon. We brought the car seat on board for Levi to sit in, but it is so huge that his legs wouldn't fit between the car seat and the seat in front of him. Thankfully, Kara fit in it (and we had an extra seat). I think we are going to check it on the way home.

When we landed, the flight attendant came on and asked all of us to remain seated at the gate. With us on the flight were several military men and women who were on home leave from Iraq. They had been traveling for 30+ hours and they asked if we could let them get off first so they could see their families quickly. As they stood, the entire plane burst into applause. The emotion got the best of me - I was really proud to be an American as I watched them walk off the plane. And, they all looked so young. I'm sure none of them will ever read this, but just in case: Thank you for reminding me that I can fly with my family on vacation because you are facing danger everyday for me. I was honored to fly with you.