Oahu Adventure: Day 7

The weather has been cooler than I expected here on Oahu. Lovely breezes and a bit overcast but pleasant. 

Tom’s flight landed at 11:30 today. We had to stop for fuel and then drive about 45 minutes to the Honolulu Airport. We ended up circling a few times but Tom got out of the airport quickly and was waiting on our third circle. Because Waikiki was overrun during Memorial Day weekend we skipped the aquarium. Because we were in the area we promised the kids we could go since we were close. We scored a parking spot in the tiny car park in front of the aquarium which is quite miraculous. As we approached the door a man handed Tom free passes for the kids. Score.

We checked out the outdoor exhibits and then headed inside. Alex had the handheld tour guide and he wanted to stop at every display so we could listen to the information. It was cute the first five times. He eventually grew bored with it. After we checked out the indoor tanks the seal show started. The aquarium has two Monk Seaks that can not be released into the wild. So much fun for the kids to see.

Because lunch was long passed we made a McDonalds stop after the aquarium. The weather had made a turn for the worse so the lovely drive we were going to do up the coast wasn’t going to work. We went back to the house and Tom had a little sleep. Once he was coherent we took him down to the beach a few houses down from our rental house for some wading, collecting of nature and time with the kids.

Oahu Adventure: Day 5

After a quick breakfast the kids asked to play Monopoly again. It took us a couple of hours before we called Alex the winner and put everything away. Today our mission is to find a beach on the North Shore to explore and then drive back to the famous Shrimp Shack for some dinner. We got ourselves ready for the day and did some laundry and then got in the car for an explore. 

The guidebook made Sunset Beach sound like a nice place for us to stop for a while. It wasn’t too far away and there were very few people there. The kids hadn’t quite committed to swimming or getting wet yet. They ran around and played for a while and got everything wet! Time to put on the cozzies and get in the water. One problem. The waves were a big too much for the little ones. They did love waiting for them to come in the then running. I went up to the car and changed into mine so I could get in the water with them. It was good fun but difficult as an adult not to be knocked down by waves or swept back in. I went in a bit further past the break and sort of bobbed along with the waves but they were too strong and kept pushing me back in. No wonder the North Shore is famous for surfing the big waves.

We bundled up and got back in the car. Speed limits are notoriously slow here. It took us a while to get back over by our house and down to The Shrimp Shack. We got there at 5:07…seven minutes after they shut for the day!  Oh well, back to the house. The kids had a bath while I prepared something to eat. After dinner they watched some shows on the iPad before we got ready for bed. Wednesday I have planned to take the kids up to Kualoa Ranch for a jungle expedition in a Pinzgauer. Should be a good time.

Oahu Adventure: Day 4

Lazy morning. Tom started teaching the kids to play Monopoly which took some time! Around lunchtime we took the trek back down to the airport in Honolulu for Tom to fly to Los Angeles until Thursday. Traffic wasn’t too bad for Memorial Day until we neared a large cemetery which had police directing traffic in and out. We said our goodbyes to Tom and went on our way. It took about an hour to get back up to the house. After a late lunch the kids wanted to go to the local beach only a few doors down from us. It turned out to be a good time. A dog kept us entertained for a good hour, Sofia especially. The dog loved us throwing the ball over and over and over again.  Because it was late afternoon, breezy and cloudy it felt a bit cool out in the air. That meant the after felt toasty warm. It was hard to get out. 

After spending a couple of hours at the beach we came home and rinsed off. I didn’t feel like cooking so the kids wanted tacos from North Shore tacos again. Happy to oblige. This time Sofia had two tacos with beans and rice herself and Alex only managed half a taco. From here we popped into Longs Drugs next door to pick up a few things like motion sickness tablets, nasal spray to stop nosebleeds, etc. 

Another relaxing evening before playing musical beds again. Both kids ended up in the spare bed together because they didn’t want to sleep in different rooms. Sleeping is getting better. We should be well adjusted about the time we need to go home and start over again! 

There are so many things to do with the kids on Oahu but I know much of it is touristy stuff and not quite authentic. I struggle with booking these things and spending the money or do we just do everyday things we all love like going to the beach? 

Greymouth Beach nearing sunset

Waikiki Again, This Time at Sunset

The day certainly brightened up.