Well this post has been MUCH too long in coming. They are all just excuses but it took a while to gather up pictures from all the family members and it then once that was done, it was hard to find time to actually work on getting it put together. I mean, sure, I probably could have written all this without pictures but, well, didn’t. At any rate, sorry, hopefully we don’t have many more 3 month gaps in activity!!! Also this is a vacation summary rather than a “life update for Half Calf” so has a lot more writing than normal.
Speaking of family and activities; Half Calf and parents spent their second vacation at the beach this year and it was our third vacation in four months. I know, right? Living the good life! First was a beach trip to South Carolina with both Momma and Daddy’s families and then a week in Atlanta for a wedding with Momma’s Family (with an unplanned side trip to Ohio to see Daddy’s family) and finally a family trip to Hawaii with most of Momma’s family. So essentially Half Calf went on three straight large family vacation. Considering how seldom we see them normally, this was probably an overload for his system.
Momma and Daddy had been to Hawaii before (well, Oahu at least) but most of the rest of her family had not so unlike the majority of our trips, we really left the planning up to them. Plus it was a family vacation/honeymoon so it wasn’t “our” trip, therefore we just offered some advice and suggestions and left it at that. For someone who over plans trips, that was not easy for Daddy. Ultimately the plan ended up being spending time on Oahu and Kauai.
What made this vacation interesting and a little challenging was the number of people. It was nine adults and 2 toddlers. On each island we had two cars and challenging travel logistics. That also means that for a fair number of the activities, Half Calf got left out. Some were too early in the morning. Some were going to take too long that they would interfere with naptime. Some were too extreme since we did not take his hiking backpack with us. In any case, what that means for the purposes of this post is that a lot of the “stuff” that was done did not actually include Half Calf. Basically that is just my way of letting you know there will be a few random pictures mixed in that were things he did not participate in.
We started off with a flight from Anchorage to Honolulu. Half Calf is certainly becoming a pro at flying now. Of course this was actually a harder flight since we usually are doing late and/or overnight flights and this one was in the afternoon. So we had to deal with a largely awake baby for six hours on an airplane. Luckily all went well enough. Once we landed, Momma’s sister and new hubby met us at the airport and drove us across island to where we were staying. Oh yeah, one big challenge you have with such a large group is trying to find a place to stay for everyone. Basically we were going to have to book 3-4 hotel rooms or one of the few really large AirBnB/VRBO units available. In either case, the cost was about the same so we opted for the rental home but that required driving to about as far from Honolulu as you can go on Oahu, all the way to Laie.
The nice thing about where we were staying is that we were across the road from a park and the beach so it was a couple minutes walk to get to the water. And as we saw before in South Carolina, Half Calf loves the water. It is also the first time he has touched the Pacific Ocean because let’s be honest, even though we LIVE on the Pacific Ocean, we sure the heck don’t touch the water in Alaska if we can help it!
Since we arrived at night (well, after dark; the sun sets in Hawaii between 5:45 pm and 7:20 pm year round, and the sun rises at basically the same times on the morning), plus everyone came from more eastern time zones, the plan was to actually get up with the sun to take advantage of all the daylight hours. So on the first morning we made the long trek across the road to the beach to watch the sunrise. Well, most of us; the babies were not interested in our scheduling plans for some reason. And once they were awake, we went back to the beach for a while then went back across the island to Honolulu to do some tourist stuff.
The next day was more of the same. Our intention was really to spend the day close to home. We spent more time playing on the beach with Half Calf. We also left the kids with the grandparents and took a hike to the top of a mountain close to the where we were staying. Granted, we are trying to hike up a valley to a waterfall but alas we apparently were on the wrong trail since instead we were on the ridge well above the valley floor but it was still a nice hike so no complaints. We also went to what could best be called “Food Truck City” in Kahuku. It is a parking lot with probably 30+ food trucks there and you can find all kinds of food including shrimp, chicken, tacos, pizza, coffee, pretty much anything that can be cooked in a portable kitchen (not that they move the trucks, but they COULD move them at least).
For the following day, we were planning a few excursions. To start the day most of the family went to Honolulu super early (a couple stayed home with the sleeping babies) to go to the fish auction. Due to the fact they were selling huge whole fish, nothing was actually purchased but it was still interesting. Once everyone came back across the island, we all went exploring across the North Shore to Haleiwa. We had plans to visit the town, then on the way back jump off the rock at Waimea Bay, snorkel at Shark Cove and get home in time for the first time visitors to get to the Polynesian Cultural Center for dinner and a show. Alas, there was construction and it took a LONG time to get to Haleiwa so we ended up just wandering around there and driving back across the island, skipping rock jumping and snorkeling. So basically most of the day for Half Calf was riding in the car with a little walking around mixed in. Side note: Momma and Daddy went to Shark Cove last time on Oahu and definitely recommend it.
The day after that was the day we changed islands so we headed back to Honolulu and found a park close to the airport to spend time until we had to catch our flight. There really wasn’t much to report for this day other than flying to Kauai in the early afternoon then driving to the far end of the island where we were staying. We had a few choices but ended up opting for Princeville which is on the north/rainy side of Kauai. For those who do not know, the mountain in the center of Kauai is one of the wettest places on earth, receiving 450+ inches of rain a year. Most of the weather comes from the northwest so there is regular steady rain on that side of the island and more sunny, dry days on the opposite.
On the next day, we decided to get outside and get some exercise since the last couple days involved lots of sitting in the car or on the airplane. We picked the Okolehao Trail since it was close to where we were staying so we could leave the kids at home for naptime and only be gone for a couple hours. Due to the time constraints plus lack of hiking sticks and lots of mud, we didn’t go a lot further than the second overlook. It still is an amazing view of Hanalei Bay and the surrounding area. After that ended up driving to a protected swimming/snorkeling beach at Lydgate Beach Park and I have to admit, I highly recommend this for kids. The beach has two large enclosed rock fish ponds that completely protect the pools from the open ocean waves but still are full of fish. So Half Calf and Parker could safely play and even see a lot of fish (if they were looking, which may or may not have ever happened). And of course the adults also had fun snorkeling and there is even a 3 foot barracuda trapped in the pool. In talking with a regular visitor about it, apparently a small school came in the pool years ago when they were smaller and as they grew, were unable to leave. There only is one left now.
Our plan for the next day was to start with a sunrise hike. But we didn’t want to leave the kids with the grandparents again since this was their vacation too (plus Grandma wanted to come on the hike) so it was decided that Momma would stay home with Half Calf today while Daddy went and we would swap roles on another day. The hike we opted to take was the Sleeping Giant Trail. It is about a 3.5 mile round trip. We drove to the trailhead well before the sun was up, hiked up in the dark with flashlights, dodging lots of frogs on the trail, and were eventually greeted with a great rock outcropping with expansive views of the east side of Kauai. While we were hiking, Momma took Half Calf to the beach for a while and on multiple walks. Nothing all that noteworthy, just general wandering around and enjoying being outside. After the hikers returned to the house, everyone went to the pier at Hanalei Bay to hang out for the afternoon. We took Half Calf into the water and practiced swimming by having him chasing a floating ball. Momma also tried having him ride a boogie board with generally bad results. Of course we also worked in some naps and food and hung out until sunset before calling it a day.
The plan for the next day was to take just about the longest possible drive on Kauai, all the way to the other end of the island and in to Waimea Canyon, the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. The canyon itself is over ten miles long and 3500 feet deep and has very red soil (in fact, ‘Waimea’ means ‘reddish water’ in Hawaiian) which makes for some amazing colors. Since the parents and Half Calf went along (Parker was sick; he went to the urgent care the day before when the rest of us were at Hanalei Bay, so stayed home), we were planning to drive all the way to the end of the road and stop at the various viewpoints and take short hikes. One of the first stops we made was at the Iliau Nature Loop, which is a very short trail through some native vegetation and gives the first views of the canyon. After heading up the road about ten miles we arrived at the aptly named Waimea Canyon Lookout, which has by far the best views of the canyon. You get wide, sweeping views of the canyon. There are waterfalls, trees, tiers of various colored dirt, even a few goats running along the edges. If you only have time for one stop in the canyon come here, it is worth it. However we continued up the road, stopping at every viewpoint along the way and even tried to do a couple short hikes but the higher we got, the more wet and muddy the ground became. Since we were not prepared for more challenging trails we accepted that the rest of this part of the day was for looking only.
On our next day, it was Momma’s turn to adventure and leave Daddy at home with Half Calf (and Parker, who still was not feeling well). The plan was to rent kayaks and travel up the Wailua River and then hike into a waterfall. Alas due to flash flooding concerns the trips for the day were cancelled. So instead the explorers spent some “no kids, no parents” time having fun. Later we all went to what turned out to be a GREAT beach for snorkeling; Hideaway Beach. There is lots of coral, fish and even sea turtles. Plus you can go quite far out into the water and still be in fairly shallow depth. The climb down is a little sketchy but not difficult since there is a rope you can use on the harder section.
Out next day was the last one in the islands. We checked out of the house and most of the Atlanta travellers headed to the airport for a noontime flight back to Oahu. Our flight was not until early evening so we were going to explore a little more with Half Calf. The two on their honeymoon were also staying a few more days so we dropped them off at their hotel and headed towards the south end of the island. We drove through a tree tunnel on our way to Makauwahi Cave Reserve and seeing the tortoises (there is also a tortoise refuge here). We then went back to the hotel where we dropped the folks earlier to swim for a little while in the pool since it was close to the airport. We also met a friend and kids who moved from Alaska to Hawaii a few years ago so Half Calf got a little more playtime before heading home. By far the highlight was the awesome slide into the kiddie pool. Let’s just say as normal, someone could not get enough of climbing up the steps then not even breaking stride before diving headfirst down the slide and back to the water before repeating.
Finally it was time to head back home. We though that meant the end of our adventure but boy were we wrong. The Atlanta folks had told us it took them a long time to get through security in Kauai so we made it a point to head over a little bit early. And we actually cruised right through with no real issues. However our flight was delayed. We were scheduled to have almost two hours from the time we landed in Oahu to change terminals and get through the agricultural inspection. By the time we actually touched down we had about 20 minutes. So Momma and Daddy had a discussion about whether we should leave the luggage and just go. The reason is, we flew to the islands on Alaska Air but took Hawaiian Air for the connection to Kauai. And the two airlines are not partners meaning we had disconnected tickets so if we missed our flight home due to Hawaiian Air being late, that was not Alaska Air’s fault and we would just have to purchase new tickets. As you can imagine, that would not be ideal. We actually had almost all the bags with us on the plane as carry on so would have lost a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff but that is nothing compared with probably a thousand dollars if we had to purchase tickets. For whatever reason, we decided to risk it. Choosing that option involved a literal run between terminals, crowding in the security line and then pushing past people to get through the x-ray machines. We then ran some more to the gate and got there one minute before they closed the airplane door. Once we sat down, one of the flight attendants brought us waters, saying we looked like we needed it. And _THAT_ was the end of this adventure. Note to self: avoid disconnected tickets in the future, even with a couple hour window between flights.
For those who made it this far, thanks for sticking with it and reading. It was harder to summarize 10+ days into a small post so another lesson learned is to do a better job breaking up writing about trips into smaller segments. And now for some photos and videos.
Half Calf showing his fear of the water…
DADDY, LET ME IN THE WATER!!!
It is hard balancing against the waves.
Swimming is thirsty work.
Swimming in the Ocean.
There was a waterslide at the fancy hotel!!!
He is just too cute! enjoy reading your posts.