Hawaii, Day Four

Ah, Day Four! One of our favorite days on the island! We rose with the sun, picked up our rental car and hit the road for a sight-seeing trip that encompassed the entire island. We took our time, enjoying every stop along the way while making sure to hit every item on each of our bucket lists.

We all agreed that we wanted to take in some gorgeous scenery along the coastline, and, we certainly weren't disappointed.

Hugh insisted on a detour along the Pali Highway to take in the view from the Nuuanu Pali Lookout.

In addition to being one of the island's most scenic areas, the Lookout is a site of great historical significance; it is the spot where King Kamehameha fought the battle that finally united Oahu under his rule. We learned that the previous day, while touring HPU's Hawaii Loa campus; our guide pointed up at the Lookout while telling us the story.

And, here is the Man-Cub, graciously pointing down at the school from the Lookout.

Really! It's there, see?

Once we had our fill of the scenery, we left the Lookout and it's cool rain forest mists and headed toward the North Shore, stopping at Kualoa Beach, where we had a great view of Mololi'i Island-otherwise known as China Man's Hat, for, well, obvious reasons.

The beach provided a great opportunity to collect shells as well as a close encounter with a terrible sea creature...

By this time, we were starting to get hungry, so we pushed on toward the North Shore, where we stopped at Ted's Bakery, which had been on the girl's list of Must Do Things because they had been there last year and swore that the cake was to die for. Which, I guess it was.

But, it wasn't quite enough to satisfy the appetites of six hungry travelers; for that, we stopped at a food truck that Hugh and Mom had seen profiled on Guy Fiery's Diners, Drive-in and Dives.

After eating our fill of shrimp and crab (and, a hamburger for me since I don't eat things that once lived in the sea), we ventured to Waimea Bay so that the kids could stare at a large rock for several minutes, contemplating whether or not they wanted to take their lives in their hands by jumping (SPOILER: they did).

They were quite pleased with themselves, as you may imagine.

So, what does one do after one defies death? Head to the Dole Plantation for a Dole Pineapple Whip, of course.

Or, maybe that was just what I would do. Eh, either way, I got my Whip on, but, not before falling victim to the enticement of the pearl sellers at the front door. I shared the rings that we had made from our pearls in the last Friday Favorites post, but here are some photos of the pearls before they were mounted.

Oh, and here's that Dole Whip, mmm,mmm. good!

And, just in case you, like me, thought that pineapples grew on trees (what? it's a common misconception!), here is a photo of an actual pineapple plant.

As well as a random picture of a sign at the plantation. Just because.

By the time we finished up at the plantation, we were (Dole) whipped (see what I did there? Ha! I slay myself!), we made the drive back to our suite, stopping at a grocery store to stock up on staples.

Dinner that night was a fried chicken feast on the balcony, followed by another movie, all of which made for a very long and active day, which, is probably why I fell into a drooling coma long before the end credits.

So, what's on the agenda for Day Five? Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Hawaii, Day Three

On our third day in Hawaii, Hugh, the Man-Cub, and I got up early to catch a taxi to the downtown campus of HPU. We were scheduled for an 8:30 orientation followed by a tour of two-of the three- campuses, and, we didn't know exactly how long it would take us to get to the school, so, we erred on the side of caution and left early.

The taxi ride took about ten minutes, with traffic, which meant that we were pretty early for the orientation, giving us a little time to poke around on our own, which, is how I discovered the Hooters on campus.

It was the first of many signs that point to the Man-Cub having made the absolute perfect choice of schools for himself.

The orientation was really more of an informational presentation, similar to the one that we attended in Denver back in April, but, we were able to chat with the Dean of Admissions again, and, he offered to take us for a cup of coffee after the tours if we had any additional questions, which I thought was nice, but, ultimately unnecessary as the tour guide, Matt, answered every question that we came up with throughout the day.

The first stop on the tour was the downtown campus, which is located between piers on the dock. How cool is that? This campus houses several larger classrooms as well as a student union-type great room (anyone else old enough to remember student union buildings? No? Just me then? O-kayyy) that the kids can utilize for studying, eating, etc. It also contains all of the student housing for the downtown area and a lanai that overlooks the ocean; students can use it for grilling whether they reside in the apartments or not, and, the grills are provided.

Once we were finished touring the downtown campus, we boarded the school shuttle for the ten minute ride to the Hawaii Loa campus, which is where the Man-Cub will be living. The housing there is freshman-only, and, we felt that it would be a better place for the Cub to acclimate to the college.

The campus is located in the rain forest, which, is a complete change of scenery from the downtown campus; it's really like two different worlds and the Man-Cub will get to transverse both. Pretty cool, if you ask him.

While we were there, a rain shower poured down for about three minutes before clearing, leaving behind humidity that would have curled my hair, if I had even one iota of natural curl. And then, in just a matter of moments, it dissipated, burned off my the heat of the shining sun. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Colorado; don't like the weather? Give it five minutes and it will change.

The Cub was thoroughly enchanted by the campus. We were a bit bummed that we wouldn't have a chance to check out the third HPU campus, located at the Oceanic Institute, but, we did get to drive around it later in our trip, when we rented a car for a drive to the North Shore. That campus will be the Cub's main classroom starting his sophomore year, and he can hardly wait.

Following our tour, we returned to the downtown campus to buy HPU apparel in the bookstore before heading back to the hotel, where the rest of the family was waiting to go to Benihana's for dinner.

Ah, Benihana, so expensive! But, I guess we were paying for both dinner and a show, so, I won't complain too much.

After dinner, we walked along the beach; the fireworks that are held each Friday at the resort had been cancelled due to technical issues, which, was a bit of a bummer, but, they were rescheduled for later during our stay, so, no worries. The kids didn't seem to miss them that evening, they played in the sand and on the grassy area until they were tired, at which point we all settled into the suite to watch a movie (one of the perks of staying on the owner's side of the resort was unlimited use of DVDs).

In all, it was a good day. I really felt like the Man-Cub was enthusiastic about the school. He fit in with the vibe, if that makes sense.

Anyway, today is my first day back at work, so I should cut this short. I would much rather be in Hawaii than headed into the office, in case anyone was wondering.