Sunday July 9th was our last full day in Hawaii, and the last day of our Go-Card. I knew I wanted to go to Hanauma Bay to take everyone snorkeling. I had been there last time I was in Hawaii, and it's the perfect spot for snorkeling with beginners, so it would be perfect for Calib, Hayden and mom. Now, if you're going to Hanauma Bay, you need to be there bright and early. Most places I read said the parking lot was full by 8:30 or 9. So we got up early and headed out.
The bay lies at the bottom of a steep hill. Part of a volcanic cone, this bay once featured some of the most diverse colorful marine life on the island. But, years of mistreatment (and people WALKING over coral), had a devastating effect on the area. As a result in the 90's, a plan was put together to help restore the bay. Included in part of this plan, is requiring all visitors to watch an introduction video before heading down to swim or snorkel in the area, laying out ground rules for what to do to help keep the bay the nature preserve that it is. So, you watch the video, and then you head down.
Now, our Go-Cards were pretty awesome. But, one of the items that was supposed to be included was the snorkel rental. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell you that the snorkel rental is not at the Hanauma Bay snorkel rental, but rather a truck way up at the top of the hill (which may or may not be there- depending on the day). We tried to call about it, but got nowhere on a Sunday. We ended up just renting two anyway, and the Go-Card was still worth it, so just a minor hiccup.
Snorkeling was pretty decent here. Not the best we had seen all trip, and not as good as when I had been there before. But, the good news was it was very easy for Calib and Hayden to snorkel. The water is calm and clear, and you can stay where you can touch if you ever need to put your feet down (just make sure it's on the sandy bottom and not on the reef!). At one point all five of us were in the water checking out fish, swimming in and out of cool reef formations. Mom never did get the snorkeling down (thanks in part to a head cold), but she was able to go out and see fish just standing in the water.
After a couple hours of snorkeling, we changed and headed back up the hill. The hill really is no joke though, and mom treated everyone to the $1.25 tram ride back up.
We did make a stop before we left at the gift shop. I already had a magnet from here, so I passed on anything new. But, Hayden bought a big stuffed fish, and the proceeds from it go back to preserving the bay. As such, he got to ring the bell and everyone around cheered.
Peyton, meanwhile bought a t-shirt of the hawaiian state fish with the really long name. It was his favorite since he first laid eyes on it at the Maui Ocean Center. (I actually love this shirt, it's my favorite thing he bought all trip!)
We then made our way around the island. There are some really pretty views that I had wanted to stop at, but we never did get around to it. (There's a cool blowhole here I was hoping to show the boys.)
Our next stop was just a few miles down the road, at Sea Life Park. It really wouldn't have been on my list of things to do if it wasn't included in the Go-Card, but since it was, I figured we could make a quick stop. It's mostly known for the extra-fee animal encounters, although we could have chosen the dolphin swim as our 'premium attraction' had we not done the luau at the Cultural Center. (But really, we were going to that Luau anyway, and only got the Go-Cards because they weren't all that much more than the luau itself).
It was really quiet there when we arrived around lunch time on Sunday afternoon.
We got our wristbands and headed in. Hayden had gotten quite the collection of wrist bands at this point. (He never wanted to take them off).
The entry way leads you right to the shark habitat. It was kind of cool the way it was structured, because it spiraled you down hill all while giving you different vantage points of the very deep shark tank.
On the opposite side of the tank, there were lots of other aquariums, and then it dumped you off outside. Then there's all kinds of other habitats. They had sea turtles, monk seals, and sting rays. All of them are much cooler to see in the wild, but we still had a nice time.
They did have penguins though. And you know I love a good penguin habitat. Most of them were hiding in their little caves though.
After some animal viewing we came across the aviary. They gave you free sticks of food for the birds, and everyone was more than happy to take part (except Calib- who did eventually come IN the habitat for a very brief moment).
Hayden attracted some birds, and eventually got a few to land on him.
Mom also had some luck with the birds after a bit of enticing them.
Peyton was popular with a few select birds.
But everytime we go to any aviary, I'm always shocked at how much the birds love Asa. It doesn't matter where we are, or even if we have food.
Sea Life Park was no exception. He had them landing on his head, trying to climb into his pocket, and playing with the strings of his hat.
This time though, they seemed to like me by association, even though I didn't have any food. I was just trying to take some pictures when one landed on my camera!
The aviary was the surprise MVP of Sea Life Park.
After the birds we headed over to the touch tank. There were your typical touch tank crew: starfish, sea anemones and such. (A little further out they even had some baby sea turtles- though not for touching).
We've been to lots of touch tanks, but this was one was a little unique.
Here, they let you hand feed the fish, lettuce! The yellow tang would come up and nibble off of it, but the bigger fish would just rip the whole piece out of your hand. The boys loved it. I think it was probably good that it was so quiet at the park there that day. It made for hungry birds and fish, which made for some excellent experiences.
The tanks also had some cool tunnel features, which the boys enjoyed.
By now everyone was getting a little hungry, so we went to Pink's for some cheese fries and onion rings to share.
After Sea Life Park we made our way back to Honolulu from the windward side of the island. We stopped along the way the the Nu-Uanu Pali Lookout. This place offers some great views, lots of wind, and a little history lesson. ( Kamehameha's men used spears and cannons to make something like 400 of their enemies fall off the cliff here, and then of course Kamehameha became the first king of Hawaii).
Like I said, the views of the windward side are great.
But the wind makes this a fun stop. It was windy when we were there, but not nearly as much as when I had been there before and it was hard to even walk. The boys enjoyed the stop, though, even if it was a bit tricky to find it and get a parking spot.
Continuing our way back to Honolulu, we stopped at the Punch bowl. This place offers a lot of different things in one. First, it's an (extinct) volcanic crater that was formed something like 100,000 years ago. It's also the site of the National Cemetery of the Pacific.
Here you will find graves like the unknown's from Pearl Harbor.
Up the hill, past a few more memorials, you can also take in some really great views of Honolulu.
I pointed out the state house to the boys, and then we left and drove down towards it. Just a block or two away is the King Kamehameha statue. Peyton really wanted his picture here, so I obliged. We did drive past the state house, too. But we didn't stop.
Because we were on a mission to get some malasadas, a Portuguese donut type dessert that is really big in Hawaii. One of the most famous places to get them at is Leonard's Bakery.
Well, there we were, getting back in the car with our box full of malasadas, when Asa turned the key to our rental mini van and got nothing. Three more times. Still Nothing.
After yesterdays bad luck, and the day before that, we were a bit annoyed. Asa called the rental car place, and explained somehow the battery must have died. He didn't leave the lights on or anything though, so we couldn't figure it out. Here's the thing about Hawaii, everyone is super laid back. And that's cool. Until you actually need something done, and then nobody has any sense of urgency. The car agency said someone would be out, but it would be over an hour.
Luckily, the bakery was only about a mile and a half from the hotel. The boys and I decided to gear up, eat their malasadas (which they very much enjoyed), down some water, and walk back to the hotel.
Now, my camera batteries had died somewhere at Sea Life Park. I got it to intermittently turn on for a few other things, but it was all dead now. So much like the car adventures on the Napali Coast, there are no pictures from this event.
I also hadn't brought my wallet with me (after the shoes the day before I didn't want to leave it on the beach while I snorkeled). So as we walked past the Rainbow Drive-In (which was our last planned stop for a Loco Moco), I realized I had no money, and I was pretty bummed about that.
But we made the best of it. You could kind of see Diamond Head where we were walking, and at one point a duck swooped down. So, ala 'We survived a bear attack in the Rocky Mountains', we evolved our adventures to 'We survived a bird attack on our hike of Diamond Head'.
We did finally make it back to our hotel, where I worked on packing things up, while Asa and mom dealt with the car, and the boys had a little down time. They were very good during all of this, and didn't complain at all. Eventually they came and jumped the car, said everything was good, and we went on with our day. I did tell Asa, though, maybe we could get Avis to let us keep the car a few extra hours free of charge, since our current plan was to be at the airport 4 and a half hours ahead of our flight to avoid paying a whole other day. They actually obliged.
After some recharging of myself and my camera batteries we headed out for the evening. I tried to snap a picture of the hotel lobby. It was pretty much all outside, which I thought was kind of cool.
And it was only a block or two away from Waikiki Beach.
When mom and I were here before, we ate at a cute little outdoor place by the water in Waikiki, and they had the best bread pudding. This time around it wasn't as good (I missed the vanilla sauce, the chocolate wasn't nearly as good), but everyone still liked it enough.
The boys took this opportunity to have one last Shave Ice.
Then we walked back along Waikki Beach. It was much more crowded there than anywhere else we had been that day.
Asa found one tree he wanted to climb, but I suggested there was a much better one for climbing if he just walked down a bit further.
Not only was it good for climbing, it was also good for swinging.
Across the street from Waikki is plenty of souvenir shops. We hadn't really done that much shopping, so the boys still had some money to spend.
We also never caught the sunset the whole time we were there. Waikiki isn't the ideal sun setting spot, since it sets on the other side of the island, so I wish I had made time to watch the sunset somewhere else, but if I want to see the sunset over a large body of water, I do live like 45 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico.
We never really found a good spot to eat, where we could tolerate the wait, so we picked up some drinks and decided to head back to the hotel to order from the 'room service menu'. Hyatt Place/House have a 'Gallary Menu' to order from, and then you just walk downstairs to pick it up. It's like take out, so you kind of get room service without the crazy price tag.
Peyton and mom opted out, but the rest of us decided some night time swimming was in order for our last night in Hawaii. Unfortunately it was SUPER cold water. I watched as all the crazy boys got in.
After the pool we headed back up to the room to do some packing up. It was a little tougher, since we had gotten things along the way, but I had thought ahead and packed an extra (very collapsible duffel bag)
So that was it for our last full day in Hawaii. I miss the tradewinds, the awesome pineapple, and everyone telling me 'Aloha' and 'Mahalo'.
Next Up: So long Hawaii, Hello California!
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