Oahu, Part 1

Kudos to Andy and Amy for getting 6 kids ready and out the door and on a plane for a 7am flight Monday morning!  All went well and we met them at the airport, where our flight landed a few minutes before theirs.

We picked up our rental cars, got hamburgers for lunch, stocked up on groceries, then headed to our resort on the North Shore.  I was immediately amazed at the gorgeous lobby, with its huge windows (and open walls) with ocean views on both sides.  Our accommodations were equally impressive.  Due to a booking error, we were staying in the Ocean Bungalows, the most luxurious part of the hotel, for 20% of the normal rate there.  The rooms were large and beautiful, with huge sliding glass doors that opened up to a comfortable furnished lanai, then a grassy lawn, and the ocean beyond.  We were set apart from the rest of the resort, far enough away that we were encouraged to get around by calling the concierge for a golf cart to go back and forth to the beach, pools, etc.  We got settled in our rooms, had dinner at the resort, then let the kids play in the pool for a little while before calling it a night.

Tuesday morning we hit the beach for a couple of hours, then went to the pool where we could take advantage of the kids' pool with two waterslides, which was closed the night before.

A long field of igneous rock form a natural jetty on the edge of the
resort beach.  Ben, Andy, Cat, and Sawyer did some exploring there.

We drove about 10 minutes to the Kahuku Sugar Mill, which has a huge collection of food trucks.  We ate tons of Hawaiian garlic shrimp and topped it off with shave ice before heading to the Dole Plantation.  There we took the train around the farm to see the acres and acres of pineapple as well as several other crops.  We also walked through the maze and found some fun souvenirs and sweet treats in the gift shop.  Then it was back to the Sugar Mill for dinner!

After having shrimp at dinner the night before,
Andy and Ben decided they should eat shrimp every day of the trip.

Fun to spot a red pineapple at the Dole Plantation!

Ready for our train ride!

It's hard to tell but part of the train ride circled a garden with plants
growing in the shape of pineapples.

Fun that the Kahuku Sugar Mill incorporated some of the original sugar
mill ironwork in the grounds near the parking lot and picnic tables.

Jack loved seeing all of the wild chickens in Hawaii!
Here, they're roosting on this string of cafe lights near the shave ice & burger places.

Wednesday morning was overcast and rainy, which worked out since Andy and Ben had a scuba dive scheduled that morning and the rest of us enjoyed having a lazy morning.

Shark's Cove in Haleiwa

They didn't see any sharks, but they did see this
cool turtle, an octopus, an eel, and lots of fish!

Eventually the rain stopped enough that the rest of us got out and did some swimming.  Then in the afternoon Amy stayed with Sydney while she took a nap and the rest of the group went to Kualoa Ranch for a movie site bus tour.  This gorgeous mountainous area is known as Hollywood's Hawaii Backlot because so many things have been filmed there - dozens of TV shows and movies set in places as diverse as Vietnam, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Uganda.

Free time in the morning means Eliza gets to hang out with Sydney while
she takes a bath.. then she gives her lots of bubbles... then when Sydney says
she's hungry Eliza hands her a cookie.

The boys didn't last long in the Bungalow's exclusive pool since it was cold
so we ended up walking over to the resort's heated family pool instead.

Kualoa was so pretty!

Our first stop on the bus tour was an old WWII bunker where
the ranch had placed a bunch of memorabilia from various shows
and movies that had been filmed there.

Check out that view of the North Shore.

This part of the ranch is called Jurassic Valley because Jurassic Park
was filmed here.  As we turned the corner and approached this view,
the bus driver played the Jurassic Park theme and it was magical!

The second stop of the tour was a boneyard from Kong: Skull Island.
It was so fun to walk around and take pictures with the styrofoam props!

Amy ordered room service that evening so that we could quickly get ready for family pictures, which we did at a beach that was maybe a 10-minute farther walk from the resort beach.  Nobody else was there and the light and sunset were amazing!  (Family pictures post coming later.)  Once pictures were over we took some time to explore a big tidepool on our walk back.

We couldn't believe that the employee who brought dinner also brought
a white tablecloth, cloth napkins and real silverware, then set the table for us.

Amy was the only one brave enough to pick up a sea slug in the tide pool.

Amy didn't die so Eliza mustered some bravery and tried it too.