Hawaii Trip 2008 Continued

I suppose it's a good thing I'm writing these things down, as our days in Hawaii are already starting to blend together in my mind! Picking up where we left off...


Day 5: Matt's longest day at the convention- almost 10 hours. By the end of the day he was tired from being on his feet all day long talking to people, and I was tired from trying to keep the boys reasonably happy all day. To make a long story shorter, I tried passing time with a yummy snack that nobody ate. Then we went down to the beach (a chore in itself since I had to push the stroller through the sand), only to have Caleb say he was done at the beach after just 15 minutes. So we started walking to get lunch, but Hayden started falling asleep so I rushed back to the hotel for naps. We had a few light snacks instead of lunch and then it took a LONG time to get both boys to sleep. Grrrrr. We did get ice cream in the afternoon-- the only thing the three of us enjoyed all day! But things got better after that as Matt was able to join us for dinner (went to Tony Roma's) before returning to the convention. We were all glad to have survived the day =)



Day 6: While Matt was at the convention the kids and I walked down the Waikiki strip and did some souvenir shopping. It was fun, except that we were walking in the rain most of the time. When Matt returned, we headed up to the Polynesian Cultural Center with Amy and Chris. The PCC was a great place, but we arrived so late in the day that we really didn't have enough time to make the most of our visit. We did try authentic poi though (a very bland carbohydrate- like a potato with less flavor) and I tried a spear tossing game. Amy & Chris took a hula lesson, but Matt & I couldn't bring ourselves to try it (dancing is not our thing, in any form). We took a canoe tour of the grounds, and then ate a buffet dinner on site. It cost $15 for the buffet, and let's just say we got what we paid for. =) We were glad to go to the PCC, but it would have been much better if we had more time there.



Day 7: Our last day in Oahu. Matt had to be at the convention for the morning, so the boys & I ate a big breakfast at Denny's (other mornings we ate cereal in the hotel room), and then walked to the Honolulu Zoo. This time we had ponchos to keep us dry, but the boys weren't interested in wearing them. However, Caleb told me I looked "perfect" in mine, lol. The zoo was fun and we saw some animals that we haven't seen in other zoos, such as galapagos turtles, different species of pigeons (that didn't look anything like the ordinary pigeon), and the nene bird- an endangered species found only in Hawaii. In the afternoon we all went to Waimea Falls. It's a park with a paved trail through a tropical valley. The different plants and flowers were amazing. The trail ends at a waterfall, and that was neat to see. On our way home we stopped at Matsumoto's for some famous shave ice. Of the different flavors we tried, the cotton candy was my favorite.



Day 8: Returning home. It was a loooong flight, as Hayden slept about a half hour. He "needed" about 2 hours of sleep though. Caleb did great, but doesn't it figure that the two times he needed to use the bathroom were times when Matt was walking around with Hayden-- that meant I had to take him potty. I DESPISE public restrooms and it doesn't get much worse than an airplane toilet. We survived though, and I guess I'm a better person for it =) Okay, maybe not.



The next day, the San Jose high temperature was 87!! It was warmer at home than in Hawaii. Crazy! We're slowly readjusting to the time zone change. It seems to be hardest for Hayden. On the night we returned home, we got home around 11pm. Hayden slept from 11pm to 11am. Unheard of. But any of those little troubles are well worth it, as we had an excellent time together in Hawaii. Look forward to going again sometime!