The Dole Plantation

This past weekend the girls and I decided to take a drive to Central Oahu to a little town called Wahiawa. If you travel north of this town you’ll come across the famous Dole Plantation which “originally operated as a fruit stand in 1950. Dole Plantation opened to the public as Hawaii’s “Pineapple Experience” in 1989 and today they welcome more than one million visitors a year.”

It started out as a beautiful sunny day and the girls were thrilled to be out of the house. When we got to the plantation we decided to first take a stroll through the Plantation Garden which is divided into 8 different areas – North Shore, Hibiscus, Lei, Native Species, Bromeliads, Irrigation, Ti Leaf, & Life on the Plantation. Here we saw some beautiful flowers and landscaping.

Dole Plantation is also home to the World’s Largest Maze according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

It usually takes 45 – 60 minutes to complete the entire thing and Kacie was determined to give it a try. However, going through the graveled maze with a stroller was not really my idea of fun so I gave Kacie 30 minutes to go through as much as she could. Luckily, they give you a little map (and I mean little) in case you get lost.

photo courtesy of Dole Plantation

Then we were off to ride the Pineapple Express. This 20-minute 2 mile ride takes you along actual pineapple fields as well as other fields like mango, papaya, sugar cane, and lychee. You’ll also see the actual equipment that was used during harvest season. There is a recorded narrative tour that explained the history of farming in Hawaii as well as some great tunes from Manoa DNA.

And what would a visit to Dole Plantation be without some Dole Whip with fresh pineapples?

You can also browse through the gift shop where you’ll find Hawaiian souvenirs, local food items, gift ideas, and more.

Kiana decided to get a bracelet with her name engraved on it.

Kacie wanted her name painted into a sign.

Kaila got a smiley-faced stuffed Pineapple.

It was a long day filled with rich Hawaiian history, good food (the teri-burgers were awesome!), beautiful scenery, and lots of fun for the girls. It’s a great place for the whole family!

The Waikiki Aquarium

Have you ever looked into the eye of a zebra shark? Seen an octopus opening a jar? Or met the real-life versions of Dori and Nemo? Located next to a living coral reef, the award winning Waikiki Aquarium brings guests face-to-fin with colorful tropical fish, reef sharks, living corals, endangered Hawaiian monk seals, sea jellies, squid, octopus and more!

We took the girls to The Waikiki Aquarium to check out their sea life exhibits and to see Ho‘ailona, the newest resident Hawaiian monk seal who was found on the Island of Kaua‘i more than 3-years ago after he was abandoned by his mother.

The Waikiki Aquarium is a small area which includes indoor and outdoor exhibits including a Coral Farm and Giant Clams:

The Edge of the Reef where you can get up close and personal with some of the local animals that can be found in tide pools:

Beautiful indoor fish tanks:

Educational boards:

And my favorite exhibit . . . the jellyfish. I could just sit and watch these graceful creatures all day long.

There’s also a big grassy area where the kids can run around and play. This was great for us since Kaila decided to be very uncooperative during this outing. She didn’t want to sit in her stroller. She didn’t want to walk and hold hands. All she wanted to do was scream at the poor fishies. *sigh*

We were able to get through the entire aquarium in little over an hour which is the perfect time span if you have younger kids with you. There’s also a cute little gift shop and drink vending machines throughout the property. However, there are no food concessions so make sure you pack a snack for your kids. In fact, I wished I had packed a picnic lunch since the aquarium is right across Kapiolani Park.

It was a great way to spend a little time outdoors and gain some valuable information about the ocean life that surrounds the Hawaiian Islands.

The Waikiki Aquarium
9:00am – 4:30pm, daily
Admission Prices

• General Admission: $9 (Kama’aina/Military/Students/Seniors: $6)
• Youth ages 13-17: $4
• Junior ages 5-12: $2
• Children under 4: FREE

Honolulu Horse & Carriage

The weather finally cleared up long enough for us to make our annual visit to the Honolulu City Lights. Last year we rode the lighted Cinderella carriage around town but this year we decided on the Horse & Carriage which took us right past all the beautiful lights at Honolulu Hale.

The horse’s name is Ikaika and can you believe he was born completely black?

It was one of the best nights ever!

Honolulu Horse & Carriage
25 minutes/$70

Honolulu City Lights Display . . . by Day

Every year we take the girls to see the City Christmas Lights display at Honolulu Hale. This year Kaila and I decided to check out the displays during the day to get a different perspective on the beautiful works of art and festive decorated trees.

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