Oahu Archives | North of Something

Waimea Valley + Botanical Gardens, Oahu

23/10/2014 by Jamie 10 Comments

We spent our honeymoon on Oahu 5 years ago, having no idea that we would end up LIVING there! I have now walked up the trail to Waimea Falls many times, sometimes with a stroller, sometimes with a toddler lagging behind, and this last time with a 3 and a half year old running ahead of me. We took Brett and Christine up to see the falls while they were visiting and they loved all the beauty in the botanical garden on the way up to the falls!

On the Waimea Valley website, they describe the mission of the place: Preserve and perpetuate the human, cultural and natural resources of Waimea for generations through education and stewardship.

Discounts for military and kama’aina! It’s *about* 1.5 miles round trip to see the falls and back. YOU MUST wear bug spray, and long sleeves don’t hurt either. We reapplied a couple times and still got a few bites between the 5 of us. There’s lots of coverage from the trees, which will protect you both from the sun and rain depending on the weather, but I would still recommend sunscreen.

About halfway up the trail there is a little water station where you can refill your water bottle or get a small paper cup of water to drink. Hopefully they have cleaned it off since my son smeared his dirty paws on the spout…

This kid has way too much energy.

There are a few picnic benches near the top and a shop where you can buy shave ice and other snacks.

We also took a photo on the exact same bridge on our honeymoon :-)

Oh and by the way, this is the place where they filmed a few scenes in LOST. So cool!

As you can see many people choose to swim in the water. There is a lifeguard with a bunch of life vests in all sizes if you would like to go for a dip.

So maybe we will be back again one day… we shall see!

** If you live on Oahu and are interested in volunteering at Waimea Valley, check out this link! **

North Shore, Oahu

19/09/2014 by Jamie 6 Comments

A couple weeks ago my brother-in-law Brett and his girlfriend Christine came for a visit! We had a child-free day on their first full day in Hawaii so we decided to take them up to the North Shore.

There are so many fun shops and restaurants in Haleiwa. I finally bought the North Shore sign I’ve been wanting so we can take it with us to Germany. Then of course we had to take some photos by the real thing!

This is my favorite tree in the world *sigh* so sad to be leaving it.

Our goal of finding some sea turtles was accomplished! Brett and Christine got to snorkel a little and some of the turtles were popping their heads up and swimming up to the shore to rest.

And these two crazy cats did some rock jumping at Waimea Bay!

We also made a trip to Waimea Valley and hiked up to the waterfall. I will post those photos soon!

Dole Plantation, Oahu

09/08/2014 by Jamie 30 Comments

Since we were trapped in the house all day yesterday while the hurricanes past around Hawaii, we had to get out of the house today! So we drove north to the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa. My sister is visiting this week and she wanted a Dole whip, and my son wanted to ride the train, so it was the perfect afternoon adventure.

The Dole Plantation has a botanical garden, corn maze, train ride, farmers market and a big store with lots of pineapple paraphernalia. There’s also food, drinks and Dole whips!

When we were in line to buy our tickets on the train, a boy found a gecko and put it in a plastic bag. As he closed the bag the other people in line gasped and said the boy was going to kill it. I tried to get the family’s attention but they didn’t speak English and didn’t seem to understand. My sister said someone walked over and saved the gecko while I was purchasing our tickets.

In line for the train ride (a 30 minute wait on a Saturday) a family with a little boy around my son’s age told us we had to go feed the koi fish in the pond afterwards. She said they went to the store beforehand to buy fish food because it was too expensive to buy it from the machine by the pond. Then she grabbed a paper bag and filled it with about 3 cups worth of fish food and handed it to us.

After we threw large handfuls of fish food at the pile of koi, we were done, but still had some left in the bag. There was a little boy next to us who was grabbing fish food off the ground that others had dropped and throwing it to the fish. So we offered him our leftover bag, and he looked confused and said “Why?” I told him we were done and he took off running with the bag. As we walked away from the pond he came running back with his sister and yelled “Thanks!” as they ran to the pond.

After the train ride and fish feeding, we went to get some food! My sister got the traditional Dole whip in a bowl, my son got a Dole whip cone, and I got a huge bowl of pineapple. While he was stealing my pineapple he dropped his cone and didn’t seem too concerned. He ended up eating almost all my pineapple! If you have never had pineapple in Hawaii I can’t even explain how amazing it is. You just have to try it. At least he didn’t get upset about the dropped cone!

There were even a few chickens and a female peacock that showed up. It was a great afternoon at the Dole Plantation!

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu

14/06/2014 by Jamie 5 Comments

My boys went on a Father/Son adventure to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve! After a 10 minute video of the history and rules, they were off on the tram for the 1/4 mile trip to the bay. The entrance fee is $7.50, but it’s FREE for Military, local residents, and children under 13 years old. Closed on Tuesdays.