Oahu, Hawaii 2013 - Day 7

The kids

Today was a day with no real plan.  We knew we loved the North Shore, and we wanted to start our morning there, so by 8:30 we were on our way.  It’s about an hour away from Kailua, and we had a great drive.  We had gone that way the other day, and I begged my family to stop at the Dole Plantation for a tour.  They shot me down faster than you can say, “why are you such a dork, mom?”  I was sad, but they had been such troopers all week, I didn’t push it.  When we passed it again today, I asked if we could please just stop in the gift shop.  I didn’t even need to take a tour; just a quick look around, because when are we ever going to see another pineapple plantation?  Once again, my request was met with a big fat ‘No!”  I tried to not be sad, but I sort of was. 

Our first stop was Waimea Valley.  When we realized it was $15 per person to get in, and no one even cared about going anywhere but the beach, we left.  We spent some time at Pupukea Beach, but swimming was not allowed because of the size of the waves, so we moved on to Sunset Beach.  So far, that's been everyone’s favorite beach, and the kids boogie board rashes were better because they took a break from swimming yesterday. 

Waves too big to swim

Ah, yes.  This is much better

More snorkeling—which led to more panicking when I went out too deep, more boogie boarding, more laying in the sun reading, more eavesdropping on conversations of people around me.  It was a perfectly relaxing day.  Chad and the kids went nuts on the boogie boards.  At one point, Jackson’s shorts were so full of sand it looked like he was wearing a huge diaper; he waddled around the beach making us all laugh until he finally went back in the water and not-so-discreetly dug it all out.

After a couple of hours in the hot-noon sun, the kids wanted shave ice, which is quickly becoming a favorite treat for them.  There is a shave ice store across the street from Matsumoto’s called Aoki’s.  It’s in a little red, 90 year old building, and they are closing next month because a new shopping area is being developed.  The line to Aoki’s was just as long as the line across the street, and the employees were so much friendlier here.  Chad got rocky road ice cream, and I got Kona coffee ice cream.  The kids stuck with shave ice.  Next to Aoki’s is a tiny souvenir shop, and Ashley got a beautiful sarong as a souvenir.  Jackson bought a couple shirts while we were in Waikiki, and Ali... Ali bought a postcard.  A single, solitary postcard.  I tried to get her to buy jewelry, clothes, hair accessories, anything… she refused them all.  She said, “I got a postcard, that’s all I wanted.”  My baby girl knows what she wants when she wants it.  And nobody is going to change her mind.  I love that about her.

We decided to eat lunch at Waialua Bakery and Juice Bar in Haleiwa.  We had salads and sandwiches on their fresh-from-the-oven homemade bread.  They sell art from a local North Shore artist named Jamie Swim, and we loved the whole restaurant, it was a nice place to unwind.  When Jackson stood up, about four pounds of sand fell out of his shorts and covered the floor.  We ran for it.

She's starting to look like she belongs

Right before Ali asked for a bite.  A fight quickly followed

The Pineapple Express

Tiny, chubby baby pineapple

We got back on the road to go to one more beach. It was about 3:30, and there was still some good swimming left in the day.  As we drove by the Dole Plantation, Chad pulled into the parking lot.  I started to argue and tell him that I don’t want to be the only one to go, and that it was fine, that I actually didn’t even want to go.  Well, he knows me better than that, so he parked the car and we walked into the plantation.  There were all kinds of pineapple plants with little chubby pineapples growing on them, people were milling about drinking and snacking on all things pineapple, there was a yellow train called the “Pineapple Express,” and I don’t know what changed in my kids, but suddenly they started begging to ride it.  They were so excited, they wanted to explore the whole plantation.  I dare say they nearly acted like we were in Disneyland.  Chad bought 5 tickets to the Pineapple Express
and we had 30 minutes to kill before our ride. In Ashley’s excitement, she wrapped her sarong around her head, told me she was going to pretend to be deaf, and asked me to please respond to her “sign language” with signs of my own.  “Just make it look like real sign language,” she told me.  As we stood in line to board the train, her hands flailed about as she was trying to tell me something urgent.  I "signed" back to her, praying to God there were no deaf people there that thought we were mocking them.  I could tell Ashley really wanted to communicate something to me, and she obviously wasn’t getting anywhere.  About 5 minutes into her charade, she decided she was going to talk with an accent instead.  And she did.  For the next 45 minutes.  Everything she said (and she said a LOT) came out of her mouth in a blend of British/Indian accents, with a hint of Corky Thatcher.

My temporarily deaf, foreign child

We learned all we could about the planting and harvesting of pineapples, and it was riveting.  Back at the plantation country store, we bought fresh pineapple (I wanted to see if I could tell the difference between that and what we buy in Washington… I think I could) and Dole Whip.  The kids were more excited about feeding the birds that were harassing every person with food.  A man gave them some rice to feed the birds and they spent the rest of our time in pure jubilation, completely oblivious to everything but the birds.

This is what my kids do 

I was delighted that my family took me to the plantation, and even more pleased that they loved it so much.  I thought it was a wonderful way to end our last afternoon in Hawaii.  But then we went here:

Lanikai Beach

Lanikai Beach, ten minutes away from our house.  The sand is as soft and fine as powdered sugar, and the water is so beautiful it seems like it can't be real.  There weren't many people there at all, and it was a far cry from the pounding surf on the North Shore.  It was getting a little chilly because it was about 5:30, but we snorkeled and swam for a bit anyway.  I mean, how could you not?

Back at home, while Chad hosed off all the gear, and cleaned out the car, I started laundry and started packing to leave tomorrow.

Fun Facts About Pineapples:
At Dole, pineapples are planted by hand and a skilled worker can plant up to 10,000 a day. 
A first crop of pineapples takes about 18-20 months to be ready to harvest, and they are harvested by hand.

Pineapples don’t actually get more ripe after they've been picked, and it’s best to eat them as fresh as possible.

You are welcome.

- The Niemeyers