Yep, we've made it a year in Hawaii! So, in honor of this momentous occassion, I will try to update my blog about experiences we've had over the last year. I hope I do better than I did updating last year ;)
So, at the end of last year, we were all moved in and settling into our new home. We'd enrolled No. 1 in school, and begun living the Hawaiian life. Then came furloughs. Apparently, Hawaii could not afford to pay their government workers last year due to a budget oversight. So, instead of laying off government workers, they decided to furlough the workers on Fridays (or one day a week) without pay. "No biggie," I think at first. Oh, how wrong I was. Turns out that government workers also means teachers, librarians, parking attendants, road crews, and anyone else you can think of that might be working for the government in any way (except for the military). So, when furloughs went into effect, school is out on Fridays. No school for No. 1. WHAT?!? Hawaii, which has a year-round school schedule, now has the SHORTEST school year in the entire United States. For example, No. 1 attends school from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day (short school day, right?). But on Wednesdays, school gets out at 1:10. EVERY Wednesday. Now, school is also out on Fridays. This is in addition to all the school vacations that were already built into the calendar. End result: lots and lots of kids out of school. Oh, and to make it more convenient, let's close all the libraries, the courts, and all government-run parking lots. Joy. There has got to be a better way. Good thing I'm not working!
I also had to get educated about grocery shopping here. Sticker shock does not even begin to cover the feeling you get the first time you go grocery shopping in Hawaii. Some sample prices (without store discount cards, coupons, or sales): Milk:$4.49 a gallon; cereal: $6.48/box; hamburger meat:$3.89/lb; steak:$7.49/lb; eggs: $3.00/dozen. You see what I mean. With four little kiddos in the house, we usually buy four gallons of milk and 6 boxes of cereal every week. Ouch. I have become a coupon-clipping, bargain-hunting crazy woman. The kids have even starting asking if we have a coupon for items they want at the store. "Mom, do we have a coupon for this Barbie?" What about the Commissary, you say. Well, let me tell you something about that. The nearest commissary to my house is 12 miles away. It takes 30 minutes to get there. The prices aren't all that much cheaper than grocery stores off post. And, if you're there a couple days before or after payday, they mark the prices up. That's right, they change the prices in the commissary before payday. And then there's the surcharge. Can anybody tell me what the actual percentage the surcharge is, because the cashiers at the Commissary can't. And last time I did the math, it was more than sales tax. And then you have to tip your baggers to get them to take the groceries out to the car, which is free off post. So, we shop local. And I'm not sorry. I have my grocery store discount cards, which are free, and I use them like crazy. Saved almost $100 off my grocery order with coupons last week. :)
We experienced our first Hawaiian Christmas last year. I have to admit that it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it's 85 degrees outside, but then it's also really cool to be on the beach on Christmas Day. Hawaiians LOVE Christmas, and they really go all out with decorations. They have snow flown in for some of the elementary school students to play in around this time of year, and there are Christmas parties galore to attend. The girls seemed to really like the idea of shorts in the middle of winter, too. I got some really cute Hawaiian shirt Christmas cards, and I only got a small bit of glee out of rubbing the fact that I was in Hawaii in the faces of my family and friends ;)
The beginning of 2010 was and experience in and of itself. Apparently, Hawaiians have a great affinity for fireworks. They buy them in HUGE quantities, and they use them often. New Years was an experience I will never forget. You could smell gunpowder in the air by 4 p.m. on December 31. By 9 p.m., I was watching my husband for signs of a PTSD episode. Seriously, he even said it was like being in Baghdad again. Midnight was crazy. Fireworks, firecrackers, explosions, smoke and all kinds of noise. Wow.
February was pretty quiet, then we moved on to March. Some friends of ours came to visit with us from Oklahoma. See http://okiesinhawaii.blogspot.com for photos and details from our friends the McConaghys. We got to experience our first Hawaiian St. Patty's Day, which was an adventure. Hubby decided to wear his kilt, which happened to be one of only two we saw the entire night. And yes, there are Irish pubs in Honolulu, but we ended up spending most of the evening at the Yard House in Waikiki. We also stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki, which totally blows the Hale Koa out of the water. They have great Kama'aina and military discounts, and the pool area there is outstanding. Definitely highly recommended. We visited the Dole Plantation, Halona Blowhole, North Shore Marketplace, Hanauma Bay, USS Missouri, USS Arizona memorial, USS Bowfin, USS Oklahoma memorial, and USS Utah, and Ford Island all in one week. So, here are some quick reviews of these places, for those who want to know:
Sheraton Waikiki: Nice hotel rooms, but good luck finding the elevator call buttons. Downstairs elevator lobby has a kind of Alice in Wonderland kind of feel with all the elevator doors and the shape of the room. Lobby has a coffee shop, a couple of restaurants, and several shops geared toward tourists. Right on the beach. Has an adults-only pool area with cabanas for an extra fee. Has a great kid-friendly pool area with water slides, which No. 1 and No. 2 LOVE. Very close to high-end shopping (think Cartier, Tiffany's, Ralph Lauren, Coach, etc.).
Yard House Waikiki: Stumbling distance from the Sheraton Waikiki, and pretty close to Senor Frogs. Spent most of St. Patty's here. They have a large number of exotic beers on tap. I tried a chocolate beer of some sort (very filling) and some kind of French beer that tasted like sour lemons (ick). Staff here was attentive, friendly, and the atmosphere was nice. Would visit again given the chance.
Dole Plantation: Tourist trap. Let me say that again: TOURIST TRAP. This place charges for everything but the bathrooms and the small pineapple garden. Food is outrageously overpriced, as are most of the items for sale in the large gift shop. This place is also out in the middle of nowhere, so keep that in mind. There is a neat train ride, which costs $6 per person to ride, a separate garden, which is also $6 a person, and the World's Largest Maze, which is also, you guessed it: $6 a person to walk through. The pineapple ice cream is about the only thing worth really buying here, unless you want to pay $30 to ship a pineapple home to your loved ones. And if you're lucky enough to be there when the tour buses full of Japanese tourists are there, this place gets crowded really fast. And due to the Japanese Tourist Effect, I get stopped often so that they can take pictures of my kids.
Halona Blowhole: This is a small stopping spot on the Windward side of Oahu. Blowhole is only really active on days when the surf is up. Small beach at the same spot is the beach where they filmed the kissing scene in From Here to Eternity. Nice little stop off if you're driving up the Windward side. And it's free!
Hanauma Bay: Very very nice bay. Excellent snorkeling/scuba diving here. Closed on Tuesdays. Costs $1 per car load to park. FREE ADMISSION FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY!! Children under 12 also free. There is a snack bar and gift shop at the entrance. If it's your first time visiting, there is a short 9-minute video about reef conservation that is required. After you watch the video, you can write your name on a list so that you don't have to watch the video again for a full year. After the video, you have two choices: walk down the steep hill to the beach or take the tram. If you are traveling with older people or small children, I highly recommend that you pay for the round trip all day as many times as you need it. I think this costs around $3.50 a person, but it's been a while since I've been there. The tram costs $0.50 to go downhill, but it's $1.00 to come back up. This is because the paved walkway down to the beach is STEEP and LONG. Please, save yourself some grief, and pay for the tram. Get there early so you can get yourself a nice shady spot under the trees. The water is here calmer than other beaches due to a barrier reef, so it's more kid friendly. The water here is also shallow and clear on most days, and there is abundant sea life to be seen. FYI: You can bring your own snacks! The only snack bar is up at the top of the hill at the entrance. There are changing rooms, showers, restrooms, snorkel rentals and an information booth on the beach.
USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri, USS Bowfin, USS Oklahoma memorial, USS Utah, and Ford Island: Go to all these places with someone in the military, if you know someone. The tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial are FREE to the public, but they are first-come, first-serve. Get there early! They have recently opened a new visitor's center at Pearl Harbor, which is very nice. It is FREE to visit the visitor's center, watch the video about the attach on Pearl Harbor, and see the outdoor exhibits. The visitor's center is also where you will pay your admission fees for the USS Bowfin and the Pacific Aviation Museum. I don't know how much those cost, because I haven't done them. The Bowfin is not recommended for children under the age of 4, and my then-four-year-old was creeped out by the confined spaces on board. There is a very nice man who sells ice cream cones for $2 outside the Pacific Aviation Museum. This is the cheapest ice cream I have seen since we've been here, and all proceeds go to the museum. The USS Arizona Memorial is a great experience, and it is highly recommended for anyone, but not exactly kid friendly. My four and 6-year-olds did okay, but were tired of waiting and being quiet by the time we got out to the memorial. If you know someone in the military, DO NOT pay to take the tour bus over to Ford Island to see the USS Missouri. They will cram you onto a bus full of tourists for the trip over there. If you know someone in the military, use their military privileges to drive their car over to Ford Island in peace and comfort. Free parking is readily available right next to the USS Oklahoma and the USS Missouri. I also recommend driving around the ghost of the old airstrip on Ford Island. You can see the submarine control tower that was featured in the movie Pearl Harbor from the comfort of your car. On the opposite side of Ford Island from the USS Missouri is the USS Utah memorial. There is NEVER anyone at this memorial. It's hidden behind some housing on the other side of Ford Island, and hardly anyone knows it's there. This sunken battleship is visible above the waterline, and it's free to visit.
On renting a high-end car in Oahu: Yes, you can rent a Ferrari here. The thing is, there are only three interstate highways here, and the max speed limit on those highways is 55. Then there's the issue of traffic. There's a lot of it. Really. The other roads on Oahu are small, two-lane roads with a max speed limit of 35. And traffic. There are zero straightaways anywhere on the island, so unless you know somebody who will let you drive that Ferrari on one of the runways here, your chances of having the fun experience of driving really fast in a really fast car are just about zero. You can decide from here if you want to waste your money.
That's about it for today. More to follow (and hopefully I'll get to post some pictures!).
Hanauma Bay: Very very nice bay. Excellent snorkeling/scuba diving here. Closed on Tuesdays. Costs $1 per car load to park. FREE ADMISSION FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY!! Children under 12 also free. There is a snack bar and gift shop at the entrance. If it's your first time visiting, there is a short 9-minute video about reef conservation that is required. After you watch the video, you can write your name on a list so that you don't have to watch the video again for a full year. After the video, you have two choices: walk down the steep hill to the beach or take the tram. If you are traveling with older people or small children, I highly recommend that you pay for the round trip all day as many times as you need it. I think this costs around $3.50 a person, but it's been a while since I've been there. The tram costs $0.50 to go downhill, but it's $1.00 to come back up. This is because the paved walkway down to the beach is STEEP and LONG. Please, save yourself some grief, and pay for the tram. Get there early so you can get yourself a nice shady spot under the trees. The water is here calmer than other beaches due to a barrier reef, so it's more kid friendly. The water here is also shallow and clear on most days, and there is abundant sea life to be seen. FYI: You can bring your own snacks! The only snack bar is up at the top of the hill at the entrance. There are changing rooms, showers, restrooms, snorkel rentals and an information booth on the beach.
USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri, USS Bowfin, USS Oklahoma memorial, USS Utah, and Ford Island: Go to all these places with someone in the military, if you know someone. The tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial are FREE to the public, but they are first-come, first-serve. Get there early! They have recently opened a new visitor's center at Pearl Harbor, which is very nice. It is FREE to visit the visitor's center, watch the video about the attach on Pearl Harbor, and see the outdoor exhibits. The visitor's center is also where you will pay your admission fees for the USS Bowfin and the Pacific Aviation Museum. I don't know how much those cost, because I haven't done them. The Bowfin is not recommended for children under the age of 4, and my then-four-year-old was creeped out by the confined spaces on board. There is a very nice man who sells ice cream cones for $2 outside the Pacific Aviation Museum. This is the cheapest ice cream I have seen since we've been here, and all proceeds go to the museum. The USS Arizona Memorial is a great experience, and it is highly recommended for anyone, but not exactly kid friendly. My four and 6-year-olds did okay, but were tired of waiting and being quiet by the time we got out to the memorial. If you know someone in the military, DO NOT pay to take the tour bus over to Ford Island to see the USS Missouri. They will cram you onto a bus full of tourists for the trip over there. If you know someone in the military, use their military privileges to drive their car over to Ford Island in peace and comfort. Free parking is readily available right next to the USS Oklahoma and the USS Missouri. I also recommend driving around the ghost of the old airstrip on Ford Island. You can see the submarine control tower that was featured in the movie Pearl Harbor from the comfort of your car. On the opposite side of Ford Island from the USS Missouri is the USS Utah memorial. There is NEVER anyone at this memorial. It's hidden behind some housing on the other side of Ford Island, and hardly anyone knows it's there. This sunken battleship is visible above the waterline, and it's free to visit.
On renting a high-end car in Oahu: Yes, you can rent a Ferrari here. The thing is, there are only three interstate highways here, and the max speed limit on those highways is 55. Then there's the issue of traffic. There's a lot of it. Really. The other roads on Oahu are small, two-lane roads with a max speed limit of 35. And traffic. There are zero straightaways anywhere on the island, so unless you know somebody who will let you drive that Ferrari on one of the runways here, your chances of having the fun experience of driving really fast in a really fast car are just about zero. You can decide from here if you want to waste your money.
That's about it for today. More to follow (and hopefully I'll get to post some pictures!).
