Hawaii: Oahu

We hit a wonderful sale on flights to Hawaii from Oakland, CA ($49 each way!!) so just had to go. I decided to spend a week in Oahu as we lived there for three years and my third son was born in Honolulu. But I wanted Max and Charlotte to also see the Big Island as it’s so different plus of course we needed to explore the volcanoes and national parks.

Our week on Oahu was spent staying in Kailua which is a bit separate from the hectic parts of Honolulu but an easy drive in. We loved the small town feel to it and met up with an amazing friend and her family. She was the person who mentored us to unschooling ideas waaaay back in the 90s. We got to watch her granddaughter ride in a show (you know Charlotte loved the horse experiences) and hang out for a bit as they were all camping at the beach park. Ohana (family) is so vital in Hawaii and it was lovely to be reminded of this.

We drove around the entire island and fell back in love with the east side and north shore. I love the rural and undeveloped feel to it and so many are holding onto that.

We also went to the Bishop Museum which I loved. My older two boys spent many hours there as we had membership for three years and went to so many classes and offerings. It was fun to go back and revisit the exhibits with new eyes.

Max has always loved sushi and ceviche so leaped onto poke of all kinds in Hawaii. Even the grocery stores carry multiple fresh offerings. Yum. We also had fun at Shirokiya Japan Village Walk in Ala Moana Center – right down in Waikiki. So many choices and so little time to eat!

Another extreme yum is Leonard’s Bakery and malasadas. We stopped at their food truck and bought a box and ate so many we were oozing sugar. I don’t even like doughnuts that much but these – oh my. These are Portuguese doughnuts so I was excited to be going to Portugal later in the year (update sadly did not find them in the Algarve)!