Discovery Center

On James' last weekend of leave, we decided we needed to do something fun together before he headed back to work every day.  So we hit up the Discovery Center in Honolulu for some fun for Jay.   Afterwards, we had a delicious lunch in Waikiki and then went to the Fort DeRussy museum.  Fort DeRussy is a pretty neat place and I would definitely recommend it.  We didn't take any pictures in there though so I am concentrating this post on the Discovery center.

We had never been to the Discovery Center before but recently had heard some people talking about it and thought we should check it out. It is basically a children's museum with a bit of Hawaiiana thrown in for good measure.  The price is reasonable, especially with a military discount.  It is not a huge place but had enough to occupy us for a couple of hours.

Now, I've been to the Magic House- the children's museum in St. Louis,  and like most things in Hawaii, this is no way, shape or form compared to that one.  However, for a little children's museum in Hawaii it was nicely done.  Jay had a blast and has since asked to go back several times.  So I would recommend it to people living in Hawaii with small children.  Its worth a look.

Jay's favorite part was the very first gallery.  Inside was a water table, that he could have probably played at all day if he'd had the time and wasn't so curious about what other treasure the museum held in store.  It also had a shoe free section for kids to crawl around and through things.  It was the cutest gallery in the museum, in my opinion.









The second favorite section was the gallery that had blocks and a train table.  James and Jay spent a while building towers and of course, knocking them over.  Jay is obsessed with train tables and we pretty much had to drag him away after 20 minutes because we wanted to see the rest of the museum.




The only other huge attraction for Jay was a part where he could "fish".  It really just involved magnetic rods and fish that you could buy at any store but he enjoyed playing there for a while.  There were a few other things that held his attention for several minutes, but the rest of the museum he basically breezed through. Until, that is, we went by the carousel on our way out.  The carousel cost an extra $2 but we did it anyways. It was a short ride but we enjoyed it!

After we finished at the Discovery Center we looked for a place to grab lunch.  We found a neat little place in Waikiki.  Here are Jay and James at our table :)

We had a wonderful day.  

 

Erickson Oahu Adventures

     During the time that we've spent here in Hawaii, we've always hoped that James' parents would be able to visit.  Several times we've thought they might be able to come, but it has never worked out for one reason or another.  Last week everything finally came together and they were able to spend a week with us here in Hawaii!

     We have always thought that the beach and recreation area at Bellows Air Force base is a beautiful area, so for the first four days that Mom and Dad Erickson were here, we rented a cabin on the beach.  It was a fantastic setting with the ocean visible from the front porch and the roar of the waves drifting in the windows at night.  Jay was a big fan too because there was a giant playground just outside the cabin!  

    

James and Dad at Makapuu Point

     While staying at Bellows, we took several day trips to some of our favorite spots around the island.  We hiked up the trail to Makapuu lighthouse and took in the incredible scenery while looking for whales.  On Friday, we drove over the mountains and visited Pearl Harbor and the Arizona memorial.  Then on Saturday morning we visited our favorite restaurant on the island, Cinnamon's, for some of their amazing red velvet pancakes.  

Mom and Dad on the lookout at Makapuu

     After breakfast at Cinnamon's, we loaded up the car and moved back up to our apartment on North Shore.  We spent the next few days relaxing and checking out some more of our favorite spots on the island.  James and Dad went down to AMR and climbed through a tunnel network left over from WWII.  Mom found her favorite spot on the island just a few miles away from our apartment near Kaena Point.  She's always been a sucker for giant waves and beautiful scenery.  There isn't much else on Kaena Point, but it has both of those in spades.  Monday evening we all went over to the Leeward side of the island to Electric Beach.  James and Dad went scuba diving, while everyone else played in the ocean.

At our favorite coffee hangout - The Coffee Gallery in Haleiwa

Jay decided to take some pictures of himself.

Grandpa and Jay hanging out

3 Generations of Erickson men in a Kiowa

     On Tuesday, Mom and Dad packed up for their flight back.  Their flight didn't depart until nearly midnight though, so we still had time for at least one more adventure.  Dad's birthday was February 2nd, so for his present, we bought him a glider ride at Dillingham Airfield, just down the road.  Dad had an incredible flight and James was even able to go up with the pilot of the tow plane that pulled Dad's glider into the air.

Dad's glider ride at Dillingham Airfield

     We were sad to see them head home Tuesday night, but grateful that they were able to make it out to see us before we moved away from Hawaii.  It's easy to take for granted just how beautiful it is here and it's always fun to see how excited guests are when they see it for the first time.  It had been almost 1 1/2 years since James had seen his parents, so it was a great time of catching up.  All in all, it was a great visit and a fitting conclusion to our experience as hosts in Hawaii.

Mom and Dad on the beach at Kaena Point