Oahu Getaway

I didn't think this 4-day trip to Oahu could top our last one to Ihilani. We got to hang out at the Aulani Resort & took Ryan to his first luau. Plus we discovered the amazing Children's Museum in Kakaako (say that ten times real fast). But you know what? This trip topped it. The location was just far more...well, us. (Ko'olina is a bit on the fancy schmancy side.) Our hotel was central to everything we love to see (Diamond Head, the Ala Wai canal, the beach/harbor), eat (Angelo Pietro's was a 3-min. walk away!) and do (early morning and evening walks along Ala Moana Beach Park).

Trip highlights for me include:

• Getting to do two evening runs with my high school (& beyond!) BFF Leeanne along the Ala Wai Canal
• Running along Ala Moana Beach Park and Magic Island (gorgeous, gorgeous beach!)
• Having dinner two nights in a row at my favorite, favorite restaurant on Earth (Angelo Pietro's) with Leeanne and the Maeda's
• The twinkling nighttime city lights view from our balcony
• Taking Ryan to the Magic Island Carnival (cough cough!) three days in a row. (To clarify...it was right near our hotel, it benefited Konishiki's Kids and wasn't as $$$ since we only have one child. I felt bad for the families of four who were paying $12-16 per RIDE!)

Here are a gazillion pics from our trip...

Ryan sipping on his morning cup of joe atop the 35th floor of the Ala Moana Hotel

What kind of parents allow their child to screech and jump from bed to sofa?

Answer: The AWESOME kind.

This never got old. Clearly.

A good parent tells her child, "The fish are on a special restricted diet." A bad parent says, "Look! They the love the crumbs from our bread!" (I will let you hazard a guess as to the category that I fall into.)

A taiko video game at Jungle Fun?! Is there anything more rad?

At the Children's Discovery Museum

Since the airplane exhibit was closed this time...his favorite place was the grocery store!

The only real flaw of the Children's Museum? That place has WAY too many children. My ears still hurt.

Our little daredevil loves nothing more than going on rides.

He just HAD to have this chopper so he could impress his uncle.

This was the perfect trip to whet our travel appetites before our annual trip to the mainland next month. We'll be hitting the East Coast for a few weeks- 4-5 days in NYC, with a road trip to MA, CT, NJ and PA. Ry hasn't been to MA or CT yet, so we're excited that he'll get to visit a few new states. I'm excited to take him to Amish Country, the Please Touch Museum and the Hershey Factory in PA. I've even had him practicing his Boston accent for weeks, "Mommy! I'm going to pahk the cah!" (for reals) We're also debating doing a half marathon while we're in NJ near Atlantic City. So we're pumped. The middle of April can't come soon enough. :-)