Honolulu and State Sites

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Aliʻiōlani Hale, Duke's Canoe Club, Hawaii, Hawaii State House, Hawaii State House of Representatives, Hawaii State Senate, Hawaii State Supreme Court, Honolulu, Hula Pie, Iolani Palace, Oahu, Waikiki

18 May 2015 – We headed into downtown Honolulu for some sights.  We planned on going to the IolaniPalace, Duke’s Canoe Club for lunch, and the Bishop Museum.  Things didn’t go as plan but we enjoyed the day nonetheless.

When we arrived at the Iolani Palace we didn’t anticipate the timed entry aspect and unfortunately the next available entry time conflicted with our lunch reservations.  So, we enjoyed the park and exterior of the palace and walked around instead to visit some of the nearby Hawaii State sites.

Isabella, Lucas, Aurelia, Sherrie, and Giuliana outside the Iolani Palace in Honolulu

In the same complex as the Iolani Palace is the Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives.  We walked through the State House building which is so very unique as a round building with a large central atrium.  The House and Senate chambers are also easily visible from the atrium through very large windows.  It was a great opportunity to teach the kids about bi-cameral representative government.

Hawaiian State House atrium and central courtyard

Hawaiian State House of Representatives chamber

Hawaiian State Senate chambers

Queen Liliuokalani statue outside the Hawaii state house

Hawaiian State House

After the State House we walked around the Palace again to the other side of the complex and across the street to the Aliʻiōlani Hale – which historically was built as the central government building for both the Kingdom and Republic of Hawaii in the late 1800s.  Just outside the entrance is a famous statue of Kamehameha and reliefs depicting famous early Hawaiian historical events.

Lucas, Isabella, and Aurelia pose with the statue of King Kamehameha outside the Aliʻiōlani Hale

Inside the Aliʻiōlani Hale, and since 1911, sits the Hawaiian Supreme Court.  The building contains both the current court room as well as the original 1916 court room now part of a museum on the history of the Hawaiian judiciary.  The kids loved the old court room and they spent time playing court.  Both the State House and Supreme Court were fascinating and unique and the kids enjoyed both.

Isabella, Aurelia, and Lucas in the original republic and later Hawaii State Supreme courtroom

Current Hawaii State Supreme Court courtroom

We left the Aliʻiōlani Hale for Duke’s and our lunch reservation.  Duke’s sits on Waikiki inside the Outrigger hotel.  It is a very good restaurant with prices comparable of others along the beach.  Their Cajon fish tacos were excellent and the kids enjoyed the fish and chips.  Sherrie had the salad bar with Guiliana.  Of course, we finished lunch with two Hula Pies – which as always were excellent.

Hula pie at Dukes on Waikiki

The family at Dukes on Waikiki

We walked back to our car along Waikiki and couldn’t help but stop at the statue of Duke Kahanamoku for photos.

Sergio, Aurelia, Isabella, and Lucas at the statue of Duke on Waikiki

After Waikiki we drove over to the Bishop Museum but found we had misplaced our tickets – which we subsequently found the next day while packing to head home.  Instead we decided to go back to the pool and spent several hours swimming to finish our day which is never a bad choice in Hawaii.

Pirate Adventure

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Diamond Head, Hawaii, Hawaii Pirate Ship Adventure, Oahu, Waikiki

15 May 2015 – After visiting the USS Missouri we had to rush over to Waikiki to board a ship for a Pirate Adventure.  We found the Hawaii Pirate Ship Adventure by looking through a list of activities on the island and when we researched the reviews it was clearly a winner.

The ship is well decorated to look like a prototypical pirate vessel and the crew is dressed and in full character throughout the adventure.  They cater mostly to the children but the adults get involved as well.  The ship travels along Waikiki towards Diamond Head where it turns around and heads back.  As we encounter enemies (e.g., other vessels) along the way we man the cannon and do our pirate thing.

Pirate ship masts

Diamond Head from Pirate Ship

Waikiki and Honolulu from Pirate Ship

Once aboard the kids adorned their pirate gear (an eye patch and bandana) and got to explore the ship.  Then, they put them to work swabbing the deck and instructing the new crew on ship terminology.

Lucas scrubs the decks of the pirate ship

Aurelia scrubs the decks of the pirate ship

Pirate crew gets instructions

Then, the crew learns to fire the cannon – which are air-pressure powered water cannon.  They don’t fire far but the kids loved it.  Of course, when another ship passes close enough the real crew pull out larger water cannon and fire for greater effect.  It was obvious that other tour ships in the area pull in close to the pirate ship for the benefit of their customers as well.

Isabella, Aurelia, and Lucas man the cannon

Further into the adventure the ship goes to look for treasure – a treasure box floated with buoys which was placed previously.  They (unsuccessfully) attempted to get me to tie myself to a hook and hang overboard to retrieve the box from the sea. Luckily they had a hook on hand and the entire crew worked to pull the box up out of the sea.  The kids then helped find the key for the treasure box.

Sergio gets ordered to go overboard to get the treasure chest

Lucas and Isabella involved in opening the treasure chest

Finally, the kids learned to sword fight and toss a skull through the stocks in a macabre pirate game.

Aurelia, Isabella, and Lucas eat cookies and wait for instructions

Finally the children were “branded” as pirates and graduated.  The 90 minute adventure was excellent and a highlight of the trip for the kids.

The new crew graduates as pirates