On August 22, 2010, my daughters and I did the 2010 Waipahu Cane Haul Run.  It was a 5K run starting and finishing at the Waipahu Plantation Village.  It was the first organized run for both of my daughters, so I didn’t know what to expect of them.  My younger daughter (7) started out earnestly, but had to slow to a walk around a quarter of the way through.  My older daughter (11) continued to run while I walked with my younger daughter.  We walked/ran the rest of the way.  We caught up to my older daughter about the 3/4 mark (she waited for us). 

Overall, it was definitely a “fun” run for all of us.  Plus it was a good experience for my daughters.  Maybe we’ll do it again next year!

Makapuu12

Yesterday, my daughters and I hiked the Makapuu Lighthouse trail.  This was the third time we hiked this trail.  It is an easy, paved trail which winds up the mountain and ends up on the top of Makapuu Point.  It took us about 1/2 hour to reach the top, and about 20 minutes to hike back down.

Once you reach the top, there’s a beautiful panoramic view of Makapuu Beach all the way to Kaneohe.  The Koolau mountains are just an awesome sight from this viewpoint.  There’s also a nice view of Rabbit Island.

If that wasn’t enough, the upper portion of the trail overlooks a humpback whale sanctuary.  And just our luck, there were whales to be seen yesterday.  It looked like a pod of about 3 or 4 whales swimming around.

If you’re looking for a good beginner’s hike in Hawaii, I would highly recommend this trail.

Yesterday, my daughters and I hiked the Koko Crater Trail.  For those not familiar with the trail, the trail is an old train track that runs straight up the face of Koko Crater.  I believe the train was used by the military since there are bunkers at the top of the trail.  The trail is quite steep at the top since we’re hiking straight up the face.

I would rank this as an intermediate hike mostly because of the steepness of the trail.  The first half of the hike is not that bad, but the second half is pretty steep.  My 6 year old daughter had a tough time after the midway point.

There’s a little over 1,000 steps to reach the top.  Once you’re there, you have a panoramic view of the surrounding areas.  You can look into the crater and the Allen Davis/Kalama Valley area.  You can see Hanauma Bay and all of Hawaii Kai. 

This is a popular trail.  It looks like a lot of people hike it to stay in shape.  A few ran up and then ran back down.  It took my daughters about an hour to reach the 900 step level.  I had them turn around at that point, although my 6 year old was still game to go for the top.  However, we were running short on daylight.  We had a bonus of watching the sun set as we descended down the trail.

On Thanksgiving day, my daughters and I hiked the Hawaii Loa ridge trail.  I thought it would be a good way to get a little exercise before Thanksgiving dinner.  The trail is located at the top of Hawaii Loa ridge.  There’s a park/bar-b-q area at the end of the road.  Just past the park is the start of the trail.

The trail is relatively easy.  We can’t go on any difficult trails since my younger daughter is only 6 years old.  It’s a little steep in some areas, but my daughters had no problems going up.  Coming down was a little harder for them since the trail was a little slippery from the previous day’s rain. 

We hiked about an hour in, and then turned around.  I’m told that it takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to hike to the top of the ridge.  Plus, it gets much steeper towards the top.  We’ll have to try the trail again when we have more time.

We’ve been hiking quite a bit over the last year or so.  We’ve done the Diamond Head trail, the Makapuu trail, the Pacific Palisades trail, the Mariner’s ridge trail and the Kamehame ridge trail.  On the Mariner’s ridge and Kamehame ridge trails, we were able to make it to the top.  It’s a nice view of the windward side from the top.  The Makapuu hike also provides a stunning view Makapuu beach and the Waimanalo coastline.

My daughters seem to enjoy the hiking, so I’m sure there will be more hikes in the future!  Please comment if you know of any other kid friendly trails.  I’ve hiked the Aiea loop trail in the past, so that might be our next hike.

Disneyland!!!!

I just came back from a family vacation at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. I must say that this was one of my more enjoyable trips to Disneyland. Over the years, I have visited Disneyland as a child and as an adult. This was the first time that we went there as a family.

It had been over 10 years since I last visited Disneyland. I was dating my wife at the time and we went with my friend and his girlfriend. We went during off-season, so the lines weren’t long. Also, the weather was pleasant.

On a previous trip to Disneyland (maybe 15 years ago), we went at peak time. Lines were unbelievably long. I think on one day we only rode two rides. The rest of the time was spent waiting in line.

I had heard from co-workers that the peak times coincide with school breaks for the kids. My wife and I decided to pull my older daughter out of school for a few days so that we could go to Disneyland during an off-peak time.

It turned out to be a great choice. In addition to the pleasant weather — mid 70s during the day and lower 60s at night — we also enjoyed short lines. The majority of the popular rides were no more than a 20-minute wait. Some of the rides were 5-10 minute waits for all the time we were there. The longest wait was an hour for the Finding Nemo submarine ride (probably the most popular ride at this time).

I guess the question is whether or not it’s worth it for us to take the kids out of school for a trip to Disneyland to enjoy the off-peak benefits. I know the schools do not tolerate this. The teachers really disapprove of taking days off for a vacation. My younger daughter will be entering elementary school this fall, so we will have to take both of them out of school in the future.

To me, the benefits outweigh the negatives. I’m not planning to take my daughters out of school every year to take advantage of off-peak times, but maybe once every few years!