WW: Koi Pond

The Dole Plantation

This past weekend the girls and I decided to take a drive to Central Oahu to a little town called Wahiawa. If you travel north of this town you’ll come across the famous Dole Plantation which “originally operated as a fruit stand in 1950. Dole Plantation opened to the public as Hawaii’s “Pineapple Experience” in 1989 and today they welcome more than one million visitors a year.”

It started out as a beautiful sunny day and the girls were thrilled to be out of the house. When we got to the plantation we decided to first take a stroll through the Plantation Garden which is divided into 8 different areas – North Shore, Hibiscus, Lei, Native Species, Bromeliads, Irrigation, Ti Leaf, & Life on the Plantation. Here we saw some beautiful flowers and landscaping.

Dole Plantation is also home to the World’s Largest Maze according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

It usually takes 45 – 60 minutes to complete the entire thing and Kacie was determined to give it a try. However, going through the graveled maze with a stroller was not really my idea of fun so I gave Kacie 30 minutes to go through as much as she could. Luckily, they give you a little map (and I mean little) in case you get lost.

photo courtesy of Dole Plantation

Then we were off to ride the Pineapple Express. This 20-minute 2 mile ride takes you along actual pineapple fields as well as other fields like mango, papaya, sugar cane, and lychee. You’ll also see the actual equipment that was used during harvest season. There is a recorded narrative tour that explained the history of farming in Hawaii as well as some great tunes from Manoa DNA.

And what would a visit to Dole Plantation be without some Dole Whip with fresh pineapples?

You can also browse through the gift shop where you’ll find Hawaiian souvenirs, local food items, gift ideas, and more.

Kiana decided to get a bracelet with her name engraved on it.

Kacie wanted her name painted into a sign.

Kaila got a smiley-faced stuffed Pineapple.

It was a long day filled with rich Hawaiian history, good food (the teri-burgers were awesome!), beautiful scenery, and lots of fun for the girls. It’s a great place for the whole family!

Working For Minimum Wage

The other morning, a bunch of my friends and I were talking about our first jobs.

One guy used to work at a service station (back when they provided service), one girl worked at McDonalds, and another girl in a popular retail store.

Me? I used to clean classrooms at my high school. Thinking back, I realized that it was a relatively easy job – cleaning the chalkboards, emptying the trash cans, sweeping, and clapping erasers for 5 different classrooms. On Fridays, I would also have to mop the floors. I hated Fridays.

I was fourteen when I first started and made $2.10 per hour. Back then, that was a lot of money and I thought I was rolling in the dough! Woo hoo!

Do you remember your first job?

Aloha Friday #223

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too.

Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

So my question is . . .

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule what would it be?

For me, it would be putting on make-up. I would go every day without make-up if I could.

Next Page »