Kawela Bay and Laie

Kawela Bay is just a mile from Turtle Bay along a forested path. Calvin and I stayed at a house on Kawela Bay a couple of times and it is a beautiful spot.  We hiked there with the whole gang one day.

Another day we drove into Laie and toured the temple grounds and visited the shops at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

We sent Rosie and Jay off to find their own dinner while we treated the kids to Happy Meals from Calvin's favorite McDonalds, which was actually a replacement for the McDonald's with the waterfall inside.  Since Covid rules kept us from dining inside we went to Hukilau Beach Park for our dining experience. This the original location that was made famous in song:

Oh, we throw our nets out into the sea

And all the 'ama'ama come a-swimmin' to me

Oh, we're goin' to the hukilau

Huki-huki-huki-huki-hukilau

We found a little rubber ball at the beach and the kids happily spent an hour playing catch in the sand. I love it that they can find something fun to do where ever they are.

Waimea Falls and Bay

We made day outings to Waimea Falls and Waimea Bay.  I hadn't been to the falls in decades and didn't remember much about it, but it was a deligtful outing.  The gardens were amazing and surprisingly they allowed swimming in the falls.

You can see the falls behind Alice and the hoards of people climbing in and out

So we joined right in  with rest of the mob

 Waimea Bay was just as I remembered it. Giant rocks to jump from and challenging surf for toddler.

Turtle Bay Resort Oahu

We recently spent a litle time at Turtle Bay on Oahu.  We have stayed at various places at this resort over the years, but this year we had a great location.  The hotel at the resort is being renovated, so the beach which can be crowded when 450 hotel rooms are open was easily socially distanced. 

This was the view from our balcony.

And this is what our front door looked like. Shoes all over the place! It was fun to be with the Wrights and be part of a big gang on this trip.

The pool and hot tub saw a fair amount of family action.

 The resort also had miles of walking trails through shady forests and along the shore line.  You could find plenty of empty beaches just a short walk away.

This is the northern most point on the island

We haven't quite mastered the "selfie" yet but that was a gorgeous beach behind us.

Ancient formations like this are preserved throughout the island.  Calvin put his watch/compass on this one and it point directly north.

You might have noticed the bikes for rent from our balcony.  James noticed them too, so Calvin and Jay took him on a mountain bike ride... after they caught up with him.

Saddlebag Lake

 We decided to stop at Saddlebag Lake on the way home, hoping the resort with the water taxi might be open, but we were a little ahead of the season. We decided to take a little walk as long as we had braved the gravel road to get there.

 The lake itself was so low we could walk along base of the dam on the lake side and be high and dry, but there was a lovely mound of snow against the dam that was just right for sliding.

We continued on around the lake just a bit, but the 10,000 foot altitude helped us decide after a short rest break that it was probably time for lunch.

Along the road the kids found some obsidian, so Calvin showed off his flint knapping skills.

We stopped for lunch at a delightful National Forest Campground on Ellery Lake 

And the kids managed to find one more hill to climb