A brief aside: I realize that I'm posting over two months late about things that had happened in March. Sorry! I'll try not to get so behind in the future!
So way back in March, when Nik got the time off to go to Hawaii he ended up with an extra week of time off. Never one to waste time off, he decided to plan the Valley Crew snow trip for the week after we returned from Oahu. Back to back trips are exhausting and it wasn't how I would've planned it, but after seven years of marriage and knowing the man that I married, I just rolled with it (although upon returning from Truckee, it was amusing to be simultaneously unpacking beach and snow wear).
We had returned from Hawaii and after a couple of days at home we were packing our bags yet again and heading out. We stopped over to visit with the Jagadeesans for an evening and stayed overnight. It was great to catch up with Raja and Ravi and the controlled chaos of their home reminded us that we're not alone in this crazy season of life. As for Kai and Sora, they always love ransacking other kids' toys and with four parents versus five kids, we appreciated the help of Raja and Ravi's very capable babysitter.
A little bit of R&R at home before heading out again
Thanks for the hospitality, Raja!
After breakfast with the Jagadeesans, we headed over to the California State Railroad Museum. I had vague memories of visiting long ago when I was a teenager, but now with two train crazy toddlers, visiting was compulsory. Upon entering, we immediately made a beeline for the toy train exhibit which showcased some very impressive model train sets and a number of Thomas and Chuggington train tables. I was surprised that we were eventually able to pry them away from the train tables without too much protest, but the allure of seeing real engines proved to be enough.
So. Much. Thomas.
Toddlers and parents everywhere
The Railroad Museum had a number of historic engines and coaches. You could enter some of the engines and coaches, and one of the coaches simulated the rocking motion, lights and noise of a moving train.. pretty neat! After a brief and unremarkable stop in Old Town Sacramento for lunch, we headed up to Truckee.
The drive was long and slow, and to cap it off, Sora got sick in the car (I was "lucky" and caught most of it in a bowl). We ended up taking a long bypass to avoid the main highway and chain control. When we finally got up to Truckee, there was snow everywhere. It had just snowed and they hadn't yet got around to plowing the smaller roads. We carefully made our way to the rental on the snow covered and slick roads, and just in front of the rental, our car got stuck in the snow in the middle of the road! After what felt like a long time of spinning our wheels and frustration, Nik was able to flag down a fellow a driver who helped him push the car forward and we were able to drive the car into the driveway. Soon afterward, our friends began to arrive.
Instead of going to ski resort, we opted to use the sled run that Sean and Wei created in our rental's backyard. A few more adventurous souls went cross country skiing, but for us, the kids were happy with just playing in the snow with their snowball makers The snow trip was full of low-key moments of just hanging out, playing board games, and of course, good eating. Wei's perfectly cooked sous vide steaks were a highlight. All in all, it was a great trip with the most snow that we've ever seen (the drought is officially over).
Three amigos
Snow angels :)
The kids loved the oversized, fluffy bean bag chairs
Chef at work
No leftovers here!
Everyone is captivated by the TV..
.. which is a great opportunity to take a group photo!
Huge snowbanks!
Crazy girl on the drive home.. before she got sick in the car again -_-
After another morning of crafting at the Beach House, we checked out of Aulani and headed out to Waikiki for the second half of our vacation. We met up with the Saitos for lunch at the new Waikiki Yokocho. Perhaps it's just a sign of the times, but all the old kitschy souvenir stores of old Hawaii are getting eaten up by luxury shopping malls (ahem.. International Market Place). A lot of the new development caters to predominately Asian tourists, who expect to be able to buy a Hermès handbag while on holiday, but one of the happy consequences is that eating (since many of the new restaurants are Japanese chains) in Waikiki has vastly improved. After wandering around the Yokocho, we decided on the tempura restaurant. I was impressed by the tempura battered soft boiled egg, but we forgot to take pictures since we were so busy wrangling children. We then meandered along with the kids, catching up with Kelly and Lee, while briefly stopping to play at the beach and browse in stores.
Kai and Sora both passed out in the car and Nik and I decided to seize the opportunity to grab shave ice. Unfortunately, Kai woke up immediately once we parked the car and refused to go back to sleep once he noticed where we were. After a brief break for shave ice (Sora was up by then as well), we headed back to Waikiki to check into our Airbnb rental.
"Go back to sleep?? Are you kidding me?"
After settling into our rental, a simple one bedroom apartment, with none of the bells and whistles that we had had at Aulani, we discovered that we were in Waikiki just in time for the Honolulu Festival Grand Parade. We hurried to grab a few musubis and sat along the road to enjoy the parade. Many of the participants were from Japan, and with taiko drummers abounding and shrines being carried along the parade route, there were moments that we felt like we were watching a festival in Japan. Sora particularly loved the dancers and in the intervals between participants, would run into the street to bust a move. One of the more notable participants was a girl's high school from Japan. The gaggle of yellow clothed girls just seemed to go on and on, and their choreography and synchronization were on point. We were near the end of the parade route and imagining that these girls had energetically danced their way, block after block, in the oppressive heat and humidity was amazing. The large, inflatable dragon was also quite impressive, although it scared Kai. We didn't stay until the end of the parade since we needed to put the kids to bed. But as soon as we got the kids through their bedtime routine and to bed, the fireworks started. Needless to say, the kids couldn't sleep and the view of the show from our balcony was mostly obstructed, but the kids were excited to watch nonetheless.
The next morning we headed out to the Dole Plantation to get Dole whip and ride yet another train. The kids initially gobbled up the Dole Whip, but much to my surprise, they got tired of it.. which was just fine by me! The train ride wound through the Dole Plantation and even though a lot of the recorded narration felt as if they were trying to sell us items in the gift shop, we enjoyed the ride. We did eventually buy a few souvenirs from the gift shop, so I guess the train ride/sales pitch was a success.
Dole Whip with fresh pineapple.. yum!
What can I say? Our kids like selfies..
.. a lot.
After a little R&R our home away from home, we headed out for our next activity.. walking to a new tonkatsu restaurant. Enticed by the 5 star Yelp rating (even though it had already been open for over a month), we decided to try it out. The walk was much longer and tiring than we had anticipated, with two toddlers in tow and the sun beating down on us, but we eventually made it just before the restaurant opened. Once seated, we put the kids to work, grinding sesame seeds for our katsu sauces and let them watch the tablet (it's the only way Nik and I could eat in peace). Katsu and service was good, although I'm not sure if it was on par with our tonkatsu experience in Tokyo.. but I think it's probably difficult to compare. Satiated, the walk home seemed shorter.
Wikki Stix kept the kids captivated for a surprisingly long time. Kai made a fish with rainbow bubbles
Gotta stop to smell the flowers.. this is why walking with a toddler takes forever
The katsu is fried in large copper pots, which supposedly conducts heat more evenly
The next morning was spent playing in the sand and surf. Conveniently, McDonald's is located right across the street from the beach, so we grabbed breakfast to-go and spent the whole morning at the beach. Even with all the fanciness of the Disney resort, sometimes all you need to amuse a toddler is sand, water, and waves.
After a long morning of playing at the beach, we walked back to the Yokocho for lunch. With four different ramen restaurants to choose from, we chose Ramen Bario. Unfortunately it was only okay, I prefered the spicy tsukemen to the regular ramen. However Sora loved it, and slurped up every noodle and drank every drop of soup. Dessert was matcha soft serve. The matcha was strong and after one taste, Kai refused to eat any more. Unsurprisingly, Sora (my little adventurous eater) loved it.
Good to the last drop
We went back to our rental to take a nap; the kids slept well, probably because of all the beach play and ramen. Once everyone was up, we headed out to Marukame Udon for an early dinner. We then walked to the Royal Hawaiian Center to search for a shave ice stand that Nik had looked up. It took us a while to find it and we almost gave up, but it was worth searching out. It's certainly pricier than normal, but you get fruit infused syrups and all the fixings (like fresh fruit, mochi, and popping bubbles). It's not really comparable to Waiola or a simple shave ice stand.. it's gourmet and a totally different style.
Cheap and satisfying, as always
Our last full day in Hawaii was devoted to visiting the Honolulu Zoo. As it was the last time we visited, the primates and turtles/tortoises were a hit. Unfortunately, the elephants weren't out and perhaps taking after their Baba, the kids were scared of the gharials. The kids also really enjoyed playing in the little playground in the middle of the zoo.
A large orangutan is lounging in the hammock
The heat was doing me in, so we needed to cut our zoo visit short to rehydrate and nap. One last stop at Waiola for some rainbow shave ice and some sunset playtime at the beach, capped off our Hawaiian vacation. We had dinner at Teddy's Bigger Burgers, which were big, as advertised, but not great (perhaps we're spoiled by In-N-Out).
Sometimes rainbow shave ice is all you need
My loves
Not bad, but bigger isn't always better :P
On our last day, the last line of business was to get a thank you gift for Kelly and Lee who had been so hospitable and had lent us their pack 'n play. That meant driving to Hawaii Kai to get Bubbies. We were worried that the mochi ice cream might melt during the 30+ minute drive to the Saito's, but blasting our A/C on the drive over, they arrived intact. Once at the airport, the kids enjoyed watching the taxiing planes, and trucks and people at work. Just before heading home, Nik taught Kai a Hawaiian essential: the shaka! See you next time, Hawaii!
