Hiking | [ getting back to life ]

On a long weekend made null by 24-hour duty on Saturday, the family had no choice but to get up and out of the house on Friday. Our goal of continuing to fulfill our resolution of exploring somewhere new once a week demanded it. This time around: Waimea Valley Audubon Society, leading to the Waimea Falls.

Though an hour’s drive door to door, the trek up to Waimea is pleasant enough, with a nice stretch of beach along with plenty of surfing tourists just as you near the destination. Even if you are unsure of exactly where you’re supposed to go, just wait until you spy Waimea Bay, the beach that makes first time onlookers swerve into opposing traffic, then make the next right. Parking is ample, though we visited on a military training holiday, not a legitimate holiday. As is Hawaiian tradition, expect to hunt for a spot on the weekend.

First things first, items to bring with you to the Valley: camera (duh - this is Hawaii, dammit!); sunblock; insect repellent (vengeance will be mine, mosquito!); drinking water; snacks (there are a few snack bars in the park, but it never hurts to pack a few granola bars for the walk).

Ok, the car’s unloaded, the kids are strapped in the jogger, and we’re ready to — stop at the snack bar and have lunch. Hungry Wife and I both had the Teriyaki Chicken breast sandwich (they were out of Kalua Pork). The chicken was moist and flavorful, the bun was superior, and the whole thing was made just that much better with the addition of a large hunk of fresh pineapple. bigR had a bahuge hot dog, and … you know what? You don’t get a hot dog review. Our three year old ordered the hot dog - how do you think he enjoyed it? littleR just munched on whatever we put in her beautiful little hands. She had no complaints.

Our first taste of nature’s awesomeness came when Responsible Wife pulled over the high chair and bigR spied a gecko hiding under the seat. We have geckos in and around the house all the time, and bigR loves to try and touch them. The little lizard, already sans tail, must have sensed this impending child-wrought doom, and dove off the high chair on to the deck below. Just as bigR was bending down to poke at the little dude, a chicken darted across the deck and snatched him up in its beak. bigR, stunned, slowly stood up. “Daddy,” he said, cool as Cool Hand Luke, “the shicken eated the geeko. That geeko was MAAAAAAAAAAD!” (Yes, it was as cute as you are picturing.)

While all of this was going on, we were surrounded by a pack of ruffian peacocks and peahens, hovering around trying to steal people’s lunch. Hmph, miscreants! “Aww, look at how pretty my feathers are — BITE BITE STEAL!” Once a peacock decides he wants your food - well, good luck with that saving throw.

Alright, nature’s bitchin’ and we are finished with lunch. Time to roll out … to the toll booth. Prices vary depending on date, age, patriotism, and handsomeness. We managed to get the whole family of four into the park for a mere twelve dollars (hooray for “winter”, military IDs and young, beautiful children!).

The park itself is a respectable maze of both main and side trails, and it is definitely worth your while to come back again and again to explore the grounds completely. The park encompasses over 1,800 acres of land, contains 36 botanical gardens, 78 archaeological sites, and over 6,000 species of rare plants. It is a must to arrive with every intention of stopping to smell the flowers.

That is unless your ultimate destination is the Waimea Falls area at the peak of the trail. Reports and guides indicate a 3.25 mile walk up to the falls, but really it felt more like two miles. Easy walk with a few moderately steep hills, perfect for most any stroller (unless you want to do extensive side path exploration - might wanna bring the baby backpack for that one).

The falls are quite beautiful, and have a look of familiarity about them. You arrive feeling like you’ve been there before. Some have said it’s because of the presence of welcoming spirits of the — nah, I’m bullshitting you. It’s because you’ve seen Kate and Sawyer having poolsex in front of the same falls in season one, episode twelve of Lost. (Also, Nikki and Paulo visited the same location in episode 3×14, but who gives a crap about them? Nobody! That’s why they were buried alive and never mentioned again.)

It is unclear from the signage, but you are invited to swim in the waters, so long as there is a lifeguard present. I can only assume the less-than-gruntled, overweight dude in navy shorts, bright blue shirt and black high-tops was the lifeguard. Or possibly a child molester. Honestly, it was hard to tell.

Once you hit the falls, the only thing left to do is head back down the way you came. For details on that experience, please read this post backward.

So let’s see, in summation:

Address: 59-864 Kamehameha Hwy, Haleiwa, HI

Hours: 10AM to 5:30PM daily (closed Christmas and New Year’s Day)

Admission: $24 per person, $12 for children ages 4 to 12. Kama’aina (and Military) rates are $12 and $6, respectively. Two-for-one special on admission through April 30th.

Bring: camera, sunblock, insect repellent, water and snacks

Once we had looped back around to our start point, a diaper changing for littleR was in order, which gave bigR just enough time to decide he had some business of his own to take care of. “Mommy, go away I have to go twosies.” bigR’s bathroom break gave me and littleR some time to sit and reflect on the proud and colorful peacock perched on the picnic table. littleR stared; I smiled.

Operation Get Away from Me I Have to Go Twosies complete, the family headed to the parking lot, where one last peacock stood showing off for the crowd. bigR knows the rules regarding acceptable behavior around birds, but just like his stubborn daddy, he knows rules are just words, and words can’t prevent him from trying to touch the peacock’s feathers. You know what can prevent a three year old from touching a peacock’s feathers? AN ANGRY, CHARGING PEACOCK! Fortunately, bigR made it off the sidewalk and into the safe zone (forcefield, the asphalt’s lava!) before the big bird could get him. “That peacock was chasin me. He was chasin me! He was MAAAAAAD!” (You have to picture him angrily shaking both fists next to his face to really get the full effect.)

God he’s cute when he’s not being a total shithead.

// This post can also be seen on theDaddyProject.org

While it had been planned for many moons, the family finally made it out to do some hiking. After searching a handful of local outdoorsy websites, we concluded the Old Pali Highway hike would be a great starter hike for us. A consistent and slight grade, 90% paved surface, and ample parking made it easy and enjoyable to dust off the old baby backpack and go for a walk.

It was about mid-day and overcast. The park was busy, but not crowded. There are a number of tour bus lines that feature Nuuanu Pali Park and the Old Pali Highway as a hot stop, but with a separate bus lot, we hardly even noticed their presence.

What struck me first was the abundance of BEES flying around everywhere. They appeared to be only mud wasps, but still, Raden’s only been stung once, and nobody wants to be unprepared when that do-or-die second sting happens. We swung wide of most of the bees, quickly walked past the commemorative tablet and enjoyed the fantastic view of Kaneohe Bay on the eastern side of the island. Unfortunately, we also caught a glimpse of yet another golf course (Google says there are approximately 105 on the island of O’ahu), and a strip mine.

Satisfactorily saturated by the view and anxious to distance ourselves from the growing swarm of bees, we headed toward the head of the path. Though greeted by a Road Closed sign, we were assured the path was open, and the sign was simply a reminder that vehicles are no longer allowed on the path. (How one could actually get a vehicle to that location nowadays is beyond me.)

The baby backpack we used is simply fantastic. It’s very comfortable, has plenty of extra pocket space for diapers, water, food, etc., and supports a weight limit of 50 pounds. Heck with the rucksack, I’ll hike-with-a-kid to stay in shape! River started off in the pack, and Tracy and Raden enjoyed dashing around the trail, examining everything from berries to grasshoppers to graffiti. About half way back up the trail, Raden decided he had exhausted himself and would please like to ride in the backpack please. No problem, buddy.

Ultimately, the hike was wonderful. It was an easy walk for us and the kids, a great visual lesson on the history of Hawaiian road travel, and it offered some amazing views of Kaneohe. When you come to visit, we will go :]

The Google Map of the location shows the parking area (should be right in the middle of that map), and as you head north and east, you can kinda follow the path along and above the [new] Pali Highway.

(On a photographic note, the mid-day sun, combined with harsh shadows (and Tracy’s white shirt), made it very difficult for our camera to really capture the lighting appropriately. As a result, you will notice very blown highlights in most of the pictures. I’m attempting to “fix” that in Photoshop.)