As it is with a lot of grandparents, my mom has a tendency to want to pamper her grandchild, and she always insists on buying babygear and toys for Mio that she can use while in Virginia, even though we’re rarely here for over two weeks at a time. (We already have a separate car seat, high chair, and travel crib that will always be waiting for us in Virginia… I do admit that it makes our life a whole lot easier!) She went out for a shopping run yesterday morning and came back with a baby pool! Because it was very sunny and the perfect weather for some splashing around, we took it out to the backyard for Mio to play in it. This was Mio’s first experience with any sort of pool, as where we live in Northern California rarely gets hot enough to be pool weather, so it was pretty exciting!
No diving in the baby pool! You don't say...
Mio testing the water. (My mom bought her some pool/bath toys, too!)
Mio was at first a little stunned...
Obaachan blowing bubbles for Mio
Mio eventually squatted down to sit in the pool.
Pooltime in the backyard
It was the perfect weather for some fun in the sun!
Three generations of Yokoyama ladies!
Having a blast.
I kept putting hats on her, but Mio pulled all of them off and into the water... 🙁
Mio had so much fun, we had a hard time getting her out of the pool!
Here’s a video I took of the pooltime fun!
Hopefully we’ll get several more uses of the baby pool during our stay here in Virginia! Mio has always loved the water (she relishes bathtime), so I can see this pool becoming very addictive for her. 😛
I remember spending many of my summer days as a young child playing in a kiddie pool of our own in the same backyard with my siblings, and I can’t help but smile as I think back on all the fun we had. One of the best parts of becoming a parent is how we are given the opportunity to be a kid again — to relive the best of our childhood memories all over again, except this time with a deeper understanding of just how precious those moments are. I hope that someday, Mio will look back on all those happy moments we’ll share with the same fondness and smile.
After spending our last full day in Oahu, we woke up early the next morning to get ready to drive down to Honolulu Airport to fly over to the neighboring island of Kaua’i. We were sad to leave Oahu, but were excited to see what was in store for us over at Kaua’i.
Our last morning at the Turtle Bay Resort.
The ocean by the hotel.
Saying goodbye to this beautiful view from our hotel room.
Dan bidding the Turtle Bay parrot goodbye.
We stopped by the Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua (North Shore) to get some breakfast before we drove down to Honolulu Airport.
Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua
Lots of baked goodies at Paalaa Kai Bakery
Azuki croissant for breakfast... so yum!
Waiting for our flight at Honolulu Airport.
The flight went very smoothly, and we arrived at Lihue Airport in Kaua’i in about an hour. 🙂
The Kaua'i shoreline from the plane.
When we first arrived, there was a slight drizzle, but the skies quickly cleared up.
We stayed at the Aston Islander on the Beach in Kapaa while we were in Kaua’i. The hotel was close to the airport and right on the beach, which was really nice. 🙂
Aston Islander on the Beach in Kapaa
The balcony of our hotel room, overlooking the beach.
After checking in and getting all of our luggage settled in, we were hungry for lunch and made a beeline for Hamura’s Saimin Stand, which was recommended to us by a few of our friends. (Thank you Rumi, Bryan, and Dan’s coworker Jay!)
The famous Hamura's Saimin Stand. I'm ready to eat!!!
The place was crowded and the wait quite long, but we stuck through it.
Saimin is a type of noodle soup that is unique to Hawaii, and is sort of a fusion of Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino traditional noodles. It’s made out of soft wheat egg noodles… I’d say that in Japanese noodles, it most closely resembles ramen, but the broth has a much more subtle and light flavor.
Dan got the Special Saimin.
I got the Shrimp Special Saimin. It was very good!
We also ordered skewers of chicken and beef, which Hamura's is also known for.
A lot of people recommend the lilikoi chiffon pie, but we were too full at the time and decided against getting it. But if you ever get a chance to go there, apparently the pie is pretty darn good so give it a try! 😉
After driving around Lihue, we were starting to melt (it was a really hot day), so we stopped at Shaka Shave Ice (a random shaved ice place we found along the road) and got some shaved ice.
Me with my shaved ice. (lychee+watermelon+guava). It was definitely not as good as some of the places we went to in Oahu, but it was so hot that I was grateful for anything cold.
Oh, a funny side story: Some of our friends had strongly urged us to rent a convertible while we were in Kaua’i, insisting that the experience would be so much better if we were able to drive around the island with the top of the car down. Despite my persistent prodding to do so, Dan said it was too expensive and so we reserved an economy car instead when we booked our rentals a few months before the trip. But when we we got to the vehicle rental, the economy compact cars had been overbooked, so they upgraded us to a convertible with no extra charge! I got my convertible after all. 🙂
Dan with our "sweet ride." (JK... we quickly found that the Sebring was not as comfortable and convenient as we thought... It was still nice to drive around with the top down, though!)
For the rest of the afternoon, we returned to our hotel and spent a couple hours relaxing on the private beach at the hotel.
The private beach at Aston Islander on the Beach.
Dan walking into the water.
There was no one else on the beach!
Beautiful mountains in the distance.
Dan, who jumped at every chance to go snorkeling during the trip, busted out his snorkel gear and went exploring...
...while I kicked back and caught up on the gossip from the mainland.
We eventually migrated over to the hotel pool, which was also pretty nice.
Relaxing after a dip in the pool.
Poolside bar.
After freshening up, we headed out to have dinner. We were pretty exhausted by this time, so we decided to go somewhere close and chose to eat in the local town of Kapaa. Being the carbnivore and pasta lover that I am, I selected Kauai Pasta as the dining place of our choice.
Dinner was very satisfying and was the perfect way to end the long day of traveling and familiarizing ourselves with Kaua’i. We only had three days left in Kaua’i, so we were determined to make the best of it! 😀
