Oahu - Dole Pineapple Plantation

http://www.dole-plantation.com/

The coolest thing about the Dole Pineapple Plantation was probably just seeing how pineapples grow.

Even having heard that you can cut the top off of a pineapple and plant it and it will grow, I guess I envisioned something like a palm tree, but they are shrubs. In fact, the pineapple fruit is described as coalesced berries, and I had never thought of it like that.

The building and grounds are attractively laid out. We ended up spending a lot of time in the gift shop, which I know sounds lame, but everything was really visually engaging, and they had a much wider variety of merchandise than we had expected.

There are four main attractions. One is the Pineapple Express, a train that circles the fields. Although the main pineapple production no longer occurs on Oahu, there is enough of the old operation still set up that you get a good idea of the growth and harvesting process.
 
Back at the building there is also a restaurant, the Plantation Grille. While there are many different things you can eat there, the main attraction is the Dole Whip, pineapple flavored soft serve. It is very good, though the fresh pineapple flavor may actually be more chemical in nature. It is also available in Disneyland outside the Enchanted Tiki Room.

We did spend some time exploring the Plantation Garden, but we did all go into the World's Largest Maze.

The reason for this is we'd heard bad things about people getting lost and wandering around forever getting dehydrated. That could have been exaggeration, because some people are pretty wimpy, but we did have a bus to catch. In retrospect, I feel like we should have tried it.

I have mentioned some of the transportation issues with relying on buses, and this is one of the key places where that is not your best bet. There is a bus that goes past it, but it seems to circle the entire island, and to get off schedule a lot. Even if it is on schedule, it was not a frequent service line. So, consider a different mode of getting there.

Oahu - The Polynesian Cultural Center

http://www.polynesia.com/

Looking at the web site, one of the things I noticed was that it called the Alii Luau "Hawaii's Most Authentic Luau", and that reminded me of something.

Although my sisters and I did not find Hawaii to be the most compelling spot we have ever gone to, my brother and his wife love it, and have been to multiple islands and done many things. When we were talking about whether we would go back, and what other things we would do if we did, we mentioned the Old Lahaina Luau, which is pretty famous. Our sister-in-law said that having been to the Polynesian Cultural Center, we did not really need to do Lahaina. I thought that was a pretty strong recommendation.

The food was good and plentiful. I have tried poi at different times, and when I hated it, thought maybe it was not fresh or something else was the problem. One of my friends from school was Hawaiian and she always swore that it was really good if it was made right. I have decided that if I did not like poi at the Polynesian Cultural Center (and I didn't) it just wasn't going to happen. But all of the other food was really good, and you need to have poi even if it is not good. (And even if I will never find it good, obviously some people do.)

The entertainment was also good. There were dancers from several different traditions, because this is not the Hawaiian Cultural Center, but the Polynesian Cultural center. I believe we saw dances from Samoa, Tonga, and New Zealand along with Hawaiian.

There are some cultures that they might not have dancers for, but you can still learn about the culture or a craft or something else by going through the villages. We saw a demonstration on making fire, participated in a palm frond weaving craft, learned some dancing, and watched the canoe pageant.

We did not do everything. There simply isn't enough time. Our tickets came with the option of coming back to explore the villages more within the next few days, but it was not practical for us to get back there. The Center was not at all convenient to where we were located. Our package included bus transportation, but it was a pretty long ride each way.

(This would be another reason to consider staying in different locations for the parts of the island you wish to see.)

Regardless of where you stay, the Polynesian Cultural Center is must see.

Oahu - Hanuama Bay

http://www.hanauma-bay-hawaii.com/

Hanuama Bay was one of my favorite spots. It was the only real beach time that we spent, and that was by choice because just laying around on the beach is boring for us. However, the water is fine.

The temperature was good of course, but there is also the issue of geography. The bay has outer arms that curve around protectively, so it is a much gentler experience than swimming in open ocean would be. You don't have to be a great swimmer to get around fairly well.

That effect may also be helped by the reef within the bay, but that also provides the main attraction, in terms of the variety of sea life that you can view. I admit that despite having an underwater camera I did not get a lot of great pictures, because fish move really quickly and I am not skillful, but I still got to see them.

Snorkeling equipment can be rented on the beach, and one thing that I appreciated was that they had masks that corrected for nearsightedness.

There were not concessions on the beach, so vendors outside made a big deal of that, and we did buy water at inflated prices because of that, but once we got inside the center there was a small store. It is more that once you walk down the path to the beach there is nothing to buy. It is probably just better to come with water and snacks.

There were several really friendly pigeons that you are asked not to feed. I suspect they do get fed sometimes, just based on how close they come, but certainly giving them reason to be more aggressive is not advisable.

I recommend getting an early start, because it gets very hot as the day progresses, and we did get some sunburn. And I definitely recommend going, because it is beautiful and the swimming is good.

Oahu - Honolulu Zoo

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/default.htm

The Honolulu Zoo opened in 1877, and is the only zoo in the United States that originated in a King's grant of royal lands to the people.

We enjoyed walking around and seeing the different exhibits, but I am going to focus on some pretty specific reptiles.

Something about turtles just makes me happy, and I don't question it. The zoo had a great selection of birds, mammals, and other reptiles, but what we really loved were the turtles and tortoises.

Not only did they have large land tortoises, as you can kind of see in the picture, but one pool was completely surrounded by turtles in a ring, with heads resting on the shell of the turtle in front of them. It was like a large sculpture, only every now and then a head moved. I don't know that it happens all the time, but we saw it and it was awesome.

This is a good zoo. It's not huge, but it feels welcoming. We enjoyed our time there.