Update: May 2020

Morning Tropical Storm:

The day  started out with a tropical storm blowing in off the Pacific Ocean. Just by looking at how the rain and wind was blowing, you may have thought a hurricane was hitting land. Seeing how stormy the waves looked as they came crashing on the shore was a sight you only read about. Breakfast was Hawaiian sweet bread with passion fruit jam and Dragon fruit sliced. You really get spoiled here in Hawaii with all the fresh fruit. Pineapples in the continental US are not as good as fresh Hawaiian pineapple right off the tree.

Originally we had planned to go to the North Shore, but looking at the weather we decided to switch days with another activity. Instead we all went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation in Wahiawa.

Dole Pineapple Plantation:

Getting there was an adventure in itself when you have the GPS telling you to go to Waikiki instead of Wahiawa. Eventually we arrived just in time for the tour buses to be unloading large groups of tourists. I recommend to go early or later in the day to avoid the large crowds.

Pineapple Store:

If you love anything pineapple, this is the place for you. Not only does it sell pineapple stuff, it also sells other handmade Hawaiian things as well. You can even buy the pineapples grown on the plantation and have them shipped back home. Here you can even taste the different kinds of pineapples grown on the Dole Plantation, and I highly recommend if you have never tried pineapple from Hawaii. I find the pineapples to be a whole lot sweeter and juicy then the ones found in stores on the US mainland.

What I Bought: Milk chocolate pineapple crunch, Dole pineapple candy, and yes…. macadamia nut flavor Spam. I also got a beautiful hair clip for my mom.

Dole Pineapple Whip and Ice Cream:

Naturally I wanted to try what pineapple ice cream would taste like. Oh my goodness you have to try it! You can get this now at Disneyland, but you really need to try it at the original place. Try this because it is made from fresh pineapples grown on the plantation. There are tow ways you can have it, one just as a soft serve without the pineapple chunks, and second with the pineapple chunks in the Dole Whip. Either way, both are very good!

Tour of The Pineapple Gardens:

After an ice cream comatose, we toured the garden with all the various pineapple plants from around the world. I never realized there are many different varieties of pineapples, and each have their own destructed characteristics. I guess we are all use to the pineapples that were cultivated by Dole which is the most recognized species of pineapple around the world.

While touring the garden there was several geckos (looked like the Geico Gecko, but does not talk with a Australian accent) sitting on some of the leaves enjoying himself. Geckos are all over Hawaii and there was even one sitting in the bushes at Bellows one day.

Dole Pineapple Plantation Maze:

According to the Guinness World Record book, Dole Pineapple Plantation has the largest corn maze in the world back in 2009. This the reason I had to get lost in a corn maze in Hawaii, and live to tell the tale. Plus saying you survived the maze in a tropical rain storm is even better! So Mom, Dad and I decided to do the maze as a family building exercise

Half way through the maze we all three got soaked with rain dumping from the sky. But hey, we are all from Seattle, and the rain was like taking a shower compare to back home. As people were scurrying along to get out of the rain, we all three made our way around the maze looking for the hidden symbols we had to find. The secret to the maze is, going around the outside from one end of the maze to the end, and only sweep inward when you are close to the target. With this strategy we did the maze within forty-five minutes instead of hours.

Hawaiian Birthstones (Kukaniloko):

Later we jumped back into the car and head a little bit down the road to Kukaniloko (Hawaiian Birth Stones). The site sits back off the road in a farmer’s field on North Wahiuwa Hwy 80 and Whitmore Ave where a small odd road goes off towards a field. If you are not looking for it you will miss the entrance.

This place is one of a few sacred place to the Hawaiians, and the story is when a women gave birth on the stones, her child will have high or royal status in the kingdom. The place is very peaceful place and calmness. There is a little bit of an energy coming off the stone and having sit on one, would make you think maybe my future kid will reach high status.

Tip: After we viewed the site, I realized the red clay stuck to my sandals are like glue hard glue! Took a lot of elbow grease to scrub off the mud/clay off the sandals. Bring extra shoes and plastic bags to keep the mud from staining the inside of the car.

A Bit of Randomness:

On our way to the Dole Plantation we passed through the famous Waiahae Mountain Range on the Kolekole Pass. The area around the pass looks like a scene out of the TV shows Lost, Jurassic Park, and other tropical island shows.

The Hawaiian Full Moon

That night the full moon made spectacular appearance over the ocean. Looks like the postcard scenes you see with the full moon over Diamond Head.

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