The plan for today was visit the famous Ho-omaluhia Botanical Garden and Byodo-In Temple. After that we had lunch at the KFT in the small shopping center near by and headed to the Kailua beach.
Category: Travel – United States
Honolulu – 2nd Day
Today highlights would be riding the Maitai catamaran for 1.5 hour and Kuloa Ranch’s Hollywood Sites tour.
This day marked 1 of the most terrifying moment in my life: we lost William while walking from hotel to the Maitai catamaran departure point. I was not sure if we headed the right direction so I left William with Tim to go asking for directions. When I came back I asked Tim, where’s William? Tim looked around and there was no sign of him around! Tim said, “He was just here looking at the sign!”. Tim ran back toward the streets, I looked at the beach but I did not think he’d go there by himself because he’s always afraid of the waves, so the only direction he’d go is to go back to the hotel. So Tim ran that way, I followed. After 10 minutes walking, we met a couple and they said they saw a boy was running and calling “Dad! Dad!”. Someone already stopped him when Tim caught up with him. Poor little guy, he was crying so hard. Lots of thanks to those nice people that stopped him, otherwise we could not catch up if he kept running.
Maitai Catamaran: William at first was excited when we got on the catamaran but later he felt asleep, he only woke up that last 15 minutes. Not sure if he was seasick or not. It was a beautiful day to spend the day with family: nice music and clouds and view of the Waikiki beach and Diamond Head. At some point it was rough that the ocean water was splashed into our boat.
Kuloa Ranch: the tours at Kuloa ranch sold out fast 2 weeks in advance so I could only book 5 tickets to the Hollywood Movie sites tour. We were supposed to check in 1 hour before the tour time but we got there late because it took almost 1 hour to get there from the hotel. They called us right on time when we just got to the ranch entrance. They took us around the ranch on a open window bus. It’s a very beautiful ranch where they shot lots of famous movies like Jurassic Park. But in my opinion it’s not a must to visit.
Hawaii Here We Come – Aug 2021
Thursday 8/12 – Monday 8/16.
Our summer vacation this year was Honolulu, Oahu, and we were staying for 3 nights at one of the most beautiful hotel on the island, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort. William is 7 years old now, he’s old enough not to cry and he loves to fly! The only issue during our flight from LAX – Honolulu is that he kept standing up on the chair and touched the lights on the ceiling and often times pulling down/up the food tray so strong that would shake the seat of the person sitting in front of him. Lucky for us it’s Danny seat so we were not yelled at. He did not want to watch any movie, all he wanted was looking at the map.
William only slept for about 30 minutes; United airlines did not serve lunch; I brought 1 lunchbox from home so that was William’s lunch. We were late because we had a bit of issue getting the pre-approval of covid-19 so did not have time to buy any thing for lunch; lucky for us aunt Eliza gave me a croissant, which I shared with aunt Julie.
We arrived at Honolulu airport around 11:00 AM, it took so long for the luggage to come out. Then we headed to the Budget rental car to pick up 2 minivans to fit total of 12 of us. Then we headed to Pho Que Huong at China town for lunch; the food here is good. After lunch, we stopped by Costco on the way to the hotel for some water and snacks. Aunt Eliza bought William a set of Beach toys! William enjoyed his churros while looking out the window: it’s his first time here at Waikiki.
Check in at the hotel took so long: about 1 hour! I already checked in via Hilton Honors app, otherwise it’d take longer because the general check in line was so long. It took so long because they required EACH adult to log in to the Safe Travel web site and show them the trip details.
But then when we got to our room, the view was spectacular; it was worth all the hassle! After a short break, we headed down to the Hilton Lagoon, William loved it here! We got lucky that someone gave us 3 floats because their trip ended today.
Hana Field – The Flowers Field in Costa Mesa
We were not planning to go but aunt Eliza had 2 extra tickets because her son and daughter Vi & Bryan could not go. So I purchased additional 1 ticket ($5.00) on their web site so that 3 of us can go.
The Hana farm is part of the Tanaka farm, which turns out to be disappointed: the sunflowers are all done, there were other flowers too but not that as much as the one in Carlsbad. We tried to walked to the small section at the end of the farm where there were still some sunflowers left, but William asked to go to the shade because it was too sunny, so Tim took him to the table where there was some shade. We took some pictures and then left for In and Out Burger for lunch.
We had lunch in the car then went to South Coast Plaza which is only 5 minutes away. William loved it here! It’s been for more than a year due to Covid-19 that we did not go to the mall. To my surprise, William did not run around like he used to do last time we went to a mall. He’s so curious about everything; we took the elevator to the upper level, “It’s a nice elevator!” – I’m so surprise at his remark. He saw the water fountain on the way, he asked “why there’s water here? why the water is running down?” – He asked a lot of Why questions!
I told him it was time to go home but he asked for more time so I gave him more time. We were just walking around the mall, did not go into any store, some times sat down on the benches to look around. I did not have to run after him and call his name out loud this time, thanks God!
Short Summer Vacation – San Diego
Joining aunt Julie with her friends to San Diego for 2 days, 1 night stay at Best Western Plus in Coronado, which only 5 minutes walking to the beach.
Hiking Trail Bonita Falls
We primed William the night before that we’d go hiking; and to my surprise, he was ok with it.
It was a cloudy day which is perfect for hiking. The “Hiking Trail Bonita Falls” is in San Bernadino National Forest, which is about 1 hr driving from Santa Ana. We arrived to the parking area around 10:00 AM; and there were a few parking spaces left. Actually there’s no designated parking lot: we parked along the road and then walked to the 2 green portable restrooms where there’s a little trail to get down.
Once we’re down, we’d have to cross a little creek: there are some tree trunks and rocks lying across the creek so if you don’t to get wet, you can walk on these. William walked on it fine; he was scared at first but kept walking and made it to the other side with Tim; I was so scared that it took me so long to cross it; William was waiting for me at the other end and handed out the wood stick toward me so that I could grab it. Thank you for trying to help, my little boy! 🙂
There’s rocks every where; there’s no established trail! The worse part is that there’s no sign at all. We kept walking on the rocks and asked people for directions when we saw someone. We walked so slow that a few groups of people could easily passed by us, leaving us alone by ourselves. We thought about giving up a few times. William looked tired but he did not complain or cry/whine at all. He was so good today.
“It’s a hidden trail to go up to waterfall, keep to the left” – the man said. So we kept to the left and kept walking, still have no idea how far we needed to go because there’s no signs; the only signs we saw along the way are the paints that people sprayed on the rocks; there were some arrows pointing up. When we were about to give up, we saw some people coming down from what looks like a trail to our left far ahead; “That must be the way to the waterfall” – I told William. So instead of going back to the car, we aimed to that trail. And finally we got there!
But, it’s not it! it’s the beginning of the trail to go UP to the waterfall: it’s an up hill which is full of more rocks! We walked slowly, took breaks often and drank water; at one point William wanted to go back to the car; then suddenly there it is, we heard the sound of the water! So we encouraged him to keep walking and finally we found it. It’s just simply beautiful!
William tried to get near to the waterfall, he enjoyed sitting on the rocks and looking at the water; we took some pictures and short video clips. It’s a small area so when it was started to get crowded, we decided to leave.
The way back of course is faster because now we know the way; but it was so windy that William asked for his jacket.
We crossed that little creek again to get to the other side; but this time we did not care if our feet got wet!
“William, did you like the hike and waterfall?” – I asked. “Yes” – he replied softly.
I’m glad that he’s starting to like hiking and being outdoor. Last year we went to the Malibu state park, he ran back to the car as fast as he could when he saw a small butterfly!
Beautiful Wildflowers
It’s Sunday morning, while we were still in bed, I told William that today we’d go to the yellow flower fields. Knowing that he does not like flowers, I told him to choose. “We’re going to the flower fields, if you don’t want to go, you can stay home with aunt Lily; Mama & Papa will go alone. Do you want to go with Mama & Papa or you want to stay home?” – Of course his answer is “Yes, I want to go”. Prime him ahead most of the time works out fine; I guess when he knows what to expect, he less likely to have behaviors for activities that he does not like.
Tim just had the Covid-19 vaccine shot yesterday morning. He felt tired and asleep until noon. William asked me several times, “Are we going or not?”. I told him “Papa is not feeling well so we might not going”. Around 3:00 PM, he asked again; Tim woke up by this time so I told William to go to the bed room and ask if Papa wanted to go. William ran in and I heard him asked “Papa, are we going to see the flowers?”.
It was the first time ever that we saw him so eager to go out to the flower fields. He hates flowers, he has never wanted to go near any flowers. Last week we went to see the mustard flowers in San Juan Capistrano, he insisted to sit in the car and refused to go out.
So we loaded up with some water and chips/cookies and soon on our way to Chino Hills State Park, where we heard that the mustard flowers are all blooming beautifully this week.
It took about 1 hour to get there: it was so crowded, a long line of cars after cars waiting to get to the park entrance, I guess because everyone wanted to see what nature has to offer. We saw lots of people walking back to their cars that parked along the road with sweat on their face: it was a sunny day and probably it was a long hike for them.
As we approached the park entrance, it was such a beautiful scene open before our eyes: hills and hills full of yellow flowers! Under the bright sunlight the yellow flowers were even shinier! William seemed so excited! When the ranger stopped us to give us some instructions: the road is narrow, with lots of people walking, so drive slow and safely. William said “OK” to each of his instruction!
The park entrance is $5.00 which is not bad at all. The road up hill is indeed narrow but lots and lots of flowers along the road. It’s such a beautiful landscape that no words can describe. Whenever we stopped to take the pictures, William would get out of the car and ran around. Whenever he gets excited like this, he does not care about his safety. He’d run around in the parking lot which almost gave me a heart attack of worrying some cars might hit him. He’s very fast, it’s hard to catch up with him.
We drove all the way to the end, and told him we’d hike a bit. He jumped out of the car and so ready to hike! It was the first time ever that he’s willing to hike around the flowers without complaining! I think he was just bored of staying home :).
The park closes at 7:00 PM so we headed out; we stopped at this most beautiful view point on the way out. William was still so excited that he was running around. I love to see him this happy!
He felt asleep for about 15 minutes on the way home. I’d be tired if I run around that much too.
Chino Hills State Park
4721 Sapphire Rd, Chino Hills, CA 91709
Open: 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM
$5.00 park entrace
There’s lots of hiking trails so wear comfortable shoes. I heard there’s rattle snakes here so be carefull.
Zion Re-Visit 2020
Monday Oct 19, 2020
Woke up at 7:30 AM to get ready to buy the shuttle tickets but could not: they sold out too fast! But that’s ok because we already took the shuttle few months ago; and William did not want to hike anyway.
So the plan was to drive along the hwy 9. First we stopped by Canyon Junction; it was early so we could get the parking spot on the hwy 9, and walked down to the hiking trails. William was scared of the cactus along the trails so he wanted to go back to the car; he only calmed down when I told him, “Don’t worry, Dad will carry you!”. Tim carried him to the main hiking trail where the trail is paved and wider. When he saw the bridge he got so excited that he ran up and down; and enjoyed listening to the loud noise every time some bikers passing on the metal bridge.
In Search For Yellow Leaves 2020
Our short trip to Utah in autumn Oct 17,2020 – Oct 20, 2020.
Oct 17: Left house around 8:00 AM, stopped by Las Vegas for lunch at Phở Số 1 and Bellagio for its beautiful garden: it’s Pumpkin time! Then headed to Comfort Inn in Hurricane Utah around 4:00 PM. Our dinner for tonight was Canh Bún.
Oct 18: Took the Cedar / Kolob loop to search for yellow leaves, but we were too late. First stop at Parowan Visitor Center but they closed on Sunday. Then continue on 143 for Yankee Meadows Reservoir; Then hwy 148 for Cedar breaks (but we did not go in) then turn to hwy 14 (cedar canyon) -> Left turn on Right Hand Canyon Rd which will become Kolob Rd. Only the first part of the Kolob Rd. is paved, the rest until it reaches the Kolob Reservoir is unpaved with lots of small gravels and dust! But it’s full of aspens! Too bad we were too late. Once we reach the Kolob Reservoir, the road is paved to hwy 9 (30 miles from here to Hurricane town but it’d take about 1 hr because there’s lots of curves and it goes thru the Kolob canyon and Zion canyon. Our dinner for tonight was Bánh Canh Tôm Cua.
https://goo.gl/maps/qAj7f4R7VXj6NP2g9
Oct 19: Zion Park. We could not get the shuttle tickets so we took 2 hikes on Canyon Junction and Canyon Overlook (right after the tunnel). Canyon Junction with the view of the Watchman mountain in the background is beautiful; we found a little waterfall after crossing 2 bridges. The parking lot for the Canyon Overlook is really small (for about 20 cars) but we were lucky to get one after waiting for about 10 minutes. Otherwise one would have to park along the road and walk back to the trail head which is about 10 minutes walking. It’s easy trail with some parts have hand rails; and it’s beautiful along the way. William & I did not hike to the end because it was hot and he was tired; but we enjoyed the hike regardless.
https://goo.gl/maps/1xsJe4XAX1hpyBTSA
It was still early so we decided to go back to Kolob Reservoir because we saw some yellow leaves on the other side of the reservoir yesterday. To our disappointment, when we got there, we could not go in because it’s “Private property”.
On the way back to the hotel, we got some Domino’s pizza and some wings for dinner.
Oct 20: Checked out the hotel around 8:30 AM. Stopped Palazzo and Venetian and then Phở Số 1 for lunch then headed home. It was 5:00 PM.
Bridge To No Where
The road from Azusa town to the Bridge to No Where is nice with the San Gabriel Reservoir on the right offers a few great view point. William did not care where we were going, as long as we’re out driving on the road he’d be happy. I caught him smile while looking out the car window.
Nearest town is Azusa where we stopped by McDonald to get food; it was 10:30 AM they don’t have Happy Meal yet so I bought McGriddle and McMuffin combos. He loves hash brown so he ate 2 hash brown and half of the McGriddle on the way to the bridge trail head.
Driving along the E Fork Rd we saw the San Gabriel river; too bad the gate is closed due to Covid-19; but that does not prevent people from getting down to the river. I can’t believe it was so crowded. People brought the floats to play in the water; and they had picnic there. We tried to get down there; William saw some butterflies and he wanted to go back to the car. Plus it was so crowded and dirty! People threw trash all over the place!
We continued our way to the trail head but we could not believe our eyes, cars after cars parking along the road, and of course the little parking lot was already full. As we were leaving the site, more cars still coming up to the trail head. I don’t know if because of Covid-19, the place is closed, that’s why no-one is cleaning or it has been that way: trash was every where!
It’s nice to know a new place but I don’t know if I want to take William to go back here; unless they clean up the trash!
