Day 3 A Rodeo, A Garden, and A Splash in the Sea

Today we did not have a set agenda and spent a little time talking to the concierge.  He told us that this was a 3 day holiday weekend...Columbus Day, so the area would be crazy.  He then told us that the Oahu population is about 1,000,000 people, and 800,000 live in Honolulu.  After experiencing the traffic today, I believe him!  We decided to head up to the North Shore area, thinking that we might go to the Waimea Valley Park.  There is a trail that leads to a waterfall with a pool that everyone swims in.  That sounded like a very Hawaiianish thing to do and lots of fun.  We also thought we might check out the Kualoa Ranch located on the eastern side of Oahu about mid island.  It's a working horse ranch and also where Jurassic Park, the new Hawaii 5-0, and a couple other movies have been filmed.  The other day when we drove the area, I thought it looked like Jurassic Park and now I know why.  There are several beaches up that way so we figured we might give one of those a try if time permitted.  The first order of business however, was to find a WalMart to buy the kids snorkeling gear.  Right in downtown Honolulu, there is a WalMart and Sam's attached to a 3 story parking garage.  And just in case you are wondering, a Hawaiian WalMart has it's share of WalMartians too.   Also, although it's wares are pretty much like any other WalMart, there is one item I never expected to see....surfboards! So after picking up our items, we headed out of town.  We actually drove along the eastern coast and came upon Kualoa Ranch first. 

Mtn backdrop to Kualoa Ranch

 It just so happened that today was the County fair, and there were food vendors, as well as other vendors, but the highlight was the all girl rodeo.  When we arrived and found some seats, the current rodeo event was hog-tying goats.  The cowgirl would break out into a full on gallop from one end of the rodeo ring or corral to the other (I would guess the corral was about 50 yards long and 20 yards wide), where a goat was tied and waiting.  When she got close to the goat she jumped off the horse and then wrestled the little goat to the ground and sat on it while hog tying it's legs together.  If the goat did not stand up and break free of the rope, the time was counted.  The winning cowgirl performed the whole manuever in a little less than 18 seconds.  I have to say that I felt sorry for the goat though.  They all really manhandled the critter and body slammed it to the ground.  It was released after the time was recorded and for the most part  seemed to be ok, but it sure looked like it was getting a beating.  I'm convinced being a rodeo billy goat's gRuff.....that was baaaaad. :)  The next event was calf wrestling.  That was similar to the goat tying, except it was done in teams.  The cowgirl on the horse would take off and lasso the calf while her partner would run from the side and then would then wrestle the thing to the ground and tie it as well.  Those little bull calves gave the gals a run for their money.  Still I guess I'm just too citified 'cause both events seemed really rough on the animals.

Barrel racing and yep, that's the ocean across the street

  It was cool to see the horses in action though, and there was barrel racing, which was fun to watch.  Of course this had to be one of the most picturesque rodeo venues.  To the east about 1000ft was the ocean, in plain view and to the west was a huge mountain.  The kids were hungry so we found some food vendors.  Paul and I had some poppers which were pretty good.  A popper looks alot like a crab rangoon except with other fillings.  We tried the spinach artichoke, which was good, but rich and the turkey, jalepeno, cheddar.  I liked that one the best....the ingredients were all blended and looked about like a ravioli filling and the flavors mingled well with the right amount of kick. (Yeah, notice how I start a blog and now I'm a food critic...the future is opening up for me). By the way, the kids' culinary experience was standard fair fare, hotdogs and chips.   After walking around the ranch and looking through the gift shop, we decided to head over to the Waimea Valley.  The road is a two lane highway which hugs the coast, and I mean hugs....at some points it is only a guardrail that separates the road from lava rock shoreline.  

Typical beachfront house

There are beach shacks that dot the shore interspersed with beach side parks, some of them being campgrounds.  It looked like some kind of family reunion at every beach area/park, as they were overflowing with locals.  The concierge had remarked that the locals all set up tents, go fishing for what they need to eat for the day, and that's how they spend their free time.  It was nice to see so many people out enjoying the day and there was definitely a different vibe to it all. It seems so different than other beach communities on the mainland. Anyway, we pulled into the Waimea Valley Garden area (which has also been the site of many movies including George of the Jungle) and found out that it was at one time a sacred religious site, back 2,000 years ago when the area was settled.  In the 60's and 70's it was a ranch and stable, which offered 75 cent stagecoach rides and put on cowboy and indian shows.  They also had cliff diving  and hula shows and a 150-acre arboretum and botanical garden.  Eventually, it fell on hard times and was sold to a developer who turned it into an an adventure park and ATV destination.  That operation went under and the developer tried to set it up for private residences.  When that fell through and he put it in bankruptcy, where the city and county of Honolulu acquired it and hired the National Audubon Society to manage it. It is now being restored to it's cultural significance for future generations to enjoy.  Now, it stands to reason that if a city and county government acquires a resource such as this through bankruptcy, it's probably not going to be free.  It turns out it costs $15 bucks a person to get in, so we decided to wait and find a free waterfall and swimming hole.  Surely, they have those somewhere...


Waimea Valley Park

After feeling a little disappointed, I think the boys had visions of vine swinging and cliff diving, we headed down the coast and stopped at a beach. The surf is so big, that surfing is an obvious activity and here in these waters, board is optional.  When we have been to the ocean on the mainland, I would hear people talking about body surfing or boogie boarding, but I never found it that thrilling.  The waves were just never that powerful and it seemed a lot of work for not much payback. These waves however, are something to be reckoned with.  The ocean here is so deceiving...it's colors are truly breath-taking and if you were to just sit and soak in its rythmic, calming song you would never know the sheer power that it holds.  Out in the distance it is the most blue blue...kind of royal and indigo all in one, and along its way in toward the shore, as its waves start to form and curl, it turns into a translucent sea glass green, and suddenly it turns in to a roiling, foaming, brilliant white, and finally a crystal clear for just a second as it draws back on itself in it's retreat.  After watching a while we decided to splash around.  As we were standing there at the edge, a wave washed in and physcially knocked us down and pulled us out before we knew what hit us.  The game became who could remain standing as the waves broke onto shore.   The shore was steep and within a few feet of entering the water, we were in over our heads and the swells were easily 5 ft high.  We began surfing them in and having a great time.  Olivia and I were resting and just bobbing along and the next thing I knew I was out quite far and was caught in a rip current.  At first I didn't realize what was going on and about the time I recognized my plight, the lifeguard had already mounted his ATV and was at the shore talking to Paul.  I remember that you are supposed to swim parallel to the shore, but it seemed I was making no headway and just as I was about to call for help, I broke free from it and got back to shore.  It was pretty scary how fast that happened and a lesson for all of us.  The kids are always worried about shark attacks, obviously they've seen too many Discovery Shark Weeks (ever notice how those shows are on in the height of vacation season?), but the real danger is the force and power of the ocean itself.  In an instant things can go bad.  It must have been a day for danger because later on a rescue copter flew overhead with a litter hanging and a victim strapped in it.  Then about a half hour later it flew back to where it came from and shortly there after, it flew over with 2 people sitting in a harness type seat.  Don't know what was going on, but someone had some trouble.  Besides playing around, we watched part of a surf competition that was going on at the other end of the beach.  All in all it was a pretty fun afternoon.   We wrapped things up and headed back to the hotel. 

Hawaiian dancers at hotel

Our little routine has been to get back in time for the complimentary cocktail hour.  For 2 hours in the evening, the hotel provides free snacks and sodas and they usually have a band playing music.  It's a fun way to wind down.  Tonight not only was there a band but Hawaiian dancers as well. 
 
Tomorrow is our last day here on Oahu as we head over to the Big Island. It'll be interesting to see what adventures that island holds for us.