    
Cherie Schenker
Member
Username: Cheriemt
Post Number: 36
Registered: 10-2009
Posted From: 207.254.160.130
| | Posted on Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 07:16 pm: | |
Part II
Again, highly recommend Bellows AFS especially if traveling with children or on a budget. The 2 bedroom cabin with full kitchen is great and only $80 per night. The two bedrooms are nice so you can have a little privacy.
It is also fairly close to K-Bay so you can shop at the Commissary. I think one of the key things my husband most appreciated during his R & R was a good homecooked meal. When he is home, we eat supper together at the table nearly every night. It is a good chance to discuss our day and have some quality family time together. Then everyone helps clean up. The same routine was good for the kids.
Tours & Sites Recommended:
1) Luau @ Hale Koa--cheap & cool. Right now the kids are free, so all five of us went for $100.
2) Visit Pearl Harbor & Ford Island. Take the time to actually go to on Ford Island. The tour busses often do not stop at the Utah or the Oklahoma. We drove onto the island and stopped at both. It helped reinforce the importance of that day and the sacrifices made. You will need a military ID to get on post.
If your children are old enough, watch the movie Pearl Harbor shortly after taking the tours. We had fun spotting the hangars, control tower, etc. that we had seen in person earlier that day.
3) Tour the Pacific Aviation Museum. Not a large museum, but very cool. It is located in one of the original hangars at Ford Island. Well worth the trip. You can buy tickets at the USS Bowfin. Remember to show your ID, as military is about 1/2 price.
4) USS Bowfin--worth the trip, but warning--no children under 4 allowed on the sub. We had to take turns touring the sub so one of us could stay outside with the toddler.
5) USS Missouri. The museum was closed because of the renovations, but we got to see her coming back into the harbor. A once in a lifetime site! We packed a picnic lunch, drove out to Ford Island and watched her come in. After she was moored, we were allowed to walk up to her dock for a pretty close view. It was incredible.
6) Hawaii's Plantation Village. I can't say enough good things about this place. It is wonderful for adults and children. There are a couple of dozen buildings restored to represent cultures and eras of the sugar plantations. The guided tour is so educational. We ended up spending an entire day here. Cost: $7 adults $5 children w/Military ID. It is located about 20 minutes north of Hickam.
7) Iolani Palace: Nice but again, no children under four allowed. The 1st Sunday of the month, admission is free for locals and military.
8) Mission Houses: This was neat. This was a museum regarding the missionaries that came over to bring Christianity to the Hawaiians.
9) Punchbowl: A definate MUST SEE. We toured the Punchbowl the same day we toured Pearl Harbor. We only spent about an hour here, but it really helped drive home the importance of sacrifice, honor and patriotism to the kids. The murals of the battles and the names of the missing soldiers were well worth the short drive. This spawned a lot of good questions from our 10 year old son.
Those were the other major attractions we saw. In addition, we just got out and took a few drives. It was interesting to see the countryside and small villages. We also went on the Sub Base. The kids were fascinated to see nearly a dozen subs in port.
Nearly every day we were out touring or cruising, we packed a cooler with sandwiches, juice and snacks for the kids. Each kid also had a refillable water bottle they carried. Even if we grabbed a snack somewhere, we still had a picnic. It helped promote being together. It was nice to grab a picnic table somewhere by the water, eat and relax or play a game for a while, then go to see something else.
In addition, every Sunday we attended a local Lutheran Chuch. It was nice to worship together as a family. The kids still can't get over the preacher wearing a Hawaiian shirt with his collar though.
Top tip for touring the Island (or anywhere) with smaller children: Don't pack too much into one day. We would leave our cabin around 10 and try to be back around 4. That gave us time to leisurely do a couple of things, have a picnic and be home in time to swim and goof off. The toddler usually fell asleep on the way "home" which gave him a little time to recharge his batteries. We tried to tour one day and goof off one day at the cabin so no one got too tired.
Recommended place to eat: K-Bay Officer's Club. A little pricey, but good food and a fabulous view.
Also: If you plan to travel with a small child and want to utilize military hourly child care, check that state's requirements. I failed to do this--assuming that the military's requirements were the same in every state. Hawaii requires a TB skin test before you can utilize this service, even if just for an hour or two. Long story short, we ended up skipping the snorkeling. Also: Don't forget to bring a copy of their shot records and the day care approval form signed by your physician (downloadable).
Rental Car: I checked every company I could find on the net. Enterprise at K-Bay was the cheapest. The trick I found was to actually call them directly. I ended up renting an SUV for $12 a day on post. I was able to leave it at the terminal for no extra fee. Also: Rental car companies do have car seat available to rent, but if you invest in a Sit n Stroll stroller, it converts to a flight approved car seat. It saves time and effort all the way around. Love it!
Oahu to Kansas Coming Soon! |
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