Honolulu Foodie Adventure

 Ok, so I was just coming off of my Evening in Tuscany and wanted more!  Since we had a trip home planned for the weekend, I started thinking about where I wanted to eat (of course).  Normally I focus on shopping, but this weekend was all about the food!

Akemi and I flew to Honolulu...

Paul was already there and met up with us at the airport.

 Fast forward to the next morning.  After an early walk (I'm talking wake up at 4:30am early), we ate a light breakfast so as not to interfere with all the eating we would be doing at lunch!  Mom got some nice strawberries from Safeway, mountain apple from Aunty Arleen, and we brought some lychee that I got from my friend Debi (Thanks Debi!!).

It seemed like forever before we got to the restaurant!  Mom decided on Prince Court Buffet at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.  Normally she doesn't like buffets cause she doesn't eat that much, but this one was her favorite.

OK so I'm a bit disappointed in myself!  I guess I was so hungry that I didn't take any food pics!? What the heck Sakamoto?  Oh well, you'll just have to settle on my description and what few pictures I did take. LOL!

First off we have Akemi with her dessert plate. Earlier she tried out the fruit tart and I guess that was her favorite.  She went back for several more as you can see.

Made some favors for mom's party.  After we took this picture, she proceeded to collect everyone's cupcake and planned to give it away at her next party.  LOL!  She cracks me up.

We were so stuffed when we took this photo!  I think we made out on the buffet cause everyone pigged out on sushi.  I also liked the oxtail soup!

You can request a birthday dessert for the birthday girl!  Though, I think the dessert on the line was much better.  They have the best buffet desserts I've ever had!  You need to try the mac nut pie (signature pie), fruit tart, and coconut cake.

Since we were so stuffed that night, we decided to skip dinner.  Instead, we headed to Ala Moana to meet up with our friend who was visiting from Japan.  We ended up having a snack and tried out Nitro Genie.  The ice cream was pretty darn good!  We tried the nutella, peanut butter chocolate brittle, and lemon meringue.  I think my lemon meringue was the best!

Who says dessert is not scientific?

 After dessert/dinner, we met up with Ai!  She brought this gift for Paul.  He was soooooo happy!

After our meet up, we headed home.  Needless to say I was so tired.  Mom tried to wake me up several times the next morning to walk and I missed it!  Well, actually I did get up and got ready and walked out to see that she already left.  So I went back sleep.  LOL!  I paid the price later though as I still walked with Paul in the hot sun.  If you know me, Jenny + sun = unhappy Jenny.

So, after a very brief meet up with my friend Linda, we headed to another restaurant called Bread + Butter.  I had heard about it from Frolic Hawaii and wanted to try it out.  It's located where the old Pietro used to be, next to Shokudo on Kapiolani Ave.

Mom and Aunty Jan went early and got a table for us.  I was so excited cause I really wanted to eat there!  On Sundays they have Sunday brunch with endless Mimosas.  We didn't get that but probably should've!  We asked about some of the dishes I saw on their site and they said that theres a different weekend menu from the weekday menu.  Shucks.  Guess we'll have to go one weekday!

So Akemi is up first.  She chose the "egg slut".  Sounds gross right?  Well, its actually mashed potatoes in a mason jar with an egg.  It was pretty good, except she downed the bread pretty quickly.  I ended up ordering her another side order of bread so she could finish her meal.  Paul ate her salad.

 Up next is Paul's Kobe French Dip Pizza.  We later found out it was actually Kobe pastrami.  Not my favorite meat, so I left most of it for Paul.  He really enjoyed it and said it was good with the wasabi sour cream.

Mom ordered the Smoked Salmon benidict.  It was funny cause she was telling me earlier she was dreaming of eating eggs benedict, so she was happy they had it on the menu.  You could also choose asparagus or pork belly (I think).  Mom loved it!

AuntyJan ordered the taro pancakes.  It was really fluffy and tasty.  I loved all the fruit on it- we helped her eat a lot of it.  It was kind of like our dessert.

Finally shown here is my plate(s).  I ordered the Prosciutto with eggs.  The prosciutto was wrapped around the bread and you get about 4-5 pieces.  And they give a lot of prosciutto!  Plus you get salad and two soft boiled eggs.  They said people like to dip their prosciutto in the egg yolks.  It was pretty yummy!  The other thing I ordered but you can't see it is the clam chowder.  It was really good!  It comes with focaccia bread which was amazing.  I would definitely order that again!

Here we are... stuffed again!  OMG that was so delicious!  We are definitely going back there again... right Paul?  My mom was already making plans on who she was going to take there next.

That weekend was just what I needed!  Looking forward to my next trip home.

Wet 'n Wild Water Park- Kapolei, Oahu

 Years ago, when I was about my daughter's age, we had a water park in Honolulu called Castle Park.  Boy does that bring back memories! There were only a few rides, but it was still pretty awesome.

So although its like 30 years later, we decided to go to the water park in Kapolei on our last trip home.  My daughter has become a pretty good swimmer and old enough to actually enjoy the water park, so we thought it was a good time to take her.  Don't get me wrong, it costs a pretty penny, but I think we got our money's worth.  It used to be called Hawaiian Waters but is now owned by Wet 'n Wild.  If you are a Kama'aina, you might get lucky like us and get a discount.

When we first go there we eased the kids in in the kiddie area, but my daughter got bored pretty quickly and wanted to move on.  I suggested the large pool that had waves like the ocean, so we headed there after we ate.  Once we got in the water, I couldn't stop my daughter... Here's a pix of me trying to keep up with her.

 She was happy to finally be in the water.

Meanwhile her cousin "Z" had fun playing in the waves.

They got lucky and got a hold of a tube.

 Here's me and hubby relaxing in the pool too.

My favorite picture of the day!

We moved on to the river area next.  The kids liked this area... even the big kids.

 The current was pretty strong, though I wish the water level was a little higher.

The river takes you to a waterfall area.  Look who got doused!

 We tried to both hang on to one tube...

 Then we got caught in the waterfall.

Now look who got soaked!

 The most fun ride we went on was the Big Kahuna!  It was a long slide that you go down in a raft built for 3.  I swear I thought we were gonna flip over!  Plus they put my in the front, so I got a nose full of water, but it was still good times!

There's way more to do there but we just did a few rides/attractions.  Maybe next time we'll be more adventurous!

Here's some tips for going to the  water park:

• They don't allow any food inside the park.  Eat a good breakfast before you go so you aren't as hungry. Food is priced like regular theme parks..very expensive.
• They have lockers, so we just took some cash out in case we wanted to buy something.
• You can buy your tickets online.  We had to wait in a long line and wished we had already bought ours.
• You might want to go early to get parking.
• Saw some smart people eating in the parking lot.. They had coolers and food and were tailgating.  Maybe need to try that next time.
• Other than that?  Have fun!