My toddler and I spent our second day in Honolulu with Discover Hawaii Tours, on their Polynesian Cultural Center and Circle Island Tour. We only had three days in Hawaii and I wanted to see and do as much as we possibly could in that time. I really would have liked to spend more time at every single place we stopped, but we just didn’t have time on this trip. Now we have a lot of reasons to go back. We saw Pearl Harbor, the Dole Plantation, the North Shore, the Byodo-In Temple, a tropical farm, scenic overlooks and many film locations, in addition to spending a few hours at the Polynesian Cultural Center, all in one day.

Here are a few of the highlights from our Oahu tour:

The Dole Plantation

I would have loved to take Jack on the Pineapple Express train and to see the world’s largest maze, but all we had time to do was get some pineapple whipped ice cream. Yum!

We drove through the pineapple fields on our way to the North Shore and Greg, our native tour guide, told us that this year is the last year Hawaii will be producing and exporting pineapples, so we were lucky to see what might be the last pineapple crops in those fields.

Sunset Beach

Look familiar? I know I have seen tons of iconic beach pictures from this exact beach. I would love to go back at sunset someday to see how Sunset Beach earned its name. It’s definitely not a beach for swimming though; there were signs everywhere warning of the dangerous conditions.

On the way to Sunset Beach, we passed Turtle Beach, where tons of sea turtles commune every afternoon. On Oahu, every turtle is tracked and even has a name. They rope off Turtle Beach when the turtles arrive to keep them safe, but I’m sure you could still get a good view. If you come across a turtle in the wild, Greg says not to touch it, because we can pass our germs along and many turtles get sick and die this way. He said he used to ride the turtles before they knew the germs were passed along. No fair.

We passed quite a few other excellent surfing beaches, including Waimea Bay and the Banzai Pipeline and saw tons of gorgeous scenery. But what struck me the most about the North Shore was how quant it is. There are no humongous luxury resorts or McMansions, just some nice little neighborhoods with rules against building them. There are still multimillion-dollar homes to be sure, but the price definitely reflects the location more than the house itself.

Polynesian Cultural Center

This large open-air attraction features various “villages” showcasing different Polynesian islands, including Somoa, New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji and more. Each island “village” is staffed mainly with BYU Hawaii students, who are originally from the islands portrayed and who benefit from scholarships funded by the money the park brings in. Most of the islands have a performance showcasing their culture, as well as some hands-on activities and demonstrations.

The Polynesian Cultural Center gave us a little taste of each of these islands and now I just HAVE to visit them all. Soon. Especially Samoa, whose show we enjoyed the most. I enjoyed hearing about how the men in Samoa not only do the hunting and fishing; they also do the cooking and the cleanup after. That’s why they are called “the happy people.” The men there have learned that when the women are happy, everybody’s happy. Jack enjoyed the square “ball” woven for him out of some kind of plant and watching the Samoans shimmy up the palm trees. That was his favorite part and he immediately said, “Wanna do it! Wanna climb up!” So I helped him “climb” up the trees, just like them.

We also had a BBQ buffet lunch here, included in our tour, and took a canoe ride through the park’s tropical lagoon. The grand finale was a show on canoes, showcasing the unique music and dance of each island culture.

Byodo-In Temple

This photogenic Buddhist temple in the middle of the lush Hawaiian landscape was a nice final stop. We were pretty worn out after such a busy day, so it was nice to stroll around in this stunningly beautiful yet very relaxing place. Jack enjoyed the koi ponds, ducks and black swans. All the little paths were perfect for a toddler to wander.

We were totally wiped out by the time we returned to our hotel, but it was worth it. We got to see a lot of the island in just one day.

(Editorial note: we paid full price for the tour; this is my honest, unbiased opinion, as always.)

When we came around the corner to Waikiki Beach, I was expecting to see hordes of people lining the sand, as I’ve heard it can get quite crowded. Lucky for us, Jack doesn’t care about time zones changing and all that and woke up at 6 a.m. We got to the beach around 8:30 and although it wasn’t empty, the crowds had yet to show up. I held Jack’s hands as he waded in the waves, picking him up for the big ones. He kept saying, “Here comes a big one!” even if it was just a regular one. Or a small one. He could have done this all day, but my arms eventually got tired and we went up to play in the sand.

Then, who should come by but two people who were on the plane from Denver with us. It’s definitely a small world. I never even would have recognized them, but they recognized us right away. Jack made quite an impression, I guess, during our walks around the plane. They also happened to be the winners of our in-flight contest for a CD with the Hawaiian version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which I was dying to win. I don’t usually give my iPhone to people to take a picture of me and Jack, even though they frequently offer when they see me snapping shots of him. But, seeing as we were old friends, I let them take our picture. So here’s a rare WanderTot shot of Jack AND mommy:

Then we took a stroll down Waikiki Beach, past the Duke Kahanamoku statue:

And down to this odd memorial with a beautiful front and everything behind in complete disrepair, just a few odds and ends sticking out of the ocean:

Then we went to the Waikiki Aquarium, which was OK, but definitely not a must-do. After an attempted nap at the hotel failed thanks to traffic noises and slamming doors, we took another walk down the beach and in the beautiful Kapiolani Park while Jack napped in the stroller. After yet more walking and swimming in the ocean, we witnessed the beautiful Waikiki Sunset, an attraction in its own right, with scores of camera-toting tourists watching.

Waikiki Beach definitely held up its reputation for beauty. It was also a great place to people watch, with an interesting blend of characters from all walks of life. There were lots of Japanese and American tourists, mixed in with the Hawaiian locals and tourists from around the world. There were limos and homeless people, surfers and families. Hawaii’s location between East and West, along with its obvious appeal to everyone, makes it the ideal place for different cultures to meet.

One of my favorite moments of the day was just before sunset when Jack went up to an elderly Japanese woman and started talking to her, holding up his flower and saying “flower.” She repeated it as best she could and the looked over at me apologetically and said, “Japanese. No English.” I could see she wanted to interact with him, but wasn’t quite sure how. I wanted to tell her it didn’t really matter what language she spoke to Jack; he just liked her. But she wouldn’t have understood me.

Jack and I arrived in Honolulu (the winning destination of WanderTot’s poll) tonight after Jack’s longest flight yet. I still can’t believe he stayed awake for the ENTIRE seven-and-a-half-hour flight.

We were scheduled to arrive yesterday, but our flight left without us even though there were 11 empty seats, thanks to weather-related weight restrictions. I was like, come on people, you can let on the skinny chick and the baby!! No such luck. Thank goodness we got on today and, not only that, we got an entire middle row of three seats to ourselves.

Everything was going great until, an hour into the flight, the top popped off Jack’s sippy cup, which was FULL of apple juice. It spilled all over him, so he was soaking wet from neck to toe, I mean DRIPPING wet and screaming because a) he had no idea what just happened and it terrified him and b) he was cold and wet. I took off his shoes and braces to make it easier to change his clothes in the cramped airplane bathroom. BAD IDEA. He stood on the floor while I took off his pants and diaper. The second I took off his diaper, he peed. Did I mention I left his socks on? Yep. I brought a clean shirt and clean pants, but I did not foresee him peeing on his socks.

Yeah. So. I just let him go barefoot while the socks were drying out. We went for a much-needed stroll around the plane and I definitely got some looks. The where-are-that-poor-baby’s-shoes looks. Eventually, I had to put them back on because Jack has to wear braces on his feet and he can’t wear the braces without the socks. Also, pee is sterile so don’t give me that look.

So then, THEN, we had another little incident, which you may not care to read about if you don’t yet have children. Let’s just say some of the airplane food didn’t agree with Jack and we had a leaky diaper situation. I had only brought the one extra pair of pants onboard and now they were ruined too. I had two choices. Let Jack rock the diaper, shoes and shirt look or put back on the apple-juice pants. Luckily, they had had about four hours to dry out, so they were only damp when I put them back on. Now the only clean thing the poor kid was wearing was his shirt.

Lesson learned: bring one change of clothes for every few hours on a flight. Plus extra socks.

The rest of the flight actually went really well and Jack was pretty much an angel aside from the forgetting-to take-a-nap thing. He ALMOST fell asleep after we touched down, while taxiing to the gate. He completely conked out on the shuttle ride to the hotel.

I hope he can sleep on the plane on the way home. Especially since it’s an overnight flight.

If you can swing a last-minute trip, now is a great time to come to my home state of Colorado, where Denver Arts Week 2009 kicks off November 6th and ski areas are opening early for the season after last week’s storm blanketed the mountains with snow.

Denver Arts Week features special events all week long at most of Denver’s popular attractions, plus a FREE Night at the Museums on Saturday, November 7th. Many hotels are offering special rates for Denver Arts Week, starting at $52.80. Restaurants are also offering special deals, from 50% off to $52.80 for a two-person dinner. If you’re wondering what’s up with all the deals for $52.80, they’re based on Denver’s famous mile-high elevation (5,280 feet). It’s definitely a popular marketing tool around here.

Denver’s version of Paris’s La Nuit des Musées, The Night at the Museums is definitely the highlight of this weeklong event for me. Eleven museums will be FREE and each will host something special for the occasion. Last year, we hit the Molly Brown House Museum (OK if you’re a history buff, but nothing much for kids), the Denver Art Museum (the Bubbaloo exhibit is a must-do for young kids) and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dinosaurs, astronauts, mummies and more). We had just moved to Denver and it was a great way to explore the city’s cultural offerings. Plus, I love free stuff.

There are free shuttles that will take you from event to event, departing from Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Denver’s upscale mall with ample free parking and every local baby and toddler’s favorite hangout–a large play area with giant breakfast food to climb on.

There are tons of other events happening throughout the week. Check out the official Denver Arts Week website for details.

If you find yourself in the hip Capitol Hill neighborhood (near the Denver Art Museum) around mealtime, I recommend City O’ City, a cozy, hip little place with a to-die-for pizza made with apricot sauce and brie, excellent coffee, local brews and amazing baked goods, like chocolate-mint cupcakes. We are usually the only people with kids in the place, as its generally a younger crowd, but they do have a highchair and everyone has always been really nice to Jack.

**UPDATE This poll is now closed. There was a tie between Austin, Texas and Honolulu, Hawaii, so I decided to go to whichever destination had the most space available on the flights out of Denver. Honolulu here we come! We leave on Sunday morning.**

Jack and I will go wherever you decide. Pick from this list of warm-weather destinations and we’ll hop on a plane as soon as next week (as long as there’s room on a flight). Then we’ll give you updates on our trip right here. If you have a suggestion not on this list, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll add it to the poll. I’m STILL waiting on my renewal passport to come in the mail, so we can’t travel internationally at the moment.

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