Where have we been? Well, if you ask Petra, she'll tell you that she's been in "Awayee" (Hawaii), where she played at the "pooo" (Pool, or Beach), and especially had fun in the "sha" (sand) where she would "digdigdig" with the shovel and pail Mama bought her at the ABC store and smoosh the pear cakes (molded sand) that Mama would make her. We spent 10 days there (5 work related, 5 vacation), and Petra was a champ- good on the plane coming and going, and not too jet lagged at all. She had lots of fun as well. We spent the first 4 nights in Waikiki, and the last 6 in Hale'iwa on the north shore. Petra visited the zoo, the aquarium, the pineapple plantation, and the Waimea Valley Audubon Center. She even went to a Luau, where she had a great time chasing a little Japanese boy (the flirt!), and dancing to the music. Many days though we just hung out with our little girl and watched her stuff herself with about a million bananas!
Petra loved having Mama and Dada full time for 10 days. She also liked the hotel room and condo. She systematically dismantled the hotel room, including the telephone. Hopefully no one had to call us. We tipped housekeeping to make up for all the cheerios and noodles on the carpet (and the little puddle she left behind one morning after breaking away from Mama after the bath. Oops!). At the condo she made sure that each and every single coaster was carefully flung into a different corner. I'm not sure if we ever found them all. In the lobby she was also a little engine of destruction. She ran away from Mama and straight into a shop selling many small glass tchotchkes. Luckily, she barrelled straight through to the door on the other side, and Mama managed to steer her out without Petra touching or breaking anything- whew! About the only thing that kept her under control was watching "Dora the Explorer" with Mama in the mornings. Dada stopped by the hotel room between meetings one morning, and Petra didn't even notice he was there, she was so intent on Dora. Sigh, displaced by a fictional character.
We arrived early in the afternoon, and went out immediately for "caka" (coffee) and a walk. We, of course, walked by the beach at Waikiki, though we had no intentions of going onto the beach. Petra, however, had other plans. She saw the water, said "pooo" and took off across the sand and waded right into the water in her street clothes! She went in right up to her neck! Fortunately Daddy was wearing shorts so he could go in with her and not get (too) soaked himself. She loved the water and the sand, so Petra and Daddy played in the ocean while Mama ran to the store to buy a towel. She also fell in love with the pool at the hotel, and especially the floats that divided the shallow end from the deep end. She loved them so much she had to give each one a "huh" (hug) every time we went to the pool. Petra was in the ocean or the pool almost every day we were in Hawaii.
At the pineapple plantation we rode the Pineapple Express train. Petra had a great time on the train- she was excited just to see the "choo" coming down the tracks. The tour was narrated and included hawaiian music, and Petra was dancing in her seat the whole trip. She had such a good time, she didn't want the ride to end. When everyone else was debarking she was saying "choo" and making the "more" sign with her hands. So cute! We also did a walk through the botanical garden, and she played with the umbrellas over the picnic tables. She also got to feed the swarms of giant Koi in the pond. Petra was fascinated by all the Koi she saw on the trip, and at breakfast one day she found a Koi pond where she could actually reach in and pet the fish. Oh the giggles! She also got to touch a hermit crab at the aquarium, and a sand crab at the beach. Of course, her fondness for fish made for many close calls, with us 'rents running to catch her before she could fall (or jump) in!We'll probably think of more witty anecdotes after we recover from jet lag, but that's it for now. There are a bunch more pictures on Flickr for your viewing enjoyment. Mahalo!
