NY, NY part cinq

A part of our City Pass was to see the Empire State Building. It was a glorious day and so we headed to Chinatown for some Dim Sum and then quickly went over to the Empire State Building. It was great to have our City Pass because we, once again, went to a shorter line; however, it was still long wait. So, you can imagine what the other line must have been like. It's become such a tourist trap with the pictures you are sort of forced to take because it's a part of the line....I know, silly, eh? This is the kind of place where they show you the pictures at the end of the tour.

Once we got through all of that and made our way up, it was busy and beautiful. The sites were gorgeous and we also had the opportunity to get the audio tour as part of our City Pass. The kids were able to re-cap from our trip on the previous day and see Staten Island, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the Washington Bridge and beyond. The audio tour was fascinating and definitely worth it. The last time I was at the Empire State Bldg. it was at night. I thought it was just as beautiful as it was during the day. A lot less people, but mind you I was up there during the colder months. I also bumped into Seal, one of my favorite singers, who was cuddling up to a tennis star (obviously, this is all pre-Klum).

By the time we were done with the Empire State Building, it was late afternoon and getting close to dinner. The kids were hungry so off we went to a really fun restaurant for the kids. This place is called Mars 2112. It's a space-themed restaurant with a little "ride" before you get to the restaurant. The wait staff were all aliens, there was a little video game room, and the decor was interesting as well. The food was okay. It's a place where the kids enjoy the atmosphere and the adults live vicariously through them. Would we go there again? Probably not, but a good first timer place. It is very similar to the Rainforest Cafe just a different theme. I think the Rainforest Cafe has better food. Another place that was suggested to us was the Jekyll and Hyde Restaurant, but after looking at the website and its description we decided it was a little too scary for our little ones. Definitely a place to check out for adults!

Once again we had a full day and the kids were ready to rest.

Here are some other places that we never got to, but with more time, we would have liked to have seen or experienced.

• Sony Wonder Technology Lab - It's a free interactive museum where sci-tech workshops reveal hidden talents; where feature screening inform visitors, sparking more curiosity all the while.
• Central Park Zoo - 6.5 acre zoo with polar bears, penguins and sea lions. Check out the Tisch Children's Zoo where little ones can pet domestic animals, feed them treats, and explore the enchanted forest.
• New Victory Theater - "NY's Theater for kids and families"; 500 seats and 15 productions to choose from at any given time. Circus acts, puppetry, dance performances, plays, and comedy shows. There are always shows to accommodate every age group.
• Alice's Tea Cup - When children want the royal treatment, head to whimsical Alice's Tea Cup. With quirky cakes and an assortment of teas, this shop is the best place in New York to throw a tea part. The water is twice filtered and boiled to 180 degrees precisely, then used to make international teas, ranging from Grank Keemun to Numalighar. Little pirncesses will never forget the eccentricities.
• Bronx Zoo - The Bronx Zoo’s world-class exhibits such as Congo Gorilla Forest, the Wild Asia Monorail, Tiger Mountain, and our newest exhibit, Madagascar!, get you eye-to-eye with massive crocodiles, majestic tigers, and inquisitive gorillas.

Please report back if you have some new experiences. We're ready to go back!

NY, NY part quatre

Sunday is a lovely to day to just relax. Even when we're on vacation, I like to have one day where we just "hang out". I took the kids walking around Edgewater. We went to the Hudson and had a nice "picnic" on the benches there. The kids loved looking across to the skyline of Manhattan and throwing rocks into the river. My husband was going to meeting up with us after his meetings in the city. My sister was kind enough to take the kids to see a movie and my husband and I made reservations at a lovely restaurant in North Bergen, N.J. called Sabor Latin Bistro. It was very good and the ambience was perfect! Try the plaintain dishes and the yucca fries. Yum!

The next day we went to Ellis Island. This is a part of the CityPass and it was great! Since my sister lives on the Jersey side, she drove us to Liberty State Park where we boarded the ferry from there to head to Ellis Island and then the Statue of Liberty. My suggestion is to get here early. The lines are LONG! Again, CityPass comes through for us. They had a separate line for CityPass folks and it was a lot shorter than the other line. The kids really enjoyed the ferry ride. When we got to Ellis Island, it was crowded!!! First stop, the restrooms. Then we were able to walk around and take a look and read about Ellis Island. We were able to search for my husband's grandfather on their passenger search. It's a great time to share with your children the importance of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty which is a symbol of hope for immigrants entering New York Harbor.

There is a board that states when the next ferry leaves for the Statue of Liberty. I suggest getting in line about 20 minutes prior to that since it's first come first serve. The Statue of Liberty is.......well.......it's just awesome! Seeing so close and being able to walk in front of it is quite spectacular. At the time, the highest portion of the Statue of Liberty was closed; however, they are open now and one can purchase tickets to head up to the top. Not sure if we would have done that since our youngest's legs probably wouldn't have made it all the way up.

This trip took up a large part of the day. It was fun and educational. As we were driving out of Liberty State Park, I saw the Science Center there. It's called the Liberty Science Center. I didn't know about this previously. Because our day was long and full, the kids told me they were tired (happy words to my ears). So, we skipped the Science Center; however, I think next time, we will go there. There were a lot of school buses parked in front. It looks like a great place to go. I read that there were 3 floors of interactive science activities for the kids. How fun!

NY, NY part trois

So, it's Saturday and matinee day on Broadway. Remember that matinee days with a Broadway schedule are Wed. and Fridays. Since my husband and I have our ties to Broadway, we HAVE to see a Broadway show with the kids. In the past, I didn't mind paying for my own seat or even my husband and I going together, but times those prices by 4 and it's another story!

Off we to to TKTS, we went to the Times Square Booth. It was raining so my sister took the kids to..........ToysRUs! I think my kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. This store is huge!!! The only problem for parents is to forewarn your kids that this is only a place to put things down on their wishlist. With pencil and notepads in hand, off they went. Nevertheless, this was a good distraction for the kids since I had to wait in line in the rain. That is a recipe for disaster for kids to wait in the rain with a boatload of people. It didn't take too long since I went there before the booth opened (strong advice from me). I tried to get every show that was available for kids and couldn't get all the seats in the same spot. I couldn't let my child sit alone and I don't think they would want to sit next to strangers at their age. After batting zero, I met up with the kids. This is where I learned that you could go to the other TKTS booths the day before and purchase matinee tickets for the next day which I should have done. I never learned this while working on Broadway, but then again, I couldn't always see the other shows since I was working in one with the same show times as the other shows. Now, my kids really love "The Lion King", but these tickets were not available through TKTS.

As I started walking with the kids to grab a bit to eat at Junior's Deli, we walked by "The Lion King". My kids started singing the songs as we were walking and I felt that twang of 'Gee, when will I be back here next with the kids?' I walked into the box office and asked how much the tickets were. They were a whopping $125/seat. I gasped and the cashier just looked at me. Do I spend $500 for next week's matinee? No, I can't. But, when are we back? Think, think, think. My sister states that we aren't paying for room and board and that I just do it. So, in true Nike form with a little NY attitude, I tell the cashier to get me the director's seats (center orchestra). The guy looks at me and just told him I used to work in theater. He smiles and gives me 8th row center. I"m happy and have to say happy that I took the bite!!! I know there are other venues where you can purchase tickets at a discount; however, these are the times, when I prefer to spend my time on just having fun than researching and dragging my kids all over the place for the tickets.

Kids are hungry and I'm craving a good deli sandwich. Typically, I go to Carnegie's, but it's such a touristy place now, that Junior's is perfect. We met up with some friends who were in South Pacific and 9-5 which meant they had to be at work by half hour. It was great to see them. Their kids menu is perfect. Both of my kids have allergies to nuts so it's no joke when I ask if there are any nuts or any possible cross-contamination of nuts with their food. They were very aware of nut allergies and stated that a lot of kids have that allergy nowadays. I had my epipens with me, but really don't want to go through that experience or a trip to the emergency room. The kid portions were large and delicious. My kids ate them up!!! Their deli sandwiches were perfect. What I love the most? Condiments on the side!!! I can't stand it when other delis layer their sauce to the point where you don't even taste the meat. The pastrami was delish! The Reuben to die for! So, so good. My oldest loves cheesecake and there ain't nuthin' like NY style Cheesecake. He was the happiest 7 year old. I couldn't believe that he ate all of his mac n' cheese and then the whole slice of cheesecake. Sundaes are wonderful as well. We were all very happy. So happy that we went back there on another day during our stay.

After our lunch, we headed down to Chinatown. I used to shop there a lot when I was living in Manhattan. Such great deals. However, I have heard that the knock-offs have been shut down. I love the subway and my kids love it too. I think it's so great to get them on public transportation!!! They need to know that it's easy, available, and better for our planet. I have to agree that there were a lot of places with these yellow signs that looked like knock-off places that were shut down by NYPD. However, there were plenty of people whispering to me while I was window shopping what knock-offs they had. In fact, some girls were looking at purses and then some gentleman said something to them quietly and the next thing you know they are following him to the back of the store. Don't you just love this?!! I love NYC Chinatown. I bought baskets of fruits (strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon) all for under $4.00. A place to stop off next time for us will be Joe's Shanghai Restaurant. It's a little place with the most amazing dumplings!!! I promise you. You don't want to skip this place.

We went back to my sister's to make dinner and had a lovely fruit salad for dessert! Time to rest for another busy day tomorrow.

New York, New York part deux

Finally, I get to start down memory lane of our trip to New York. As you know, we stayed at my sister's. It was convenient and economical.

First of all, I did my research (I always suggest you do this first to make your trip less stressful) and found out that citypass was the way to go with the sites we wanted to see. The added bonus was that citypass was offering separate entry lines where the wait was going to be less than the normal entry lines.

First stop, The American Natural History Museum near Central Park. The weather was brisk, but sunny and it was Spring Break for most of NYC and other cities throughout the United States. Was I ever happy to have purchased the CityPass. The lines were incredibly long and with 2 young boys, I didn't want to stand in line while they either got bored, cold, and whiny. We walked right in, did the coat check (well worth it!) and started on our discovery of the Museum. I did have our kids watch the movie, "Night at the Museum". This gave them something to connect to while they were walking around the museum. They kept referencing to the movie and really enjoyed their time there. The planetarium was included in our citypass. The boys absolutley loved it and thought it was the best thing for them in the museum. We started early in the morning and spent over 3 hours at the museum. We did bring some snack, but my kids were hungry so we went to the cafe. It was pricey like most places, but with the money we were saving on room and board, I splurged here.

We then walked across Central Park to the Eastside to hit one of my favorite spots, Serendipidity. Yes, we walked the whole way and the boys got a little tired toward the end, but with a few stops here and there in Central Park, they were doing pretty good. If you haven't been to Serendipidity's, then it's a must. Even when I lived there, I would have cravings for their frozen hot chocolate! I knew my boy's would love their foot long hotdogs. Here's the thing........you can't make reservations there and it's a cozy place with seating being a challenge during meal rush hours. However, they will always say it'll be a 45 minute wait, but 9 out of 10 I usually wait for about 20 minutes and we get our table. I don't know how that happens. Maybe most tourists try to wait it out and decide they can't or if they have kids, they don't want to wait and then leave. The line goes from really long to really short fairly quickly there. Do I chance it with my kids? No!! I always have snacks in my backpack just in case they start getting a little hungry. My oldest, who loves hot dogs, had the biggest smile on his face when his foot long dog arrived. The rest of the menu is good! The desserts are huge so think about sharing. Trust me, you and the kids will LOVE this place!!!! It's a must go-to place.

Central Park is huge! There is so much to do there and you won't cover it all in one day if you want to see the sites within the park. I wouldn't advice to hit it in one day anyways. The kids love to play and run around. Let them do that while you sit and relax with the beautiful surroundings.

We did end our day doing just the Natural History Museum and a small part of Central Park. It was enough and the kids were tired. We headed on the subway back to Port Authority and took our bus back to Edgewater. By the way, I wouldn't suggest taking the bus during commute times. It's crazy and I had to keep an eye on our boys. People are everywhere! One of my boys had to go to the restroom which meant public restrooms (ugh!). Surprisingly, the restrooms here were clean. It kind of reminded me of Japan (Tokyo had exceptional public restrooms...hotel-like by our US standards). The buses fill up quickly. I hope that I am passing this information on to help those of you who decide to use any type of public transportation during commute hours in NYC. The only other time it was this busy was late at night. I couldn't believe my eyes, but people were, once again, all lined up for the bus and it looked like people were just getting off of work. You know the saying, "NYC never sleeps" It's true! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since I would get off of work from the theater and travel home around 11pm at night.

Onto to part trois next!

New York, New York, a helluva a town. The Bronx is up, but the Battery's....(Part 1)

down! Don't you love that movie, "On The Town"? The music is wondeful (thank you Bernstein) and the lyrics are fantastic (Comden & Green)!!! But......I digress.

A friend of mine is heading to New York (Manhattan to be specific) and asked about places to go and visit with her two kids. Our family had flown there a year ago to visit New York. I used to live there and miss the vibrant energy that blankets this great city.

What did I do to prepare (because you know it's all about the research and preparation that makes your vacation a great one!):

1. Where are we going to stay?
2. How are we getting there and stay within budget?
3. What are we going to do and stay within budget?
4. Food?
5. Weather, which translates to how I pack and how many pieces do I really want to carry and pay for.

#1 - Fortunately, I have the pleasure of having a sister who lives in Edgewater, NJ and so accomodations were taken care of. She only has a 1 bedroom apt, but a large enough living room for us to sack out on her lushes couches and aerobeds. I know some people are thinking...couches? But trust me, her couches are the most comfortable couches in the world. I have been there before with my other cousin and she said the same thing (and she's used to 5star hotel mattresses).
      However, I do have some suggestions when heading to New York if you don't know anyone who would offer you place to stay. I have a large extended family and they have gone to visit New York and this was what was reported back to me. One of my cousin's used her points from her credit card and stayed at the Hilton. It wasn't for free, but it was a significant price-cut which included complimentary breakfast every morning. Since she had a family of four, she thought it was worth it. I realize this is important to some people; however, having lived in Manhattan, I think you can get a decent breakfast at any deli corner for a very reasonable price. 
     I had another cousin who was travelling with her kids and her elderly father. They complained about how expensive Manhattan hotels were so they decided to stay in the New Jersey side and took public transportation into Manhattan. I agree that to stay on a budget, public transportation is the way to go here. Everyone takes public transportation and it's easy. Those of us who live in the West Coast should learn to  use public transportation more often and the government could stand to learn from the New York/East Coast cosmopolitan cities, but that's another blog, eh? The Holiday Inn was the suggested hotel that was easy and affordable. I found two Holiday Inns. This is where you have to do the research and decide for yourself how much you want to spend and how much commuting you want to do. I personally think it's great for the kids to learn about public transportation and to actually use it. One is the Holiday Inn at Secaucus. Great reviews, but a little further out (again remember that people live in these cities and commute into Manhattan daily so buses and trains aren't that bad). The other one is Holiday Inn Express at the Lincoln Tunnel which is literally the connector to Manhattan and takes only minutes on the bus to arrive at the Port Authority. To read some reviews, I have done some research for you. Click on the "reviews" and read for yourself what you are most comfortable with. I always rely on my gut instinct. Once you have read enough reviews you will get a pretty good idea. Another place I like to go to for reviews is TripAdvisor. This site has done pretty good for me. The more reviews, the better the chance that I pick the right place for me and my family.
     At my sister's, we just took the bus that was a block away from her place (NJ Transit). It didn't cost that much, but check out the website for current prices. I think we paid about $3+/- for adults and about $2 for the kids. It took us right to Port Authority (8th and 42nd). The kids enjoyed walking up to Times Square.

#2 - There are some great prices on JetBlue and Virgin America to the Kennedy Airport. This is a place where a car service is just as good if not better than a taxi. I like the car service because the prices are the same as a taxi and they are there waiting for you rather than you having to wait in line with your kids all ancy from a plane ride. Trust me....it's worth it!
     We flew into Newark because my sister lives there. We flew Continental Airlines and since NJ is the hub for Continental, it was quite a nice terminal. The price was decent. It wasn't as inexpensive as flying into JFK, but by the time we would have paid for car service from JFK to New Jersey, it would have cost us the same as flying on Continental. I have flown into Newark Airport before while living in Manhattan during my B.C. days (before children). I really liked it. It was not as crowded, easy transportation to Manhattan, and rarely delayed. It made my travels less stressful and I know now, with a family, that low stress is preferred on my travels.

As you all know, I am a mom or pseudo single-mom. So, I will have to finish up on this trip on my next posting since it has 9 days worth of fun and excitement. My children need me right now.

(Here's the catch with blog about NYC. I have no photos of my own to share on this site. Why? Well, the SD card on my camera acted up when I went to upload the photos. I can't upload any of them and it bums me out since we did a lot of sites with our kids. I don't know if I can get them back. I went to one place and they said it would cost alot to get someone to "fix" it. I know it's been a year, but I'm waffling back and forth on the monetary costs of pictures. I do have my memory of them and I am sharing them on this blog. Any suggestions from my readers? Not sure if I have any readers right now, but thought I'd ask anyways.)

Places to Visit in Washington, D.C.

I am so glad that I have some fans on Facebook now. It helps to know that this is going out to someone who can use my experiences as a part of their research and personalize their own trip as well.

Okay, let's finish up with D.C. here.

Our favorite place that had quick delicious sandwiches was The Potbelly Sandwich Shop. They had these delis in Chicago as well. We loved this place because the prices were reasonable, the menu had something that everyone liked, and their secret relish was truly one-of-a-kind and so good!! The place is packed during lunch hours.So, unless you don't mind waiting in line or having your kids keep tugging at you and telling you how hungry they are, my suggestions are to arrive earlier or later than the lunch rush. Also, the thing to remember about the Capitol area, everything closes when the typical work day is done. Things close up around 6pm and almost everything is closed on Sundays. Be prepared because we weren't and ended up taking the Metro a few stops away to get food.

Speaking of the Metro....it's really a great way to travel around D.C. There is no need to rent a car. We were able to get around all over D.C. Unlike NYC, where the subway only goes uptown and downtown, the Metro will get you just about anywhere. Some of our favorite stops were Chinatown/Gallery. This area had the International Spy Museum, National Portrait Gallery, restaurants galore, and a great movie theater. People asked us why a movie theater on vacation? Well, when it's below freezing outside and you want to get out of the hotel, the next best thing was the movie theater where we saw Alvin and Chipmunks, The Squeakel.

The Spy Museum was really a great place to visit. Our kids really enjoyed it and had a great time. The admission is a bit pricey, but well worth it. Also, all the Smithsonian Museums are free so one can't complain too much about paying for admission to one museum. You get to learn about espionage and even get to be one. Be aware of the common tourist trap...........the Spy Museum Store. You have to walk through it to exit the museum. We did get caught up in it and I think we did because we all enjoyed it so much and the store had some great shirts and souvenirs.

On another day, we went to the National Portrait Gallery. My husband and I enjoyed it; however, I think kids younger than 5 y.o. will have a tough time. There are lot of paintings and statues. They are beautiful and interesting, but after 3 floors of it, my 5 y.o. was having a hard time slowly getting through it all. My husband is a history buff and so he entertained the kids with historical "stories" to keep their attention. Again, it can be tough for the little ones. I would suggest making it to the Presidential Portraits first since my 8 yo was studying the presidents at school and these paintings were larger than life.

Having mentioned that the Smithsonian Museums are all free, the National Mall is surrounded by these free museums that take days to get through. We were amazed how some people thought they could get to everything in 3 days. Our suggestion is to not try to do that. It just becomes one big discombobulated mess. If you're there for 3 days, then pick 3 museums max., especially when you have children. I would suggest The National Air & Space Museum; The Museum of Natural History (you can spend 2 full days here); The Museum of American History.

The Air and Space Museum is place of wonder for the kids. They have large airplanes hanging from the ceiling, rocket ships on display, things children can touch and play around with. We spent almost 3 hours there before we headed off to lunch and then came back to finish the rest of it. The lunch area is convenient and pricey. Again, if you're on a budget, pack a lunch and you can take that to the eating area and relax for a bit before finishing up the rest of the museum.

The Museum of Natural History is another great place for the family. There are many exhibits and many floors. If you get a chance to see an IMAX movie there, I would suggest it. The kids loved the dinosaurs IMAX movie and then had a chance to follow up with the displays about dinosaurs. My boys enjoyed the mineral exhibit. The Hope Diamond is there and they were fascinated by it. There was the astrology area where the kids had a lot of hands-on activities. In the basement is where the cafeteria is located. Also, the museum stores are down there as well. I found this cafeteria to be quite good and the prices were reasonable for the food that was cooked fresh for you.

The Museum of American History had the longest line to get in. It moved fairly quickly, but beware there might be a long line for the entry. In the basement area is where my kids loved playing in. They have the Sparks Invention Lab here where they hand out free pins with the logo and you can go in and invent things from their kits. My kids made an electrical circuit to get a fan to start and float a ball. They also had the opportunity to build things that made music. They have supervision there where these "scientists/inventors" would guide the children with their projects. I think my kids could have stayed in there all day. They do close earlier than the museum so time things out. You don't want to arrive there at 3:30pm and just as your child is really getting into his/her invention, they have to leave because of closing time (4pm when we were there). The other floors had a lot to see as well. Remember there are a lot of people and a lot of exhibits so keep your kids nearby as they are anxious to see everything and one little peak of curiosity could lead to lost children. We saw quite a few of them there.

If you haven't seen or heard about Groupon, then this is something you must visit. This site offers coupons to major cities. What I love about them is that they offer you the discount (typically 50% off) and if the total number of people needed to purchase the "groupon" is not met, then they don't charge you for it. If it does exceed the total of required purchases, then you receive the coupon. So, I purchased a groupon for a restaurant in Dupont Circle (another nice area for restaurants and shopping...our fav: Trader Joe's). This restaurant is called Mezza Luna. It's a Mediterranean cuisine with a variety of tapas. These tapas were large enough to share. We ordered several and shared them "family-style". Their food was delicious and they were very accommodating with our children in regards to making their dishes less "fancy". This translates to "please no green onions on the top", "no nuts. our children are allergic to them", "plain pasta with butter". They were really wonderful with all our needs.

We did hit the Memorial Parks. The kids enjoyed the walk (again, if you have little ones, take your stroller) and seeing all the historical monuments. We walked a few miles and it was a lot of fun; however, you can take the Metro to these areas if your legs are getting tired.

One place I don't want to forget to mention is the United States Botanic Garden. This place is a gem! The plants and gardens are gorgeous and our kids really liked visiting this place. There were so many exhibits to visit. One wouldn't know it by looking at it from the outside. I wouldn't miss this place. It's a great place for the kids to run around.

Finally, we did purchase tickets to see the Terra Cotta Warriors at The National Geographic Museum. It was an okay exhibit, but I am comparing this exhibit to the one I saw at The DeYoung Museum in San Francisco many years ago. This exhibit in D.C. was smaller and the kids enjoyed it. The garden/courtyard area is definitely a photo op location. I was very impressed with the photography as I'm sure most people are. The photographs are truly spectacular!

I almost forgot to tell you about the Kennedy Center. It is quite the site at night. I guess I almost forgot this place because it was someplace my husband went to every night for work. We didn't see a show there since we have already seen the show, but if you get a chance to see something there, we think you would enjoy it. It's not always easy since not all shows are appropriate for children, but I did want to mention this for those of you who might have a babysitter/relative on hand to watch the kids.

All right my travelling peeps, go take your kids out! We are hoping this history class just expands their experiential background for their own education.

Volcano National Park..... Respect Madame Pele please!

Volcano National Park is a great place to take the kids. It's full of science and history that enhances their experiential background. Important note: Bring layers of clothing! Volcano National Park has an altitude of about 4,000 ft so it can get cold especially as the sun sets (windbreakers, sweatshirts, long pants to go over their shorts, and proper shoes if you decide to hike a little past the end of the Chain of Craters road, oh, and little flashlights).

Please give yourself a whole day for this adventure if you are coming from the Kona side. We took our rental car and drove south and around from the Kona side to the Hilo side. To make our long drive (it took a few hours) more exciting, we made little stops whenever we saw something of interest to any of us. We stopped at local farmer markets where they had some arts and crafts stands, coffee bean farms (some of the tours are free, but we didn't stop since we knew we had a long drive), fruit stands and other interesting sites of nature. We did take a longer stop near the South Point (Ka Lae). This is the most southern tip of the United States. It was very windy there, but the kids enjoyed knowing we were at the most southern tip of the US. We didn't go the the Green Sand beach since it was not a paved road and our car rental company had stipulations about driving on unpaved roads. I think if you had a 4WD, one would be okay.

By the time we arrived at Volcano National Park, it was lunch time. Entering the park was $10 (12/2008). We went to the Visitor Center and that was a great place to start (bathroom breaks, ate lunch that we packed, read up on the history and science of the park). Walk across the street and visit the Volcano House. There you can see the Kilauea Caldera. It's typically our first view (we've been there twice and it's still exciting). The Volcano House is a fun place as well. The artwork is beautiful and the historical pictures hung along the hallways are fun to view. There is a snack bar and restaurant there as well as the store for souvenirs. The snack bar was okay (expensive for typical snacks i.e. bag of chips). We never went to the restaurant there. We always had food with us and really wanted to get out to hike the park.

The first time we were there, we were able to take the Crater Rim Dr. all the way around. This time we were not able to drive completely around due to dangerous gases coming through the vents at certain places. There is a radio station 530AM that gives you updates on the park. However, there was plenty here to see and we were able to drive part of Crater Rim Dr. Near the Volcano House was a steam vent that was fenced, but the kids were still able to see it. They were fascinated by it.

We hopped into the car and drove southeast on Crater Rim Dr. to the Thurston Lava Tube. This was a great little hike for the kids. Some of the paths are paved and some are not, but they are all clearly marked. We had so much fun hiking and discussing the trees, ferns, changes in climate, stories of the Menehune and the lava tubes.

Then we got back into our car and drove further on Crater Rim Dr. to the Chain of Craters Rd. This road is 19 miles down to the shore and ends where the lava flow has cut it off. This is quite a spectacular drive. We timed it so that we could drive down there during daylight and drive back at night. Just to forewarn you, the old lava is dark. Very, very dark and at night it's pretty cool and creepy for some kids. This is why we had our flashlights. This kept the kids feeling pretty safe and they enjoyed the hike. We wanted the night sky so the kids could see the glow of the lava.

We were pretty hungry by the time we were heading out of the park. The first time we were here, we stayed in Volcano Village at this really nice bed and breakfast place (this was before children and if interested, I'll try to find that information). This time we weren't going to stay overnight, but we wanted to have dinner. So, we went back to the place where we ate the first time and it was still there. This place is called Thai Thai. Our children love rice so this was the perfect place to go. It seemed like they expanded a little. It was definitely more popular than the first time we were there. The food was delicious and make sure they know to eliminate the spice for children if your children don't like spicy food. Their mild spicy level can still be spicy for children. Their curry is very good. We never had a bad experience there, but according to some other reviews it was quite bad regarding service. So, one never knows. All I can say is that we never experienced bad service or food there. ***Note: Volcano Village Restaurants close around 7 or 8pm. Make sure you are out of the park early enough to get to a restaurant or bring your own food.

We drove home and it was a full day!!!

I wanted to add a note to my previous blog about Sunlight on Water, not only did we swim with the dolphins, but we were able to see the "mommy" whales with their babies. I had forgotten to mention it because during that whole week we were there, we saw whales all the time. We looked out into the ocean and there they were. Amazing creatures!