Wednesday I took Autumn to the Waikiki Aquarium for the first time. Once a year, the museums on O’ahu do a volunteer exchange program that allows their volunteers to visit other museums for free! As an intern at the Bishop Museum I was able to participate in this. During April, on specified days, I can go to other museums for free and take guests at a discounted rate. Clayton and I have seen many places already, but the Aquarium, Missions Houses Museum, and I’olani Palace are still on our to-do list. I decided to take Autumn to the aquarium while Clayton worked, and at the end of the month we will go to the other two museums together.
It was a very small aquarium (we went through the whole place twice in 1 hour at a leisurely rate), but I learned in my Museum Studies class last semester that it has won awards for the quality of their “exhibits”. They take good care of their fish and keep the tanks very clean. I thought their corals were particularly spectacular. Autumn loved pointing and staring at all the fish, other children, and one old Japanese couple.
My college roommate Debby, her sister Laura, and their mom Donna visited us this past week! They left the kids with the husbands and had a girl’s vacation in Hawaii, all before Laura has her next boy! We had a great time with them and were able to join them on many of their adventures. Kailua beaches, Waimea Bay, and Morning Brew coffee shop were all favorites and they tried to do them multiple times. We also went to a local tea shop and sampled (then bought) several green teas, hit up Chinatown for their exotic fruits, visited the new exhibits at the Bishop Museum (where I can still get people in for free as an employee perk – sweet!) and kayaked in Kaneohe Bay (a new outdoor sport for all of them). I introduced them to the wonderful world of Genki Sushi, which is based in Hawaii. The carousel system and many vegetarian options made it a hit. Our last night together we were treated to the best Thai food for dinner, and in the process we discovered how to make Thai Iced Tea! Debby and I were able to hang out one evening just the two of us. Over some artichoke-spinach dip we caught up on each others lives. It’s amazing how it feels like things don’t change. We may live in new places and have more kids, but at a very fundamental level we are no different than before, and the years just add to our friendship.
