Thursday in Waikiki - 12-13-12

I took the kids back to the zoo on Thursday the 13th. There was a little display of different animal skins, fur, and bones for the kids to touch and ask questions about. Some of the animals had lived their lives at the Honolulu zoo, and it was simply their time to go; their remains being left to science. . . and curious kindergartners.

Tralee went around the table and asked about each animal, "How did this one die?" Sometime the news didn't affect Tralee, and sometimes it did. When she heard about a four-year-old giraffe that got sick, and no specialist from other zoos around the word knew how to help it, so it died, she became very sad. "Oh! The poor little giraffe!" she exclaimed while stroking its skull. Stinks also didn't like hearing about a lion cub who didn't make it for reasons unknown.

After discovering how each animal displayed met its maker, Tralee then started asking questions about the remains. "How come the giraffe's bones look pink? I thought bones were white." "Why are they missing some teeth?" "How come the elephants skin looks brown, I thought it was gray?" "How come there is fur on the elephant's skin?" "If all mammals have fur, and we're mammals, where's our fur?" And on and on and on. The elderly ladies (who I'm guessing were volunteers) had their work cut out for them when my little kindergartner walked along!

After Tralee ran out of questions we walked over to the orangutans, which we missed on our first zoo visit. They were super fun to watch -- such beautiful creatures!

 

 

 



 

We left the zoo close to lunch time, came home, ate, and relaxed. A little while later we played at the beach for a bit. After the beach we hopped on a bus and went to dinner at our new favorite restaurant.

 

I saw a line outside Marukame Udon the night before and after reading some reviews, decided to try it. They make fresh udon noodles right in front of you and serve it with a plethora of tempura choices. The kids and I shared a bowl of Kake Udon (noodles in broth) and picked some tempura to go with it. We got the veggie ball, asparagus, shrimp, potato, and chicken. We helped ourselves to some dipping sauces, and made ourselves messy with noodles. It was delish! Our bowl was only $3.75 and each of the tempura choices ranged from $1.25 to $2.something. Our meal was cheap, hearty, and oh-so-delicious! The wee ones have wanted to go back every night since! I've willingly obliged. Most nights we've just walked there and back, as we like to see the sights and sounds along the way. We found a place where a couple brings all of their birds to display. We put a dollar in their jar and they let the kids feed the birds almonds. Sometimes we just look at the birds and let the other tourists feed/take pictures of them. We've picked out our favorite birds already. They're all beautiful. But, almost everything here is beautiful.

 

Just a pick of our Waikiki neighbors' aparments -- all decked out for Christmas