1 Since today (Monday) was a holiday, we organized a huge group of kids and parents to go check out the Ka'a'awa Valley at Kualoa Ranch. This valley is gorgeous, and has been host to about a dozen movie sets including Jurassic Park, Godzilla, 50 First Dates, George of the Jungle...I can't remember them all.
2 Checking out a cave on the hike up to the WWII bunker.
3 This was a massive bunker built into the mountain! Usually the bunkers on our hikes are little pill boxes, large enough to hold a half dozen hikers on the top. This was pretty amazing! They keep batteries charged there to turn the lights on should the US Army need to use the bunker for a real emergency.
4 Lots of movie posters tell the story of Ka'a'awa Valley. That's one of our guides, Tamara. The other was Catie.
5 Some George of the Jungle scenes.
6 The bunker entrance.
7 Hiking back down to check out an authentic recreation of a Hawaiian village.
8 View out to the ocean and stormy skies. Thankfully the weather really held for the most part. No downpours like there were just a mile down the road at the ranch!
9 Sam and Bridget gettin' muddy :)
10 Leo, Dave, Jon, Dennis, Seth...
11 Hope and Darwin enjoying the day!
12 Also love this picture of Dennis helping out - we are so thankful for Daddys! Eva really wanted to walk but was "discomfited" by the tall grass per Mom. The hike was stroller-friendly except for dodging about 50 ATVs! What about human power, folks? If the preschoolers can do it...
13 Hiking further into the valley...
14 to the village! Apparently the women would live in the one on the left and the men on the right. They would cook out in the open area, fishing in the stream and gathering fruit from the guava, papaya, and coconut trees.
15 Ben thinking about something...
16 Aiden and Ben.
17 Checking out the interior.
18 Several group shots here, folks. Pick the one you like best and right-click to download or add to a Shutterfly cart by clicking the icon at the top right. Or email me...
22 Breaking open kukui nuts. You can eat the inside but not too many or they act as a laxative. No one really knew the dosage...could be a whole nut, could be six, depends on size perhaps. Good to know!
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26 Love this shot of you, Kathy! Made me laugh out loud! Is this how they tell the cows to behave? See what happened to your friend?
27 Ah ha. See? They ARE looking carefully. Or is that because Tamara did a cattle call?
28 Seeing big paw prints on the way back. This is Godzilla's. The kids loved these.
29 Wow! That's some lizard! We wrapped up the hike with snacks and water at low camp. A good time was had by all. We grown-ups were very proud of the kids for their hiking - a whole 3.2 miles! Wow. This was the first time Kualoa Ranch has taken preschoolers on such a big hike. We rock!!!