A Blowhole, a Lighthouse Trail, and an Awesome Beach: Road Trip in Hawaii

We had an amazing day on Wednesday, driving around the tip of Oahu. We woke up to clouds and light drizzle in Honolulu, with rain forecasted across the island. We decided to try our luck by driving southeast towards Hanauma Bay.

Our road trip for the day

As soon as we got on the road it began to drizzle. Hoping things would get better, we kept on, along this route. We drove past Hanauma Bay, without stopping, as we have been there before and it was still raining. Our first stop was the Halona Blowhole, which overlooks Sandy Beach. We parked there and looked around. The scenery was nice, but not particularly impressive.

We kept driving to our next destination, the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail. We spotted a trail to our right, with no signs, but drove in anyway, figuring it must be the trail. The marker read “Ka’Iwi Scenic Shoreline,” but we suspected it was the right place. As we were walking up this trail (which is 1.5 miles round trip), the rain began to clear and the sun shone down on us. By the time we got to the top, we were hot.

Near the top, there were several people whale-watching. We saw a few splashes, but didn’t make out any actual whales. Then, we noticed that some people were walking down the cliff. When we walked to the edge to see what there was at the bottom, we saw amazing, clear tide pools and a blowhole that spewed out sea water every few minutes. The kids asked if we could go down. At first, we were hesitant, as we were unprepared for a hike. All of us had on some version of flip-flops – not ideal hiking shoes. We decided to give it a try.

View from cliffs down to blowhole

I walked down very slowly. I was wearing Naturalizer slip-on sandals, which are great for walking, but not good for climbing down cliffs. When we finally made it to the bottom, we were treated to an amazing place. The tide pools are crystal clear and the waves crash up on them on one side, and the blowhole spews water on the other. The kids loved it! We stayed down there for at least an hour, cooling off and enjoying the sound of the waves.

Waves crashing onto the tide pools

The way up the cliff was actually easier than the way down. We made it out, and drove just a bit down the road to a small beach where we had lunch. Then, we hopped back in the car and drove to Waimanapolo beach. When I first walked onto this beach, I couldn’t believe how picture-perfect it was. The sand is powdery and white. The sea is light turquoise with crashing waves, and the water is clear. To top it off, a green hill sits on one side of the beach; there is a small island just off shore, and the rest of the beach is lined with greenery. Even better, we were the only people on the beach. This beach was an amazing find.

Waimanapolo Beach - beautiful and isolated

We arrived there at 4pm and managed to drag the kids away at 6:30, just after the sun set. The kids had a fantastic time playing in the waves and did not want to leave. I didn’t want to leave either. Waimanapolo beach is so beautiful I didn’t want to close my eyes, for fear I might lose a second of admiring its beauty. To top it off, the beach is practically isolated. Don’t ask me why.

Kids having fun in the waves

Here is Raymi, my eight-year-old daughter’s rendition of the day:

Yesterday we walked up the mountains and then we saw the blow hole. I don’t have any idea what the blow hole is so I’m just going to make things up. We were looking for the magic sea star until dante farted. His fart was big. It was stinky. Then we kept looking for the magic sea star. Than dante saw a gold fish and named it rubber ducky. I said “What kind of person names a gold fish rubber ducky?”. Then we kept looking for the magic sea star. And finally we found it in the middle of the ocean. It was worth it to go to the middle of the ocean to get the magic sea star even though we had to swim a lot. People could still smell Dante’s fart. THE END.

Notes from Paradise: Enjoying Kahala Beach, Hawaii, Alone and with the Kids

I woke up this morning, in Honolulu. It is awesome to wake up in Honolulu every day. Today, like most days, I woke up and opened my eyes to an amazing view of the turquoise Pacific Ocean, bordered by palm trees. Today, I woke up just in time to catch a glimpse of the pink tones of the sunrise.

I had coffee with almond milk, a handful of almonds, and Greek yogurt for breakfast before heading out for a morning walk around 8am. A long walk on the beach is one of my favorite ways of starting my day. Today, the sun was shining, the breeze was light, and the sky was clear, making it an ideal morning for a walk along the beach. From where I am staying near Kahala Mall to the beach is about a 15-minute walk. The walk is alongside a golf course, which you can’t really see. Along the way, however, there are plenty of trees and birds, even though it is a somewhat busy street.

There are three trees I always look at as I pass by on my walks to the beach. The first is a gigantic mango tree. One of the first days we walked by this tree, a mango had just fallen off. Nando picked it up, and found it to be in good shape. When we enjoyed it later on, it was delicious. I always hope to have such luck again, but haven’t so far. Today, I noticed the owners had taken all of the mangoes off of the tree, dashing our hopes of that happening again. The next tree I often look at is another mango tree. It has no fruit. I wonder if it is because they have already harvested the fruit or if because it did not bear fruit this year. The third tree is a tangerine tree that has abundant fruit. Each time I pass this tree, it is clear that no one is tending the tree or taking off any of the enticing fruit. I suppose my fascination with these trees is a fantasy of having a fruit-bearing tree in my own backyard. I have five chickens now in my yard and it is amazing to me that they produce eggs we can eat. Being able to get breakfast from my backyard is simply fabulous.

A full rainbow from a cloudy day

Walking along this route, I also often see rainbows. Today, however, was a clear day, and there was not a rainbow in sight. To see a rainbow, it usually has to be at least a bit cloudy.

When I made it to the beach at Wai’Alae Park, I was pleased to see that the sky and the water were perfectly clear. I took off my sandals and walked to the end, wading through the cool water whenever I got hot. As I walked, I thought how wonderful it would be to start each morning of my life this way, with a walk on the beach. I let my thoughts drift where they wanted, thinking of my dear friend who has let us stay at her house, of projects I have taken on, of my children (especially my 10-year old daughter who has gotten a bit rebellious lately), and of my mother, who also loves the beach.

Kahala Beach: Empty and Beautiful

Walking on the beach is a meditative act for me. It is a beautiful place to be. I don’t have to watch out for cars or look down for rocks. I can just walk, and turn my attention to the Ocean or to the palm trees, or to the sand, as I please. Walking on the beach relaxes me and allows me to live in the moment and to enjoy doing so immensely.

The end of my morning walk on Kahala Beach

After my morning walk, I came home and prepared a lunch for myself, my husband, and my children of rice, black beans, baked salmon and fish sticks. (You can guess who had fish sticks and who had salmon.) After cleaning up and eating, it was mid-day, and Nando and I took the kids back to the same beach I had walked to this morning. It was such a perfect day for that beach that I insisted we return today.

On the way to the beach, we passed the tangerine tree again. This time, I picked off four tangerines and gave them to the kids to eat. They enjoyed them and loved the idea of being able to pick fruit on our walk to the beach.

When we got to Wai’Alae Park, we turned right and walked west, towards the Diamond Head Crater. As we walked along, I asked the kids to choose a place for us to set up. We stopped at the first place we saw clear water. However, the kids found the water too shallow, so we kept on. We found another place a few hundred feet down, but Tatiana and Soraya still found the water too shallow. Raymi liked the place, but agreed to keep looking. We all settled on a place about half a mile from the park. This place had lots of sand to sit on, as well as plenty of sand beneath the clear waters. Tatiana and Dante put on goggles and swam straight out. I had to call them and ask them to wait for me, as they were going too far.

A clear day at Kahala Beach

I put on a pair of goggles and swam out with Tatiana and Dante. It was amazing to swim in such clear waters. I saw a couple of fish, but mostly enjoyed being able to cool off and enjoy the clear, cool water. After a while, Soraya let us know that she wanted to swim as well. Tatiana, Dante and I swam back, and Soraya went with Nando to check out the underwater world.

Tatiana, Dante, and I ventured further down the beach, to where there is a huge pipe that goes straight out to sea. We saw people walking along this pipe to get to the reef. We thought it was odd to walk on the pipe, but decided to do so anyway. The first part of the pipe was a bit slimy, then got less slick as we walked. Towards the end of the pipe (which must have been about 300 meters), there were more things growing on the pipe, some of which hurt our feet. Despite this, we decided to try and make it to the end. We did, and found a pool of clear water at the end of the pipe. We jumped in and it was great to cool off.

We wanted to swim back, but had not brought our goggles. It is hard to swim in this part of the ocean without goggles, because some parts are very shallow and have lots of coral and sharp rocks. So, we got back on the pipe and made the trek back.

After all of that, we had been on the beach for nearly three hours, and it was time for everyone to get out of the sun. We packed up and walked back to where we are staying. I was glad the kids got in three miles of walking today. I got in six miles, as I made two round trips.

When we returned, the kids wanted to watch iCarly. I was happy to let them, so that I could relax, reflect, and process an amazing day of walking on the beach, both alone and with my family.

Kahala on Dwellable

Diamond Head Beach: Rustic, Clean, and Peaceful

One of my favorite beaches here in Honolulu is Diamond Head Beach. Waikiki is too filled with people and buildings for my taste. I also like Hanauma Bay, but it is small and a bit crowded. Diamond Head Beach, however, is long, empty, rustic, and full of amazing views.

A few days before Christmas 2011, we walked from where we are staying in Kahala to a staircase that leads down to Diamond Head Beach. It is a two and a half mile walk from Kahala Mall.

Of course the kids complained on the way, but, by telling them stories and encouraging them to look at the birds, flowers, and trees along the way, we made it. I am always trying to get my children to walk places, so it was quite a victory for me that they walked all the way there without too much complaining. Once we got there, we were hot and ready to jump in.

Diamond Head Beach, seen from above

We set ourselves up just to the right of the staircase that leads from the street down to the beach. There was quite a breeze, which blew sand at us from time to time. You could avoid that, however, by walking in the wet sand. I walked with the kids over to the right-hand end of Diamond Head Beach, where there are a few tide pools suitable for swimming. The kids put on snorkels, and swam out. We hung out there for a while, and I decided to walk back down the beach, back towards Kahala.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Diamond Head Beach is actually quite long – perhaps a mile from end to end. And, towards the eastern end, the beaches are even nicer. There are very few people on the beach. You can’t swim everywhere, because there is a lot of coral. However, there are quite a few nice spots for swimming.

I walked back to where we had left our backpacks and towels, and told everyone that we could walk along the beach to the other end, where there was an exit back out to the street, as well as nice places to swim. The kids ran ahead, eager to see the rest of the beach.

Once we came to the swimming holes, the kids and I jumped in to cool off again. We left through the eastern exit that leads right back to Kahala Road. This exit, which we didn’t know about, is only about 2 miles from Kahala Mall. It turns out that, even though the map doesn't show it, you can almost walk from Wai'Alae Beach Park to Diamond Head. There are secluded beaches all along the way. The end that juts out, however, is rocky, so you have to go out to the street to pick up where you left off.

One of these days I will walk from Kahala Mall to Wai'Alae Beach, all along the beach, and then over to Diamond Head.

The end of Wai'Alae Beach, with Diamond Head beach just around the corner

Soraya is the only one who wrote a blog about this little adventure. Here is her take on it.

Yesterday we went Diamond Head Beach. Monk seals lived there. I didn’t see any though. We walked 2 and half miles to get there. We parked ourselves somewhere on the beach. Then we went to the tide pool. On our way to the tide pool, the wind got very strong, so the sand hit us on the body. It hurt a lot. First my mom screamed, then Tatiana screamed, and then I screamed. Then every kid got in front of mom. When it was over, I had the shivers. Then we moved along. While we were going, mom told us that we were walking on dry lava. I thought that was cool. When we got there, Tatiana got the snorkel first. Dante got the other one. I didn’t care though. Because the one Dante was wearing didn’t even fit me. After five minutes was over, I told Tatiana it was my turn. Tatiana said that she just wanted to show Dante something. It took one minute for Tatiana to show Dante the big worm or seal poop. Then I got my turn. I tried to find the big worm or poop. Then I found it. It looked a lot like poop.

Crater Climbing, a Seven Mile Walk, and a Sunset: Diamond Head with Five Kids

On Thursday, we ventured out after lunch to climb Diamond Head Crater. Several websites and guidebooks warned that the climb would be strenuous, so we wore our tennis shoes, comfortable gear, and packed water and snacks. It is great we went prepared, as we walked a lot throughout the day.

We hopped on the Number 23 Bus, which let us off right at the foot of the Crater. We had to walk about 15 minutes to get to the entrance. I asked my brother, Ian, to turn on his Runkeeper App to see how many miles we would clock during the day.

We paid the admission fee of $1 each and began our trek up the crater. The trail is 0.8 miles up and another 0.8 down. The kids (aged 8 to 10) had no trouble going up, although we did stop at least once to catch our breath. The 99 stairs at the top was the most strenuous part, but overall, I’d say the warnings about this being a very difficult trail were overblown.

The view to Waikiki from Diamond Head Crater

The views from the top were amazing. You can see all of Waikiki Beach, most of the city of Honolulu, and way out to the Koko Crater that borders Hanauma Bay. The top also had a lovely, refreshing breeze.

A bit breezy at the top!

The trek up and down, with plenty of rest, took us about two hours. I really wanted to go to the beach afterwards, but the kids wanted to go home. I decided to play a little trick on them and tell them that we had to walk to the bus stop. My nephew, Dante, who is quite clever, pointed to the bus stop, and said “The 23 stops here,” as he knew the 23 goes to Kahala. I told him we were going to take a different bus. The kids complained, but kept walking.

One of my tricks for when the kids begin to complain about walking is to tell them stories. I told Dante and Raymi funny stories about stuff I had seen riding buses, and Dante had a few stories of his own. The walk to Kapiolani Beach Park was a bit farther than I had anticipated. It turned out to be two miles from Diamond Head. However, the kids made it. We just kept telling them at each turn that it was “just down the road.”

When we finally made it to Kapiolani Beach Park, and the bus stop I had been talking about all along, the kids spotted a few ducks waddling around a small lake, and asked if they could play with the ducks. We let them, and then coaxed the kids across the street to a huge banyan tree. Once they saw the beach, they asked if they could go for a swim. Of course, I knew that once they saw the ocean they would want to get in. Mission accomplished: I got the kids to walk to the beach, and could watch the amazing Pacific sunset.

Waikiki Sunset

Watching the sun drop like a flaming ball into the Pacific Ocean is one of my favorite sights.

Sunset swimming

Once the sun set, I looked up a restaurant on Yelp! and found this place: Gyoza No Ohsho, which was just five blocks away. The food there was awesome! The kids loved the gyozas and the ramen, and it was a great deal. The ramen soups are about $9.00 and the gyozas are $4.50 for six.

Once we finished eating, we walked another five blocks back to the Number 14 bus stop, and took it all the way to Kahala Mall. Before getting on the bus, I asked my brother how long we had walked. He told me 7 miles. The kids were excited to hear they had broken their previous record of 5 miles. I was happy to have convinced them to walk that much.

On Friday morning, I asked Tatiana, Soraya, and Raymi to each write 100 words about their day. Here are their reports:

Raymi

I walked 70 blocks yesterday up on the mountains. I whined some of the time. It was so not worth it when I got to the top. We ate crackers and cuties (mandarin oranges) at the top. Going down was way shorter. At the bottom, we ate shaved ice. It was good. My cousin Assata and I got lemon-lime and strawberry. Soraya and Tatiana shared watermelon and strawberry. Ian and Dante shared lemon-lime and watermelon. After eating, we walked to the bus stop. Man, that bus stop took long. We got on bus number 14. We got off the bus and saw a dog and I did cartwheels.



Soraya

Yesterday we went to the mountains. Before we went up, I drank some water, used the bathroom, and drank some more water to get ready. Then we started walking up the mountain. On the way up, Raymi started to hang onto my dad’s arm. So Raymi and dad got way far behind. The rest of us kept on going. We saw some stairs. Then we found benches and rested for a while. Next to the benches were other stairs. We thought that those stairs went the wrong way. So when we were done resting, we went up the long stairs. After those stairs, there were some other stairs that went around in circles that led to the top. At the top, we were able to see the big crater – Diamond Head Crater. When I saw the crater, I saw a big circle that kind of looked like a sting ray with a tail. It was cool.



Tatiana

Yesterday we went to the mountain. We walked. I don’t like walking sometimes. We walked to the top of the mountain. And ran down. Dante got ahead of us but we caught up with him. After that we walked to the bus stop. It was like 70 blocks overall. We stopped for a while because we saw some ducks. There was a baby duckling. It was so cute! After that we went to the beach that was across the street. We stayed there until the sun went down. Then we went to a Japanese restaurant. I ate soup. It was delicious. Then we went home on the bus.

An Amazing View and a Hawaiian Monk Seal: Diamond Head Beach Park

My brother, his son, Dante, and I walked a 4-mile city hike from Kahala to Waikiki. The highlight was Diamond Head Beach Park, where we saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal and lots of surfers.

We first walked through Kahala, passing all of the mansions, guarded behind high walls and fences. Most of them have trees and flowers, providing shade and a bit of greenery. As we approached the Diamond Head crater, we walked along a path that overlooks the sea. Looking down, we saw surfers, and wondered how they got down onto what seemed to be an amazing beach, with abundant greenery and golden sand. There were a couple of paths that led down, but we weren’t sure if they were passable.

Diamond Head Beach Park, seen from above

We sat and watched the surfers catch waves for a while. Then, we kept walking. A couple hundred feet later, we came upon the entrance to the park. There, we saw that you can walk down along a path to the Diamond Head Park Beach. After descending the path, we came to the beach.

One of the first things we saw on the beach was a huge monk seal. The seal was surrounded by signs that let you know that it was sleeping, and we shouldn’t disturb it. The seal moved ever so slightly, confirming it was indeed taking a nap.

Hawaiian Monk Seal Taking a Nap

Diamond Head Beach itself is quite scenic. The beach is flanked by high cliffs and the sand is golden and soft. It is not a great beach for swimming, though, as the shore is rocky and the surf is rough. It is primarily a surfing beach. However, after walking about three miles to get there, we were hot and in need of refreshment. We found a spot with clear, shallow water, and dove in. It felt awesome.

From Diamond Head, we kept on walking and made it to Waikiki. This was my first time in Waikiki, as I have avoided it. Waikiki is a stretch of beach with huge hotels, restaurants, and throngs of tourists. We stopped for ice cream at Coldstone Creamery, and hopped on a bus back to Kahala.

Amazing Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

On Monday, the family went to Hanauma Bay, which is just a twenty-minute bus ride from where we are staying in Kahala. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is a protected beach, with amazing views of turquoise water and green hills. It provides some of the best snorkeling with turtles and tropical fish in Hawai'i. In short, it is an awesome experience.

We took the Beach Bus, number 22, to Hanauma Bay, which lets you off right at the entrance. You have to watch a short video about protecting the bay and marine life before going in. To get to the beach, you walk down a large hill. The views along this hillside are breathtaking.

We set ourselves up at the far end of the beach, where there was plenty of shade from a large tree. We also soon learned that the far end of the beach is where the sea turtles like to hang out. It was amazing to watch these awesome creatures swimming around in the clear waters.



We rented snorkel equipment and ventured out into the reef. The reef is just feet away from the shore meaning anyone old enough to put on a mask can snorkel here. There are plenty of fish to see as you swim throughout the reef. Many of the fish are quite large – I saw several over a couple of feet long. Most of the fish are colorful, with intricate patterns.



Each of the kids had their turn at snorkeling. Soraya went out with Ian for the longest time. She came back and reported she had seen a fish that was about two feet long.

It was very breezy on Monday, and the water was a bit choppy. We still were able to snorkel, but it did get a bit chilly once we were out of the water. Once we had finished all of our snacks and everyone had snorkeled, we decided to get back on the bus and come back to the apartment to relax.

I was able to get both Soraya and Tatiana to write stories about Hanauma Bay.

Here is Soraya's overview of the day:

We went to Hanauma bay. I saw a sea turtle. It was so cute! It kept on sticking its head out. And sometimes he stuck out his butt. It was funny. Then I went snorkeling with my Uncle Ian. We saw lots of fish. We even saw a fish that was 2 feet long! When it was time to go home, Dante needed to use the bathroom. They took a long time, so he and Uncle Ian missed the bus. They had to take the next bus. But we made it. Then we stayed home for a while. Then my mom wanted to go to the mall. So I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and my mom brushed my hair. I got ice cream at the mall.


Tatiana's was more fiction than fact:

Today we went to Hanauma Bay, a natural reserve in Honolulu, Hawaii.

But that’s all the boring stuff, now let’s get to the good stuff!

We were at the beach snorkeling, looking for the magic starfish. Me, Soraya, Assata, Raymi, and Dante. No one ever found it because it was so rare. If anyone in the world found it they would become rich and famous. As we were searching we saw a puffer fish. Since Dante was so stupid, he stupidly touched it and it puffed up and poked Dante. Silly Dante (again). We continued and saw a goldfish. What was a goldfish doing in the middle of the ocean? I thought. When Dante saw the goldfish he yelled Kaka! “Kaka?” I said. “Who’s Kaka?”  I asked. “That goldfish right there,” he said. “Who names their goldfish Kaka?” I asked. “I do!” he said. He caught the goldfish and put it in his peeing cup. I thought it was gross.

Raymi sat in front of the computer for nearly an hour and all she had to say was: 

Hi Grandma: are you coming to Hawaii? I like Hawaii. I am happy here, but I still miss Kansas and all my friends, and my teacher, Mrs. Tuell. I don't know what else to say so "bye, bye."  

We will have to work with Raymi a bit more....

Manoa Falls Hike: Muddy and Wet, but Worth It

Manoa Falls is a 150-foot waterfall within easy reach of Honolulu via public transportation. To get to the actual waterfall, you must walk along a 1 ½ mile trail through a gorgeous bamboo forest, along the base of the Ko’oaus Mountains. It is somewhat strenuous of a hike, but we saw people of all ages along the trail. The most important thing is to go prepared with waterproof, non-slip shoes and long pants for mosquitoes.

We went to Manoa Falls with five children, as my niece and nephew are also in Hawaii. My kids are very happy to be spending their vacation with their cousins, as they are all very close in age: all of the kids are between the ages of 8 and 10! The kids had no trouble making it up the trail.

The bus ride there was an adventure in itself. Riding around Honolulu on buses with five children has been quite an undertaking. Perhaps because of the heavy Asian influence in Honolulu, talking loudly on the bus is frowned upon. This means that when the kids are up to their usual antics of laughing and talking, they get dirty looks from strangers. One elderly lady even told them to be quiet. We will have to work on trying to fit in and being a bit more quiet on the buses.

Anyway, back to the trip to Manoa Falls. To get to Manoa Falls, we took the Number Five bus to and got off at the last stop. The bus let us off about two blocks from the base of the trail. We walked straight in and found ourselves in an amazingly verdant forest, with hundreds of green bamboo stalks. There were also plenty of cool exotic tree like the banyan, which has vines that grow from the branches to form new roots. These vines are great for swinging on, although we didn’t swing on the vines on this trail, in part because you are not supposed to leave the trail.

Ian, Dante, Soraya, Tatiana, Raymi, Assata, and Nando (in back) with banyan tree

The trail is an uphill climb. It is not too strenuous, but it was muddy, and hence slippery, when we went. I was glad we thought ahead and wore sneakers. I saw a woman struggling with flip flops on and it did not look pleasant at all.

It took about 45 minutes to walk up to the falls. The kids ran ahead of me for most of the time. As usual, they were fearless. When we made it to the top, we were rewarded with a view of the 150-foot waterfall. It is not the most spectacular waterfall I have ever seen, but was pretty cool. We stayed there admiring it for a while until the mosquitoes began to bite us. They didn’t bother us too much as we walked up, but decided to feast upon us once we stopped at the top. I had on jeans, so was okay, but the kids were wearing shorts, and began to complain about the bites. Thus, we turned back and the kids ran back down the trail while I carefully made my way back down to the base of the trail.

Manoa Falls

I have been trying to get the kids to write about our vacation in Hawaii. They are missing a couple of weeks of school and I want them to do something academic. It has been a struggle to get them to write, but we continue to set time aside each day.

Tatiana, one of my ten-year old twins, has decided that she would rather write fiction. Here is her story about Manoa Falls:

We were in the forest searching for the magic waterfall. Me, Soraya, Raymi, Assata and Dante. The waterfall gives three wishes per person. There were a lot of traps. Dante got in most of them. Silly Dante (again). As we were searching we saw a baby monkey. It was so cute! Dante pet it. And when he did the mommy monkey came and started attacking Dante! We didn’t do anything though. Instead, Assata pulled out popcorn from her bag and shared it with everyone. We watched the monkey attack Dante. Then he pushed the monkey off and it ran away with its baby monkey. We continued searching. 2 hours later we found the water fall. Everyone got 3 wishes. Dante wished for peeing longer. I thought it was disgusting. Who wishes for peeing longer? I thought. After that we went home. And when we got home, Dante rushed to the bathroom and when he started peeing he yelled Woohoo!