Our two child things (5 and 2) are currently in Hawaii, but we are a military family, and we live where the Army tells us. This blog is designed to keep us in touch with our family and the friends we have made along the way, to offer insight into our turbulent military lifestyle, and to share our experiences as we try out "homing school." So glad you stopped by!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Hawaii Tourist Review: Dole Plantation



Aside from the Awesome pineapple flavored soft serve ice cream, I found the Dole Plantation to be somewhat disappointing. The plantation includes a garden, a train tour of a "working pineapple plantation," the largest hedge maze in the world (or so they claim), a cafe and a huge gift shop, all of which are very staged for tourists.



The garden and the train ride provide some basic information about the history of the Dole Plantation and their method of growing pineapples, but it certainly isn't very in-depth. I have to admit, however, that a certain three-year-old was very excited about the train ride.




We didn't try out the hedge maze on our trip, but is probably a good way to pass the time. The cafe serves decent food (and delicious ice cream), and the gift shop, well, what can I say?


If your home decor theme is pineapple, you have found your heaven. :P The gift shop sells more pineapple items than you can image: snacks, blankets, clothes, dishes, decorative items, etc... And of course, they offer fresh-from-the-field pineapples for a hard-to-swallow $6 each.


Overall, the place wasn't bad, just your typical tourist trap. If you only have a limited amount of time to spend in Hawaii, the Dole Plantation probably isn't one of those can't miss sights. But if you've got a hankering for pineapple ice cream, have always wanted pineapple shaped bottle opener, or have a kid who loves trains, you may want to check it out.

1 comment:

Steve, Amanda, Kyle , Owen, and Madilyn said...

That is stinky that they didn't cover more of the history. I am suprised that they didn't talk about how the pineapple is a symbol or gift of welcoming in Hawaii. At least that is what I think I remember my mom telling me once.