We were eagerly anticipating a peaceful retreat from the holiday hustle and found just that at the…read morefarm--a truly magical escape! Our visit felt like stepping into a beautiful, serene world. Our daughters had a fantastic time swinging, exploring the playground (though it's for toddlers up to age five), and letting their imaginations run wild as they played pretend kitchen with natural elements. They enjoyed feeding the chickens and petting the goats. The holiday open farm day was a delightful experience, featuring delicious hot cocoa, soothing live music with singing and guitar, and a creative ornament-making station stocked with paint, stickers, tape, and bells. We wrapped up our day with a $10 basket brimming with freshly picked vegetables--eggplant, vibrant carrots, fragrant cilantro, fresh basil, and a variety of kale. It was the perfect way to end our visit.

It was a great set up. We had our own private location for our celebration birthday party…read more Wonderful farm and loved all the animals. I would recommend that for the $450 price, you should invest in a nice bathroom; blue outhouse for that price is not right.

We have been purchasing 19 day old eggs from Asssgi hatchery for the past two decades, and we…read morehave never, ever been disappointed. Customer service is outstanding, extremely helpful and encouraging . Thank you so much Assagi!

They have been so helpful at educating us on chicken breads and ensuring we will be successful at…read moreraising chicks. Everyone I have talked to are so kind and respectful.

Koko Crater Botanical Garden is a great, easy, low-impact walk that's perfect for spending a…read morerelaxing day surrounded by Hawaii's beautiful native plants and trees. If you enjoy walking, getting a little exercise, and taking in the natural beauty of Oahu, this is definitely a must-visit. Peaceful, scenic, and a wonderful way to experience the island's landscape.

Lovely botanical garden in Hawaii Kai. Free entrance and parking. The garden is located inside the…read morecrater and is much more desert and dry like than other botanical gardens on the island. The gardens open up with a grove of plumeria trees and then you can choose a route on the garden loop. We had limited time on our most recent visit in January and elected to take the Americas path which featured many cactus type plants. They are amazing and huge! Note that most of the plumeria trees were not in bloom and were bare of leaves in January. Great find, but can be very hot and dry so recommend visiting on a "cooler" day. For those that need it there is a porta potty just after the plumeria grove.

It's basically by Manoa Falls hike and it's in a jungle. Like basically we in the jungle…read more Surrounded by plants it definitely feels like you have escaped into a different world. I appreciate the fact that they hold plant sales here twice a year because usually this place is blocked off from the public until they open it up just for this.

Truly in awe of how lush and gorgeous this arboretum is. It doesn't look like much from the…read moreoutside, but once you make it inside, it's like a whole different world. The Lyon Arboretum has the most vibrant plants and some of the most fabulous views that I've seen within Hawaii. My friend and I visited the arboretum after hiking nearby Manoa Falls. The arboretum is actually located within Manoa Falls Park, and the entrance is located just before the beginning of the Manoa Falls hike. We hadn't planned on visiting, but we decided to check it out since it was so close. Best decision that we could have made! While we really enjoyed the hike to Manoa Falls, we both enjoyed the hike through the arboretum so much more. Entrance into the arboretum is free with a reservation, but it's just a nominal fee of $5 if you stop by same day. We paid the fee at the visitor's center and were given trail maps to follow along our journey through the greenery. The visitor's center also has other maps and souvenirs for purchase. There are actually quite a few trails that run through here. We started our hike off without looking at the maps but then realized that we kind of needed them. That's when we realized that we couldn't find them. It's not a huge arboretum, but it is easy to get lost depending on how and how deep that you decide to go in. Would highly recommend that you use the trail map if you're planning a longer hike. We ended up hiking up to Aihualama Falls which weren't as grand as Manoa Falls, but it was still really beautiful and secluded. The hike to Aihualama Falls was also extremely gorgeous! We were practically surrounded by beautiful flowers during most of our hike. We literally stopped just to smell and admire them. We found the most vibrant orchids, roses, tropical wildflowers, succulents, and so much more. The gardens are so amazing here. The great lawn is so impressive! I was actually kind of bummed that I didn't bring my lunch because the lawn is the PERFECT place to sit out and have a picnic! We saw a few people relaxing out on the lawn and enjoying themselves, but it was so empty and secluded. Plus, the view of the mountains from the lawn is ridiculous! A spot that I could definitely see myself chillin' at all damn day. It was so lovely. We hadn't planned on doing any long or strenuous hikes here, so we just went with the flow. I will say that you can really get your hike on here. I think we ended up doing 3 or 4 miles from, but we weren't really prepared for the inclines through the forest since we had originally planned to only hike Manoa Falls. Make sure to bring plenty of water, snacks, sunscreen and bug spray. We were there in the early afternoon but it was already super warm, and many parts of the arboretum are exposed. Also, the bugs can be quite aggressive in certain areas. Nothing that a little bug spray can't handle though. All in all, I'm extremely impressed. I would definitely come back to this arboretum to partake in a more extensive hike and for a picnic.

MetroGrow Hawaii pops up at the Wednesday Blaisdell Farmers Market. Their business is indoor…read morevertical farming, so they sell lettuce and microgreens at the market. Really fresh greens! You don't have to worry about pesticide. I've picked up greens there and enjoyed them a lot. Bonus is that the folks who work there are just gosh darned nice. However, what prompted me to give them a review was their creative drink offerings at the Farmers Market! They have cool drinks like Red Ume Shiso Lemonade and hot drinks like Salted Shiso Hot Chocolate! Given the cold weather we've been having (yeah, 65 degrees is frigid cold weather in Hawaii), I opted for the hot chocolate. Was totally intrigued by the addition of shiso. Description: Homemade chocolate syrup with a hint of shiso spice mixed in hot milk and topped with whipped cream and sprinkle of Molokai pink salt. Option of oat milk as well. Loved it! Flavor of shiso was subtle but it did make its presence known. Thoroughly enjoyed this drink. Only suggestion is to go lighter on the salt. A little goes a long way!

One flower. That was it. Jamie W and I saw just one flower in the entire botanical garden (Photo…read more3). Even though we saw a sign identifying this place in front of the parking lot, we really couldn't tell where the garden began. By the time we saw Waikahalulu Falls (Photo 10), we finally realized we were in the middle of it. Even though there was an abundance of native plants, none of them were identified as such, so we frankly didn't learn anything. We just made our way to the picnic grounds next to the waterfall and then exited. To be honest, we only stopped here strolling from the original Liliha Bakery in Kalihi to Chinatown, so we didn't have any expectations coming here. Inconveniently, the public restrooms were boarded up. Admission is free. RELATED - Exploring Hawaii? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/wLtaaLUEVq

This was one of the stop on our tour In Honolulu , we were here for about 45mins…read more Liliokalani Botanical Garden is a very beautiful it is free to enter also free parking as well, there are some benches along the grass and paved paths, lots of trees and flowers,a water stream, a bridge. I saw a family fishing in one of the ponds, she stated to that there are fish in that dirty pond, I wish that there signs leading you to the waterfall. The highlight for me here was getting some sample from a live paper tree.

We had a magical day celebrating our wedding at Hawaii Vista Farms. Hawaii Vista Farms is even more…read morebeautiful and breathtaking in person. There is a bridal suite with air-condition to finish getting ready before the wedding. We had great communication from Diana before the wedding. The whole team was very organized and professional. We felt that all our questions were answered. They walked us through all the details, so we know what to expect on the wedding day. The day of the wedding, she even gave a fruit basket and honey from the property. This was a very thoughtful gift. The wedding ran smoothly, and everyone is still talking about the beautiful wedding venue. If you are looking for a small intimate wedding venue, Hawaii Vista Farms checks all the boxes.

I'm so grateful to Hawaii Vista Weddings for accommodating us on such short notice. My husband and…read moreI absolutely adored this venue for our ceremony. It ended up raining, but we wouldn't have had it any other way. We took it as a blessing from God Diana was such a great host and her property is so beautiful! How sweet is she that she took these photos of us to personally have? her personal touch just added to why I would recommend this venue to anyone who wants to elope and have an intimate experience. Thank you Hawai'i Vista Weddings for making our special day super memorable!

I'd say, of any Orchid Society throughout the State, Windward Orchid Society is doing what I'd…read moreexpect a society to do - promote orchids and flowers, showcase rare and innovative species, and provide the public with education about how to grow and nurture plants properly. What I liked the best were low costs for quality orchids and other plants. My partner found some amazing, rare species worth triple the value. Also, it was just great to meet professional growers from nurseries throughout the State, including the neighbor islands. Apparently the best Orchid Show to visit is the Hilo Orchid show first week of August - so FYi and mark your calendars if you're interested and did not know.

The Windward Orchid Society Spring Show is the best and largest show on Oahu. Unfortunately because…read moreof the COVID-19 potential for infection it has been cancelled for 2020. Everyone is welcome to come to the monthly meeting in the King School cafeteria in Kaneohe. It is held at 7:30 pm on the first Wednesday of each month.