Honolulu, HI

A friend of mine recently invited me to spend an afternoon at Ala Moana Beach Park with her and her family. It was the day of their annual family picnic, and she promised I’d have a great time.

I enjoyed my drive to the beach, which is located right across from Ala Moana Shopping Center. It was a great location because it was easy to do a little shopping and then a little swimming. The shopping center parking lot is restricted to paying customers, but there was plenty of roadside parking by the beach.

I parked and headed over to where my friend’s picnic area was set up. There was a sandy beach area, as well as a grassy area. This made the beach ideal for both picnics and swimming because we didn’t have to worry about getting sand in our food.

In the grassy area, there is also a small creek. A lot of the kids who were at the picnic spent the afternoon fishing. (They threw the fish back when they were done.) There were actually several families picnicing. There were several large trees that provided ample shade, but several families chose to bring large tents to shield themselves from the mid-summer’s heat.

There were picnic benches set up throughout the area, which made it convenient and pleasurable to enjoy a nice picnic. Many people also brought picnic blankets and laid out to sunbathe. There was plenty of open space, so we played frisbee for awhile, and several people played football. My 1-year old son had a great time running around the field. It was nice to know that we were in the middle of the field where I could let him run about without worrying about him getting into the street or bothering anyone.

There were bathrooms closeby, which was nice, because it meant we didn’t have to walk over to the shopping center, but there weren’t many other amenities.

The beach itself was beautiful - sandy and sunny. The beach was crowded, but not crowded to the point of being uncomfortable. The beach didn’t have any shade, so I doused myself in sunblock to make sure I didn’t get burned. There weren’t any chairs, so most people brought their own, or just sat on beach towels when they weren’t swimming. There were several surfers, which was very fun to watch. I still haven’t tried surfing yet, but I’m fascinated by those who possess the talent to do so.

After the picnic was over, several people in our group walked over to the mall to do a little afternoon shopping. Almost every store imaginable is at Ala Moana Shopping Center, so there was definitely something for everyone.