Field trip!!! destination: Dole Plantation

Ever since I found out that I was being "taken" to Hawaii, I have heard rave reviews on going to the Dole Plantation. Tyler and I have passed by it a few times on our way out to the North Shore but we have never really had a free day to just lolligag around. Well, we had plenty of lolligag time today, so we made our way to the Plantation! Now I don't mean to be a constant "Hawaii wet blanket" or anything...but geezy petes...what a letdown! I was expecting an all day affair of pushing our way through pineapple plants, picking our own pineapple, seeing some sort of assembly line...We were done in less than an hour and a half...we even tried walking really slow through the garden to make it last...shoot, I wanted to feel like I got my $30 worth! The garden WAS really beautiful though, full of tropical flowers and even a little pond...that was powered by a pump. We did get to ride a cute little train! We saw Pineapple fields, they reminded me of Arkansas, and we saw Banana trees too! Isabella was famous on our part of the caboose...she kept bouncing and dancing to the Hawaiian music and making the people behind her smile. The highlight of the day for me was the pineapple ice cream...but woe is me...it was POWDERED soft serve and not churned! not even any chunks of real dole pineapple...sigh!...maybe I just have too high of expectations when it comes to tourist attractions...I guess that's what I get for growing up in Sevierville Tennessee, near amazing attractions such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Biltmore Estate. All in all, we had a wonderful day, full of laughter, and that's what counts..........although I really was disappointed about that powdered ice cream.