Adventures in Hawaii

Lost at Last

2009-09-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day on Oahu before our long trip back to Cleveland.    I woke up and turned on my computer to find, thanks to Ryan at HawaiiWeblog.com, that some Los Angeles cabs from the Lost props were at Honolulu International Airport.   Since we had nothing planned for the day and an evening flight, Evan and I hopped in the car and took a drive.   We drove by and saw one of the cabs parked off in a corner, and what appeared to be some extras going through wardrobe.    Looked like they wouldn't be ready to shoot for a couple of hours.

As we were driving back to Waikiki on the H1 I happened to look off to the right of the freeway and spotted another yellow cab (they don't have yellow cabs in Hawaii), and this time it looked like a shoot was all set up. We got off the freeway and  managed to find our way to an industrial/business area of town.   As we were driving down this road we got to see several cameras and monitors set up.   At the intersection with the yellow cab, a policeman had made us stop to wait for a minute. As we sat there I looked out my window and had to take a second look, as there sat "Kate" and a very pregnant "Claire" on the corner chatting.   I was too chicken to take a picture, but it was neat to see the set.

At that point we headed back to the condo for one last swim before packing up our things.   At least I got to experience some neat "Lost" related activities before the show ends next year.    Spending time with Jon and Evan and working on my tan was pretty nice too!

Shark's Cove: Part 2

2009-09-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our time at Shark's Cove so much that we decided to return for our last full day on the island. This time around we brought some reef shoes for Evan, as well as his floatie that he typically wears in the swimming pool.

Again, we got to see some neat fish, and Evan was able to enjoy himself more thanks to a combination of both the reef shoes and floatie, which allowed him more freedom roaming around in the tidepool.

We actually got to see a lot of different fish just wading in the tidepool this time, Jon even saw a snake eel. The pictures here are of fish we saw in the tidepool. We are looking forward to getting a real underwater camera, as the disposable ones do no justice to the sealife we were able to witness here. Evan's favorite fish was a cute little red one called the Red Juvenile Phase Yellowtail Coris Wrasse Fish.

After Shark's Cove we made our way over to the west end of the North Shore, where the YMCA's Camp Erdman is located. This place is also known to Lost fans as "New-Otherton," the village of the group of people referred to as "The Others" on Lost. Camp Erdman is very friendly to fans of the show, so we were able to walk around and take a few pictures.

We were also able to check out the area of Mokuleia Beach where some other Lost scenes have been filmed. While we were walking around, I found it humorous that a man was playing fetch with a yellow lab that bore a striking resemblance to Vincent from the show, surely this was just an amusing coincidence.

In the evening Evan and I took part in our Friday night ritual of watching the Hilton fireworks at the lagoon.

The Zoo

2009-09-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

The Honolulu Zoo has become our lazy man's activity. Whenever we've gotten tired of driving or actually trying to plan something to do, we go to the zoo. It's a nice zoo, easy to get to, there's a playground there that Evan loves, and best of all, it's free for us to get into thanks to our Cleveland Zoo membership!

So, given the choice of going to the zoo or to the beach, Evan chose the zoo. We got to see some animals, but this time around much of the time spent was at the playground or in the Keiki (children's) Zoo area. Evan really likes the tunnel through the Koi tank and the guinea pig area. And of course, we had to spend some time checking out the numerous peacocks that congregate near the playground.

Shark's Cove: Part 1

2009-09-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

After consulting with a couple of locals throughout the past week, we decided to check out Shark's Cove on the North Shore. There are no sharks there, but some great snorkeling. Our concern was whether or not it would be easy to take Evan in the water there. Several people assured us we'd have no trouble, and I am glad that we listened. There are actually two areas to Shark's Cove, the biggest tidepool I've ever seen is to the left and the cove for snorkeling is off to the right.

At it's deepest, the tidepool gets between 5-6 feet deep in some areas, but most of it was shallow enough for Evan to walk around and explore, or to drive his monster trucks around. The cove however is best for strong swimmers (mid-summer the waves might be calmer?), but was totally worthwhile. The waves look intimidating, though we're talking pretty small waves here at this time of year, but I could see how people who aren't confident when they swim might be concerned. Jon's and my first reactions were, "Hmm, I don't know if being thrown into large rocks sounds like a lot of fun." But once we watched a few people get in and out, we discovered the channel that was deep enough to get you from the beach into the main area of the cove. And coming back in, so long as you paid attention to where you were swimming/floating, the current actually deposited you safely right back on the beach.

Jon and I each took a turn snorkeling, I was the brave soul who went out first and then recommended to Jon that he check it out. The main area of the cove probably goes down 15 or so feet in the area where we swam. The bottom is covered with large boulders, and unlike some of the shallower and more used snorkeling areas like Hanauma, we were able to see some different corals and some larger fish.

While on the North Shore, we couldn't pass up another run at Hono's Shrimp Truck, and this time stopped off at Matsumoto's for shave ice and t-shirts.

The Pineapple Plantation and World's Largest Maze

2009-09-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Most days Evan gets a choice of what he would like to do. To be honest, we alternate these days with actually going to the beach, but even on beach days he gets to do something fun like bring his monster trucks to drive in the sand or have shave ice on the way home. Today was a "let Evan pick the activity" day. He chose to go to the Dole Plantation to ride the Pineapple Express. It's about a 20-minute train ride through the pineapple fields where you get to see how pineapples are grown, some of the equipment used, and some of the workers out in the fields.

Once the train ride was done, we decided to try the "World's Largest Maze," over 2 acres of maze constructed of 14,000 Hawaiian plants with 2.46 miles of paths. In Ohio in the fall we have mazes constructed out of corn fields, but most of these are self-correcting--you can't really get lost. This maze was huge, came with a teeny-tiny map to follow, and had 9 different stations to find throughout the maze. Jon, leading the way, had to ask me for directions to get through. We only made it to 4 stations before deciding it was too hot and the largest part of the maze would probably take too long considering the heat. Evan, however, had a great time running and chasing Jon through the maze. We ended the visit with a Dole Whip and headed home.

Loribeth Comes For a Visit

2009-09-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

Last night we received a phone call from Loribeth that she was able to come out and visit us for the day. So we picked her up from the airport and headed over to Lanikai, considered one of the best beaches America.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we got there early enough that we had plenty of time to take a stroll down the beach, where Evan unearthed a bright green Hotwheels racecar. He asked some nearby children if it belonged to them but no one claimed it, so he now refers to it as his, "treasure car." Jon also took the Aqua Eye boogie board out and was able to see some neat reef structures off the coast, and Evan had fun playing in the sand. He was very excited and proud that he now knows how to use his sand toys to make a fish sculpture in the sand.

In the evening after naptime Loribeth and I took Evan to the "fun store" at the mall, where he finished off his bag of tokens riding in his yellow racecar and driving the bulldozer. Then we headed upstairs to Islands Fine Burgers and Drinks for dinner. Loribeth had some sort of veggie tacos and I had a kalua pork sandwich which was quite tasty. Evan did a great job while we were there, I'd definitely consider going back there for lunch or dinner.

After dinner, it was back out to the airport to drop Loribeth off for her flight home to Maui, and back to the condo for bed!

Boxcar Racing and the Oceanarium

2009-09-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the week I started to look into something that would be fun and different to do related to racecars or trains, since Evan loves anything that moves on wheels. I came across the Race World Hawaii website. I think it's the only place in the country where there are open track hours so that the public can come in and do boxcar racing. On Sundays it is open from 9am-1pm. We got there about 10am and Jon and Evan had a blast together.

They spent a lot of time racing boxcars, but we also we all able to go check out several radio-controlled racecar tracks and one area specifically for off-roading with radio-controlled vehicles. Plus Evan was able to rent a real remote controlled car for an hour and race on a small oval track with Jon's help. We were all pretty worn out by the time we left at 12:30, so of course it was time to head back for a nap.

After naptime we headed down to the Pacific Beach Hotel to a restaurant called the Oceanarium. The place has a really nice buffet dinner with a three-story fish tank. When we arrived there was even a diver in the tank feeding the fish and manta rays. When we walked in, Evan exclaimed, "Mommy, look, there's a diver in there!"

We finished off the weekend with a stop into the Ferrari Store and let Evan check out the computers at Jon's office before heading back to the condo for the night.

Some more photos from our exciting day:

Taking It Easy

2009-09-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

Jon had the day off today, so we took it easy. I made a Spam omelette for breakfast, since I feel it is only appropriate to consume Spam while in the state of Hawaii.

We went across the street to Ala Moana Beach, where Evan made friends with a local boy named Zeke and played in the sand. Jon and I took turns on the Aqua Eye checking out the reef structure offshore, which was pretty neat. Ordered some pizza from Round Table for lunch. Then after naptime we all went over to Ala Moana Mall so that Evan could visit what we call the "fun store," aka Jungle Fun, basically a video game arcade that also has some games for small kids and a few of those little cars you can ride in.

After that we made a stop at the playground while Jon picked up Keo's thai food for dinner...yummy.

The Aquarium, Swimming and Fireworks

2009-09-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

This morning, when given a choice between going to the zoo, beach or aquarium, Evan chose the aquarium. But, it seems as though the older Evan gets, the less the aquarium holds his attention. That's fine though, we still probably spent at least an hour there checking out the fish tanks. In the touch pool we got to see the smallest hermit crab I have ever seen, and we were also there to see the seals being fed.

After naptime Evan and Jon had a swim in the pool. It's so much fun to take Evan in the pool now, as he now has this "floatie" that allows him freedom to swim around and jump in on his own, so he spends about twice as much time in the pool as he used to. It also certainly helps that both the water and air temperatures are significantly higher here now than they are in the winter months when we typically come to Hawaii!

In the evening Evan and I made our nightly trek over to the playground to make some friends, then caught the fireworks at the Hilton lagoon before heading back to the condo for dinner.

Returning to the Lost Beach and Waterfall Swimming

2009-09-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

We took a little trip to the North Shore today up to Papa'iloa Beach, one of the many locations where Lost is filmed. Last year we were able to go and see the beach camp set, however this time only the kitchen area was set up. But, when we walked a bit further down the beach, we were able to see Eko's Church, so I guess it will be making an appearance again in Season 6.

After the Lost beach and getting my pic taken at Eko's Church, we drove a couple of miles further to the Waimea Audubon Center (also like last year). It's basically a huge botanical garden with a paved walk that ends with a waterfall. The neat thing about this waterfall is, not only can you swim in it, but there's a lifeguard and they provide free lifejackets for the little ones (and Jon). This is great, because the water is about 30 feet deep (and Jon sinks like a rock, despite the ability to swim well). All three of us were able to go in together for a swim, Evan had the biggest smile on his face he was so happy and excited. He even wanted to swim "by himself" since he had the benefit of the lifejacket, and Jon was able to help him up to sit beneath the falls. I think this was one of the highlights of this trip for Evan.

Once we were done there, we headed out to Haleiwa to the Hono's Shrimp Truck, our fave place to eat on the entire island. As always, I got my butter spicy shrimp. Jon got the garlic spicy, forgetting quite how hot "spicy" is, so apparently I have to remember to warn him next time before he orders. On the way out of Haleiwa we stopped for our tradition of shave ice for dessert, however Matsumoto's was extremely busy, so we stopped next door at Aoki's, which was equally delicious. I think I got something called "rainbow delight" with vanilla ice cream on the bottom. Mmm...Evan was a bit mad that he didn't get his own, but these things are huge!

Hanauma Bay

2009-09-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

We took Evan to Hanauma Bay today. Unfortunately it was a bit more crowded than when we usually go, and I think the surf was a bit higher too. So, Jon and I took turns snorkeling and helping Evan with his Aqua Eye boogie board so he could enjoy some of the fishies as well.

Here are a few more pictures from one of those nifty underwater cameras:

Meeting Ben

2009-09-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

This morning we decided to take Evan and his new boogie board and go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It's too bad that Hanauma Bay happens to be closed on Tuesdays. So we kept driving up the windward coast to Kailua Beach. It was beautiful as always, and we were able to see some large sea turtles swimming and munching on man-o-wars, which was really neat. Despite some waves, Evan was really excited to use his boogie board.

But, I must say, the highlight of my day was riding on an elevator next to Michael Emerson (Ben from Lost). I couldn't help but tap him on the shoulder and ask if I could get a picture with him. The funny thing was, right before we left the condo to drop Jon off at work, I went back and said, "Let me grab the camera in case we see anything cool while we're out." Evan and I were looking out the glass window on the elevator, so we weren't even facing the door to see people as they get on the elevator, but next thing I know, out of the corner of my eye I see "Ben" standing next to me. As embarassed as I was to ask, I did anyway. The man was extremely nice and gracious, and I am embarassed to admit that I was giddy afterwards. It would have been one thing to see a castmember somewhere on a set, it was quite random to have one of the stars of the show walk onto the same elevator.

Labor Day With the Locals

2009-09-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today I had plans to drive up to the northwest coast of the island, until Jon rolled over in bed and said, "I just remembered, it's Labor Day." Um, yeah. So, we decided Ala Moana Beach across the street, within walking distance, would be where we would spend our morning. Considering I watched the traffic leaving the beach tonight for over an hour, this was probably a safe decision. Ala Moana is a beautiful beach, but since all of the tourists in Waikiki go to Waikiki Beach, Ala Moana is largely a beach where the locals hang out. This makes it a lot of fun, as people pitch their tents up along the lawn and set up barbecues. It's a pretty big ordeal. And the beach itself is quite large and lacks waves, which makes it one of Evan's favorite places to go.

So we spent the morning swimming, playing with trucks in the sand, and burying Evan so that he could then go in the water and wash the sand off only to be buried again. One of the locals had a boogieboard with a viewing hole, called an Aqua Eye, so I asked where they got it. He said we could probably find one at the mall across the street. When we were done at the beach we headed over to the mall and were able to find one at Sears for $35. Since we'd planned on looking for one of these on this trip, and had expected to not find one anywhere, Jon and I were both pleasantly surprised to locate one so easily. Evan loves these things, as it allows him to float on top of the water and look at the rocks and fish below.

After naptime, it was off to the office with Jon and then to grab some dinner. Evan and I walked along Waikiki Beach on the way home and stopped at the playground. It started to drizzle a bit, so as we were walking back to the condo we saw a really great rainbow over Waikiki Beach, as well as three dragon boats docked on the beach.

Arriving in Honolulu

2009-09-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

I still have our week on the Big Island to write about from our last trip here, but I guess I'll get started on writing about this trip. We got in to Honolulu in the afternoon and headed off the the condo. We're getting pretty good at navigating around here now. Headed over to Ala Moana Mall for lunch in the food court (Jon and I even have our favorites there now), then back to the condo for a swim with Evan.

Last Day on the Big Island

2009-02-14T22:42:00.000-08:00

Hung out at the local playground in Hilo. Drove around so Evan could get a nap in and made a couple of stops at Rainbow Falls, a place called Boiling Pots with Pe'e Pe'e Falls, and drove down Banyan Drive.

Then it was time for the very long trip home to Cleveland, via Honolulu and Houston.

Kilauea Caldera at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

2009-02-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

It was a bit rainy and cold up at the summit, but we all had our chance to see an active volcano. The Halema`uma`u crater within the Kilauea caldera of Mauna Kea had smoke and steam billowing out of it, and as we drove around the park we were able to see steam vents in various areas, where rainwater sinks through the ground to rocks that are heated by the liquid rock beneath, releasing steam into the air.

Since Grandma's ankle was still bothering her, she stuck around in the car while the rest of us walked down underground through Thurston Lava Tube.

Later that evening, Jon, Evan and I drove out to the coast and were able to do a little night hike out on a lava flow where you could see the glow and steam of lava entering into the ocean. It was amazing how dark it got at night, with the lava flow being completely black and having no light pollution nearby.

Driving to Hilo

2009-02-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

On our drive over to the Hilo side of the island and the Dolphin Bay Hotel, we stopped by the World Botanical Gardens and the beautiful Umauma Falls.

Biggest Cinnamon Bun Ever

2009-02-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

We started the day by visiting Island Lava Java for the biggest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever seen (they were tasty too), and a visit to the Na Kamalei Toddler Playground at Old Kona Airport.

Later we visited Wawaloli Beach Park, basically a huge shallow tidepool. It rests on a lava shelf so that the waves crash into the rocks at the far end, but there are no waves within the tidepool itself. Evan enjoyed a boogie board with a porthole in it that allowed him to check out the fish underwater.

We later took this and returned to Kahalu’u Beach where he could see some larger, more colorful tropical fish (and a sea turtle swimming along), and Grandma got to see St. Peter’s Church -- “The Little Blue Church”.

The Place of Refuge and St. Benedict's Church

2009-02-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Today we headed a bit south to St. Benedict’s Church in Honaunau, Hawaii: St. Benedict Catholic Church is also known as the Painted Church. This storybook picture church dates back to the 1800's. From 1899 to 1904 Father John Velge from Belgium painted the church which includes colorful frescoed ceilings and walls. The murals on the walls and ceilings depict many biblical scenes.

We then continued on to the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, called the Place of Refuge. Here in the national park you can walk through an ancient Hawaiian village and see firsthand how the kings of Hawaii once lived.

Snorkeling and Firenesia Luau

2009-02-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

In the morning we gave grandma a break because her ankle had been bothering her. We took a 5 minute drive down the street to one of the best snorkeling beaches on the big island, Kahalu'u Beach Park. They had snorkels for rent, so Jon and I took turns snorkeling while we hung out with Evan. We were lucky enough to see a sea turtle basking on the rocks, as well as lots of fish. We liked this beach as much Hanauma on Oahu.

Firenesia was a very nice luau, the setting was beautiful on the grounds of the Sheraton on Keahou Bay. The food was delicious, including the kalua pork (pulled pork from a pig baked in a pit) and the weather was great. The fire dancing was amazing and kept Evan entertained.

The Glass Bottom Boat

2009-02-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

Back when Grandma was a travel agent, she apparently booked someone for a tour on one of these things. It’s a great idea, you sit on a boat, and look through glass boxes built into the bottom of the boat. Like a cross between snorkeling and being at an aquarium.

We found a tour in Kailua-Kona through Kailua Bay Charter Co. aboard a 36-foot glassbottom boat called the Marian. Of all of us, Grandma was the only one who sat still staring through the bottom of the boat the entire time, and the only one who didn’t feel the slightest bit of seasickness.

Evan had fun learning how to drive a boat!

Traveling

2009-02-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a travel day. We departed Oahu and took a flight over to the Big Island of Hawaii. Unfortunately, at some point in the past 24 hours, Grandma twisted her ankle. She did a fantastic job traveling today, but I think was a bit tired by the end of the day.

Our condo here was great. We had a two-bedroom townhome at the Keauhou Kona Surf and Racquet Club, in townhome 177. We were so close to the ocean that the first night we were there I didn't sleep very well. I felt as though we were on a boat and was convinced that the sea was raging and the waves were actually hitting the exterior walls of our condo. Once I woke up the next morning and was able to analyze the situation, I was able to see that the waves were not, in fact, hitting the condo at night, but that we actually had a significant blowhole situated in the rocks right outside of our condo. The remaining nights I slept pretty well after that, now that I knew what was the source of the sound. Jon slept great, as he loves white noise, so apparently he appreciated the ambiance. If you're ever looking for a place on the Big Island, I'd highly recommend this one. It was nicely decorated, plenty of room for 3 adults and a child, right on the water. It was affordable. The location couldn't be beat, a five-minute drive from a large grocery store and restaurants, some of the best snorkeling on the island and a nice luau.

My Favorite Beach

2009-02-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

Today we took Grandma to see one of my favorite beaches, Kailua. This time around we drove down past the main Kailua Beach entrance to the parking lot at the south end of the beach, which worked out well as there are virtually no waves here, plus there was shade from the trees for Grandma to sit under.

Evan had fun playing with his construction trucks in the sand and chasing Jon and me through the gentle waves coming up on the shore. It was a pretty relaxing time and a lot of fun, plus it was sunny, which was definitely a good thing, considering it often rains on that side of the island.

To give you an idea of how nice this beach is, this happens to be the area of the island where Barack Obama rented a vacation home and brought his family this past year for Christmastime.

Tonight Evan, Grandma and I were also able to make it over to the lagoon at the Hilton to grab a spot on the grass and watch the fireworks. I think Grandma was happy, she said she hadn't seen fireworks in quite some time. I got a neat little video of the fireworks as seen through the shadow of a palm tree.

Happy Birthday Grandma

2009-02-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

Today was Grandma's 66th birthday, and what better way to celebrate than kissing a dolphin, right? Did I mention Grandma doesn't swim? She won't even take her feet off the ground in a swimming pool. Anyhow, we made our way down to the Sealife Park about a half an hour south of our condo to hang out with the dolphins. Evan was quite excited, which made it a little difficult when we had to wait a bit to get into the water with the dolphins.

Jon, Grandma, Evan and I all got into the dolphin show pool with a group of about 8 other people and a dolphin trainer. I think we all had a good time. All that Evan cared about was getting to feed the dolphin, so fortunately the trainer allowed Evan to toss our dolphin a fish once he was done posing for pics kissing (licking) and dancing with the dolphin (which apparently wasn't as exciting as actually feeding a dolphin). Then Grandma had her chance as I held onto the back of her lifevest so that she didn't take a dive into the quite deep dolphin pool. Her pics turned out great. Hopefully I'll get the pics scanned in so I can post them here. Again, no instant digital camera gratification this time.

Evan enjoyed the touch pools with Jon, complete with getting to pet a small sea turtle. The touch pools were reminiscent of Evan's story where Curious George goes to the aquarium, so it was fun to make comparisons between the images in the story and real life. We also had the chance to feed the sea turtles once again, and Evan had a close encounter with a manta ray through the glass of the aquarium.

The Peacocks Will Get Me!

2009-02-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Today we took Evan and Grandma to the Honolulu Zoo. It was definitely worth the price of admission, which for us happened to be free, as it is part of a network of zoos that allows free or discounted admission if you have a family membership to another zoo in the network. In our case, we have a famiyl membership to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, so that worked out well.

We like the zoo there. It's easy to get around for Evan and Grandma, and it lends itself well to entertaining small children. There's a large playground in the middle, so Evan took his turn playing with the other children running around before we headed into the Keiki (children's) Zoo area where he enjoyed crawling through the glass tunnel that leads through a large tank of Koi (big goldfish).

The only way to convince him to explore the rest of the zoo however was to allow him to believe that the numerous roaming peacocks were out to get him. This became quite an amusing game for Evan and Jon. Evan would run from exhibit to exhibit yelling, "The peacocks will get me!" It provided us an efficient way to go through the zoo and see the exhibits. At one point however, as Evan was running from the peacocks, he went through an area with two exhibits on either side of him, where he was nearly cornered by two peacocks who started to "yell" at him. I guess it's hard to describe, but Jon and I couldn't stop laughing. We started to wonder if the peacocks really were chasing Evan. Hilarious.

Some other really cool exhibits to note are the big turtle exhibits, and also, that we got to see a baby tiger. The tiger exhibit is interesting because, at one point, there is just a glass door between you and the tiger, as you can see in the photo above. Hopefully this is as close as Evan ever gets to a tiger!

Senator Palpatine Checks Out a Waterfall

2009-02-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

Sunday as we were walking back from lunch, Grandma asked if there was anywhere we could go to see how pineapples grow. I thought this was an interesting request, and it just so happens that we've never visited the Dole Plantation here on the island, so we decided to go on our way up to the North Shore.

We took a little 20-minute train ride which Evan loved, and did, indeed, get to see how pineapples grow. Afterwards, Evan also got to feed the fish in the koi pond, so that was a special added bonus.

We then drove up to the Waimea Audubon Center, where there is a botanical garden you can walk through that ends in a waterfall. It's the same place I took Evan swimming in a waterfall back in October. You can view the photos here, and also see what a difference a bit of rain makes. Here's what the waterfall looked like this time around:

So, no swimming in the waterfall. There was a lifeguard available to make sure we didn't even consider it, and was kind enough to take our picture.

You'll notice Grandma is wearing a lovely $1.50 poncho purchased in the gift shop prior to the hike. She wore the hood the entire time, so that Jon was cracking jokes that she looked like Senator Palpatine. Among many other firsts for Grandma this vacation, flying by herself, going to an island, being in Hawaii and eeing the Pacific Ocean, she can now add seeing a waterfall to her list.

Afterwards, we drove into Haleiwa for our fave Hono's shrimp truck, in a gravel parking lot, and ate lunch. Grandma had the pineapple shrimp, I had my favorite butter spicy shrimp and Jon had the garlic spicy. Evan had chicken nuggets from the McD's across the street. The Hono's truck also had some spare Sharpies laying around this time, so we had our chance to add our own graffiti to the shrimp truck. Notice I had no clue what today's date was when I added our names.

Then we stopped by Matsumoto's for shave ice, which is now becoming our routine when up on the North Shore. The Matsumoto (lemon, pineapple and coconut) is delicious, and Grandma got her favorite flavor (which I now know), blueberry.

And of course, then we all headed back to the condo for a nap!

Turtle Paparazzi

2009-02-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

Another item to cross of my list of things to do in my life. Jon, Evan, Grandma and I all went together to Hanauma Bay today for some snorkeling. Jon and I snorkeled while Grandma and Evan hung out on the beach. While we were out in the water, Jon started pointing to what at first appeared to be a squid. But then I got a closer look...I finally had a chance to swim with a sea turtle! Despite the fact that the guidebooks tell you that if you pretend to not pay attention to a turtle that it won't swim away, I of course started to play turtle paparazzi, snapping underwater shots of the critter as he tried to swim away from me. Of course, the turtle was smarter than me, and swam above a reef where the water was to shallow for me to follow.

Eventually, I'll have some photos to post here, but the underwater camera is the disposable type, so no instant gratification as with a digital camera. We all had a great time.

Pearl Harbor

2009-02-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

Today I finally made it out to the USS Arizona Memorial. The tickets are free, but then there's a four hour wait, so Jon left when we all woke up and went out there to get us tickets and then he stayed home at the condo and watched the Super Bowl.

Loli, Grandma, Evan and I headed down to Pearl Harbor. When we arrived we got some much needed coffee, then Evan had fun exploring the guns and submarine interior before watching a film and heading over to the memorial.

I think the best part of the day wasn't so much the memorial, but getting to hear from a survivor, Everett Harland, of the attack on Pearl Harbor. My opinion of it is, the memorial will always be here, the survivors won't be. Mr. Harland introduced the film, before Evan started talking, asking us what the gentleman was saying. Loli took him outside. I had hoped to meet and shake the hand of Mr. Harland, this didn't happen. On the other hand, my two year old son who left the movie before it had began had the opportunity to meet this person of living history. Loli told him that Evan wanted to know what he had to say. His response to Evan was, "Eat at Zippy's." So there you have it, the conversation of a two year old with a Pearl Harbor survivor. Frankly, I am jealous. I was more moved by Mr. Harland's introduction to us than I was by the rest of our visit there. What a hero, and I cared more to meet him than to meet any celebrity.

Loli Is Here!

2009-01-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

Lori Beth comes to visit again. And mommy is so happy! Lori Beth is my friend from college. She also happens to be first person besides Jon to see Evan when he was born. What makes this particularly special is the unique fact that, she was living in Maui at the time. She was training to be a doula and I had invited her to come to Ohio and be there for Evan's birth if she could make it out there. So, she booked a flight to arrive two days before he was born. This is a huge deal. She timed her two weeks of vacation out to Ohio around the birth of my son. For this, she gets Auntie status. And she is the only person besides Jon who actually saw me in the labor and delivery room with Evan. No one will ever share this memory with me. The story is quite amusing. As she was waiting at the airport on Maui to fly to Cleveland, I went into labor and called her. As she was traveling I was in active labor. Shortly before she landed, I gave birth to Evan. Shortly after she landed, she had a friend drive her directly to the hospital, after a long 12 hour trip, and was the first, besides Jon, to see Evan and I together. For this I will be forever grateful and amazed. Who does this kind of thing? Only a very special person.

So, whenever we are in Hawaii, we try to make sure she can come visit us, at least for a weekend. She actually got in on Friday evening. Evan and I picked her up from the airport, then managed to walk over to the harbor just in time for the Hilton's fireworks show and then picked up the best Outback Steakhouse meal I've ever consumed. This was on Friday night.

On Saturday, all of us headed over to Ala Moana Beach and played. Afterwards, while Evan was napping, I helped Lori Beth find her Rocket Dog shoes and introduced her to Gap jeans, the best jeans ever for women who happen to have hips and curves.

Grandma arrived this afternoon too, so we had a full house! It was funny how we are on vacation and hosting house guests. We ordered some barbecue from a local restaurant and had dinner outside by the pool enjoying some Longboard brews...and using my new Reef sandals with a bottle opener installed on the bottom to open them! How cool is that?

BTW, Loli means Lori in Hawaiian, and I decided this trip that Loli is an absolutely perfect nickname for Auntie Lori Beth.

Sunny Day...Sweeping the Clouds Away

2009-01-30T17:51:00.000-08:00

Uh, yeah, so I started to write the title of this post and Big Bird started singing in my head. Go figure.

Today we actually looked at the radar and the report was sunny all around, so this time we decided to try out the Leeward coast again. Jon prefers Kailua with its showers and facilities, and I want to take my mom to Lanikai anyhow, because it's so picturesque, so we ended up at Kailua beach. We've now officially been to this beach for each of our three trips here, probably a good sign to check out this beach if you are ever on Oahu. Anyhow, we had a good time. Evan enjoyed walking on the sand with Jon. They found a piece of driftwood with some small shells attached to it, this they enjoyed exploring, Jon would touch the shells which clearly had something living inside of them as each would clam up much to Evan's chagrin.

Then Evan came back for a rest with me and play in the sand, and then I took him in the water for some wave jumping. He seemed to love this until one somewhat large wave smacked us in the head, at which point I am pretty sure I lost my sunglasses I had purchased the day before.

Rainy Day

2009-01-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

Today we learned to check the radar. I wanted to drive across to the east coast of the island to Kailua and Lanikai, two of the most beautiful beaches in the country. As we drove along the Pali Highway we realized this wasn't going to happen today. It was raining. As is typical on the Leeward coast, so now we know better. But, we decided to drive south along this coast and find some sun, and we did, at Sandy Beach. It worked out well.

This beach, is, well, sandy. And, it also has lava ledges to walk around on and explore and some neat tide pools.

We were able to find urchins as well as a small little pool cut out of the lava rock by the surf that Evan referred to as his own personal hot tub.

Additionally, this is the place where locals come to bodysurf. Jon actually considered going in the water. I thought it was best if Evan got to go home with a dad who didn't have a broken neck:

No fun was lost today, despite the rain on the Leeward coast.

What a Difference a Year Makes

2009-01-28T22:45:00.000-08:00

Last year at this time Evan would have been very mad at you had you placed him down on the sand, and especially if you tried to make him stand on the sand while in the water. Today, he ran around chasing Jon through the ocean, squirting a large fish with a spray bottle, and running around on the beach with pidgeons.

I remember a time when Jon and I were convinced we would never be able to spend a day at the beach due to Evan's fear of the sand and ocean. Today we discovered that the beach at Ala Moana park, about a ten minute walk from our condo, is perfect for Evan. It is as calm as a bathtub, so he has no fear of being knocked down by a wave. And he had lots of fun with his new sand toys and construction trucks. Since Evan was feeling particularly "self-directed", he and daddy hung out while mommy had a much needed rest on the beach. It was divine.

Diego and the Aquarium

2009-01-27T22:28:00.000-08:00

Today we took it easy and went for a visit to the aquarium. I think we'll probably have a pretty low-key first week, as we want to do a lot of the really neat stuff next week once my mom gets here. She'll be out here with us for two weeks. Jon was pleasantly surprised to find out that our admission was half-off because we have a family membership to the zoo in Cleveland, so all three of us got in for $9 total.

The park outside of the aquarium has a large banyan tree, so Evan took a stab at swinging on the vines ala, "Go, Diego, Go!" He did a pretty good job, I was surprised at how well he was able to hold on and naturally figured out to wrap his legs around the vines for a better grip. The aquarium was awesome, it is really a great aquarium for small kids, and we spent over two hours there, which is a feat in itself for Evan. We had fun comparing some of the exhibits to the ones Curious George finds in the book where he visits the aquarium. Plus, Evan loved the touch pool, where he got to hold a hermit crab who tickled his palm.

Evan's done pretty well with adjusting to the time difference, Jon and I both have the sniffles. Other than that, we're all doing pretty well...I hear there's lots of snow in Cleveland.

The View From Here

2009-01-26T09:36:00.000-08:00

We arrived without incident in Oahu on Saturday afternoon. The group relocated to a new condo, called The Watermark, a couple of blocks away from the old one. Amusingly enough, in checking out Google Maps, I discovered a Food Pantry grocery store smack dab in between the old condo and new one, within a very short five minute walk. This is amusing because, the last two times were were here we could have very easily walked to this grocery store, rather than drive to the mall for groceries. We just never knew this grocery store was there, because it is situated down a side street that we never ventured down! So, I am very happy. I was excited about this grocery store, it seemed to have more variety than the one at the mall. And besides, we are now even closer to the mall, which means we can now walk there in a matter of minutes!

Anyhow, this condo is ridiculously nice, check out this link if you don't believe me. It's new, and it is designed much more like a hotel than a condo complex, with large manicured grounds and a big infinity pool that Evan and I took a dip in last night. As we walked through the gardens we realized there are several little areas with new barbecues for hosting friends, as well as one large covered pavilion with a gas grill and dining room set-up, where a small group of people were having a nice steak dinner (I wanted to join them!). Like I said, ridiculously nice.

I can't yet take a picture of the view this morning because I can't figure out how to open the remote controlled floor to ceiling screens on the windows, so the above are photos the group had sent to us. But I enjoyed making coffee in the granite-countertop-Viking-decked-out kitchen!

I'll write more later.

Byodo-In Temple and Halona Beach

2008-10-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Jon celebrated his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, but we decided not to do much that day other than give him cards and bring him Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We were all pretty tired, so we decided just to head over to the lagoon at the Hilton, Evan's "pretty beach" with the construction trucks. It was a lot of fun. We actually met a woman from Australia who is from Cleveland and knows people who live in our neighborhood. What a very small world. She had 3 little boys who Evan was playing with on the beach.

On Wednesday we drove through the island on the H-3, an absolutely gorgeous drive. It was raining in the mountains, so there were waterfalls decorating several of the lush green slopes, plus one place that I would love to go called the Haiku Stairs. It is literally a steep staircase going up the side of one of these mountains. It looks amazing. The stairs below are not these stairs, this pic was taken of Evan feeding the Koi at the Buddhist temple.

Our destination was the Byodo-In Temple, for several reasons. Jon had mentioned wanting to see a temple, it has a giant Koi pond and Evan is now obsessed with Koi, and it was used in Lost. Despite a bit of drizzle and then downpour, we all had a great time. The only part we missed was there was a large area of beautiful Japanese graves up a hill near the temple and we had wanted to walk around to see if there were any Suganos buried there but we didn't have a chance due to the rain.

We decided to drive down 72 on the southeast corner of the island and ended up at the Halona Blowhole lookout. We discovered it isn't actually that difficult to walk down to the beach below, famous for being the beach in "From Here to Eternity" that has inspired every grown person since to want to roll around on the beach smooching a member of the opposite sex. Interstingly enough, this seems to have been one of Evan's favorite beaches. We were there for about an hour as he and Jon explored tide pools and climbed rocks as I watched locals jump off the rocks into the surf below.

I also have to mention one of the strangest things I've ever experienced. Once Jon had left for work Evan and I headed over to the playground. There was a group that walked through the park of about 20 Japanese tourists taking part in a tour with a woman narrating. I found this fascinating and was watching them for a minute or so. Once they had exited the park I stopped paying attention. Three Japanese men, probably in their 30's, left the group and walked over to me and Evan. One said, "He's beautiful," but clearly they didn't speak English well. I said thank you. One of his friends then reached out to Evan, I had thought it was because he thought Evan was going to fall climbing up the stairs to the jungle gym. I was then very surprised when the man then lifted Evan up and placed him on his lap in order to pose for a photo that his friend was ready to take. So, I'm not sure if this was one of those situations where you turn to a friend and say, "I dare you to go over to that stranger and take a picture with them" or if maybe they could tell Evan was part Japanese and found a blonde-haired blue-eyed Japanese little boy was cute, or maybe it's perfectly acceptable to take a picture with a little blonde-haired blue-eyed kid because it's novel. Who knows. But I called Jon on the cell phone immediately, not because I was concerned in any way, but because I found it such an amusing and unbelievable story to tell that I had to share it, and everyone else I knew would have been sleeping by then!

Lost

2008-10-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Much like the day of the Maui luau was my favorite day in Hawaii during our last visit here, I believe that today is probably my favorite day this time around. Jon was so kind and generous as to offer to drive up to the North Shore again, so that I could see Papa'iloa Beach from "Lost" before the set was torn down for the season. While there, we found a man sitting a bit back from the beach, in the middle of nowhere, with several sprinkers running. It seemed very peculiar to me, so I waved and kept walking. Jon bothered to ask him what he was doing and if there was anything else "Lost" related for us to see there. It turns out the man, I think his name was Wally, had the job of making sure the sprinklers were running because that little area of land was Mr. Eko's grave and it needed to be kept green for the show.

Another amusing point was, there was a large object at the far end of the beach that turned out to simply be a large block of concrete. But, when Jon asked me what was down that direction, my response was, "well, that's where the underwater looking station is."

After the Lost beach and getting my pic taken at Eko's grave, we drove a couple of miles further to the Waimea Audubon Center. It's basically a huge botanical garden with a paved walk that ends with a waterfall. The neat thing about this waterfall is, not only can you swim in it, but there's a lifeguard and they provide free lifejackets for the little ones. Which was convenient, since of course the minute Evan saw people swimming there said, "I want to go in the waterfall." Fortunately I'm a strong swimmer and he was wearing a lifejacket, because, the water is about 30 feet deep. Of course, I took him in though and he loved it. Some nice European boys even helped us to get closer to the falls. Oh yeah, plus, this just so happens to be the waterfall where Sawyer and Kate take a dip too. Here's some more pics from our day:

Oahu Luau

2008-10-12T23:00:00.001-07:00

We were delighted to find out earlier in the week that there was a luau within walking distance of our condo that was taking place on Sunday night, which meant, Jon could actually go. We were pretty excited because Evan did so well at the luau in Maui last time we were here and we all had such a great time.

While the location was great, with the sunset over a lagoon and palm trees in the background, the luau itself was not on par with the one we'd attented in Maui. Now, everything I've read has said that the best luau's are on the other islands, so I can't complain too much. The plusses were, the location, it was nearby to the condo, and the guys twirling flaming swords. The people we sat with were a woman and her daughter, from Montana. It was interesting how they ended up in Montana, they had lived in Chicago and decided they wanted to move somewhere away from the city. They were such nice people, the woman was there celebrating her birthday.

Evan got very antsy after being there for about two hours, since the entertainment didn't really start for awhile, so by the time the hula dancers came out, Evan watched for about five minutes then we headed over to the lagoon and stripped him down to his diaper and let him swim and play in the sand while we watched the rest of the luau from the side. We got to stick around to the end, so that was nice. Then we headed back to the condo and took a dip in the pool before it was drained for the week for repairs.

Back to Kailua Beach

2008-10-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

Well, first off, I am losing my mind and can't seem to recall what exactly we've done each of the past three days. More specifically, on Saturday and Sunday. And no, it has nothing to do with alcohol consumption. I think we went to Kailua Beach on Saturday. Anyhow, Kailua is our favorite beach here. It's gorgeous and goes on forever, plus it's an easy half an hour drive from the condo. We finally convinced Evan to have a good time too, by first digging a large hole in the sand, large enough fo rhim to sit inside of. Then he discovered the shallow inlet of water that flows through the middle of the beach where all of the kids were playing. Getting him out of there was a little rough. That night we spent some time at the playground then ordered Thai food from Keo's. It may have been one of the best meals I've had here (besides my cold noodle and shrimp tempura combo from Sobaya at the food court).

Oh yeah, and I got a new bathing suit, the first time I've bought something other than black in at least five years.

Sea Life Park

2008-10-10T23:16:00.001-07:00

I think Jon is starting to learn one of the tricks to parenting that I've discovered. Try to avoid situations where you know you'll have to say no. For example, going to Walmart and taking Evan into the toy section or pointing out the people swimming with the dolphins at the Sea Life Park. Fortunately, we'll be coming back here in January and bringing my mom along, so I am thinking we will all go to the Sea Life Park together and do the whole swimming with the dolphins thing then. Plus, as long as Evan is under two years old, he gets to do it for free with me and Jon.

Anyhow, the Sea Life Park was neat and we all had a good time, though it was very hot, no shade at the sea lion or dolphin shows or throughout much of the park. But it was nice, built much more for smaller children with all of the various displays close together, so that we saw everything in under two hours. I think mine and Evan's favorite part was feeding the sea turtles. You could get within six inches of them and feed them lettuce, celery and broccoli which was very cool. The park is also situated in a gorgeous location on the easternmost corner of the island, overlooking the ocean and Rabbit Island.

The rest of the day was spent sleeping and then we walked with Jon to work. I think we're headed to Kailua tomorrow.

For now, it's time to give Evan a bath and head to bed once he's done watching "Cars" for the 10th time this week.

Lost and Found

2008-10-10T01:37:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention, Wednesday night Jon found his wedding ring, he'd apparently set it down at the office.

Thursday Already?

2008-10-09T20:51:00.001-07:00

Well, it is indeed Thursday. Evan is still napping, since he didn't fall asleep until 4:30pm. We had a good time today, drove about a half an hour up to Ko Olina Lagoons to the JW Marriott to hang out with a friend/coworker of mine who happens to also be here. A word to the wise. If you're driving up to Ko Olina Lagoons from Waikiki, make sure you either leave early enough to park in the very limited public parking or that you have the name of a guest staying at the Marriott there. After making the drive up and arriving about 10:45am, we discovered there is an entrance gate to the resort properties and lagoons. If all public parking is full, they tell you to turn around and try back again later. Umm...no. I would have been really ticked off. But, fortunately, we were meeting up with friends who were guests there. The security guy called the front desk at the hotel to verify their name and then let us in. We then paid $20 to park on the Marriott's lawn. So, point being, I'm glad we made it up there and got to hang out with my friend. It was nice to have had a chance to see the lagoons too and there were some fish and Jon got to do a bit of snorkeling. But, we won't be going back there. I'll stick with Kailua and Lanikai, still the two prettiest beaches here, or Hanauma Bay for snorkeling.

My friend and her husband also went up to th North Shore yesterday and went to Papailoa Beach, where the beach scenes from Lost are filmed. She showed us pics of "tent city" and of huge sea turtles right on the beach. We, of course, drove right by there the same day. So now, bless his heart, Jon has offered to make the trek back up to the North Shore while we're here so that I can see this beach. I've been receiving email updates regarding where Lost is filming, so maybe we'll even catch a glimpse of some filming while we're here.

I'll try to post more pics soon.

Headaches

2008-10-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Fortunately last night Evan stayed awake until 9:30pm so that he slept until 7:30 this morning. Which meant we were up for the drive to the North Shore. Unfortunately, before we left we discovered that Jon appears to have lost his wedding ring, either in the Hilton's lagoon or in the condo's swimming pool. No luck finding it yet. But, as with the last trip we had here where he added a scrape to the fender of our rental car, better him than me as I tend to blow these things off. Things happen, and there's no use ruining time in Hawaii over something which we have no control once it's happened.

Now that we were already in a poor mood, I did a terrible job of reading the map on the drive, adding another 20 minutes or so, plus there was a bit of road construction. Regardless, we made it to the North Shore in one piece. It didn't seem like there were any turtles at Turtle Beach as we drove by, which was our initial destination, so we continued another mile or two down the road to Waimeia Bay. The water there was gorgeaous and blue. Evan got to sit on a four-wheeler and meet a lifeguard. Plus he was once again adventurous and headed into the water. It's right in between the summer (calm) and winter (surf) seasons however, so we couldn't take Evan in very far while feeling safe. We still had a great time playing in the sand and a bit of water. And then headed over to Haleiwa for Hono's shrimp. Mmm...SO GOOD! I had the butter spicy shrimp like last time and Jon tried the Garlic Shrimp. Then we stopped by Matsumoto's for shave ice. I have to say, it was good, but...I'll probably get yelled at for saying this, it wasn't necessarily any better than a snow cone back home. Sorry. The Hono's shrimp though...I dunno, there's just something awesome about eating shrimp cooked up for you out of a truck.

We made it home safe and sound and the boys are both napping.

The 6am Wake-Up

2008-10-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Evan decided to wake up at 6am on Tuesday, so rather than try for the hour or so drive to the North Shore, we decided to walk across the street to the man-made lagoon at the Hilton. Of course, this seems to have been Evan's favorite beach. There are no waves, it is backed by a parking lot and one side has a wall up with a small window in it to view the construction going on next door. This morning (Wednesday), he asked us if we could go to the "pretty beach". We said "Sure, we'll go to the pretty beach," he added, "the one with the trucks?" As Jon then added, "beauty is all in the eye of the beholder." Anyhow, he loves it so I'm sure we'll spend some more time there. We've actually bought tickets for a luau there for Sunday night. We really lucked out as Jon can only go out on Saturday and Sunday nights due to work, and this is the onyl Sunday night in October that this particular luau, right across the street from us, is taking place. Hopefully we can keep Evan from taking a dip in the lagoon!

Monday

2008-10-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure how I managed to write a full blog everyday while we were here last time. It just doesn't seem like I have the time this trip. Maybe it was easier to write because everything was so new to us. This time, Anyhow, on Monday we drove to the Windward side of the island to Lanikai Beach. It's just down the road from Kailua Beach, these are both rated two of the best beaches in the world. It was beautiful. Here's a couple of pics:

Evan finally likes the beach and ocean now and can't get enough of it, almost to our detriment. But thank goodness he likes it now. Evan also was the little social butterfly, introducing himself to a four year old girl from Oregon named Anna and a little boy two days older than him from San Fransisco. Oh yeah, and Jon found a dead Moray eel in the water. He was fascinated, but not quite convinced enough it was dead to pick it up out of the water with a bucket. That's ok though, I didn't tust it to be dead enough to even go into the water anywhere near it.

We're Here

2008-10-06T01:51:00.000-07:00

That's really all I have to say for now...we're here. We made it here to the condo, by way of a day and a half in Los Angeles visiting with Audie, Grandaddy, Baachan, Auntie Martha, Uncle Larry and Flora on Saturday. Evan has done a great job so far. My laptop tells me it's currently 4:51am in Cleveland right now...ugh.

I'll write more tomorrow about our trip to one of the world's most beautiful beaches, Lanikai. It was a great time and it appears Evan now enjoys the sand and the ocean. We're so grateful he's getting over this fear, it made going to the beach very difficult last time. It's much more enjoyable now. Seems like I'm the one having more issues this time around. I guess jetlag is getting to me more than I'd realized. Yesterday I put the dirty clothes in the dryer instead of the washer and ran the washer empty (they are an efficiency/top-bottom set-up), then ordered dinner from a restaurant I thought I remembered being one place but was actually about a mile further down the road, and I was walking to go pick it up, so that was no fun. Tonight, my cell phone made it's way into Evan's bathtub and I have no idea if it's going to work again plus I whacked my knee on the corner of Evan's bed here. I just want to go to sleep.

Goodnight.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2008-02-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Well, we are now home in Cleveland. I didn't have a chance to write the last day or so that we were in Maui.

The day before we were leaving Maui it rained on the north side of the island. You can see from some of these photos that it was not raining on in South Maui. Actually, this day was probably the most sun we got while we were on Maui. We drove down to Maluaka Beach, just south of Wailea in front of the Maui Prince hotel. It was gorgeous. We just hung out and took turns walking with Evan up and down the beach. We could see the area where we were staying from the beach we were on, and saw it getting poured on. On the drive down, we could see snow up on the peak of Haleakala. While at the beach, Loribeth called my cell phone to tell me it was on the news that it was snowing on Haleakala. Apparently this is a big deal and never happens.

Snow on Haleakala:

Once we got back to the condo, we ordered lunch from the Okazuya Deli, they have really great stir fry. The night before we left we took it easy. We picked up Loribeth from work, and Amanda came over. We ordered some appetizers from the Lahaina Store Grille & Oyster Bar and watched Comedy Central for a couple hours before heading to bed.

January 31, 2008

The morning that we left, Thursday, January 31, we saw some great rainbows from our lanai. We also had the chance to watch a mother and baby humpback whale, about 100 yards offshore, swimming across our field of vision. What we really saw was the baby practicing its breaching, jumping out of the water, the two whales spouting next to each other, and the hump of the mother's back coming up out of the water as she swam next to her baby. So, none of the full breaching and tail slapping that we saw off on the horizon a few days before, but it was still pretty cool. Loribeth ordered us white chocolate chip macadamia nut pancakes and a big kahuna omelet from Gazebo. Breakfast was delicious. Loribeth sat with Evan and played on the computer. He now knows about pbskids.org and asks for the Cookie Monster page.

I dropped Loribeth off at work, and we took a photo of the amazing view of the house where she is a nanny for the rich and famous:

I have to admit, I will miss the Maui condo. We stayed at the Hale Ono Loa in Honokowai. It is two buildings down from where Loribeth lives, in the Kaleialoha. The particular condo we had, Unit 109, was fantastic. It is one of only 5 units in the entire complex that is ground floor and oceanfront. The yard for the other 4 units is all connected, but this particular one benefits from having a "front yard" that is practically to itself, so we didn't need to worry about Evan bothering anyone when he ran around outside. It was perfect. We were able to sit outside and eat our meals or have drinks and watch for humpback whales, sea turtles, sunsets and rainbows. We had the same view from a huge picture window inside the living room area of our condo. Here are some pics of our yard, if only I had such nice landscaping at home!

The trip coming back to Cleveland was a long one. We flew out of Maui around 4pm to Honolulu, our Honolulu flight was a red eye around 8pm, we landed in Houston at 7:30am (2:30am Hawaii time), and finally got to Cleveland around 2:30pm Cleveland time. Evan did a pretty good job sleeping on the flights, with the exception of when he coughed so hard that he made himself throw up all over me on the flight to Houston. Fortunately, there was only about an hour left to that flight before we landed.

And now that we are home, there's really no place like home. It's great to have reliable mexican, italian, thai, vietnamese, middle eastern and indian food to choose from within a ten minute drive of our house. Jon went to the grocery store and was back in no time, he commented at how when the lines started getting long at the grocery store last night that they paged some people to the front of the store to help bag groceries. That and he paid half the price he paid for milk in Hawaii. It's amazing the conveniences we take for granted.

At the same time, we took Evan to The RainForest in Cleveland today to get him out of the house. It was amazing to think we were hiking through a similar forest in Hawaii, only it was a real one. I think when I stepped outside this morning my tan instantly evaporated in the cold. As we were getting into the car to leave The RainForest, I slipped on a patch of ice.

So, it's good to be home, but I am definitely looking forward to working on my tan again in April when we go to Hilton Head!

Here's some pics from snorkeling that we finally had developed.

Enjoy!

Hanauma Bay:

Lu'au + Wailiea

2008-01-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a real vacation day. I didn't check email and I didn't write a blog. It was wonderful. It rained in the morning where we are staying in Honokowai, so we drove Loribeth to work, and then decided to drive down to South Maui, to Wailea Beach. Praise God, we had the one spot of sun on the island and were able to have some fun and go swimming. Evan got over his fear of the sand today while we were at the beach. We had a great time, with the exception of a hungry Jon discovering there's no such thing as "fast food" here. Both drive thrus we tried to go through were a pain and we ultimately didn't end up getting food for lunch and coming home for leftovers before leaving for the lu'au.

Loribeth met us at the lu'au. We chose the Old Lahaina Lu'au, since Loribeth said it was the best. It was amazing. It may have been my favorite activity on our vacation. Evan went with us. I had made reservations for the traditional seating, which involves sitting on pillows on the ground with a low table to eat from. It turns out these tables are front row for the lu'au, so we had an amazing view, plus it was the perfect height for Evan and he didn't have to sit on our laps. Since it had been rainy earlier on, the sunset with the clouds was beautiful on the shore in the background. The food was amazing, it was so good. Evan sat still and paid attention to the hula dancing. It was probably the most peaceful moment I've had in a long time, I actually started to cry a little bit, because it was so nice to just be able to all sit together and enjoy something together, without having to be running around, or Jon being frustrated, or Evan running around crazy or squirming or screaming. All of us actually enjoyed it, it was wonderful. It began to rain a bit in the middle of the performance, so they cut it early by about half an hour, which is too bad, because it did stop raining, and I didn't mind the rain at all I was having such a great time.

We came back afterwards and hung out at Loribeth's and Amanda's condo doing some laundry and then went to bed.

This was one of my favorite days in Hawaii.

Best Banana Bread on the Planet

2008-01-28T23:30:00.000-08:00

Today Jon and I learned that the "best banana bread on the planet" can be found by driving a one-lane, two-direction road for five miles, up and down mountainsides and cliffs along the ocean at a place called Julia's in Kalakuloa. It isn't actually a place so much as a little green stand at the side of the road.

To begin our drive, we actually drove north to Kahana and dropped Loribeth off at work. Then, we continued down to Slaughterhouse Beach. Apparently this is a good spot to see spinner dolphins, however this morning was very windy in that area and the waves were rough there, so no dolphins. We continued on to Nakalele Blowhole and hiked part of the way down to see it. The surf was just right that this was more impressive than the Halona Blowhole on Oahu, but it was way too windy and rocky to walk Evan all the way down to the blowhole.

Evan feel asleep when we got back into the car, so we decided to drive the long way around the north section of the island. It was a beautiful, and somewhat nervewracking drive, but Jon seemed to enjoy it. Once we got into Wailuku and went to the Iao Valley State Park and walked around, looking at the Iao Needle.

We came back and spent some time hanging out at the condo, walked along Ka'anipali Beach, and then Loribeth and Amanda came over and cooked dinner for us. We've had a lot of fun hanging out with them, it's been so nice having people here who know their way around, and it's been great spending time with Loribeth! Now we are watching The Pink Panther, and soon it will be time for bed.

Tomorrow's the luau!!!

Ka'anapli Beach

Sunset from our lanai

Pole Dancing

2008-01-28T00:33:00.001-08:00

Ironically, as I write the title of this day's blog, I realize Pole Dancing can have two meanings that both apply to me today (the graceful Polish part of me that is).

We arrived in Maui yesterday afternoon, got our rental car, etc, found our condo, ate dinner, hung out with Loribeth and her roommate Amanda, took Evan and his new friend little Scottish Ian to the playground. Ian is a trip, they had so much fun together! It's amazing how two kids the same age can be somewhat easier than one. The two played so well together!

Anyhow, onto today, and pole dancing. Loribeth's roommate is a pole dancing instruction. She's not a stripper, just a pole dancing instructor, as in those people you hear about on cable tv who do pole dancing for exercise. She's apparently the only one in West Maui. This evening's dinner conversation was interesting. Amanda is purchasing a video of the "Pole-a-palooza", a pole dancing competition, that is tax deductible as a business expense. Just found that an interesting and amusing fact.

Amanda allowed me to come check out her class today and give it a try. Loribeth took Evan to Barnes and Noble next to the class and entertained him with trains and books. The classroom/studio is a room with two ten foot tall poles, and some yoga mats. The first 40 or so minutes of the class is Pilates, which I was a little concerned about after having an overly chalenging experience with a Pilates class once. This one was actually a lot of fun, and just the right amount of challenge. I'm sure I won't be able to move tomorrow. The second half of the class was the pole dancing lesson. I think the name of the move we learned was called the fireman spin. Anyhow, I have a lovely bruise on my right shin as a result, but after several tries, I was able to accomplish the move, sort of. I can't imagine anything I executed was nearly graceful enough to be considered anything beyond exercise, and the entire experience certainly makes for an interesting story. I did have a lot of fun though, and the other 7 women in the class were great. I think we all had a lot of fun.

We grabbed some pasta for lunch and ate on our lanai, then all went out to "Airport Beach", which is basically the part of Kaanipali Beach that is north of Black Rock. The waves weren't too high there, but there was definitely an undertow, and the shore drops off pretty quickly once you manage to get in. We played with Evan for awhile, then all took turns getting in the water. Evan was very upset when Jon was swimming and almost started to cry. When I tried to go in with Loribeth, I made it in far enough that I was treading water, which was still pretty close to shore. Evan started to cry, despite my treading water and trying to wave to him. I happen to pride myself on being a much much better swimmer than I am a pole dancer. Much better. Anyhow, seeing Evan crying, I decided to try to get out of the water to get to him. Unfortunately, this is the point I put my back to the ocean, something you are never supposed to do, and was temporarily overtook by a wave. Once I resurfaced, Amanda, Loribeth and Jon all found it very amusing. Particularly when the next wave dragged my onto the shore and deposited me in the sand, thanks to the quick shorebreak. So, to go along with my bruise on my right shin, I now have the sand equivalent of rug burn on my left knee.

After that, we sat an the beach and could see humpback whales breaching and playing on the horizon. It appeared that the two whales were in competition with each other, so there was lots of fin slapping, tail slapping, breaching, etc. We probably watched that for about half an hour, then came back to the condo, where we saw a sea turtle from our lanai (patio/yard), ate dinner, hung out, and now I'm ready for bed!

All in all, lots of adventures and fun though. But, I'm going to regret it all tomorrow when I can't move!

Good night!

Notes on Oahu

2008-01-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

So, we are now on Maui and have been here for an entire day, but I wanted to wrap up our trip to Oahu. Most of this info is best for the ARI group, for anyone who will be staying in the condo.

The condo was fantastic. It was huge, larger than the first two bedroom apartment that Jon and I lived in, but with a much better view. We each brought our laptops, however, ARI also provides a laptop in the condo, so even if we hadn't brought our laptops, we'd have had a computer. The location couldn't have been better. We were a block away from the widest and least crowded stretch of Waikiki Beach, across the street from the Hilton which has a bunch of shops/fish pond/birds/flamingos/penguin exhibit (which is really it's own complex with several towers of hotels), a ten minute walk to Ala Moana Center (the mall), and a block away from Kalakaua, the main street of shopping where there's a Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Tiffany, Armani Exchange, Hermes, etc. There were also two Starbucks within two blocks, and lots of restaurants.

Other notes. We rented from Alamo. When we arrived in Oahu, they did not have a clean convertible Sebring available for us, nor did they have one available at the Maui Alamo, even though we'd reserved one in advance online. Also, in Oahu, Alamo is not located near the other rental car returns, so we spent some time all yelling at each other (including Evan) in the car, trying to find the place. The good part however, was that actually returning the car was fairly simple and painless.

Other than that, I highly recommend purchasing Oahu Revealed if you travel to Oahu. This book was invaluable. We left our copy in the condo for future visitors. It's like reading a Frommers written by locals. We (finally) learned the best ways to get to the H1 to get into and out of Oahu, which is slightly different than what the book recommends based on the location of the condo. Basically, from the condo, taking a right onto Ena out of the parking garage:

To get to the H1 West, towards the airport, turn left onto Kalakaua. Turn right onto King St. into the far left lane. Turn left onto Punahou. Turn right onto Dole. Follow the signs to H1.

To get to the H1, towards Diamond Head, turn right onto Kalakaua, left on Pua, right on McCully, right on Kapiolani, and follow the signs to the H1 East.

Coming from the H1 to the condo, take the H1 towards Waikiki. Get off at the University exit. Drive towards the ocean. Turn right on Kapiolani, left onto McCully, left onto Kalakaua, right onto Ala Moana and right onto Ena.

One last thing. For groceries, try Walmart first, then check out Foodland. Walmart is behind Ala Moana Center, the Foodland is in Ala Moana Center, but you may want to look at a directory of where exactly it's located in the center, since Jon spent some time driving around trying to find the place. Also, they apparently don't have shopping carts, so you can only buy as much as you can carry. Walmart, on the other hand, does have shopping carts, and Jon felt that the food that they did have at Walmart, which was pretty much staples for the fridge and cupboards, was cheaper there. We also spent a lot of time going to the ABC Store across the street from the condo, or the ABC Superette on Hobron an Ala Moana for quick stuff like milk for Evan or limes for Coronas.

Ok, dinner has arrived, so I'm off. I'll write more about Maui, whale watching, and "sand-burn" on my knee, later.

Friday Night

2008-01-26T01:02:00.000-08:00

This morning, Evan, Jon and I went hiking at Makapu'u Point Trail/Lighthouse Road. It was a very neat hike, and great because it is on an old abandoned road, so the entire hike is paved. It's about a 1 1/4 mile hike each way, the views are of the mountains and the ocean. And of course, it's another Lost filming site, as it seems anywhere that's worthwhile to hike on the island has been at one point or another. It was very funny, because Evan wanted to "hike" part of the way. He did a great job trying to walk up some of the hills, and for some reason, does this funny thing when he walks where he swings only his left arm, which you can see in the picture.

We grabbed lunch on the way back from a Mexican restaurant called Azteca. The food was pretty good, but what we've learned is besides various asian and seafood restaurants, ethnic cuisine can be limited in Hawaii. It's difficult when you come from a city like Cleveland that publishes an entire book on Ethnic Eats and compare. I will say that the guacamole was really tasty though, and for Mexican food in Hawaii, this place was great!

We took Evan for a swim in the afternoon, and then he took a brief nap. Jon didn't have to work again this evening, the computer issue remained, so we decided to take Evan over to the Hilton Hawaiian Village to see fireworks. On our walk over, we stopped at the Hilton at one of the shops, The Pearl Factory that lets you pick an oyster with a pearl in it, so Evan picked one out fo rme, and I had a beautiful ring made.

This was Evan's first time ever seeing fireworks. We had a blast. It turns out the best place to watch the fireworks, which we hadn't anticipated, was nearby the lagoon on the Hilton's property. We had actually walked around this back way to try to get to the beach to watch the fireworks, and were stopped by security, because that's near where they launch the fireworks. So, we grabbed a patch of grass and sat down, and were among a group of about ten people to sit and watch the fireworks right near where they were shot off.

We ordered sandwiches from Giovanni Pastrami again, walked over there to grab them and bring them back to the condo and ate, and now the boys are in bed and that's where I'm headed. We leave for Maui tomorrow afternoon.

Good night.

What day is it?

2008-01-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday, Thursday, we didn't do a whole lot. I took Evan to the park in the morning, where he met two little girls. One was a cute little half-Japanese girl, who was about 20 months old and for some reason reminded me of Evan's friend Gracie.

After the park, we went back to the condo, and Evan, Jon and I went swimming at the pool. the boys took a nap, and I went on the Atlantis Submarine ride at Waikiki Beach. I had to take a boat ride out to the site where you get onto the submarine. I tend to get seasick when doing things like snorkeling, so I took some Bonine (similar to Dramamine) before going. Once out on the boat, we had to walk across a ramp over to the sub. The sub took us down to about 120 feet below. It was very cool. I was able to see some things I didn't see snorkeling, like two sea turtles, two reef sharks, and quite a few blowfish. Unlike snorkeling however, the colors aren't as vibrant, because at a certain depth the colors begin to look different as natural sunlight is filtered through the water. At the deepest part, the red buttons on my camera looked completely black. Also, I enjoyed snorkeling because I was able to take pictures that I hope will turn out better than the ones on the submarine. But, it was far less work than snorkeling, and there are things I wouldn't have seen snorkeling, so both have their benefits.

I came back and Jon got a phone call from the IT department telling him that there are technical issues that prevented him from working that night. So, Jon, Evan and I went to dinner at Duke's Canoe Club. Jon isn't such a big fan of taking Evan anywhere out to eat, not that I am either, but he actually hates doing so. We spent the majority of our dinner trying to get Evan not to break anything or run off, or we were taking turns eating alone while the other walked him out to the beach. Anyhow, the food was great regardless, and at least there was the beach to walk him out to! I got to take him out to the beach and watch the sunset, so I'm not complaining too much!

I'll write more about today itself later. We're going to try to catch the Polynesian show and fireworks across the street at the Hilton now that Evan's up from his very late nap. The technical issues haven't yet been corrected, so Jon gets another night off to spend with us.

Later.

Pearl Harbor + Halona Blowhole

2008-01-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

This morning Evan and I had our daily trip to Starbucks, the playground and Eggs N Things to pick up breakfast. Then we came back to the condo to get Jon, and we all drove out to Pearl Harbor.

Unfortunately, the wait for the presentation and ferry ride over to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor was almost 3 hours, so we just walked around the harbor taking pictures and looking at some of the other displays of guns, the USS Bowfin Submarine, torpedoes, etc. and skipped the ferry ride over to the USS Arizona Memorial.

Evan enjoyed the guns and the old submarine tower, which he was convinced was a "tunnel".

Lana'i Lookout:

On the drive back to the condo on the H1, Evan fell asleep, so we decided to keep driving east past the condo and find something interesting. We stopped at the Lana'i Lookout (another Lost filming location, and very beautiful), and the Halona Blowhole. From the lookout for the Halona Blowhole, you can look down and see Halona Beach, the location of the famous roll-in-the-beach scene from the movie "From Here to Eternity". You can actually hike down some rocks quite easily and get to this secluded cove, but Evan was sleeping in the car, so Jon and I had to take turns getting out to check out the scenery.

We're going to look for some more hiking locations for tomorrow. It looks like there's an abandoned road you can hike a few miles further down 72 East (the H1 turns into 72 East) called Makapuu Lighthouse Road.

Lunch was from Cheeseburger Waikiki today, just around the corner from the condo. The cheeseburgers were quite tasty.

Halona Blowhole Photos:

Swimming

2008-01-22T23:02:00.001-08:00

Today was pretty low-key. Evan and I walked over to the playground at the Hale Koa, Evan followed around the gardener who had a leaf blower while I talked to Sam, my friend from work, on the phone. After I called Eggs N Things and once again after getting tired of being put on hold for five minutes and hanging up, Evan and I went back to the condo.

Jon, Evan and I decided to all go hang out at Waikiki Beach, so we wouldn't have to drive anywhere today. Evan is still scared of walking on the sand, however he will sit directly in the sand and dig in it with his sand shovel. So strange. Once we got tired of playing in the sand, we came back to the condo and went swimming in the pool here. Evan loves swimming in the pool. He gets very excited. He loves going underwater with us, and loves being tossed into the air and caught in the water. We had a great time. Unfortunately, the deck where the pool is located is in the shade, so Evan gets cold after swimming for about 15 minutes, however you can tell he wants to stay in and play longer. He'd probably play in there all day if he could!

I sat out on the Lanai for a bit and worked on my tan while reading a book called Hawaii Travelers Tales. It's a really neat book, today I read about someone who hiked through the 8 mile wide crater at Haleakala in Maui. After our nap, we all walked along the beachwalk at Waikiki Beach, picked up dinner at the Aloha Broiler in the International Marketplace food court, and now Evan and I are in the condo and Jon is at work.

I'm realizing that it's such a good thing we don't have cable at home in Cleveland. In the past week I've watched too much Bravo and E! channel, including Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, Girls Next Door (about Hugh Hefner and the Playboy bunnies) and the same episode of Project Runway about 3 different times. I can't believe how much addictive garbage is on cable tv. Unfortunately, I haven't found the Food Network yet, so I can watch Michael Symon on Iron Chef.

Enjoy the photos, including Evan helping Jon out at work!

MLK Day

2008-01-22T00:37:00.000-08:00

I've added a couple more photos to the blog from Saturday and our hike through Manoa Falls.

This morning we woke up to the sound of a marching band, as there was the MLK parade going down the street in front of our condo. We spent some time watching the parade, Evan really enjoyed the drums. Once it was over, we went to the Honolulu Zoo. I think it is smaller than the zoo in Cleveland, though we didn't stay long enough to walk around the entire zoo, however, it did have some very neat animals that I've never seen in other zoos, and lots of them. They had several different types of turtles, crocodiles, reptiles and monkeys, all in exhibits where you could see them very well. Their Keiki Zoo (children's zoo) was nice as well. Evan also spent some time at the playground at the zoo, watching the kids and hanging out in the "tunnel". He is currently obsessed with tunnels.

After the zoo, we all napped at the condo, then walked along Waikiki Beach, watched the sunset, and picked up dinner at Giovanni Pastrami on Lewer's Street. They have some great sandwiches.

Evan and I came home, hung out, and now Evan's in bed.

This past weekend...

We were so busy and tired this weekend, that I didn't get to write more about Saturday. Jon and I had a wonderful time at dinner. It was the 8 year anniversary of when Jon proposed to me. There was a woman (the Honolulu Flower Lady) walking around the restaurant selling flowers, and she had a small bouquet of Hawaiian lavender colored roses that Jon bought for me. They are known for their unique lavender color and their beautiful scent. They are similar to the color of roses we had for our wedding.

After dinner, we walked next door to the Ocean House restaurant, to an art gallery called Kuloko Arts of Hawaii. I really enjoyed the artwork there, and bought a print of a mermaid painting by an artist named Holly Kitaura (see below). As the woman working there was talking to us, she noticed the lavender roses and we were talking about them. She then told us a beautiful story of how her husband used to buy her a live flower lei every Friday, and that now she is a widow. But that some people would ask her why he would bother buying her a live lei every Friday, since they typically die after a day or two. She said they missed the point, that it was to enjoy the beauty of the moment. After having heard she was a widow, it made her saying this even more poignant, as it seemed she meant it both in reference to the lei's as well as the time spent with her husband. Or at least that's how I interpreted it. She had a look about her that the pain I'm sure she felt over losing her husband had been worth it for the memories she has of him, she looked so happy telling the story. Anyhow, my eyes started to well-up with tears, and Jon told her I was about to cry. After she finished packing the print for us, she came around the counter and told me I have a sweet spirit and that she wanted to get some of that to rub off on her, and gave me a big hug. It was all just very sweet.

Hanauma Bay

2008-01-20T23:43:00.000-08:00

This morning, Loribeth offered to watch Evan for us, so Jon and I went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I don't have any of the photos we took to post because we took them with a waterproof disposable camera. The "highlight" of the snorkeling for me was probably seeing a moral eel, as in the photo above, screaming underwater and swimming away very quickly. I do wish I would have gotten a photo of the not-so-little guy, but, I was a little freaked out by the eel looking back at me out of a hole in the rocks. Other than that, it was fun playing fish paparazzi. It's amazing how far you can drift when you are trying to chase down a brightly colored fish for a good photo.

I wish I at least had pictures of the bay to post, the view was pretty amazing even from the top of the crater. The bay is actually an old volcanic crater that has since filled with ocean water. We saw a majority of the fish in the slideshow on Hanauma Bay's website, minus the squid, octopus and turtle, plus a few other neat looking ones that aren't on there.

We swam around so much looking at the fish that we lost track of time and returned back to the condo just in time for Evan to have laid down for a nap. While we were gone, Loribeth took Evan to the Koi pond, and also, apparently helped him to get over his fear of sand.

Jon stayed back at the condo, while Loribeth and I walked down Kalakaua to Duke's Canoe Club for lunch. Kalakaua is comparable to Fifth Avenue or the Magnificent Mile. There's a Tiffany's, Cartier, Coach, Louis Viutton, etc. There is also a Lucky Brand Jeans store, that was having a 50% off sale, so we shopped on our way to the restaurant. Dukes was great, but the strange part was, they have a sit down restaurant, and the "barefoot bar", which is also mostly sit down, and looks out onto the beach. The sit down restaurant had people waiting to be seated. The bar area you went in and seated yourself, and the menus were exactly the same. So we sat ourselves, we about 5 feet from the beach where we could people watch and drink frosty adult beverages as Loribeth called them.

After lunch, we hung out back at the condo until I took Loribeth back to the airport. Then Jon, Evan and I walked along Waikiki Beach and realized that the boardwalk reaches all the way down to the Ocean House restaurant where Jon and I had dinner last night. Also, it takes you about a block away from Lewers, where there are several shops and restaurants, another well-lit street nearby Jon's work. So, we've discovered an alternate route for our evening strolls with Jon as he walks to work each night.

Other than that, we all came back to the condo and Jon went downstairs and picked up a ton of sushi from the sushi buffet, Todai. It was pretty good, and a ton of sushi for $25.

And now, it's time for bed.

Tired

2008-01-20T01:17:00.000-08:00

This morning, Evan and I woke up with Loribeth, and we all went out walking at Waikiki Beach, stopped at the playground at the Hale Koa to play, and grabbed breakfast at Eggs N Things.

By the time we got back to the condo, Jon was awake. After eating breakfast, Loribeth, Evan and I all walked over to Ala Moana Center, so Loribeth could get some shopping done. They apparently don't have an Aveda or Sephora on Maui.

Afterwards, we came home so that Evan could take a nap, and Jon and I grabbed a quick lunch for all of us at the Hale Koa's beachfront barefoot bar/concession stand. Burgers, nachos, chili dogs, etc.

After Evan's nap, we decided to go hike Manoa Falls, a site where many Lost scenes have apparently been shot. It certainly looks like it. Anyhow, it's about a mile hike up to the falls, and a mile back down. Midway through it rained, which is somewhat to be expected in the mountains in a tropical forest. It was a really neat hike regardless and totally worthwhile. Evan seemed to enjoy it alot.

Once we returned to the condo, Jon and I dressed up and went out to dinner beachside at the Ocean House restaurant. It was a very nice dinner, great food, nice people and service, open air with torches on the beach.

Now we're back and I am exhausted. Jon and I are going to get up early and go snorkeling while Loribeth hangs out with Evan for us.

I'll post pics from Kailua Beach, Manoa Falls and our snorkeling trip tomorrow.

Good night.

The Beautiful Beach

2008-01-19T00:39:00.000-08:00

This morning, Evan and I walked over to Starbucks and had a muffin. I was impatient after being put on hold for five minutes by the Eggs N Things folks. Anyhow, Evan ate the muffin and we walked around on Waikiki Beach chasing birds. There's also a small playground there, at the Hale Koa military hotel area, that Evan played at with two cute little girls. We went "home", I finished up Jon's portuguese sausage and potatoes (from Eggs N Things the other day, so at least I haven't broken my daily routine of eating food from there) and we all drove across the island to Kailua Beach. The beach was beautiful.

For the first time ever, Evan actually let me take him into the ocean. Once he got used to it, he loved it and was splashing around in the salt water. Evan and Jon also took a nice long walk on the beach, and made friends with a local family from the other side of the island. Apparently they drive across the island to go to Kailua Beach, because it is such a nice beach.

The water is gorgeous shades of blue, the sand nice and firm and smooth, and the beach is about 2 miles long. It's on the windward coast, so, it's, well, windy. But, once the sun was shining it was perfect. And it was a very easy drive across th Pali Highway to get there. We stopped at a strip mall, at a place called Peppers for philly cheesesteak sandwiches and chili cheese fries. The sandwiches were great, but it was here that Evan had his daily meltdown. I unfortunately feel as though Evan is not going to have any little brothers or sisters anytime soon.

We came back, Jon took a nap and Evan and I made more friends at the playground. After Jon left for work, Evan and I took the car and picked up Lori Beth from the airport. It was a pretty easy drive. It certainly helps that Jon and I have taken several different routes now getting to or from the H1 freeway, so that now I can get their easily and navigate myself home. Dinner was Macaroni Grill from Ala Moana Center. It's apparently a big deal when you live on Maui (where Lori Beth currently lives), to get to eat Macaroni Grill.

Evan's sound asleep, I'm sitting out on the Lanai, and Lori Beth and I are about ready to go to bed.

Good night.

Surf City

2008-01-17T23:39:00.000-08:00

Evan and I began our day with what's becoming our typical trip to Eggs N' Things for breakfast. This morning we tried the Strawberry Waffle. They gave me a huge cup of fresh whipped cream, which was yummy, however, by the time we got back to the condo, my waffle was soggy from the strawberries, I guess I should have asked for them on the side. I think I'm going to stick with the omelets and other egg options, though I'm tempted to try their crepes as well. Vacation is 50% about food with me. I don't want to waste calories on food that's no good!

We left the condo this morning planning to drive across to the windward side of the island, along the Pali Highway, over to Kailua Beach (the guidebook claims the water here is 78 degrees year-round), however, about 5 minutes into the trip, Evan decided to take a nap. Since it's been difficult to go far without Evan having one of his daily meltdowns, we decided on a whim to drive up to the North Shore instead. Our ten minute drive turned into a one-and-a-half hour one, but a beautiful, scenic one at that.

Including, part of the drive just north of Kualoa Ranch on the left of Kamehameha Highway, I thought the scenery looked like a scene out of Lost. Same with Kawela Bay. It turns out from looking at the guidebook once I got back to the condo that I was right, which is pretty cool.

So, we drove along and checked out Sunset Beach, where a junior surfing competition appeared to be taking place (you can see the beach, the waves, the surfers, and the people sitting around, all from the road), drove by Ehukei Beach Park (Banzai Pipeline) and over to Waimea Bay.

Unfortunately, the waves didn't look quite as cool as Waimea Bay, so we went back to the Banzai Pipeline, parked the car, and hung out at the beach, watching the surfers and wading in the water, which I insist is warmer than in Waikiki. The North Shore is absolutely beautiful.

After all of this, I insisted on finding a shrimp truck for lunch. They are everywhere along Kamehameha Highway as you approach the North Shore, and are supposed to have the best, freshest shrimp anywhere. Picture an ice cream truck, only that sells shrimp, and that has been written all over and signed by people with permanent marker, comparable to a dive-bar's bathroom stalls. We drove down to Hale'iwa, the local surfing town, for lunch, and found a gravel parking lot along Haleiwa road, on the left directly across from the McDonalds. It had a Giovannis' shrimp truck, Hono's Famous Kahuku Shrimp Truck, some Thai place, and a truck called Food for Thought. Apparently Giovanni's and Hono's are two of the chain restaurants of the shrimp truck world. Jon seemed a bit leery, but I think I made a believer out of him.

We ordered some really great black bean chili french fries from Food for Thought, and a plate full of a dozen, peel-n-eat "butter spicy" shrimp. We had to wait, while they cooked them fresh in the truck, and it was worth it. The sauce was so good, I actually wished they sold it in a bottle so I could put it on some chicken wings.

Evan slept on the drive home, right down the middle of the island and past the Dole Plantation. The drive was pretty easy, and quicker than the oceanside drive getting up there.

Traffic was pretty bad near the condo once we got "home", so I walked to Ala Moana Center to pick up dinner and replace my Oahu Revealed book that disappeared when our car was broken into yesterday, hence why I didn't know where the Lost sites were as we passed them. Anyhow, the walk was nice, and I picked up Italian food from Assaggio's for dinner. It was good, but coming from Cleveland, with places like Little Italy and Galucci's, I'm spoiled and it's hard to compare.

Evan's in bed now, sound asleep, and I think I'm ready to head there myself.

Aloha.

Diamond Head

2008-01-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

Today I proved to myself that I'm in better shape that I think. Jon, Evan and I hiked up Diamond Head, and I carried Evan most of the way, mostly because I'm stubborn and wanted to prove to myself I could carry the extra 25 pounds, though I admittedly let Jon carry him up the 99 steps at the very top. There was an older gentleman, maybe in his 60's, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt who insisted on climbing up and down these steps repeatedly, saying that this is his daily exercise. We should have taken a photo of these steps, to appreciate how ludicrous this exercise regimen is.

Anyhow, it was well worth the hike, and it wasn't very crowded at all. There are great views of the ocean and the island.

Unfortunately, the two guidebooks and a friend of ours from home were all correct in that, one should never leave anything valuable in their car when parked at a tourist location, Diamond Head/beach, etc. Fortunately, we did leave our car unlocked as is advised, because, it was broken into. In broad daylight, about noontime. In the middle of a busy parking lot. The irony being that we left it unlocked in case of such a situation, and took our wallets/keys, etc with us on the hike, so that if it was broken into, at least there'd be no damage to the car (yes, this is actually what several guide books advise that you do). Rather than use the trunk button however, the person/people jimmied the trunk open with a screwdriver. Fortunately, Jon was able to fix the lock and all is right with the world, minus my new swimsuit, a beach towel, and a very expensive diaper bag that was a gift of my friend we'll be visiting in Maui.

Evan had another meltdown, but is now resting soundly, again, thanks to Elmo. :) Minus the daily meltdowns, Evan seems to be having a great time and makes friends everywhere he goes.

Jon was concerned that I am not having a good time and want to go home. All things considered, it's 75 degrees here, I don't have to work or cook, and I can get a tan. I've also managed to get some shopping in, and get to do more to "replace" what went missing today, so, I can't say that I feel the need to go home right now. Loribeth arrives on Friday night and is spending the weekend with us, and I'm sure that will be a blast as well, I'm really looking forward to it.

I've also been watching the surf reports to see if the Big Wave competition is going to take place at Waimea Bay while we're here. Hmm...watching surf reports vs. watching the news about how much snow we're getting in Cleveland. I'll take my chances with the beach and the surfers.

Later.

Yesterday

2008-01-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a chance/feel like writing yesterday, which could mean I'm finally starting to relax. Yesterday morning, Evan and I went around the corner to Egg's N' Things again for breakfast. The best thing about this place is that, their breakfasts are both delicious AND huge. Yesterday, I ordered a spam, green onion and cheddar omelet (spam is a very popular protein item here in Hawaii, so I figured I'd give it a try). The omelet comes with either pancakes, rice or potatoes. I've been getting the 3 pancakes that come with it. The omelet and pancakes can been enough food for both me and Evan for breakfast yesterday and today. The spam omelet actually tastes better the second day. Anyhow, it made it worth the 40 minutes Evan and I waited for our food, even though I called in the order ahead of time.

Once Jon woke up (he worked until 2am), we all went to the Waikiki Aquarium. It was just perfect and large enough for Evan. He loved it, until he got tired and had a meltdown, banging his head on a fish tank where I was sure he broke his nose. I think he's still a bit jetlagged, even though his sleep schedule has adjusted very well. Hopefully today will be better. Driving back was an adventure, because all of the roads in Waikiki are one-way, but we actually made it back pretty easily once I looked at the map. Coming back to the condo from the East side of the Waikiki, where the aquarium and zoo is, taking Ala Wai Blvd. to Niu worked very well. Turn left on Niu, which , at Kalakaua turns into Ala Moana where the condo is.

Anyhow, Evan and Jon took their naps, I sat on the lanai and worked on my tan. We all went to the Ala Moana Shopping Center in the afternoon. They have a great, but very interesting, food court. Since about half of the tourists here are Japanese, there are literally 6 different asian noodle places. Since Jon is a huge asian noodle fan, we had to walk around and look at all of them. Once he realized he didn't know/understand what was on the menu at about half of them, even if it was written in English, we settled on the Japanese noodle place, I think it was called Soba-ya. Their menu was pretty easy, some combination of either soba or udon, hot or cold, plus tempura shrimp and vegetables, or teriyaki chicken. The noodles were way better than the generic "Japanese" chicken teriyaki noodle places we have in our food courts at home.

Finding anything in the shopping center can be very confusing. Picture a multilevel strip mall within a parking garage. Jon learned this when trying to go to the grocery store on Sunday night.
Anyhow, we went over to Ala Moana Beach Park after lunch. Evan made some friends, which he does anywhere he goes, and we walked around looking for seashells and just generally letting Evan run off some loose energy. Once he nearly had his second meltdown back at the condo, we decided we'd stay in the rest of the night watching Elmo and eating Mexican leftovers while Jon went to work. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't know what I'd do without Elmo.

I'll try to post more pics later.

Lorelei

Getting Better

2008-01-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

After sitting on the lanai reading a book while I work on my tan, eating some yummy pizza and sipping a mai tai beachfront at the Hilton Hau Tree Bar, and watching Evan learn to 1. drink from a straw (not the Mai Tai), 2. walk on sand, 3. put his feet in the ocean, and 4. kick around in the pool and go under water, I'm starting to feel better. Jon's off to work, and Evan and I are off to shop.

Later.

No more jetlag

2008-01-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

So, since it literally took me about 2 minutes to set up this blog, I thought I'd get one started, just for fun. A few friends have asked that I send pics to them as we are gone for 3 weeks in Hawaii. The first two weeks we are here for my husband's work, staying in a condo in Waikiki. Friends of ours will be making the same trip in the spring, and want the scoop on the place and what's around here, so here's the details:

We're staying in unit 18A at Canterbury Place in Waikiki on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. We got in yesterday afternoon, after spending Saturday in Los Angeles. I highly recommend stayinbg overnight in Los Angeles and then traveling the second 5-hour leg of the trip the following day. That could be one of the best travel decisions we've ever made. Our son Evan has already managed to adjust to the time difference as a result, and was also able to sleep for two hours on each of the five hour flights.

I had my first positive experience with airport security yesterday, at LAX suprisingly. Someone there clearly, clearly understands customer service. Traveling with Evan can be difficult, and I dread going through security with him as a result of past experiences, but the TSA staff at LAX were so helpful and understanding that I actually wrote TSA a note complimenting them last night. Who thought I'd be praising a government service? I wish they could bottle the kindness and enthusiasm the staff there had, and incorporate it throughout all government agencies.

Anyhow, we arrived in Oahu yesterday. After issues with the rental car place, where I ended up saying "I hate Hawaii, I want to go back to Los Angeles", we ended up driving off with a yet-to-be-cleaned convertible Sebring. Clearly my pseudo-east-coast mentality and need to be in control and high expectations, which I totally acknowledge, will be "challenged" here. Which is fine, maybe I'll learn to relax.

We're about to walk around the block to "Eggs N Things" for breakfast. In the meantime, here's some pics. One is of the Honolulu Airport, right where you get of the plane. The one at the top is the view from our condo.

Aloha!