A day of lows and highs

Happy Easter Everyone!

This morning we headed out early to get some early morning snorkeling in before the beach got crazy. We went to Hanauma Bay. This place is so popular that you have to pay to park and pay to get in. You also have to watch a 10 minute video before they let you go down to the beach about how the reef was created, the types of fish you will see, and what is happening to the reef because of humans and the environment. It rained off and on the whole time we were there. It was interesting to be floating in the ocean while being rained on. We did see some pretty cool fish. No turtles though. We are holding out hope that we will see them when we are on Kauai with Erica.


We returned out snorkel gear and headed back to the hotel to do a weeks worth of laundry. FYI, I did pack way too many clothes, but I will never confess that to Scott. He can’t know that he was right about that.

We picked up Kiyoko and headed up to Puualii Place where Scott’s grandparents old house is. The drive up the hill was green and beautiful, and very curvy. I am not exaggerating when I say curvy! Once we got up to the house, we knocked on the neighbor’s house, who were the neighbors when Scott’s grandparents lived there, but nobody answered. We decided not to knock on the door and ask for a tour of the house. We opted for taking some pictures and moving on. We headed down the hill and back into town for dinner at a very authentic Chinese restaurant. It was such a relief to arrive at the restaurant. I sat in the backseat of the car and watch Scott take direction from a 96 year old woman who hasn’t driven in 20 years. She kept saying “turn left here” and when Scott would turn left, she would say “oh, I don’t know”. He would ask her if that was right and she would say “Sure, sure”. We dropped Kiyoko off back at her apartment and ended up back at our hotel to pack up for our flight tomorrow. I am sad that this first week is over, but I am really excited about meeting Scott’s sister Erica.

Scott explaining where we are going once we get in the water.  I don't know about you, but this look did not make me feel very reassured!

Hanauma Bay and the reefs that we snorkeled around today.

It took a while to feel comfortable, but I really did have a great time.

The disposable underwater camera did not do these fish justice!

Diamond Head and Honolulu (in the rain) from up by Scott's grandparents house.

Scott's grandparent's house.

Kiyoko showing us some of her latest paintings.  Like a true artist, she was not happy with them and plans to start over on them.  We thought they we absolutly beautiful.

Kiyoko showed us an article from her 1950 one-woman art show.

The plumaria tree in Scott's grandparents front yard. 

Sun and Fun (and some good deals!)

Wow, where did the day go? It seems like we just woke up and the day is already over. We started by stopping by Leonards bakery to pick up some malasadas (basically they are sugar donuts) and then going to the big weekly swap meet at the Aloha Stadium. This is the same stadium where they play the annual pro-bowl. There were over 700 vendors. (really, there were about five different vendors repeated over and over again). Needless to say we did find some deals on some stuff we really didn’t need.


We headed back and stopped at Snorkel Bob’s to pick up our snorkel rental gear. After a nap, we headed to Ala Moana beach for some water fun. Scott is an old pro at the snorkeling bit so he had to take a few minutes to teach me some tricks. We started at the shallow end, with all of the kids with their water wings one. (Secretly, I was jealous they had the water wings.) Once we got going, I really had a good time. We are going to go to another beach in the morning for some more.

Oh, and to the 14 pounds that I spent three months working so hard to lose before we left, don’t worry, I have found you in the margaritas, and the Cheesecake Factory, and Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville, and the shave ice, and the malasadas. Diet starts again next week!

Not many pictures from today. We did take some with the underwater waterproof camera. Who knows if those will even turn out.

Breakfast at Leonards.

Really, it's deep fried and covered in sugar. Make it bacon flavored and you have the trifecta!!!

Our tickets to spend money on swap meet crap we don't need and can't figure out how we are going to get home!

They are in the process of working on the stadium for next year's Pro-Bowl.

A lap around the Island

We started out the morning with the plan to drive around the Island. We left the hotel about 9:00am. The drive around the island is approximately 110 miles. A few hours right? Wrong! We rolled back in at 7:00pm. Granted we made a lot of stops along the way.


First stop, the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It was drizzling when we arrived and there weren’t many people around. That was nice because we didn’t have to wait to ride the Pineapple Express. After the 20 minute train ride through the plantation, we walked around the grounds. By the time we left the parking lot was full, including the section that held all of the tourist buses.

Next stop was Waialua. This included a stop at the Old Sugar Plantation Mill. This was the oldest existing sugar mill until it closed in 1996. Today, most of the buildings that are still standing house shops. We also hiked down the beach to old beach house that Scott’s family used to own. No one was home so we took advantage of recreating some of the pictures that we have from 40 years ago. I can’t wait to compare them to the old ones. Scott also took a few minutes to swim in the ocean in front of the house. There was no one else around, which was a rare treat.

We headed on to Haleiwa. A must for all tourists is a stop at Matsumoto’s for a famous shaved ice. The line was long, but it was worth the wait. We stopped at a few beaches along the way. This included some of the beaches that Scott used to boogie board at. At the Halona Blow Hole, we spotted whales off the coast.

All in all, it was a long day, but we saw so much. Thank goodness we take a lot of pictures because I can’t remember everywhere we went today.

Waiting in line to ride the Pineapple Express Train through the Dole Plantation

How can you pass up this type of photo opportunity

They make these amazing pineapple cutters!  You do have to be careful because the warning on the back says that they are sharp.

We have this exact picture, only it was taken about 40 years ago.  It's one of many that we recreated today at the beach house.

Scott has been talking about Matsumoto's since before we left for our trip.  There was no way we were missing this even if it meant standing in another line for a half hour.

A stop to look at "Chinaman's Hat".

One thing about trying to take a picture of a whale, as soon as you put the camera down, the whale will come up.  Wait with the camera ready to go and you won't see anything.  Trust me, there was a whale here a few seconds ago.

Visiting Old Friends

Today started out with a visit to the school that Scott attended from junior kindergarten through sixth grade, Hanahau'oli.  Scott's class, the class of '75 is known for being a close class.  Word spread that Scott was coming and three other alumni showed up.  Betsy Case, Scott Simmons, and Adam Sutton met us at the school.  We got the full tour of the way the school is set up now.  It was really fun to hear the four of them talk about the things they remembered from going to school there.  One of the many traditions from the school is that each student makes a stepping stone they year that they graduate.  We found the row of stepping stones from Scott's class.  We also found Scott's dad's stepping stone and Scott's brother's stepping stone.  This visit drummed up many memories.

After having lunch with Scott and Adam at the Waikiki Yacht Club, we went back to our room to change for our big night out at Germaine's Luau.  The bus picked us up at 4:30 and we were swept away to a secluded beach.  The food was incredible and the program was awesome.  We were taken on a tour of the different people who came to the Hawaiian Islands.  I think it was really good, but I kinda lost focus when the Tahitian male dancers came out in their loin clothes to do their traditional dance.  Scott was all about the luau girls who wore the coconut bikinis.  It was a good show and I am really glad that we did it.

The time difference is starting to catch up with us.  We can't seem to sleep past 5:30am here and by 8:00pm we are done for the day.  Scott has run the last two mornings and tomorrow I am committed to getting up and walking.  We'll see how I feel about that committment when the time comes.

Adam, Scott, Betsy, and Scott reunited the class of '75 at Hanahou'oli

Scott sitting next to his stepping stone with the jeep on it.

Getting ready for the Luau to start.

The amazing fire dancers at the Luau.

Love it when they take your picture! This was one time that the background is actually real and not photoshopped in later!

Forget the "good hair" day

Wow, I can't believe this wind.  It kept us up most of the night, blowing our sliding glass door around.  It also altered our plans for the day.  We started at the Arizona Memorial.  The tickets to take the boat out to the memorial are free so at 10:00am I stepped up to the counter and the park ranger handed me two tickets for the 1:40pm tour.  As we were deciding what to do for almost four hours, they made an annoucement that there would be no more tours for the day due to the wind.  It was too tricky to take the boats out.  So much for that.  We walked around the grounds and looked at other memorials, but it wasn't the same as getting to the actual memorial.  I will put that on my list of things to do next time we come.

We then drove around and Scott showed me all the places he remembered from his childhood.  Where his parents lived, where he went to school, where his friends lived, where he and his brother got lost on the mountain and ended up spending a long night until the news helicopter spotted them the next morning and sent another helicopter out to pick them up.  Oh the memories were flowing.

We went up to Nuuanu Pali State Park.  This place is known for being windy but oh my gosh today it was insane.  On the way up we got stuck in what we thought was road construction but as we got closer we realized that it was the film crew for the TV show Lost.  I felt like the paparazzi snapping photos while we drove by.

We visited with Kiyoko for a while.  It was good to see her.  She told us stories of how she came to Hawaii and how she ended up working for Scott's grandparents for 40 years.  It was a really nice visit.  She still had to run her errands for the day so we didn't stay too long.

We ended the day at the beach waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the sunset.  Well, I'll tell that story with the pictures below.

One last thing.  Scott and I have done our fair share of traveling.  We sort of have this system that works well for us.  Scott drives and I navigate.  Never had any problems before.  Well, welcome to the wonderful world of the Hawaiian language.  Here is just a glimpse at some of the instructions we had today:  Turn right on Ala Moana, proceed to Maluhia Rd, turn left on Kalaimoku, right on Kanekapolei, right on Liluokalani, left on Paoakalani.  Our system has been altered to where, instead of trying to say the street names, I just spell them to Scott.  It took a while, and some yelling, but we have figured out this system and it seems to be working for now.  It's amazing to me how these words just roll off of Scott's tongue.

Tomorrow is a busy day.  Lots of things planned.  Hopefully we get more sleep tonight.

This is how close we got the Arizona Memorial.

Visiting Nuuanu Pali State Park

It was a little windy at the top.  It was a struggle to enjoy the view when we were just trying to stand up.

The film crew from Lost.

Visiting with Kiyoko.

Scott and Duke the most famous surfer in Hawaii.

I just loved this picture that Scott took.

Waiting for the sun to set.  Almost there.

Seriously, we waited a long time for the sunset only have the boat block the whole thing.  The people on the shore were not very happy about this outcome.

Flying, flying, flying

Today started early, which we expected.  We woke up about 5:30am.  The shuttle from our hotel left at 7:00 for the airport.  San Francisco was rainy and windy when we left.  Going through the airport is always an experience.  Scott went first and the hot TSA guy gave him the full body pat down.  Then it was my turn.  I walked through the metal detector and put my arms out, waiting for his strong hands to give me the pat down.  He just laughed and told me to keep moving.  A girl can dream can't she.

Five hours and 15 minutes after take-off, we landed on Ohau.  No rain, but it seems the wind has followed us.  It's very windy here today and is expected to be that way for the next couple of days.  We had a couple of hours to kill before we could check-in to our hotel so we stopped by The Queen's Medical Center.  Not only was Scott born here, but Scott's dad was a surgeon on the team that performed the first open-heart surgery in the State of Hawaii in 1959.  We were able to see a few photos from the dedication ceremony of the remodeled cardiac wing of the hospital.  The photos included the other doctor and nurses who participated, as well as the woman who recieved the surgery.  We also found a copy of the newspaper article on a wall in the hospital.

We made our way down to our hotel, changed our clothes, and headed out to the beach.  We are three hours behind from everyone in Oregon.  We are dragging tonight.  The traveling has taken it out of us.  We are trying to stay awake until it at least gets dark.  One good thing, we'll get a head start on everyone else tomorrow morning!

The shuttle dropping us off at the San Francisco airport.

Looks like we are on time to depart.

My first view of Hawaii from the airplane.

Arriving at the Honolulu airport (notice the wind blowing the trees!)

Visiting The Queen's Medical Center

A copy of the newspaper article from Scott's dad's successful heart surgery.

In case your not sure what this picture is....I'm the one on the far left in the purple shirt.  Not sure who the others are, but apparently Scott felt the need to take their picture.

Putting my feet in the ocean on the beach at Waikiki.

Waikiki beach with Diamond Head in the background.

Drive, drive, drive

Today seemed to take forever.  We left early this morning to get to San Francisco.  It was rainy and windy the whole way.  I expected the weather to change the further south we got, but it never did.  We were surprised at how green everything is.  We made it to SF in about 8 hours.  There were a few stops along the way.  We are actually staying in Millbrae, which is outside of SF, closer to the airport.  Not much to do in this town, but my husband knows how to show a girl a good time!  Dinner at the In & Out Burger.  Then a 45 minutes in the hotel gym.  Tomorrow starts early so hopefully we get some sleep tonight.  I think somebody is way too excited to sleep!

Coming into San Francisco

Nothing but the best from my husband!

This poor kid had no idea Scott was even taking his picture.

Priorities

How do you spend the weekend before you leave for a two week trip?  The way any reasonable person would....you go scrapbooking!  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend a weekend with my girlfriends scrapbooking.  Now I am running around the house doing laundry and packing so that we are ready to leave in the morning.  I have a feeling that Scott will be chomping at the bit to get going early.

Thanks girls for a great weekend!

Laurie and Heather pretending that I am not taking a picture.  Is there irony in scrapbooking scrapbooking?

My table buddy Cathy.

A Girl's Best Friend

I have the dilemma of what to do after a long winter without any sunshine on these legs. I am not normally this worried, but I have a lot of people asking about if I have been tanning to get ready. No I haven’t been tanning! Hasn’t anyone learned that tanning beds aren’t good for you? I am not willing to risk a future of having my skinned burned off on a regular basis in order to have a good tan for Hawaii.



What’s a girl to do? A quick run to WalMart and problem solved. Just a little something to take the edge off. Much cheaper, much faster, and much safer.

Now, what to do for the 15 minutes I have to walk around naked while it dries?

What to take?????

I never imagined that it would take more than two weeks to pack for two week vacation.  Going from days that may hit the 50's (if we're lucky) to days in the 80's, nights in the 70's.  We got all of our summer clothes out early.  Had to try everything on to make sure it still fit.  Several loads of laundry since everything has been stored away.  Plus, we usually take the car so we can take several bags.  Not this time, can't take the car to Hawaii.  That limits the amount of stuff we can take.

Stacy's clothes nicely stacked, waiting for the suitcase

Scott's clothes thrown all over the bed.  (not going to pack themselves!)