Hopping Time Zones
Dude, my sleeping clock is all out of whack. I jumped from PST to HST, back to PST, jumped to EST, and back to PST all in a matter of 9 days. Phew. I’m aaaall messed up.
Wandering Around
I got a taste of what it’s like to travel alone. After class, I hopped on and off subway trains and wandered around NYC until dinnertime. It was just me and the big buildings looking down at me.
Still alive…
Hey everyone, I’ve been in NYC since Saturday morning and I’m having a good time catching up with Holly, Roy, Jason and Jia. Oh yeah, my feeding course is pretty good too. Haha. Despite having to get up early this morning and sitting in class all day, I got the chance to do some exploring in the evening and found some pretty cool stores. Stay tuned for more details when I get the chance to organize my thoughts a bit more.
I’ve been staying at Holly and Roy’s place near Columbus Circle and we had Indian for dinner with Jason and Jia tonight. I have one more day of class tomorrow and then it’s straight to the airport for me in the evening.
Oh yeah, sorry I missed your 1st birthday bash, Katie!! Auntie Nina was thinking about you all weekend!! Hope you had a good time!
Back from Paradise
We arrived back in SF last night and Ryan was kind enough to give us a ride. Thanks, man!
Recap of Monday: Yoon let us borrow her car for the day (thanks!) and we headed out to North Shore for a day at the beach. Of course, our first stop was at Rainbow Drive-Inn for some spam, eggs, and rice. Yum. Then, with the top down, we drove up to Waimea Beach.
The sun was burnin’ so it sure felt good to jump into the water. Once in the water, I was neck-deep in the water when this head popped up out of the water directly in front of me. I screamed and then realized it was a TURTLE!!!! He came up to say “Aloha” to me!! Just me!! Ok, maybe to Jes too…. We were only standing about 6 feet apart when he came up and swam right between us. He was close enough to reach out and hug if I wasn’t so freaked out. It would have been nice to give him a big huggy hug but I’m sure he wouldn’t love it any more than Koa normally does. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t.
Anyhoo…with enough sun on our backs, we headed down to Haleiwa for some shave ice, baby!! Unfortunately for me, I was pretty much done for the afternoon. I still don’t know what happened but I was wiped out. Fatigued, sleepy, achey, and hot was what I felt so once I got to the hotel room, I passed out for a 2-hour nap. Jes said I was burning up in the bed but I was freezin’. I wasn’t sunburned but maybe I was dehydrated. Whatever it was…I felt like I was dying for just those hours. The rest of the evening was spent eating ramen and hanging out by the beach until sundown. It was juuuuust right.
Yoon gave us a ride to the airport and our flight back was pretty smooth. There were, however, a unusually large number of crying kids on our flight and a pair of real cowboy retards sitting in front of us. I think four days was perfect for a quick get-away. I’m relaxed and actually felt ready for work today. I’m also very happy to be home with Koa, who seemed to have a pretty relaxing weekend himself. Thanks for keeping him company, Susie!!
Here are photos from our trip.
All Cleared Up
When we arrived in Honolulu on Saturday, there was a strange haze over the island. The Hawaii that I remember had clear blue skies and clear blue water but on that day, it was a grayish blue in the sky and the water looked darker than usual. Apparently, the haze is due to the volcanic activity going on on the Big Island. It’s sulfur in the air coupled with a light wind that is almost non-existent. Yoon called it “Vog” and said that all the locals have been just as confused by the gray skies as I was. Anyway, the Tradewinds returned on Sunday and the sky was bright blue again and so was the water. Thank Goodness!
So, we spent most of Sunday outside in the sun and water. In the morning, I got up early to go down to the beach to take some photos. On trips like this, I am so in love with my 18-200mm lens. I can get wide angles and zoom close enough to get shots of the surfers from the shore.
Once Jes was up, we had a fancy breakfast on the veranda and I tasted some of Jes’ Kalua Pork hash served under some eggs benedict. Yum! We then took a morning stroll to the Waikiki Aquarium to make our usual visit and donation of $18 in support of their little exhibit. On our way back, we stopped along the water to watch the trigger fish zooming left and right in the ocean. They’re so fast!
The afternoon was spent on Waikiki beach in the sun and water. We snagged a spot in the hotel’s roped off beach area where we had two lawn chairs, a small table, and umbrella. The best part was that there’s a server who comes by to bring you cocktails. Right on the beach!
We had a fancy dinner at Chef Mavro, which was such a fun experience. I got the four-course tasting and Jes got the six-course tasting. Each and every dish was paired with a generous pour of wine and by the end of the meal, we both stumbled out of the restaurant and into the cab. What fun! If you’re in the mood to splurge, this is a good place to do it. Their servers are all very attentive and the food was prepared as if I was a judge on Top Chef.
And…HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY KOA!!
Aloha from Hawaii!
We arrived on Saturday morning at 11:00 am HST and were greeted with leis from Yoon when she picked us up in her convertible. How awesome is that?! We immediately went to Boots and Kimo’s for some breakfast, which included some banana pancakes (what they’re famous for) that were actually pretty good. Did you all hear that?! It had BANANAS in them and I thought it was ok!!!!!! I had an initial gag with the first bite but there’s something in the macadamia nut sauce that makes up for it so I managed to eat a couple more bites. I think Dayantha’s right, the sauce does taste like melted vanilla ice cream. I also had some pretty tasty Hawaiian sausage that I didn’t even know existed. Ah…beakatude’s got a new favorite breakfast place on the island!!
Afterwards, we drove to Lanikai Beach to take a look around. We couldn’t stay long since we were all not dressed for the occasion. On our way to the hotel, we stopped at Bubbies, which was HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by a co-worker/friend who said she’d kill me if I didn’t try it. So, I went and it was so yummy. They have mochi ice cream and I tried lychee, pineapple coconut, and chocolate mint. Yum. Thanks for the recommendation, R! That photo was taken just for you. 🙂
Back at the hotel, we unpacked, changed, and went downstairs for some cocktails. We then did some shopping and had a nice steak dinner to end the night. Being on vacation is awesome.
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