"Problems follow you to Hawaii, trick!"
Meg had a professional development day at Wheeler. Kathryn was working the North Shore market. Katya had the day to explore!
Although I was a bit apprehensive to drive Baby Blue, I made my way into "town" (Honolulu)...
I started by going to what Alex swore was the BEST part of his Hawaiian adventure- Leonards, the Malasada (Portuguese donut) bakery. I took 5 of the yummiest looking donuts to be shared with Kathryn and Meg later!
Next stop... Orthodox church in Hawaii. I had gotten directions for two different churches, but didn't label them, so I figured I would just go to the one that looked easier to navigate to. It ended up being the Greek Orthodox Church (Sts. Helen and Constantine), which was beautiful and rejuvenating to be able to go to church. After liturgy, I decided to also check out the Russian Orthodox Church which was hidden away in a small store front.
The rest of the day was spent exploring Honolulu, enjoying the BEST smoothie from the Sexy Smoothie Man at the North Shore farmer's market, and some reading on the Haleiwa beach.
K and I made a very artistic (and delicious) dinner of panko crusted tofu, random veggie stir fry, grilled pineapple, and mango salsa!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday: HULO
Today was another lazy morning of sleeping in and a great brunch at Haleiwa Cafe with Mary and Meg. After a yummy Ahi eggs benedict, we shopped Haleiwa.
Mary was excited to try some dresses at one of her favorite stores. While she found dresses, Meg and I picked out colorful braided rugs. Not sure yet how I will get mine home, but I am excited for the splash this vibrant orange rug will add to my future living room. (RAs don't have big enough living rooms for this bold rug!)
After a nice afternoon in Haleiwa, Meg and I met up with a fellow Wheeler teacher, Ben, and cooled off at Army's beach. I saw my first sea turtle, but had a tough time taking pictures of him as he bobbed up and down in the waves.
On the way home we stopped at a local BBQ where I personally started to feel the cultural difference of Hawaii. The people here are so passionate about their culture and their heritage as a people. I have often been referred to as Meg's friend from "the mainland", and discovered that "white mainlanders" are often referred to as "howlies".
Urban Dictionary defines Howley as - Term used by locals in the state of Hawaii (usually not with a scrap of Hawaiian ancestry, usually Fillipino or darker-skinned) to refer to white people who moved to the state/island from the mainland. It may or may not be meant as an insult. Depends on how it's used, by who, and to who. Most 'natives' or locals say howlie to make white people feel bad or guilty or intimidated to be on 'their' land.
HULO - Hooray!
Friday: NANI
Today was our tour around Oahu...
Mile 0.5: Kathryn makes the car take an oath to only use "mailbox" 10 times on the trip. Meg and I counter the offer to only use "mailbox" 10 times EACH.
Mile 1.0: Katya's spit (accidentally) leaves a green phlegm trail on K's window, and Kathryn vows never to eat again... except for the next 10 bites of her granola and milk breakfast.
We pass Waimea Beach and take Baby Blue up the trail to the Heiyeu, a location for traditional Hawaiian spiritual ceremonies.
Pupukea - great beach for snorkeling
Sunset Beach
Mile 11.5: "How early in the morning can you eat raw fish" - Meg
Chuns Reef
Turtle Bay Resort: Resort where "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was filmed, where Kathryn and I left our "mark" and met some nice looking bachelors..
Giovanni's: Original white shrimp truck. We had some garlic shrimp before 11 am.. yumm!
Kahuku: we bought the best Poke on the island from a local convenient store.(Poke is raw Ahi tuna with soy sauce, garlic, scallions, and onions)
La'ie: We passed the Hawaiin mormon temples.
Kala'anui Park Beach: This is the best location to see the Chinaman Hat and where we ran into Meg's TFA friend, Travis, who was also circling the island with friends.
Mile 32.2: Half way around the island. 44 oz of beer, 1/2 lb of Poke, and a large container of granola consumed...
We traveled on H3 (the same mountainous road as Thursday), toward the West Coast of Oahu to Makakilo. We cooled off by the pool at the Ko Olina resort, as we were "the McCormick guests in suite 313".
After a swim and rest, we continued to Wainai on the West Coast. We enjoyed dinner at a local Mexican joint, Tacos and More. The very chatty host, Jeane, was thrilled to slip Meg his "Verizon Cell" number after interrupting most of our meal.
We just caught the 7:15 sunset and then headed home after a full day of 135 miles exploring the island.
NANI - beautiful
Mile 0.5: Kathryn makes the car take an oath to only use "mailbox" 10 times on the trip. Meg and I counter the offer to only use "mailbox" 10 times EACH.
Mile 1.0: Katya's spit (accidentally) leaves a green phlegm trail on K's window, and Kathryn vows never to eat again... except for the next 10 bites of her granola and milk breakfast.
We pass Waimea Beach and take Baby Blue up the trail to the Heiyeu, a location for traditional Hawaiian spiritual ceremonies.
Pupukea - great beach for snorkeling
Sunset Beach
Mile 11.5: "How early in the morning can you eat raw fish" - Meg
Chuns Reef
Turtle Bay Resort: Resort where "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was filmed, where Kathryn and I left our "mark" and met some nice looking bachelors..
Giovanni's: Original white shrimp truck. We had some garlic shrimp before 11 am.. yumm!
Kahuku: we bought the best Poke on the island from a local convenient store.(Poke is raw Ahi tuna with soy sauce, garlic, scallions, and onions)
La'ie: We passed the Hawaiin mormon temples.
Kala'anui Park Beach: This is the best location to see the Chinaman Hat and where we ran into Meg's TFA friend, Travis, who was also circling the island with friends.
Mile 32.2: Half way around the island. 44 oz of beer, 1/2 lb of Poke, and a large container of granola consumed...
We traveled on H3 (the same mountainous road as Thursday), toward the West Coast of Oahu to Makakilo. We cooled off by the pool at the Ko Olina resort, as we were "the McCormick guests in suite 313".
After a swim and rest, we continued to Wainai on the West Coast. We enjoyed dinner at a local Mexican joint, Tacos and More. The very chatty host, Jeane, was thrilled to slip Meg his "Verizon Cell" number after interrupting most of our meal.
We just caught the 7:15 sunset and then headed home after a full day of 135 miles exploring the island.
NANI - beautiful
Thursday: KANAKA
3:30 am - I woke up and thought I was taking my last "breathe", which was barely a breathe at all... my throat and head were so congested that I couldn't stop coughing and had such a hoarse voice. I called my mom and probably scared her with my own anxiety... Meg watched me sleep on her couch for the next 3 hours and texted with Mom to let her know I was still breathing! Phew...
9 am - Meg and I went into her school (Wheeler Middle School) on Schofield Barracks to meet her student Lexi and get work done on her classroom. Lexi and I had a blast - check out her blog post below!
After watering the garden and worm farm at Wheeler, Meg and I were off to meet Aaron at Lanikai.
The drive on H3 through the mountains was AMAZING.... and we were able to see the "Stairway to Heaven" which is a forbidden hike that scales one of the tallest mountains.
Lanikai is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen:
Meg and I brought some local Kona beers and sandwiches, and waited for Aaron. We spent the next few hours lounging on the beach and catching up with Aaron! It was so good to see him and catch up.
Our adventure led us get a caffeine buzz at the Morning Brew in Kailua and find some super deals at the Brick A Brack section of Salvation Army. (We knew K would be excited to see the new colorful wine goblets we found. With my savy shopping skills, I was able to get us a 50% discount on $2 goblets!)
We met Jordan and Aurora for dinner at the Kona Brewing Company restaurant in Hawaii Kai.
KANAKATAK--> this is Pigeon (the local Hawaiian language) for the feeling one would get after eating a large meal, and feeling like a large, full, Hawaiian man.
KANAKA - person
We are all so unique with different personalities, characteristics, and reactions to our surroundings. Communication is so important to maintaining relationships and friendships. It is up to each person how they perceive and respond to one another to continue to build our relationships.
9 am - Meg and I went into her school (Wheeler Middle School) on Schofield Barracks to meet her student Lexi and get work done on her classroom. Lexi and I had a blast - check out her blog post below!
After watering the garden and worm farm at Wheeler, Meg and I were off to meet Aaron at Lanikai.
The drive on H3 through the mountains was AMAZING.... and we were able to see the "Stairway to Heaven" which is a forbidden hike that scales one of the tallest mountains.
Lanikai is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen:
Meg and I brought some local Kona beers and sandwiches, and waited for Aaron. We spent the next few hours lounging on the beach and catching up with Aaron! It was so good to see him and catch up.
Our adventure led us get a caffeine buzz at the Morning Brew in Kailua and find some super deals at the Brick A Brack section of Salvation Army. (We knew K would be excited to see the new colorful wine goblets we found. With my savy shopping skills, I was able to get us a 50% discount on $2 goblets!)
We met Jordan and Aurora for dinner at the Kona Brewing Company restaurant in Hawaii Kai.
KANAKATAK--> this is Pigeon (the local Hawaiian language) for the feeling one would get after eating a large meal, and feeling like a large, full, Hawaiian man.
KANAKA - person
We are all so unique with different personalities, characteristics, and reactions to our surroundings. Communication is so important to maintaining relationships and friendships. It is up to each person how they perceive and respond to one another to continue to build our relationships.
Wednesday: IKAIKA
Jet lag won me over, finally. I slept most of the morning, and woke up with a painful and deep chest cough.
Mid morning, we went into town to meet Mary for the best breakfast burritos and Kahlua pig (pulled pork) on the North Shore at Kono's. They also had amazing iced coffee!
After Kono's, we joined Mary for a trip to Costco. I am amazed at how many stores there are on Oahu - Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Costco, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's, 4 Coach stores, and too many Starbuck's to count. I suppose I didn't think the island wouldn't have any of these, but the selection and commercial development is unbelievable to me.
Now, by no means was this my first time in Costco, but for some reason I had EXTREME sensory overload in the store and had to park myself in the book section, where I was able to select a few more good reads for the rest of the summer - The Help and The Wedding Girl.
We finished the day by meeting some of the new 2010 TFA members watching sunset at Waimea Beach. Carlos and I enjoyed cliff jumping into the clear blue ocean. Unfortunately, some of the local men really enjoyed our cliff jumping as well when I lost my top...
After our house showered, we met back up with the 2010 TFA-ers at Breakers in Haleiwa.
IKAIKA - Strong
Mid morning, we went into town to meet Mary for the best breakfast burritos and Kahlua pig (pulled pork) on the North Shore at Kono's. They also had amazing iced coffee!
After Kono's, we joined Mary for a trip to Costco. I am amazed at how many stores there are on Oahu - Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Costco, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's, 4 Coach stores, and too many Starbuck's to count. I suppose I didn't think the island wouldn't have any of these, but the selection and commercial development is unbelievable to me.
Now, by no means was this my first time in Costco, but for some reason I had EXTREME sensory overload in the store and had to park myself in the book section, where I was able to select a few more good reads for the rest of the summer - The Help and The Wedding Girl.
We finished the day by meeting some of the new 2010 TFA members watching sunset at Waimea Beach. Carlos and I enjoyed cliff jumping into the clear blue ocean. Unfortunately, some of the local men really enjoyed our cliff jumping as well when I lost my top...
After our house showered, we met back up with the 2010 TFA-ers at Breakers in Haleiwa.
IKAIKA - Strong
Tuesday: KOA
5 am - I woke up bright eyed and read my first book, "Manhunting". Highly recommend it, but there is no need to get up at 5 am to read it!
By 7:30, Meg was up and we set off to explore Haleiwa. Our walk was about 5 miles from her house around the town and back. Luckily, we stopped at the Coffee Gallery for much needed caffeine and an energizing Acai bowl! (Acai bowl: Acai berry "frozen sorbet" topped with banana, granola, and Hawaii honey.)
I finally met Meg's TFA friend, Mary!! I have heard so much about her and had even speakerphone chatted with her with Meg, so it was extremely bizarre to say "nice to meet you" to her. We picked Mary (and Kim) up and headed to the Waimea Valley Botanical Garden. I found amazing vibrantly colored flowers as we walked around until we got to the falls, where Mary and I swam. There were so many colors of flowers that I started collecting every shade of the rainbow. (Hmmm: I wonder if I will be able to find a green flower?) Mary took pictures of me as if I was "drinking the falls"... although artistic, I quickly deleted the evidence from that photo shoot.
We spent some time at Waimea Beach, but then had to get back to go into "town" (aka Honolulu) to pick up Kathryn's "new" Jeep that she was buying from what became a very sketchy local man.
After a lengthy discussion about different types of mailboxes - industrial, large, small, colored, hard, residential, and a shady (almost) car sale, the three of us ladies left Waikiki Beach with only one car and three very frustrated attitudes. Our delicious dinner at Irifuni would make up for the whole ordeal with the car man. (We loved the fried tofu app with the yummy house sauce!)
KOA - warrior
K is today's KOA for staying tough throughout the "almost car deal".. :-)
By 7:30, Meg was up and we set off to explore Haleiwa. Our walk was about 5 miles from her house around the town and back. Luckily, we stopped at the Coffee Gallery for much needed caffeine and an energizing Acai bowl! (Acai bowl: Acai berry "frozen sorbet" topped with banana, granola, and Hawaii honey.)
I finally met Meg's TFA friend, Mary!! I have heard so much about her and had even speakerphone chatted with her with Meg, so it was extremely bizarre to say "nice to meet you" to her. We picked Mary (and Kim) up and headed to the Waimea Valley Botanical Garden. I found amazing vibrantly colored flowers as we walked around until we got to the falls, where Mary and I swam. There were so many colors of flowers that I started collecting every shade of the rainbow. (Hmmm: I wonder if I will be able to find a green flower?) Mary took pictures of me as if I was "drinking the falls"... although artistic, I quickly deleted the evidence from that photo shoot.
We spent some time at Waimea Beach, but then had to get back to go into "town" (aka Honolulu) to pick up Kathryn's "new" Jeep that she was buying from what became a very sketchy local man.
After a lengthy discussion about different types of mailboxes - industrial, large, small, colored, hard, residential, and a shady (almost) car sale, the three of us ladies left Waikiki Beach with only one car and three very frustrated attitudes. Our delicious dinner at Irifuni would make up for the whole ordeal with the car man. (We loved the fried tofu app with the yummy house sauce!)
KOA - warrior
K is today's KOA for staying tough throughout the "almost car deal".. :-)
Monday: Aloha!
Today was my first day in Hawaii... Meg and Kathryn picked me up at the airport with a BEAUTIFUL fresh lei! (It later also worked as a potpourri for Meg's room!)
North Shore here we come....
Meg made a delicious green curry dinner and I tried to stay awake for "27 Dresses", but failed miserably. I was in bed by 10!
North Shore here we come....
Meg made a delicious green curry dinner and I tried to stay awake for "27 Dresses", but failed miserably. I was in bed by 10!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)