Christmas Day, 2014, Waikiki

Our little tree with nativity and gifts

It was nice to sleep in and wake in a leisurely way. After we got dressed we went out for a brunch timed meal at Zippys to try a local dish called Loco Moco. We got the mini size, not the full size, which was a good thing, because the Mini was really filling! It consists of a base of rice, (We elected to have brown rice) topped with a hamburger patty, topped with beef gravy, topped with a fried egg, with a scoop of macaroni salad on the side.


Mini Loco Moco at Zippy's Brown rice, hamburger, fried egg, gravy, macaroni salad

After this load of belly ballast, we headed to Ward Center, another shopping mall just on the other side of the Ala Moana Center to go to a movie. We saw 'Into the Woods' a Grimms brothers style synergistic story combining several fairy tales into one and featuring Meryl Streep as the witch. We really enjoyed it. We went to the 11 am showing, which was smart, because the line was into the lobby, four deep, when we came out.

Leaving the mall I wished I'd taken a moment to take a photo of the Photo with Santa set up nearby. It was a beach shack, surrounded by 'palm' trees and other props like surfboards. Seemed like the most fun way to get a photo with Santa here in Hawaii.

Back at our room I was thinking of going snorkeling, but it ended up that I spent all afternoon on the phone with family, which was a much better and more Christmas appropriate thing to be doing. It was so nice to get to talk to everyone.

I went to the beach for sunset again. It takes me all of five minutes to get there, so it is easy to do on the spur of the moment.

Harry fixed dinner, which was mostly microwaving or heating things in the oven, but he also cut up a small prime rib and grilled it on the electric grill with his Hawaiian seasoning, which is called Ono Hawaiian Seasoning. It contains salt, local salt, pepper, ginger and garlic. It turned out fantastic. Our dinner also included half a ham, spiral cut, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, Hawaiian rolls, gravy, sparkling cranberry cider, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and cookies. I was still not too hungry from the loco moco, but managed some of everything. It was all good.

I had suggested the day before that Harry let Chardonay know we would bring her a share of our dinner. She had to work all day, and there were 8 rooms worth of folks checking in, so she was busy. She seemed really thrilled to get the food. I felt bad for her and all the others who have to work because of the flood of tourists in town.

All in all, it was a very different, but a very nice Christmas.

Christmas Eve 2014 in Hawaii

I did a little shopping, my first Christmas shopping since arriving in Waikiki. I needed to get a present for Harry, and since he had already bought himself everything he wanted I was left with few options. I suggested I might do something edible, and he seemed enthusiastic about that. We went to Ala Moana Center, the big mall down by the water that isn't too far from here earlier in the week so Harry could quest for carved KOA wood bracelets and had dinner in the food court. I steered us to a Honolulu Cookie Company booth after dinner to get some samples of the kinds of cookies I wanted to get him. Cookies are a bigger deal here than ice cream or candy, probably because of the heat. I'd gotten some samples from the hotel front desk of the macadamia shortbread cookies and thought they would be a good choice. The booth had samples of all their main kinds, so we sampled them and then bought two each of four different kinds, so I got a good idea of what he likes.

I went down to the main shopping part of the beachfront road taking photos of Christmas decorations.

I love the Hawaiian style flowers on this wreath

This hotel was the first large hotel built here, and has been here since 1901

More Hawaiian themed decorations. These look more seasonal than the more traditional decorations used elsewhere here. 

Soon I came to a Honolulu Cookie company store and got a good selection of cookies for him. I decided to go home and hide them under the bed. On my way I stopped in a little, weird smelling Japanese convenience store and bought something called Mochi ice cream.  I wanted to try something different. They looked like ice cream bon-bons. I got a chocolate mint for $1.50. The sign said they were handmade on the island. It was a center of ice cream with an outside layer made of flavored and colored rice paste. The paste had a weird doughy, starchy texture, but it wasn't unpleasant to eat.

Next I passed a man dressed as the Shaka Santa, and snapped his photo, not realizing until later that he was probably there to pose for photos and collect tips. Oh dear. As I walked away a family stepped up to pose with him, so I suppose my quick snap didn't cost him anything anyway.

Shaka Santa

After putting the candy away I went back down the same direction and shopped at the Crocs store for some additional pairs of shoes for me that would be kind to my bruised heel bone. I got some black ballet style for church and some with canvas type uppers for casual wear without looking like I'm wearing Crocs. I wanted some thong sandals also, and they had some with leather type straps, but the foam was too firm. I took those home and had some lunch and a little rest. It was hot, I was sweaty, and I enjoyed cooling down by the air conditioner for awhile. Harry wasn't working a full day, so I didn't have time to go down to the beach and swim or snorkel, which would have been my afternoon plan otherwise.

While I rested I thought through the cookie thing. I was aware that he would probably share with me, and it didn't seem quite fair to give him cookies and then eat half. The only sensible thing to do was to go back out and buy more cookies! There are two main brands of cookies with shops at intervals all along the beach road, so I thought I would go to the other one and get a nice selection. After all, Harry was bringing home a complete Christmas dinner for us to cook the next day, thanks to a good deal offered by the Times market, and a selection of Christmas cookies would be the final festive touch!  I found the store and bought Mexican wedding cookies, palm leaves (crisp swirls of cookie and cinnamon), a selection of sampler macadamia shortbread dipped in chocolate, and a box of dark chocolate dipped macadamia shortbread.

Harry made grilled mango chicken for dinner and I went down to the beach for the sunset again.

The tide was just right at sunset to make some spectacular splashes against this eroded wall

Rainy Day in Waikiki-Day in Laie

View from our lanai at the Waikiki Prince

Monday, December 22nd-Dawn came with puffy pink clouds in a blue sky to the east, but within an hour the rain was Pouring down, the first real downpour I've seen since I got here on the 9th. Not bad for winter in Hawaii. My bruised heel bone was really sore, so I just stayed in for the day. I did laundry, defrosted about four pounds of ice out of the freezer in the little fridge in the room and worked on updating this blog from our weekend activities while the guys upgrading the cable had the room pulled apart and were in the room with me much of the day. The main guy was good company and I got some good information about things to do. 

When Harry got back, we headed right out to the mall. He is still 'questing' for a carved koa wood bracelet. All we saw was plain ones, and they were pretty expensive, both on the kiosk cart and the fancy store. I don't really care about it, we ordered one from Maile Nui, though it probably won't be koa wood, but once he gets an idea about something he has to keep searching. We had dinner at the mall and then home to bed, though I did go to the ABC for an umbrella, some snacks for the next day, and water and so on. 

Ukulele Bus Man

 Tuesday I planned a trip by bus to Laie to go to the LDS temple. I got on my way at 7:40, which was a little later than I planned. The buses weren't crowded and I enjoyed looking at the things to be seen along the way. The highlight was when an older man in shorts, yellow t-shirt, and rubber boots got on carrying a good sized ukulele. He chatted with the driver for awhile, then launched into playing and singing Christmas songs. I got a couple of snaps and a little video of him. That really put me in the Christmas spirit.

I got to the temple a little after 10 and got into the 11:00 session. Afterwards I went into a sealing session and then headed to lunch. I just missed the chance to get some soup and bread and was looking at the vending machine when a sister offered to share her corn chowder with me. I think her name was Sue Nee Lin. She was warming some homemade soup in the microwave. What she had left made a nice little bowl for me, and then she popped a big tangerine on my tray while I was warming it. I asked if she had another for herself and she said she did, but I never saw it, so I suspect she gave me her only one. There were gourmet cookies there and we helped ourselves to several each. She tried to give me crackers a couple of times, but I did say no to those. We chatted during the few minutes she had to eat-only 15, but it was very nice.

Before she left she pulled out a little loaf of dessert bread in a foil pan and said to share it with my husband. I tried really hard not to take it, it was obviously something she planned for her day at the temple, but she insisted. I sampled some and it was really good. I saw her later as I did the work for some other names, and that was really sweet. It is so nice to have these brief contacts with people. When I was done and headed for the bus stop I was stumping along with my big bag and my walking stick and a little white truck stopped by me and a sister asked where I was headed. I told her I was going to catch the bus and she offered me a ride to the bus stop. I gratefully accepted, and she took me along to where there was a stop with a roof and bench so I didn't have to stand out in the weather. There is actually a stop like that where I was headed, but I was grateful that she wanted to go the extra mile to make sure I was taken care of.  

The bus stop was definitely a country stop even though it was at the edge of a neighborhood. It was surrounded by stuff from the nearby home, plus there were chickens wandering about and cats nearby, sometimes fighting in the bushes next to the stop. Harry called and changed my destination from the Windward mall to the Macadamia plantation. I would need to get off at Maile Nui's place. He had picked up my pearls from the wholesaler and was getting a box for them.

I almost missed the stop, the bus was moving pretty fast. I was tracking it on my phone, but wasn't sure when to pull the cord to request a stop. The stops are pretty close together and I didn't want to stop too soon. The Tropical Farm flashed by and I quickly pulled the cord. The driver was able to stop safely at the woodcarvers, and I walked back along to Tropical Farms.

The pearls turned out beautiful. We compared them to the necklace that inspired my creativity, and the guy there took our photo. We headed out then to our same shopping center and theater where we saw the latest Hobbit movie, 'Battle of the 5 Armies'. Dinner was popcorn and soda, and some almond M&Ms I bought for the day.

Sunday, December 21st-Waimea Valley Excursion

Our plan for the day was a trip to the Waimea Valley where you can see a water fall, swim in the pool below the falls and see up to 35 of their botanical gardens which feature plants from all over the pacific Islands and South America. They also have native craft demonstrations, a native village re-creation, and some representations of sacred sites.

It was a beautiful day and even the windward side had blue skies and sunshine. We stopped at The Times Supermarket because they have steak on the weekend and got dinners-Steak, brown rice and mixed vegetables, which have orange and yellow carrots, broccoli and snap peas, (not over cooked). We couldn't resist a bite or two of the meat right then, it is SOOO good, but saved most of it to have for dinner back at the room. Harry got fresh ice for his cooler so we could keep them good until evening.

The surf was big on the North shore, and there were crowds at the surfing competition. It may have been the last day for it, and the waves looked like they were good for it. I can't believe how many people were in the water on beaches clearly marked with warnings for dangerous conditions. Harry went on and on about ways we could figure out to be able to afford to come back for more island visits, including camping, which I'm not so sure about...

Waimea Valley is inland slightly on a river that comes down out of the mountain. I keep noticing signs along the way that show something like a pile of rocks on a brown sign and the word 'ahupua'a' and another word, a different one for each sign. I finally looked it up and found out that they indicate sections of land that historically were separate economic and geographical units. The people in them were subject to a local leader, a chief, and all were subject to the main chief, or king. They were self sufficient with wood and birds and so on from up in the mountain, crops mid way down and fishing by the sea. No on owned land individually, it was held in trust by the chief. Each of them produced what was appropriate to their area and traded with one another and with other ahupua'a so everyone could have what they needed. It turns out Waimea valley was one of the bigger ones but flooding a long time ago washed out the crops repeatedly until the population of 20,000 dwindled to half that and then the problems associated with outside contact reduced them further to about 3,000. Now only a handful of descendants still live down by the mouth of the valley.

Once we got to Waimea Valley we were both pretty hungry. The snack bar there had grass fed island raised beef hamburgers with fries, so we had bacon cheeseburgers (real cheese, too!) for about $8. They tasted really, really good.

It was military appreciation day, so Harry got in for $2:50 and it was $7.50 for me as a senior over 60. We also got the round trip tram ride to the falls. I was glad, even though it was only 3/4 of a mile, I had done so much on my feet Friday and Saturday that what I did do there left my heel really, really sore as it was. We took the tram to the falls first and took some photos, then took a tram back, enjoying the demonstration items on display there while we waited.

First thing we saw one of the resident peacocks

Waimea falls with swimmers 

Hula instruments and other items

When we got back to the start we walked along the trail a short way, seeing several interesting things while headed toward the ancient home site.

Cannonball tree-the hard fruits grow out of the trunk

Endangered Moorhen, or Alae 'Ula

The edible but nasty tasting Cannonball fruit has white flesh and seeds that turn greenish blue within seconds of being exposed to the air. 

Gourd Plant

We spent some time at the house site, Harry and I both taking quite a few photos. Having the buildings there, even though somewhat derelict and without much in the way of signage to explain the function of each building, helped make the visualization of the peoples who used to live there come to life.

We both felt we'd made good use of the day and seen and learned new things that helped us understand more about the islands and the ancient culture and plants of this and other areas. I felt hot, sweaty and bedraggled from the heat and humidity though. I had sprayed myself liberally with deep woods off, but either I didn't do it again soon enough, or something else went wrong, because I had multiple mosquito bites. Fortunately I don't react to the local mosquitoes especially, so the itching and swelling only lasts a few hours then goes away.

We headed home past the Dole Plantation and Schofield Barracks and planned another trip up that way for another day. 

Saturday, December 20th, Swap Meet, and Pearls!

Pearls!

We wandered the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet on Saturday for a couple of hours. It was hot and sweaty work, and we didn't get all the way around once, let alone see anything in the outside ring, but since there are a lot of booths carrying similar items I didn't feel like we missed too much.

There was one booth with local handmade jewelry, beautifully presented that stood out from the many booths with loads of imported junky jewelry. I picked out two necklace and earring sets there. they do patterns with cut shells and abalone shell in resin and some beach glass stuff. The prices were reasonable, $15 for the earrings and $25 for the necklaces. The way they had things displayed reminded me of how we do it when we sell our jewelry. There were trays of shell bits with large shells and starfish with the sets draped over them. Nothing was crowded, and it all looked elegant.

We got a couple of Aloha shirts for me. Harry wanted me to look at dresses, but I could tell the styles wouldn't look good on my apple shape and when I tried them, I was right, though it was tough for Harry to give me that feed back when I needed it. So we settled for the shirts in the fabrics I liked.

He got several wooden birds that hang from fish line and flap their wings when the breeze blows. We also picked up some pineapple with flavor powder poured in with it, kind of like getting pre-sweetened kool-aid poured over it. It was good, but a little too sweet towards the end of the bag. We also got two of those neck coolers with the gel in them and appreciated the extra cooling.

We had some conversation with some young men carving wood who turned out to be LDS, which was fun. They know of our wood carving guy on the windward side and tried to get Harry to say what we were charged for our walking sticks, but he declined to share that. They confirmed what I've been trying to tell Harry, that the Hale Koa tree our sticks came from is not the same as Koa wood, which comes from a much larger tree. We've been trying to find out what that tree is, but it turns out it is considered invasive and undesirable, so it isn't featured anywhere.


Our first stop was at the Coral Jewelry place. Harry wanted me to see the jewelry there. They are very nice, but very adroit at getting you to choose a piece and then making a deal you can't refuse. The girl who waited on us claimed to remember Harry from 6 or 8 years ago, and when her manager sweetened the deal for me she squealed, jumped up and down and hugged me over and over at the wonderful deal I'd just been given. The necklace and earrings were going to total over $500, and I refused to commit to it, feeling like it was too much for jewelry for me, but I did like the pieces I picked out. Harry was more interested in us picking out some pearls anyway.

We went on to the Macadamia Plantation and looked at the pearl shop again to get the information for the wholesale place where you make an appointment and look at bulk pearls. The idea was to get pearls and have them drilled for me to string. I really hadn't fallen in love with anything when we were there before, but had decided the pink pearls were my favorite. This time, while we were getting information again from the guy in the shop (turns out he is the younger brother of the guy in the wholesale place) I spotted a necklace in the case that I instantly fell in love with. It had a variety of colors ranging from cream to pistachio, to dark blue with iridescent overtones, like the aurora coatings added to many glass beads. I took a photo of it so we'd have something to refer to at the wholesale place. We then called and were able to make an appointment for 45 minutes later.

The Necklace that inspired me

We went just down the road to the wood carver's place then and ordered a carved bracelet for me. I gave him a lot of leeway in the design, which he says makes a lot of woodcarvers nervous in case you don't like it, but he says it doesn't matter to him because he can always sell it if you don't like it. He usually carves the couple's names with a heart in the middle and "Hawai'i" and the year. I told him I would remember when and where I got it and didn't need our names on it, but would like a flower at the center of the design and then as he suggested ideas of what could be carved around it, I liked the idea of fish and beach things because I've enjoyed the snorkeling and the fish so much. We are going to give him plenty of time so he can work out the design.

At the pearl wholesaler we found Alec to be very pleasant, knowledgeable and nice to work with. He helped me construct a beautiful necklace that I was in love with. However, we never told him our price range and when we were done the finished result was 6-8 times more expensive than we had planned on! Harry insisted on getting it anyway, which was hard for me to be comfortable with. We found out we could get them drilled and strung by an expert for only $20, so we decided to do that. The finished necklace would retail for double what we paid though, and will be an heirloom piece for me to pass on in the family. Later I realized Harry doesn't hesitate to spend the same kind of money on 'baubles' (The roadster) for himself, so I felt more comfortable about it after I thought of that. Since he will retire shortly, this will be the last splurge...

Other side view of the pearls

Friday 12-19-14 Bishop's Museum

I decided to go to the Bishop's museum today. I got on my way to the bus stop after 11 and was back to the room by 6 pm. The bis ride takes about an hour. It was really crowded going, but not so bad when I came back.

While I was waiting at the bus stop to get started I saw a man carrying four big tropical birds coming across the street at the corner. I guessed he would be walking past me, so I got my camera out. As he came by, I held up the camera and caught his eye. He grinned and moved to face into the sunshine so I could get a good shot. I love it when these little serendipity things happen. It's part of being in this exotic environment that makes it all that much more fun.

I loved the museum and tried hard to see everything I could in the hours I was there, I went to a talk about volcanoes with a finish where the guy put on a heat suit and poured out molten rock, then handled it with a long pole as it hardened. Later I talked to him and shared the experience I had being in the ash fall from Mount Saint Helens. I also went to a presentation in the planetarium of what the night sky would look like tonight.

The building with the Hawaiian cultural exhibits

The Natural History building

Model of an ancient temple site that has been covered by lava

The demonstrator pours molten rock from the furnace

Thursday 12-18-14 Snorkeling, Queen's garden

I don't have a lot of photos for this day. I took my waterproof camera and my phone with me as I headed to the beach to do some snorkeling at the better place I found earlier but hadn't tried yet because of the rocky, uneven bottom. I also planned to drop off one of my pathtags at one of the geocaches I found the other day and maybe look for the queen Kapi'olani garden behind the zoo.

There were occasional misty showers as I walked that passed quickly, barely got me wet and were not at all uncomfortable. I dried off quickly as well. I had to walk all the way around the zoo to find the garden, and when I did it was not very impressive, but I did think to look and see if there was a geocache nearby, and there was, and I was able to find it.

Heading back, I was a little nervous and could tell I was trying to talk myself out of snorkeling. I'd been doing that since I got up and was getting ready. I was nervous about jellyfish and about getting in deeper water or having my mask flood where I couldn't stand up and empty it. For some reason even being able to breath through the snorkel doesn't keep me from panicking when cold water seeps into my nostrils.

I gave myself a little pep talk. There aren't any signs up for jellyfish, and I'm scared of something that other people like me are out there doing right now. If other people are doing it then I need to push past my fear and not let the fear rule me, but overcome it. I know I like to snorkel and I don't know if I'll ever get another chance. I need to get comfortable and do it now, while I can.

I went to my chosen spot and watched the snorkelers already there to get a feel for the depth at various parts of it. There was a mild swell, but no breaking surf until the edge of the beach. It looked like it stayed shallow for quite a ways out. Finally I took off my cover up and used the outdoor shower to wet my hair so I could keep my eyes out of the salt water, though they were already burning from sweat and suntan lotion. I got onto the beach and set my stuff up there. Later I had a hard time getting clean feet into my water shoes and realized I should have done that first.

Finally I was ready and started into the water. I had a conversation with a woman who was raised nearby who was snorkeling. she encouraged me, and then headed out again while I got my mask and snorkel set, and went through the process of getting a seal.

When I got more comfortable I was able to spend almost an hour in the water, and got much more comfortable. I saw lots of wonderful fish and thought I was taking lots of photos, but found out later that I had only shot three. I wasn't pressing the shutter hard enough. I can't see the screen underwater, so it is hard to tell what I'm doing. I still had a great time, and will go back and try again with both the cameras.

One of two photos I actually pressed the shutter enough to take

The other one!

When I got out for good I showered off, got my cover up on and went to a picnic table to check my photos. Then I called mom and had a nice conversation, our first since I got her. I updated her on all our news and got caught up on hers.

Then I headed back and had a little leftover teriyaki steak, some pineapple and a few cashews to hold me until dinnertime. I hadn't eaten since a light breakfast in the mid morning. I rested and got on the computer until Harry came back. We had dinner at KFC, a very lackluster, food-like dinner, followed by the remaining pastry from what he brought home the day before.

My highlight of the day was definitely the good snorkeling, really the first good snorkeling I've done here so far.

The view from where I sat while talking to mom. I could see the surfers and sailboats!

Wednesday, 12-17-14, Temple day, Mackey's Shrimp, Exodus

Harry went to work quite late and was able to drop me off in Laie at the temple. I got there in plenty of time to attend the 11:00 session, Which was done by 2 pm. I loved the way the session moved from room to room and loved how immersive it was for me because they showed the new film that was filmed on the islands. The mountains in the background, the plants, and even one of the people in the film fit right in to where I am right now and gave it a realism that added to the experience.

Laie temple

I ate a simple lunch in the cafeteria, a creamy soup with just a little vegetables and ham in it, along with an inch and a half thick slice of homemade whole wheat bread. I got a little packet of Milano dark chocolate cookies from a vending machine for dessert.

I had gotten a bunch of family name cards printed and was so excited that they let me leave all the ones needing baptism there for one of their youth groups to do.

I spent a little time in the visitor's center until it was time to go to the bus. It's kind of a hike to get to the bus stop, and I had to wait another half hour for the bus to come. The trip took the full hour predicted to get to the stop where I planned to meet Harry, but I enjoyed seeing the scenery and people along the way.

The Bus

At the end of the line I walked a little way over to the Mackey Sweet Shrimp truck and waited at one of their tables for half an hour until Harry showed up. We had the garlic butter shrimp with rice covered in garlic butter sauce, and salad. The shrimp was very good, even better than the night before. They are farmed on that side of the island, so they are really fresh.

We were entertained by the Hens, roosters and chicks wandering everywhere, and even more entertained by the young Japanese pregnant wife who was so frightened of them she kept her feet up when they were around and squealed in fright. When the couple left I noticed a back pack left on the bench of their table and after no one else that was getting food sat there, I took it to the food window and told the lady who I thought left it. A minute later she called to her helper and gestured frantically to stop a car that was leaving. It turned out to be them, and he got their attention and returned it to them. When they saw me up and talking to the guy that brought them the pack, they realized I'd turned it in. The young husband waved, smiled, and bowed to me over and over. I did the same back to him. It was a nice feeling that I didn't hesitate too long and that they got it back before they left.

The forgotten backpack

Harry suggested we stop off at a shopping center on our way back and see a movie. We saw Exodus, which was well done, but departed from the scriptural account in typical Hollywood fashion, which made it jarring to watch no matter how I tried to think of it as fiction or alternate reality. I wish they would just stick to the story and if they want to fictionalize by fleshing it out, ok, but to leave out important things, change them, and change who Moses was as a prophet was just disturbing. Harry didn't like all that either. I was also bothered by the strong smell of rancid dirty carpet. I never got nose blind to it, It bothered me the whole movie. I notice the smell at the other theater on Saturday, but it wasn't as strong in the theater itself and I stopped noticing it after awhile there.

We still had time to watch some TV when we got back to the room, although we did stay up later than usual. Harry is working shorter because he found out there is no overtime available. He'd used up more hours than he was allowed by the time he found out, so he his minimizing his time until the new week starts.