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Sunday, December 09, 2007

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:27:29 GMT

Wednesday December 5, 2007

Monday, December 03, 2007

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:35:19 GMT

Christmas Time in the 206!

My favourite time of year is beginning again and the decorations are out in full swing! The cataract surgery center I most often refer to sent me a real wreath for Christmas which is looking pretty nice on my front door and my decorative wreath has moved to the powder room door. Tina and I got a ghetto mini-tree this year which we attempted to beautify since we figured Chibi would freak out at a full-sized tree. The dogs had trashed my ottoman slipcover last week so the ottoman got a holiday makeover as well Yay for staple guns!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 18:43:22 GMT

What I want for Christmas...

Norm has been dogsitting for a co-worker who is currently fostering the black fluffy dog in these pics. His name is Marley and he is an absolute darling! He spent his first few months with a cat-lover (booooo...) so never experienced wearing a collar, walking on a leash, or meeting other dogs! So sad! His previous owner stated when she gave him up that she has always been a "cat person" evident in the fact that Marley's original name was Mr. Dudley So anyway, he has since been "fixed", is due for a haircut, and has been learning what life is like as a dog! We are watching him again this weekend (and I'm hoping forever) but the reality of having 3 dogs in one house is just a bit frightening, even for a 2-dog household....

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 18:39:01 GMT

Last Day in Hawaii - Ala Moana Beach Park

Our favourite local place to enjoy the sunshine! Hopefully we will be back soon....

Friday, November 02, 2007

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:03:16 GMT

Hawaii: Day 6

We had to get a bit creative with our plans since the intermittant thunder showers were killing our beach time, so we ventured to Pearl Harbor this morning. Pretty amazing that the USS Arizona is still fully submerged and that over a thousand soldiers are "buried" at sea with the vessel (they were only able to recover 200 or so bodies).

On a separate note, something pretty weird happened while we were at the memorial. So on Tuesday, when we were at the luau, we were seated next to this young asian couple from San Jose - like us, they were typical asians and kept to themselves. No introductions and the way we knew they were from San Jose is when the husband received a text message about the 5.6 quake in San Jose.

On Wednesday, about an hour after we arrived at the swap meet, we were in this dry goods store and Norm said "excuse me" to this asian guy who then turned around and it was the same guy and his wife from the luau! Still no intros, just a strange coincidence.

So today, as we were boarding the 9th shuttle ferry at 10am while at the memorial (keep in mind, they run shuttle ferries every 15 min to the off-shore memorial from the visitor's center), who else did we end up sitting in front of then the SAME COUPLE! At this point, we figured we should probably introduce ourselves but there wasn't really an opportunity so we still don't know who they are.

Norm and I figured if we see them tomorrow at our dinner buffet, we will have no choice but to introduce ourselves, probably share and meal, and become penpals because WHAT ARE THE CHANCES? Strange.

After Pearl Harbor, our food tour continued to a third shave ice place and some yummy Leonard's malasadas.

In search of sunshine, we ventured out to the beautiful Ko Olina Resort on the western coast of Oahu (where Norm's friends Kenji and Marci got married a few years ago). We found the sunshine and a good place for snorkelling. The best part was that it is a private resort that offers public access (and free parking) to their laggoons. Plus, the Marriott hotel pond was crazy with sting rays, mini hammerhead sharks and an abundance of tropical fish!

While heading home, we stopped at the Waikele Premium Outlets and did some quick shopping.We finished off the day with more eating at Sam Choy's Breakfast Lunch and Crab where we got a jumbo serving of paella and a huge appetizer plate of poke, calamari and coconut shrimp. Dessert was a pair of coco puffs at Liliha Bakery in Chinatown thanks to a recommendation from yftoad and his wife who enjoyed these yummy treats on their most recent trip to Hawaii.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:31:58 GMT

Hawaii: Day 4 and 5

Yesterday was a long day, spent mostly on the North Shore. Lots of driving but we spent a couple sunny hours at Kuilima Cove (within the Turtle Bay Resort) in the public beach (apparently it's some sort of law that any private beachside resorts have to have public beach access), trying to snorkel but seeing no fish. Norm saw a tire.

Then we headed off to the Polynesian Cultural Center where they charge you for everything they can! Parking <even after a costly luau/show ticket!>, pineapple filled drinks, knick knacks - shameless!!! But, it was a good dinner and the show was very entertaining! Who knew that New Zealand is considered part of polynesia....

The hour drive home was very long and rainy so we went to bed right away to get ready for Wednesday.... the much anticipated swap meet! On Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, in the parking lot of the Aloha Stadium over 1500 vendors sell their goods including tshirts, Hawaiian quilt and clothing goods, dried goods and food, and souvenirs. Norm and I dodged intermittant rain showers while running booth to booth for 2.5 hours and came away with some good buys.

Lunch was a recommendation of cousin Jackie - W&M Burger near the University of Hawaii - tasty bbq burger and extra crispy fries! Since we were near Kapahulu (aka the "street of goodness", much like the "triangle of goodness in Richmond") I got to try Wailola's shave ice... the lilikoi flavor was super yum and I had to say that I did like the finer shave ice vs. chunky shave ice of Matsumoto's (Norm's choice).

Also on Kapahulu were Leonard's (malasadas though we got ours at the swap meet), L&L and Rainbow Drive In. Oh, and I almost forgot about the yummy lumpias from the lady outside of Salt Lake Kmart (and we thought she was an urban myth!)

This evening, we got kept it low-key (and low-budget) by going to the 9 Theatres on Restaurant Row for our $1 movie! We watched No Reservations and are thinking of catching Ratatouille tomorrow night. I know, we live the life of rockstars. No need to be envious

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 02:56:27 GMT

Hawaii: Day 3

We woke up early today and made the 30 min drive to Diamond Head, hoping to beat the tourists. Apparently, there were a whole lot of people who beat us, but luckily the trail wasn't too packed.

The first half was a fairly steady uphill walk but it was quite doable. Plus, when you see old grandmas and large middle-aged men walking down, you know you better be able to do the hike.

Then came the 70 set of stairs followed by a dark inclined tunnel, followed by another 99 steps! Oh baby!

Then, once you reached the top of the staircase, you entered the military fort (4 levels) where scouts could watch for enemy ships and planes approaching. The US Army Corps of Engineers used mules to help lug all the concrete and construction materials up the trial to build this military out post - pretty impressive. Within this lookout "fort", there was a spiral staircase that took you up to the top, where there was an outdoor observation deck and a 360 degree view.

At the head of the trail, there was a helpful sign for all hikers:

With our appetite all worked up, we stopped at Rainbow Drive-In for some breakfast and slushies. After that, our attempt to find a nice sunny spot at Kahala Beach didn't pan out so we went back to Ala Moana Park which ended up being very sunny and toasty!

The afternoon brought us to Norm's favourite mall - Ala Moana Center - and stops at a local sneaker shop called Kicks/HI. Now to figure out what to have for dinner....

Monday, October 29, 2007

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 05:56:31 GMT

My First Time in Hawaii: Days One and Two

Norm and I found a killer deal for tickets to Hawaii through our Alaska airmiles VISA when Alaska started flying direct from Seattle to Honolulu so here we are! My uncle and aunt have a condo that we're crashing in between the airport and the stadium (yay for a place to stay!) so we were able to swing a week's vacation here in the face of upcoming birthday and christmas shopping

We arrived on Saturday around noon and our first stop was ZIPPY's! Norm already knew what he wanted while we were still ON the plane and I had yet to discover the breadth of the zippy's menu. Spaghetti, sai-min, katsu, what to eat? So I decided on a Zip Pac (aka meat sampler) which had a piece of fried chicken, fish filet, slice of slam and a small flank steak.

After resting up at the condo (terrible lack-of-caffeine headaches for the both of us), we headed out to Waikiki. It really is a cross between Rodeo Drive / Vegas / tropical beach.We did a bit of shopping and then had a fresh fish dinner at Duke's Canoe Club and Restaurant right on central Waikiki beach.

Sunday took us to church at New Hope Christian Fellowship Mililani where Pastor Mike Palompo (of VCAC Teens Camp '96 and '97) is the senior pastor! Next, we headed up to the DOLE plantation for delicious pineapple sorbet and I was <shamelessly> overjoyed when I scored a pineapple cup!

We wandered up Kamehemeha Hwy to Haleiwa and stumbled upon Giovanni's shrimp truck - lunch!

and then continued up to Waimea Bay, only to be turned away by rain showers. We ended up back at Haleiwa Beach Park and got our token "sun" time in (I have to come back with a tan, you know ). A trip to the North Shore would not be complete with Matsumoto's shave ice - this is Norm's choice shave ice but we're going to try Waiola's AND Baldwin's while we're here since the jury is still out on which one is the best!

We ended our day with an awesome buffet at Makino Chaya at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Norm even ventured to say that it was better than the Bellagio buffet because it was all good asian food!! Blasphemy!

This is my plate: Wagyu flank steak, Sashimi, Sushi, Cocktail shrimp, baked lobster off to the side, Sharkfin and Jellyfish salad and various fried and tempura items!

More to come tomorrow! Until then, Aloha from me and my happy pineapple cup!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:57:29 GMT

Summer Photos Part 2: First Year Anniversary
Elliot Bay Water Taxi to Pike Place

Olympic Sculpture Park

Flowers and Dinner at Canlis!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:27:45 GMT

Summer Photos Part 1: Spirit of Washington Dinner Train - Mom and Dad's 32nd Anniversary

At the Columbia Winery mid-trip: