Hawaii
Thu, 2010-01-14 19:01 | by Erin
Hawaii
From Wikipedia "Hawaii's natural beauty, warm tropical climate, inviting waters and waves, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with a vibrant native culture. Hawaii has
over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu."
What can I say about my family trip to Hawaii. It had all the ear-markings of a disaster in the making. I invited my Dad with out consulting my wife. I did not really do any planning about what we would do and how we would do it when we got there. I remembered to leave my pocket knife in my carry on, but forgot the battery charger for the camera. Heck I was not even sure what island we were on till the last day.
We arrived after a quick 6 hour flight and caught up with my Dad at the rental car agency.
The trip moved along pretty quick from there with shopping at Walmart, Target and the Mall. We got out of Wakiki a couple days after that and drove to the North Shore and Kailua Beach Park the next day. Around Wikiki we walked and tried some of the local foods and shops.
In all it was a good fun trip. The highlight for me was seeing Eric Surf like a pro after only a few minutes of lessons.
The food was good old American food with big rich portions. A initial argument I had with Satomi was "The hotel includes breakfast." To me this was no big deal, but I forgot how nice it is to start the day with a omelet pancakes and sausage and bacon. Get the breakfast buffet at Dukes, it is worth it.
Also having my Dad there to drive us every where was both convenient and irritating, but well worth it. He has a tendency to get a little too close to the car in front of him, which drove me completely insane and caused more than one argument, but other than that he was pleasant and easy to get along with the whole time, and Anna really seemed to like him.
All in all it was a good trip. I would do it again, but would change some things along the way. A quick list would be;
Do's:
Don'ts:
View Larger Map
From Wikipedia "Hawaii's natural beauty, warm tropical climate, inviting waters and waves, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with a vibrant native culture. Hawaii has
over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu."
What can I say about my family trip to Hawaii. It had all the ear-markings of a disaster in the making. I invited my Dad with out consulting my wife. I did not really do any planning about what we would do and how we would do it when we got there. I remembered to leave my pocket knife in my carry on, but forgot the battery charger for the camera. Heck I was not even sure what island we were on till the last day. We arrived after a quick 6 hour flight and caught up with my Dad at the rental car agency.
The trip moved along pretty quick from there with shopping at Walmart, Target and the Mall. We got out of Wakiki a couple days after that and drove to the North Shore and Kailua Beach Park the next day. Around Wikiki we walked and tried some of the local foods and shops.
In all it was a good fun trip. The highlight for me was seeing Eric Surf like a pro after only a few minutes of lessons.
The food was good old American food with big rich portions. A initial argument I had with Satomi was "The hotel includes breakfast." To me this was no big deal, but I forgot how nice it is to start the day with a omelet pancakes and sausage and bacon. Get the breakfast buffet at Dukes, it is worth it.
Also having my Dad there to drive us every where was both convenient and irritating, but well worth it. He has a tendency to get a little too close to the car in front of him, which drove me completely insane and caused more than one argument, but other than that he was pleasant and easy to get along with the whole time, and Anna really seemed to like him.
All in all it was a good trip. I would do it again, but would change some things along the way. A quick list would be;
Do's:
- Plan excursions more carefully
- Rent a car Stay longer than 5 days if possible
- Rent surf boards and other necessities away from the beach front hotels
- Take surf lessons (especially for kids)
- Rent a weekly apartment a little further from the beach front hotels
- Picnic/BBQ Kailua Beach Park Bring a good camera for pictures of surfing on the North Shore and at
- Diamond Head Hike up to the top of at least 1 volcano, to see the sunrise if possible.
Don'ts:
- Spend whole time in Wakiki
- Go on the Suicide 12 hour tour of anything
- Eat at expensive restaurants in Wakiki
- Go shopping on the first or second day, then the last day for any items you may have missed.
View Larger Map
Tateno Pool
Fri, 2010-01-01 12:00 | by Erin
Tateno-pool
There was a really nice warm December day on a Saturday a few weeks back, which happened after a big rain storm. Some of the kids thought it was nice enough..... to go for a swim in the huge mud puddle that had formed.
Eric was fortunately smart enough to avoid the water but still came home a mess.
There was a really nice warm December day on a Saturday a few weeks back, which happened after a big rain storm. Some of the kids thought it was nice enough..... to go for a swim in the huge mud puddle that had formed.Eric was fortunately smart enough to avoid the water but still came home a mess.
Kampai!
Fri, 2010-01-01 00:01 | by Erin
Kampai!
Every year at work on the last day the big boss the big boss comes down and thanks us for our work through out the year. In a company of 3000+ people on 5 floors in 3 different buildings this can take quite a long time. Last year I waited till 830 or 9 and he still did not make it to our office.
This year we were first, or second. I am not a star struck kind of person. I know he puts on his pants the same way I do, but I have to admit I was impressed when he showed up and with the way he thanked us. It takes allot to impress me, but for some reason he always does. I get a real sense of purpose from his words and actions, which is strange because I really do not know him at all.
Every year at work on the last day the big boss the big boss comes down and thanks us for our work through out the year. In a company of 3000+ people on 5 floors in 3 different buildings this can take quite a long time. Last year I waited till 830 or 9 and he still did not make it to our office. This year we were first, or second. I am not a star struck kind of person. I know he puts on his pants the same way I do, but I have to admit I was impressed when he showed up and with the way he thanked us. It takes allot to impress me, but for some reason he always does. I get a real sense of purpose from his words and actions, which is strange because I really do not know him at all.
Conbini Bento Plus
Thu, 2009-12-31 18:00 | by Erin
My Combini-Bento
Cash is low and money is tight these days so I usually bring leftovers from home for lunch. I forgot it the other day and could not find anything in the convenient store racks that suited me, so, I made my own. I bought a 400 yen ($4) bowl of pasta and sauce and a 100 yen piece of chicken and was able to get a semi decent meal out of it. The Marie's Hot Sauce definitely helped.
Cash is low and money is tight these days so I usually bring leftovers from home for lunch. I forgot it the other day and could not find anything in the convenient store racks that suited me, so, I made my own. I bought a 400 yen ($4) bowl of pasta and sauce and a 100 yen piece of chicken and was able to get a semi decent meal out of it. The Marie's Hot Sauce definitely helped. 