7/28 - 8/3: Chinatown, Final Road Trip, Resort Life, and Voyage Home

I have been really lazy about updating the last piece of my vacation. I was going to do it the night before I left, but was inundated with packing, so then I was going to do it when I got to Atlanta, but then I was exhausted. Anyway, multiple things happened that prevented me from uploading pictures and updating my trip.

So let's set the wayback machine a week:

Tuesday July 28th

Tuesday I didn't really have much planned, so I asked if we could meet up with Quinn down in Chinatown. I've never had Dim Sum before, and figured this was a chance to get some, and when would I be this close to China again? Sue, Naomi met up with Quinn at work and we went to Mei Sum Chinese Dim Sum. It was quite busy and almost felt like a cafeteria. There was no ambiance in there whatsoever. We sat down and these Chinese ladies rolled carts by. Quinn started pointing at stuff and soon little bowls with 3 dumplings or confections were placed in front of us. The chopsticks provided were big heavy and plastic, not like the small faux-bamboo ones I'm used to using at sushi restaurants. I had tremendous difficulty getting hold of the dumplings as they were kind of slippery. The food also came out so fast I didn't really have a chance to take pictures of how this situation was set up, so I will just steal someone else's picture. The food was good, but I didn't realize we were paying per item. I always thought Dim Sum was kind of an all-you-can-eat thing. I wanted to try more, but with a limited time budget, I didn't really get a chance. Either way, I will find another place with Dim Sum and go, because it was way too cool!

On the way out, Quinn bought our dinner for the evening, which was a dozen Cha Siu Baau, or in Hawai'ian: Manapua. Manapua is slang for the shortened mea'ono-pua'a which means "Pork Cake." It looked remarkably like this. These Manapua were stuffed with savory pork, and the buns were soft and sweet. I had Manapua from 7-11 a few days prior, but it was steamed instead of baked. It's basically the perfect food to eat while drunk because the bread is very spongy and would probably soak up booze very well. The ones we had for dinner were exceptional. I could have eaten a full dozen of these pork Donuts easy. That night I went to bed sated and feeling wonderful.

Wednesday July 29th

Wednesday, I got up early, went to Aloha Stadium to get a bunch of other knick knacks to take home to my friends, and then went on my last Road Trip of my vacation. I headed east on H-1 to H-3 and went through the mountain and past Valley of the Temples that I had been to a few days prior. I went north on Rte 83 where it became the Kamehameha Highway near Kahaluu. Driving up the east coast looking out into Kaneohe Bay was pretty nice, but certainly not as beautiful as the North Shore or West Shores.

Near Waikane I spied Chinaman's hat off the coast and stopped to take a few pictures. This part of the island is where the majority of the rain falls. While most fall on the mountains to the west, it made for quite a dreary day, if such a thing exists in Hawai'i. The dreariness gave way as I approached Ka'a'awa and I was greeted by lush green cliffs and mountains, ranches where horses and cattle fed on the west side of the highway, and beautiful beaches lined the east side. The more north I traveled, the prettier the water became.

As I got to La'ie, shrimp trucks started to be more and more commonplace. La'ie is an interesting place, its a town with a heavy mormon population, such that it's difficult to find caffeinated drinks nearby. BYU also has a campus here. The Polynesian Cultural Center is located here and I didn't really feel the need to stop. Besides, next door was all the Culture I needed. I also spotted these banners on the side of the road. I saw them near Makaha on the west coast but was unable to snap a shot. Apparently there is a separatist movement on the islands (not that I blame them.)

I finally reached Kahuku, which is where I heard all the good Shrimp Trucks are. When I had done research, I had heard about Macky's truck as being from Kahuku, but apparently he was so good they made him move down the road near Hale'iwa. I looked at some reviews of Macky's and a lot of people swear by this other shrimp truck, Giovanni's. So, when I saw it on the side of the road, I decided to sit down for a plate. It wasn't super crowded when I got there, so I was able to get my meal quick and sit down at an empty table... or at least I thought it was empty. Some people were pointing at what would be my crotch under the table, and I started to get paranoid a bit that maybe my fly was down or I was bleeding or something. Turns out, there was a cat sleeping on the other side of the picnic table, completely oblivious to the delicious seafood nearby. A tour bus full of asians stopped and apparently they came from a place where personal space is not a consideration as several families leaned over my garlic shrimp while I was putting it into my mouth, just in order to take a picture of this sleeping cat. What I should have done is whipped out my camera and just gotten up in their face and taken pictures while they were eating. I didn't think of doing that until just now though.

After my early lunch, I moved on around the north tip, and went past Turtle Bay resort, and saw their golf course, which looked like fun. Once you get past the northern tip, the beaches get much better. I also saw this awesome tree on a ranch on the south side of the highway. Turns out this ranch has been used for filming episodes of LOST. I passed by Sunset beach on the way through, which was absolutely packed and gorgeous. There were lots of bikini girls and surfer dudes, so apparently that was the place to be.

I came back down through Waimea Bay and into Hale'iwa. I got turned around a couple times while driving through, and eventually saw Macky's Shrimp Truck again. I stopped there because I just had to have a taste test between the two dueling Shrimp Trucks. I have to give the edge to Macky's, however so slightly. Macky's shrimp are bigger and better, while Giovanni's shrimp, I had to work with the shells quite a bit. Giovanni's garlic/butter sauce was much more plentiful, and covered the rice that went with it. It was a hard decision, but was a very delicious decision to make!

I headed west as far as I could go, because out here is where another good portion of LOST is filmed. I went out to Army Beach, the scene where the plane went down, and to YMCA Camp Erdman, aka the home of The Others. As the camp was being used, I didn't stop to take pictures around the village. The beaches up there were pretty, but it seemed like the water was choppy from the wind. I imagine it is pretty raucous there in the wintertime. More sights from LOST can be found at this website http://www.lostvirtualtour.com/.

Thursday July 30th


Thursday was the day before leaving, so I had to go pick up coffee for the trip home. I couldn't leave for home without taking home some for various friends and family. I got some of the 100% Kona Mountain Thunder, despite its exorbitant price, and I grabbed a ton of small bags for various people. I got a big bag of Kona Sunrise Blend for The Judge's Chambers (Dangit, Waqar, I have to make you a website!)

Thursday evening Sue made her wicked Beef Barley Soup that I haven't had in years and years and enjoyed a LOT. We ate it quite quickly though so that we could sneak over to Ko Olina and crash a resort where they show kids movies Thursday night on the grass near the beach. As we walked into the resort via the beach, I noticed the terrible sound of badly performed music by the band at the outdoor bar, and the $9 Mai Tais posted on the chalkboard. There were a ton of vacationers walking around in bathing suits and towels and it just seemed oddly surreal. Here The Carver Family was all bundled up in fleece and blankets because it was windy after dark, and the rest of everyone is barely dressed because... well because it's Hawai'i, and the weather is beautiful! I also thought it weird because for the past two weeks I'd been exploring the island and didn't really stop to do the straight up touristy things. I didn't go to Waikiki shopping, and I didn't go to Pearl Harbor and wait in excessively long lines in the heat to get on a little ferry out to the Arizona Memorial. I tried to eat the food that locals eat, learn some of the language, and basically observe all the parts about the island I could get my hands on. Then I go to this resort and it was as if I had stepped into Ohio, except with better weather.

I sure am grateful the Carvers live there, because staying with them made the vacation special.


Friday July 31st - Monday August 3rd

Friday came and the end of my two weeks are here. I packed up in the wee hours of Friday morning, then caught some sleep. I got up and we drove to the airport around lunchtime. We had a little impromptu lunch in front of Starbucks.

Without much fanfare, and certainly with a heavy heart, I got on my 747 and headed back to Atlanta. My plane got in around 5am Saturday morning, so I took the MARTA to meet dad. This sucked. It looked as if someone had peed in all the seats, so I had to stand all the way from the airport to his stop at the exact other end of the line...(about 18 stops.)

I got back to Dad's place and mostly slept all day Saturday. Sunday, all of Dad's golf buddies and their wives came over for a small surprise party for dad's birthday. He turns 65 toward the end of the month, but I'll be in school so they had it early since I was there. It was nice to see all these people show up and give him the hard time he deserves.

Monday Morning, I woke up at about 5:45am still suffering from a touch of jet lag, and got things rounded up for my trip home. I left by 8:30, and was home at about 3pm. I spent the afternoon cleaning house and fixing a broken router, and finally last night passed out after a long 2 1/2 weeks away from home. My bed never felt so comfortable.

I've come to the conclusion that the perfect length for a jam-packed holiday vacation is 10 days. 7 days is too short to do anything, and 14 gets to be a little long. I'll admit the last day or so, even in paradise, I was longing to be in my own bed with thecats at my feet.

Still, this vacation was absolutely stellar. I would love to see more of the islands and will likely go back to explore the other ones at some point later.

Thus ends my trip blog!!! I hope you enjoyed reading and checking out the pictures and videos as much as I had fun sharing it with you. Next time, go with me, will ya?! :D

7/25 - 7/27/2009 - Swimming, Surfing, and Serenity

I did a lot in the last three days, so this might be long. Also, in my picture album, you may see a lot of cars, license plates, and weird signage. This is one of my favorite things to pick up on when I'm in a place that's not home.

7/25/2009

Saturday morning, we got up bright and early, made some pancakes and leftover sausages and hit the road for the North Shore. Quinn is in the middle of swimming the North Shore Swim Series, a four-race competition on alternating Saturdays throughout July. Today he swam Chun's Reef to Waimea Bay, a grueling 1.6 mile trek through rocky water, opposing current and with 300+ other competitors. We got up to Waimea pretty early, passing sugar cane fields, pineapple fields, and coffee fields along the way. We parked at a church and made a small walk down to the bay. The sand here was loose enough to be a challenge to walk through to the beachhead, and finally at the top we found Cecilia and her two daughters getting ready for a swim. Waimea is a very pretty beach, and from what Quinn said, about 5-6 weeks out of the year in the winter, has some seriously awesome waves. Thankfully today, it was pretty glassy for the swim.

Quinn estimated would take him 38-43 minutes to complete the race, and we had time to kill before the start, so the kids got greased up and went down into the water. I did some scenery watching while this was going on. There are many many pretty girls, black-sock wearing tourists, and even a beach goat that was chasing around a big dog. Another cool thing in Waimea Bay is Jumping Rock, where people jump about 30' off a rock face into the water. It's apparently not super shallow, but after careful consideration of my fear of heights, gravitational constants, and terminal velocity, I decided it would be a bad idea.

Soon, we could finally see swimmers coming around the bend toward the rocks, and finally into the bay toward the finish line. Ultimately 15-year old Kacy Johnson won the race in just under 30 minutes. But what's that on the horizon? SOMEONE'S SWIMMING BUTTERFLY! ITS QUINN! Come on boy, make it up that hill and finish it up!

Despite my best attempts to keep him out of shape with drinking all week, Quinn managed to come in 8th place, and 1st in his age division with a time of 34:28. I'm very proud of him and finally getting to see a part of his life that he works very hard at is very thrilling to me. I can't imagine getting up at 4:20am for anything else, much less for an activity like this! Though he seemed slightly disappointed, I was excited. I mean there were people who took close to 90 minutes to do this swim, and here's Quinn just relaxing as they come swimming in. Perhaps the Twizzlers and Floaties were the trick to speed? Either way, he is awesome and this should be his car.


After the race and awards ceremony, we drove to Hale'iwa to hit up Macky's Shrimp Truck. In an unassuming dirt lot with some tables and a port-o-potty, is an amazingly colored shrimp truck with Macky Chen standing by ready to take your order. For $10-$12 you can get a plate of shrimp that will blow you out of your fucking shoes. Excuse the language, but it's that damn good. EASILY the best shrimp I've ever had in my life. I had Coconut shrimp, and a taste of the garlic shrimp and lemon shrimp that Quinn and Sue had ordered. I was jealous I hadn't bought the garlic kind, so I think I'm going to have to go back for more. This place has become quite the tourist spot, as several busses full of Japanese Tourists showed up, and who knew that popped-collar douchebaggery had transcended the Pacific, I had hoped it lived and died in Charlottesville and the guido bars in New Jersey.

We drove back to Ala Moana to drop Sue off to work, and shortly thereafter, Quinn passed out in the van and I drove us home. After a nice nap for everyone, Quinn and I scored some food. I went to Ninja Sushi and got some sushi, and Spam Musubi. The spam was mostly a novelty to me, but it wasn't half bad. I expected it to taste very spammy, but, it was just like some meat and rice. Not bad.

In the evening Quinn disappeared to pick up Sue from work and they went on a date! I had told them I'd be happy to babysit while here so they could have some free time to do whatever! They took me up on it, and came home in a pool of Gin at 3am! I was happy to do that for them. If anyone deserves a night out on the town, its these guys!

7/26/2009
You know the saying "I need a vacation after being on vacation?" That's what Sunday was for me. Sunday morning at about 8:30 I heard Naomi screaming at the top of her lungs. I decided it was time to get out of bed and see what was going on. Nomes was being hassled by her two big brothers and there was nary a parent in sight. At this point, I didn't know Quinn and Sue went out on a date, as I had been asleep the night before at about 10:15pm. (Lots of exposure to the sun puts me to sleep.) I went downstairs and got the kids into gear so they'd be quiet for their parents. Ben was very helpful in rounding up Nate and Naomi. By 10, I knew I wouldn't be seeing the parents anytime soon, so I fixed up some Cheesy Grits for the kids. The 5 pound bag I brought with me came in handy! Who'd have thunk they don't have grits here?!

By 11ish, the parents finally came downstairs, and started working off their hangovers. We had lunch, and mostly laid around the house lazily. I let them take an extra nap in the afternoon while I watched kids again, assuming they needed it. My reward was some of Sue's world famous baked mac and cheese. It is a true delight if you ever get the chance.

In the afternoon, Quinn rigged up an old sailboard to serve as a longboard for me to try surfing. I didn't think it was going to work, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I mean, how many times am I going to get to go to Hawai'i and surf? We found a mostly abandoned beach East of Shark Country. As we hauled the board through a public right of way alley between some houses, I spotted some locals enjoying an afternoon right in front of where I'd try my luck at surfing. Great. That's all I need is a crowd to laugh at me. Then I was thinking, you know what? Who gives a shit? These guys probably never would be willing to try shit on my turf. When was the last time they were drinking moonshine straight up, and building betty bombs on the railroad tracks?! At least I'm giving it a whirl and trying.

So I went out into the water... Got acclimated by hitting a few waves face first. I'm glad I brought my aquasocks this time because it was pretty corally just out of beach range. Soon I was in water that was too deep for me to touch my feet, and Quinn aimed the surf board toward land. I jumped up on the board, swung my foot over, and splash, I was back in the water on the other side of the board. Repeat three times. Finally I managed to get up on it and tried to gather some sense of balance, but it was not like anything I'd tried before, so I barrel rolled again. Finally i snuck up the backside of the board and climbed into position. I was on for about 45 seconds and hit a couple waves... as in they hit me. I still stayed on, until my foot strap got tangled around my foot, and I didn't even know I had it on, so it startled me and I fell off again. I decided this was probably a losing effort and let Quinn have a go at it. Even he had a little trouble staying up as it was much bigger than his normal board. I swam a bit and enjoyed myself while watching Quinn hit the waves.

We walked back in, and one of the guys approached Quinn and offered to loan us his 13' longboard. It's probably a good idea in retrospect we didn't take him up on it because it was an expensive board, and I don't think it would have worked anyhow. Still, that's a helluva thing to let two super-white haoles they'd never met borrow a board like that. I love that kind of culture. Quinn was right. It would have been cool to have a six pack on hand just in case to say thanks.

We came back, washed off, and ate some dinner. I drank the remaining five Heineken in the fridge from the Adams' visit, and had one of Quinn's heavy handed Mai Tais. I was pretty drunk when we started "Pineapple Express" and I was pretty drunk when it ended too. I went up to bed and crashed hard.

7/27/2009

I woke up this morning to a quiet morning. Quinn was off to work, Ben and Nate had their first day at school, and it was just me, Sue and Naomi enjoying the peace. The school year here is awesome for these kids. They go in Quarters and have 3 week breaks in between them, so basically they are in school year round. Today's adventure was a trip to the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park north of Kaneohe. Naomi was excited to go! The drive out there is spectacular. H-3 has probably the prettiest landscape of all the ones I've seen.

Valley of the Temples from the outside looks like an ordinary cemetary and resting place, but it is truly very beautiful. There weren't very many headstones, as most of the people interred here had plates on the ground with flowers marking their location. Several had drinks and fruits/snacks placed on them. I thought that was strange, but after research, I read about how some Japanese people do this for their loved ones. The backdrop of the mountain ridge above the park is glorious. The pictures do not do it justice. The wall-faces are so steep, it's amazing that people have been up them. How do I know that they have? As you can see in this picture, there are high power lines traversing the mountain from the ground.

In the back of this park is the Byodo-In Temple. It is a replica of Byodoin Temple of Uji in Kyoto prefecture of Japan, established in 1052. It is absolutely gorgeous here. The weather ceases to exist near the temple. It was downright idyllic. There were plenty of birds, koi fish,, and black swans on the grounds. Supposedly there are also peacocks nearby, but I didn't see them.

The Koi in the ponds here were ENORMOUS, some close to 2' long. They also came in different colors and varieties. I managed to take a shot of a very rare Koi Fish Orgy. For $1, Naomi was able to feed the Koi near a bridge on the north side of the temple. I snapped video of the fish feeding frenzy.

The temple features the largest wooden Buddha sculpted in over 900 years, and amazing detail all over. One interesting fact is that the temple was apparently built with no nails whatsoever. It features a beautiful stone garden overlooking the entrance and stunning flowers everywhere. My favorite picture of the flowers is the one below... a larger 15 megapixel version is now my desktop background.

There is also a giant bell here with a log that you can pull on to ring the bell. It emanages a low-pitched tone that is supposed to remove bad energy and bring tranquility to those that hear it. As anyone could ring the bell, I heard it plenty and I'll be damned if I wasn't feeling very relaxed here. I really could have slowly walked these grounds for hours. As we were leaving, I noticed a pathway behind the gift shop and went for a peek. Behind there was a small bamboo forest that led to some sugar cane. Sue tried to grab some for a taste but quickly recoiled as the cane stalks have sharp points that resemble tiny microscopic broken glass. We decided to call it a day and headed back to Ewa.

We stopped at L&L in Ewa so I could grab some local-style lunch. I got a seafood platter, and some Saimin. Saimin is similar to Ramen or Udon, and contains bits of spam or meat. the Seafood platter was not great, but it was still decent after some of Quinn's Indonesian Shoyu. I also went into Jamba Juice for the first time ever. Damn, I wish we had these in Virginia.

I caught a long nap after lunch since it was a hot afternoon, and awoke to 6-year old Nate banging on my door. I threw on some clothes and answered the door, and Nate greeted me with a huge smile as he always does. Only this time he had a bottle of Patron Tequila in his hand and he said "HELLO UNCLE SCOTT, ITS THURSDAY!!!!" Which was hilarious because it's only monday. After analyzing it a bit, I think he was trying to ask if I was Thirsty. Thirsty I was. I went downstairs and had a few Mai Tais, some of Sue's famous Meatloaf, and we played some Nintendo before bed.

Tomorrow I'm hoping we can head down to Waikiki, hit Chinatown for lunch (I've never had Dim Sum before) and maybe do a little shopping at the mall. Wednesday I'm probably going to do some shopping for gifts to take home, and see about taking another trek up to the north shore to were the sets from LOST are. Hopefully I'll be able to check in on Thursday with reports!

(Click for a desktop background version of this image)

7/22 - 7/24/2009 - Yokohama Road Trip, Shark Country, Pidgin with good people.

OK, So I caught some slack via email and text today about not writing any updates. The truth is, my wifi signal is sort of in and out, and the times it has been in, I haven't been motivated to write and do all my hyperlinking and crap that I've been doing. Tonight (Friday Night) gave me a good opportunity to do so, as tomorrow morning we have to get up early to head to the North Shore for a swim from Chun's Reef to Waimea Bay. Quinn will be swimming Leg #3 of the North Shore Swim Series, and I will finally get to root for him. I missed out on all the bay swim opportunities, so I'm stoked to be here for this!

So, let's rewind to Wednesday. Wednesday morning, I was pretty tired after a night of Mai Tais, but forced myself out of bed and into the car, on a pretty hot day. I spent about 5 minutes analyzing how to get out to Rte 93, Farrington Highway, which would take me all the way north a couple miles short of Kaena Point, which is the westernmost point on O'ahu. I headed up this one road I thought would take me past a military base and on there, but I somehow got backwards and ended up heading east back to Ewa Beach... So I parked at the foodland and re-analyzed my route. Apparently part of the map was behind because the road that was on there is no longer open to the public, and one of the roads on there wasn't even built yet. So I said "screw it", and followed the sun North and West.

I finally made my way onto 93, and headed west past Ko Olina where I had the luau the other day, and up toward Waianae. The book Sue sent me to prepare for this trip said that Waianae and the west coast used to be pretty rough in the 70's, but that things were blown out of proportion now, and it's totally safe for tourists to travel there. I can see how this area may get this reputation as I encountered some pretty destitute living conditions for some people living on the beach. Whether they have been forced there or live there by choice, I do not know, but I saw some "tarp cities" deep in the bush between the highway and the water. When I mentioned it to Quinn, he told me how some of the locals here have basically been priced out of their homeland due to massive inflation in the real estate market. The situation is sad, for such a beautiful place that the natives are being kind of shoved to the wayside to make way for resorts and other Capitalist Delights. It seems almost like a 21st century, passive Trail of Tears, only instead of forcing people to walk out to Oklahoma, people have come in and bought up all the land increasing the prices so much that without a way off the island, those that cant afford housing move to the west side.

Waianae is not without it's beauty despite all this, and given the choice to be homeless here or in Roanoke, by far I'd choose here, even though there is less upward mobility. Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, and Makaha are all small towns on this stretch of highway. One interesting story I read about Makaha is that it used to be very dangerous. There is a mountain (Pu'ukea'au) on the east side of the road that pinches the pass to Keawa'ula Beach (Yokohama) From over 1000' feet up, lookouts could see groups of people coming and would yell "high tide" if the group was big and "low tide" if the group was small enough to be robbed. What struck me most about this area is that it is exceptionally beautiful, even in the summer when things are mostly brown from the arid climate. The west side gets very little rainfall and the beach and mountains basically meet together.

As you can see, getting on the beach here is quite treacherous, as it is packed from one end of the coast to the other with locals and tourists. There are many beaches just like this one along the way, but my favorite was all the way up north at the end of the road... a place known as Yokohama Beach (Keawa'ula Beach). It's the last beach accessible by paved road before getting to Kaena Point State Park, where the waves I hear are extraordinarily large, and unsafe for swimming. The waves here at Yokohama were awesome. Some of the kids were doing backflips over the conditions here. Even the locals got in on the action. I hung out here for a while, but couldn't stay all day unfortunately, and eventually headed back to Ewa where Sue had to take off for work. The trip wouldn't be complete without scoring a shot of a friggin spectacular Hawaiian Mullet - - on a motorcycle no less.

Sue took off and I babysat the three kids until Quinn came home. For the most part the kids here are exceptionally well-behaved, except they like to see how far they can get with me when mom and dad aren't home. It's difficult for me to play disciplinarian to kids when I used to get away with so much as a child. So we've started this system up when Uncle Scott babysits: As soon as they go over the line with misbehaving, I whip them with an old antenna off a 79' Chevy Impala. No, really, they generally do what I say, when I say it.

Quinn got in, and a planned early-to-bed drink turned into 3 or 4, and the next thing we knew, we were pretty drunk out on the patio having good conversation. While I *am* in paradise and have so many things assaulting my senses... beautiful sights (and women), wonderful smells and tastes.... it is the conversations and quality time I have been getting to spend with Quinn, Sue, Ben, Nate, and Naomi that I will be taking home as the longest lasting memories. This is time I truly cherish.

Thursday morning, Quinn and I had intended on getting up at 6am to head out to Shark Country for an early morning Surf. We didn't really hit the road until 7:30. The surfing at Shark Country is pretty far out, and quite corally, and since I don't surf, I pretty much stayed at the rocks and practiced taking photos with my camera. I got some videos that you can see at my YouTube Channel and a lot of stills of the surf action on my Picasa site. The surf was pretty far out, so I didn't get anything super great. Most of the stills I had to get at 20x digital zoom distance... and a few actually came out. I like this one of a guy getting eaten by the wave.

We came back and I scored some breakfast and a long nap.

After my nap, I did a little grocery shopping at the Foodland and got fixings for burgers. Friends of Quinn and Sue's: Greg and Cecilia came over for a little cookout in the evening. I made some of my Roanoke-Famous Blue Cheese Burgers, and found some Aidells Chicken Sausages to cook up as well. Apparently, this was the very last meal to be cooked on the family grill, as we awoke Friday morning to find a rusted out bottom of the grill laying on the patio. The salt air plus some curious rats probably contributed to the death of this poor feast-making machine!

During dinner, I was a little shy, being the fifth wheel at this party, opting to drink my "Green Bottles" (Heineken) and enjoy the food and listen to the talk. When Greg started talking, Quinn used his secret power of being a local chameleon to start talking Hawaiian Pidgin with him. Listening to this dialect was fascinating. The more I drank, the more I understood what was being said, as I fell into some sort of crazy time warp and each word sort of became clearer. Either way, it was fascinating to listen to, and Greg and Cecilia are wonderful wonderful people. Since I am but a visitor to their lovely island, they showed me great friendliness and hospitality. I can't imagine better people to take care of my Quinn and Sue while they're so far away from me! I only hope I didn't make a complete ass of myself from all the "Green Bottles!"

Needless to say, this morning I slept pretty good. I was very confused as to what time it truly was due to my being in a time warp. It was like dark when I woke up first and I thought it was maybe 10am, then the next time I woke up it was extremely bright and I was mad at myself for sleeping until noon. It turns out it was 8:30am, and I sort of flopped around a bit until I felt good enough to head downstairs.

Quinn made me a killer Poke Omelette and left it in the fridge. After that, Sue did her morning tread/sunbathing as I got cleaned up and tried to help around the house wherever I was needed (which apparently is nowhere), but ended up playing with the kids a bit. When she came in, she taught me the ancient game of Pinochle. One thing about Sue is that I can count on her to have a good time playing cards. I love playing cards, and she probably enjoys it as much as my mom did when I was a kid. One thing's for sure... when I get home, I am going to see about organizing some card playing. Not like drinking card playing, or necessarily high stakes poker, but just a fun night to play cards, eat snacks, listen to tunes, drink some beers. Spades, Hearts, Poker, Pinochle, whatever floats the boat. Something to get people together, as the community aspect is what's so much fun about it.

Sue headed off to work, and I hung out on the couch with Nate and Ben while they played video games and we all waited for Quinn to get home. I started reading a book which grabbed my attention quickly. I'm hoping to get some time tomorrow to get farther, but it will be a full day up on the North Shore and heading around the island. Had some "Arroz con pollo" for dinner, which tricked the kids into sounding much better than "Chicken and Rice". I have to admit, it was pretty good. All in all, it was a good day.

Early to bed, Early to rise. -- One week down, one to go.

Signing off from the Island,
Scott

7/20 and 7/21/2009 - Road Trip, Coconut Bras, and Wu Wei

I meant to write an entry last night but was so tired after a long day that I just checked my mail and crashed, so instead I'm going to write about yesterday and part of today.

Yesterday I got up, caught some breakfast and then decided I was going to go get lost. Sue and Quinn have been so kind (and daring) as to lend me their family minivan on occasion while I'm here. I grabbed a couple books, my camera, and for the first time in a week, my cell phone, and I hit the road in the Isuzu. My goal was to make it up to Kailua on the east coast and then come back down the Pali highway where there are several overlooks worth seeing.

I left at about nine o'clock, and set forth onto H1. I went past a few of the sights I'd seen in previous days, and finally got to new territory on the east side of Honolulu past Waikiki. I could see Diamond Head on my right, and wanted to drive by it to take pictures, but didn't have a full map handy to see how to do so. H1 turns into Rte 72 along Maunalua Bay, and I stopped in Wailupe Beach Park to watch the parasailing off in the distance. Those guys fly a lot higher than I thought.

Winding through the volcanic ridges, I stopped at several other overlooks in between Koko Crater and Hanauma Bay. I saw some awesome waves crash over the rocks, and some crazy tourists. I also got a look at Sandy Beach with the famous kiss in "From Here To Eternity"

Setting forth around the eastern most point of O'ahu, I spotted some great corally water that looks like it would be awesome for snorkelling. I'm hoping to give this a try in the next couple days or so.... though maybe not here. I don't know anything about it.

Next stop was Waimanalo Beach Park which was beautiful and mostly unpopulated. There was a lifeguard here, and several locals eating with him on the beach. Somehow, I don't think I would feel too comfortable swimming here though :( After a brief stay and snapping off a few dozen shots, I decided it was time to head up north into Kailua in search of some food and then head back to town.

The road along the coast to Kailua is beautiful. You have the ocean/bay on your right and huge steep mountains on your left with some homes and golf courses along the way. Some of the houses on the mountain side of the road looked pretty ratty on the outside, but even the rattiest house in paradise is probably worth relocating. The weather on this side of the island is drastically different than it is in Ewa. In Ewa it's dry and hot. Up here it was a little more moist, salty, and temperate. I felt very comfortable and it was nearing midday. I got into Kailua and saw an Infiniti Skyline(?) and some interesting graffiti of a hula girl. I got lost and ended up at the entrance of the Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Air Station. I did an about face and headed back to town. Since I didn't really have a plan, I basically bailed on lunch and thought I'd head back to Honolulu and grab some grub with Quinn.

The Pali Highway (Rte 61) heading from Kailua/Kaneohe had some AWESOME vistas of the valleys below. One particular "_new">windy one at Nuuanu Pali offered spectacular views, and not just because some tourists with skirts were unaware of the 50mph winds.

On the way further down the hill into Honolulu, I saw Magnum P.I. and tried to snap a picture, though it didn't come out so well. I also pulled off at this one place just before the city as it had an overlook, and I needed to call Quinn. When I got there, I noticed there was a japanese style architecture building and graveyard. Quinn was unable to grab lunch (I called kind of late) and so I headed back to the Ewa Beach Rum Plantation (home) for lunch. Three cheers for Loco Moco at Zippy's

After a shower and a babysitter we headed out to Paradise Cove at Ko'Olina with Quinn and Sue. The objective of the evening was to take part in a Luau, something everyone should do while here. I went into this thinking.... ok this is going to be cheesy, and the food will be kind of mediocre because they're feeding hundreds (if not a thousand) people at once. We got there and had a complementary mai tai, which was made more alcoholic via trademarked Carver Sippy Cup Technology. There were demonstrations on how to wear sarongs, how to husk and crack open a coconut, as well as tree climbing. As always there were hula lessons, of which you will not see me attempt. I have no rhythm, much less coordination to move my hips and hands and feet in three different directions at once... However that doesn't stop some people, does it Quinn?

The food at the luau was good, much much better than I anticipated. They had originally pulled a cooked pig out of a pit, but I have a feeling the time it takes to do that and the time we got to eat, it would have been impossible to separate all that meat and make it taste as good as it did. They also brought around some of the food they'd be serving and made some poor sap eat Poi. LOL, his face says it all.

The food served was some generic stuff for people with bland palates, (sorry Sue) like Fried Chicken, some pasta salad and vegetable salads. They also had a sweet salmon salad which had pieces of salmon, some tomato and onions... it was a lot like Ceviche, but not quite. They had the pig all shredded up which was friggin awesome, and various other delicious deserts like Haupia. Interestingly, George Takei (Commander Sulu)was sitting one table over from us.


After fire dancing, hula hip shaking, and 3 enhanced Mai Tais... I decided this is a must-do if you go to Hawai'i. Also, the luau at the PCC doesn't have booze, so.... what fun is that?!

We got back to the house and chilled out on the back porch as it started to spritz a little bit. I turned in early and slept until 9am. Today I have been practicing the Zen Art of Wu-Wei. The art of doing nothing. Well not totally nothing, but I sat out on the back porch, finished reading The Catcher In The Rye and drinking lemonade under the tent. Something about sitting around doing nothing in this heat really makes the experience pleasant. Almost too pleasant. Like it's going to be difficult to return home. O:) Tonight we're going to cookout steaks, probably have some tropical drinks, and watch a movie. It's not half bad to be a third wheel if you can put up with all the PDA!!!!!!!!!!

There's other videos on my Youtube Site and pictures at my Picasa Site.

Signing off from the Island,
Scott

7/18 and 7/19/2009 - Waves, Ho's, and Wieners

I didn't really get a chance to sit down and write my thoughts and recap yesterday because I was absolutely bushed. I got a good opportunity tonight though, since it's a work/school night for my friends here. As a result, this will be a long one. As usual, tons of pics if you click the links below.

Let's start two days ago.

Got up at the crack of 7am, having fully defeated jet lag. I moseyed on downstairs and caught some grub out on the patio, and drank some delicious Kona Coffee. We decided to head on up to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. There was a lot of everything there, mostly jewelry, beads, tiki dolls, hula girl bobbleheads, and beach towels. There were a couple of cool places, including a knife store that the kids seemed extremely interested in. Basically it's a lot like Happy's back in Roanoke, only it is a big setup at Aloha Stadium in the parking lot, and the crowd is much less likely to be spitting tobacco. While there, we scored some Malasadas and a few knick-knacks.

We headed back home so the littles (Nate and Naomi) could catch a nap with Suz, and Quinn, Ben and I headed to Oneula Beach Park, AKA Hau Bush. The wind was really strong, but despite this, Ben paddled out and tried to catch a few waves. I was only adventurous enough to swim about 50 feet out, right past where the sand drops off into coral rock. The waves were about 5' high on the front, which was more than I'd ever really experienced on the east coast in all my trips to Nags Head and the Jersey Shore. The only exception was during Hurricane Dennis, but the sand was flying into my eye so I couldn't even see the waves. After getting my aquasocks full of sand and it felt like I was unable to walk, I decided to forgo wearing them. Mistake! I swam out and got annihilated by a few waves, then trying to get a foothold, I hit coral rock and took a chunk out of one of my toes and sliced up my big toe in a few spots. No big deal, but supposedly coral cuts take longer to heal.

We stopped at the Foodland for lunch, and Quinn scored us some island delights for lunch. First up we had Poke which is cubed Ahi Tuna with various sushi styled sauces and a little onion. We had Hawaiian, Spicy, and Oyster I believe. We threw some of it into little Nori wrappers with a finger full of rice and made little 2" Poke Tacos. I also tried Poi. Now... for those of you who've had Poi before, you know what I'm talking here. This stuff looks NASTY. There's probably a reason there's only 2 pictures of actual Poi when doing a Google Image search for it. It's grayish/purple and looks more like something that comes out of a sick dog's butt. I stuck my fingers in the container and took out a big glop of Poi, and then put my fingers in my mouth. Basically it had no flavor. Very neutral, almost tapioca consistency, but overall, you'll never hear me utter "Hey man, I could really go for a huge bowl of Poi!" Another treat was Li Hing Mui plums which we dropped in a tall glass of Budweiser. The red powder on the plums made the Budweiser tart, and it wasn't a particularly wonderful flavor, but it was OK. I think because I've become quite the beer snob over the years, I just didn't like the beer tasting that way. For desert, we had Mochi which was like this crazy rice confection that felt weird in my mouth. It was almost like a marshmallow, but not as sweet and resilient.

I know I've been rattling off a lot about the food here, but I had told Quinn and Sue I wanted to try all the local type stuff rather than just be in my own comfort zone or pound down Sushi the whole time I'd be here. While I will never be a Hawai'ian I figure I can at least try some of the stuff that is unique to the place.

In the afternoon, Sue went off to work at Ala Moana, and Quinn and I took the kids to Don Ho's for Happy Hour. While that sounds like an exercise in awful parenting, the food specials really made for a good time for everyone. We got to sit and watch the sunset next to a huge yacht with two hot tubs on it. We had surfboard pizzas, Poke, Cheese Fries, and even a Gin and Tonic for Quinn and I. Upstairs we even met a salty sea captain willing to share a tale over a glass of rum.

After dinner, we headed over to Ala Moana to the Apple Store to see Sue, alas she was very busy at work and we couldn't distract her. I got to see my first Rainbow here though, thus justifying all the rainbows on license plates.

We headed back home since the kids were tired, and Quinn and I had a few more cocktails on the patio until Sue came home. We also got in a few rounds of Fluxx. Quinn, by the way, I think you were right... it is a nerd game because it DOES have expansion packs. Check the link.

Today, I woke up at about 8am, and felt kind of rough. I was coughing and had a sore throat, probably from the fan blowing on my face all night long. I slept in since the fam was heading to Church, and finally got showered and cleaned up around 11:15am. Looking outside my room, its almost a sin to waste any daylight here. After a couple cups of coffee and another Poke Lunch, I was feeling much better. The kids were ready for a nap after Church, so pretty much everyone had a lazy Sunday. I camped out on the patio, did some reading and enjoyed the day. When the kids got up, Quinn and I took them down to the park about a half a mile up the road. Just beyond the hill there is the Harbor and the wind comes whipping in here pretty good so it felt wonderful even though it was probably in the mid 80s. I definitely added to my sunburn on my head and neck. The funny thing is.... I don't really care. This place has a wonderful effect on my ability to care about the things that would normally bug, irritate, or worry me.

When we got back, I got a shower and shave in, and the whole family got in the van and we headed off to dinner. On the way there, we were talking in the van about Jorge Garcia's blog: "Dispatches from The Island" and how he spotted the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile up in Kaneohe earlier this week. Not 5 minutes later, as we were on Sand Island getting ready to pull in for dinner, THERES THE FRICKEN WIENERMOBILE!!!! We chased it down and raced it for a little bit, but Quinn edited out the part where he got smoked on his version of the video, so here's what it looked like from my point of view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1z6FyNKABE Note.... The WienerMobile in Hawai'i has a personalized plate that says "WNR MBLE" and though I thought it was spelled "Weinermobile" it is actually Wiener!

We had dinner at
La Mariana Sailing Club where apparently part of "50 First Dates" was shot. I don't remember this from the movie. This place is one of the last true old-school Tiki Bars. It's right on the water where a bunch of boats are moored and are inhabited by locals. The food in there was a little expensive, but good, and who can say no to Mai Tais when you have a band consisting of three blind guys playing Steve Miller, Outkast, and Michael Jackson tunes. If you find yourself in Hawai'i, go there, because it really is a good time.

We came back past the Keikis' bedtime, so they went upstairs while the three of us played Wii for a bit before bed. As I naturally do not fall asleep before midnight, I took the opportunity to get some serious bloggery and photo processing done.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to go get lost over by Diamond Head then head to the east point of the island and up to Kailua and back along the Pali Highway. I have a couple other day trips planned to get lost up north and west without any set plans... We'll just have to see how it goes!

Signing off from the Island,
Scott

7/17/2009 - Welcome to Paradise

(Click Links for More Pictures!)

Those lyrics by Green Day should be playing on the PA system when you get off the airplane.

Yesterday started early... 5:45am in Atlanta. I got up showered and was ready to go to the airport (albeit early) by 6:30. Dad got me there, and I navigated the airport pretty easily, but still that place has to be a nightmare when there's a lot of flights coming in. I got to my gate and camped out for a couple hours, reading "The Catcher in the Rye" as part of my lofty goal to read while on vacation from school. I got through six chapters when they boarded first class passengers.

I like to get on the plane early, get settled in a position and just sit there. I don't like to be the guy climbing over other people because I have huge feet, and inevitably someone's getting stomped on. So, naturally I was the first one on. I get on and am directed to my seat in the front of the plane, and before I can have my backpack up in the stowaway bin, There's a flight attendant with a Mai-Tai in hand for me. "Does that have rum in it?" The flight attendant, also named Scott, looked a little stunned and said "No sir, none at all." "Well then it's just fruit juice, get me some rum and it'll be a Mai-Tai worth drinking!" So I had two of those before takeoff.

Now let me say this about first class on this 747. I haven't flown first class in a long time, and the last time I did was on an upgrade flight to San Francisco on AirTran probably 10+ years ago. The seats basically were the same as coach, except a little wider and had leather headrests. These seats were like bubble-pods from the back, and were soft and had multiple sections of cloth and leather. Each seat was outfitted with a lumbar massager (which i discovered accidentally), and a button that transformed the seat into a fully reclined bed. I had enough legroom to stick my feet all the way out and people could still easily walk in front of me. The only downside to the seat is that it was located next to the lavatory, however even that had a hidden benefit, as well timed flatulence went undetected! LOL. Speaking of Lavatories, the doors on them plainly state "PUSH" in 72 point red arial font. However, the 747 is a relic and still has ashtrays int the walls next to the lavatory doors and I saw about 20 people pull on the ashtrays in order to open the lavatory door. A few people were so confused by how to open this door, they just stood there and waited because they thought someone was in there, but nobody was.

The other thing about flying this way that is interesting... The last few times I flew first class, everyone dressed up and it was generally a bunch of well-to-do business type people. As Scott the flight attendant told me. "Man, I remember when there were no kids up here, now it's a damn nursery." He was totally right, there were so many children up in first class it was ridiculous. They were crawling all around and under the seats, yelling at each other, laughing very loud at the personal entertainment units, etc... I shouldn't bitch because I didn't pay for anything, but seriously, who can afford 4-5 first class tickets? Seats were like $1500+ when I looked. Hopefully on the way home, being on the 2nd deck of the plane will be a little less crowded.

3 movies (I Love You Man, Benjamin Button, and Gran Torino), 4-5 Mai-Tais, 2 Gin & Tonics, and a beer later, the plane landed in Honolulu. I got off the plane and was immediately assaulted by hot, humid air. "Well, so far this is like Atlanta," I thought. The airport concourse is neat, there are no windows, its just open to the jetway as you walk to the baggage claim. I quickly found the Carvers there waiting for me, and I was appropriately Lei'd four times. :D I grabbed my suitcase and we were off to meet up with Quinn. I grabbed a tall coffee at Starbucks, and went upstairs to Quinn's office where I found some awesome workstations! Reminds me of another place I worked at, but slightly less privacy. Sue had to head to her work, so Quinn, the kids and I headed to Ewa Beach to unwind. I desperately needed to wash the flight off of me, and lubricate my liver some more.


There was a decent amount of traffic on the way there, but unlike DC or Atlanta traffic, this actually moved most of the time. Also, I noticed gas is still well above $3.00 a gallon here. Considering it was $2.10 when I left Roanoke, I really would have hated to see it here last summer when the culture of fear had boosted gas prices up near $5 at home.

I had an extremely strong Mai-Tai when I got cleaned up, and spent the afternoon just relaxing on the back patio, which puts mine to shame! Ewa is much drier than the airport, so the 80+ degrees doesn't hit you at all. It was very pleasant. Quinn made us a local dish called Loco-Moco. It's essentially steamed rice, topped with hamburger patty (ours was teriyaki style), egg, and gravy. The mixture was really good, and somehow I will have to figure out how to make a Loco Moco burger with rice when I get back.

After putting a sizable dent in the Captain Morgan, shooting the bull for a few hours, and watching some awesome family videos, I poured myself up the steps to bed at about 11pm local time (5am back home).

And that ended my first day. I am posting this at 730am local time, having just made Jet Lag my total bitch. 6 hour difference, 9 hour flight? Who cares when you have Insomnia??

Signing off from the Island,
Scott

7/16/2009 - Pregame!

Well, its another edition of blogging my vacation. The last time I did this, for the road trip, it wasn't so much as a vacation as it was my own private insane asylum for five weeks. This, however, will be 100% hard core vacation. I'm heading to the island of O'ahu. I have never been before, and will be staying with some of my favorite people on this earth: The Carver family. Two weeks in paradise, away from the stresses of school, work, and home. I will miss the cats, and even some of the people I leave behind. (That is assuming they haven't found their way into my luggage as they have been bribing me to do all week.) Ultimately, it will be a much needed escape into a world unlike where I've been before.

I've been down here in the suburbs of Atlanta for a couple days now, spending time with Dad and Charlene. Did a little shopping today for last minute trip items. I got some new sandals and a bathing suit, and a big sack of Grits for the kids. (Apparently Grits don't exist in Hawai'i?) Hey. Spam and Grits. Let's do it.

So, tomorrow morning at 6am, I'm going to awaken, get showered, eat a little breakfast, and then head to the airport at 7am. My flight doesn't leave until 11, but supposedly you have to have your bags checked 90 minutes beforehand, and navigating the Atlanta airport isn't like going to Roanoke, where you can get off the plane and be in your car in under 5 minutes. I am lucky enough to be able to use frequent flier miles for this trip, so I figured if it's going to be the first vacation in many years, and likely the last for many years, I'm going to enjoy myself and fly first class. It's about 9 hours flight time, and the last time I flew that long was when my friend and I flew from Chicago to Berlin in coach. I was so stiff for days afterward, that much I remember. So hopefully this will be a better experience.

I'm really not sure what I'm going to be doing except spending time with great people in paradise. I have a few tentative plans to see certain things, but outside of that, I haven't a clue, except for sure, I'm going in the ocean, Jellyfish be damned.

I hope to get on here in the evenings before bed to post pictures with some sort of regularity, but I can't promise anything. I really want to get away from this portable idiot box, so, I'll just wing it.

Signing off from the mainland,
Scott