Out and About

HAUNAMA BAY!

Of COURSE we went here. It's the best snorkeling anywhere, and now it's close to home. I suffered through that orientation video for like the 10th time - David and I can sing it to each other now. Which, as those of you who have witnessed it, is not necessarily a good thing. But it's funny. David takes care of the Hawaiian chanting part. I do the extremely lame underwater song. Maybe I could find a copy and post it here...but probably not.

Here, Corene is getting snorkeling lessons from David. I think this is her first time doing it? I was watching from a nice, warm distance. Someone had to protect her camera! It took them awhile, but they got the hang of it, and Corene turned out to love the water just like David. Or, I suppose, David loves the water just like her. Whichever.

It was great - when she climbed out of the water, she was so happy. She actually kind of yelled, 'I went snorkeling!" and everyone on the beach turned to stare at us. It was awesome. Luckily, I have been innoculated against parental embarrassment by my mother, so it was just fun.

While Corene was here, my unprofessional self kept making Corene take pictures that had terrible lighting. She did a good job of reining in the frustration, because I am pushy and blissfully ignorant. I want certain things in the background, lighting be damned. This is probably why most of my pictures kind of suck. Ha ha!

Classic from behind shot!

Anyway, this was one of those moments, but I didn't care, because I wanted the palm trees and crater in the background. I still like it, even though she was totally right, and the light completely washes out the picture. At least I got the compositional law of thirds right.

After this, I suckered everyone into going to my barn so I could squeeze in some riding time. There was a botanical garden right next to my barn, so I figured they could spend some time looking around and taking pictures of flowers. Which they did - although I'm not going to post them here. I'll have a special post dedicated to Corene and her wonderful camera.

So here we are - she took some great shots of the resident peacocks. Most of the time, you can find them hanging out in the branches of the trees. It is an amazing sight to see them fly down from such great heights.

Why yes, I DO make that helmet look dead sexy.

Anyway, so this is me, attempting to ride. Apparently, when you take a break and then come back, riders tend to lean forward too far in the saddle. I'm trying to break myself of that habit right now.

Day 4 (or 5?)

Well, I am now back at work, and having no fun. So, you get: Day in Pictures without my snarky comments.

Ok, so after this everything is out of order and whacked, and I think I am missing a day? I apparently have no pictures of one day occurring. Considering that both David and Corene were on the job, I find this highly unlikely. I probably just lost them somewhere.

Anyway,

At some point, they had a nice, relaxing day at beautiful Ko Olina. Nowhere better for a lazy day on the beach.

Day 6? 13?

I love the North Shore, as I am sure I have said before. Especially since I've never been in winter, when then waves are really up. Naturally, there was a big storm system blowing through, so the waves were supposed to be crazy high - around 25 feet, which is a substantial increase over the norm, 3-5 ft. We were hoping there would be some surfers out, and a good photo op for Corene.

Sadly, the surfers were elsewhere, or really far out to sea, which made them more like specks than subjects. So we just took shots of the beach.

See that haze? It is actually a mist that was hanging over the whole shoreline from the giant waves that kept crashing on the beach. Nuts.

This is the Lost beach, by the way.

(Jennifer, guess what? The Lost set is back up! What the!? You have to come back and visit so you can see it. Ha.)

Another reason I was so excited about the North Shore this time was that I was going to do something NEW. Very exciting. There is supposed to be the best botanical gardens on the island over there, and I was looking forward to seeing it with Corene. Of course, Trip Disaster struck again, because it always does. I think Emily might have escaped it, but only because I was too tried over stressing about someone else's longer stay (which I LOVED) to actually plan anything. We just kind of went and…did stuff. Yeah.

Anyway, when we drove up we saw it was Closed. I proceeded to throw a fit in the car, raging against my extremely bad luck, becuase it's always about me. WHYYYYY?!? about sums it up. I think Corene was too focused on calming me down to actually be upset herself. Oh well, now she has something to look forward to when she makes it back out here.

So Plan = Down the Drain. Dejected, we headed into Haleiwa town to go look at all the cute little shops.

Here I am, ruining yet another otherwise decent shot. Meh.

Which ended up taking up half the day, surprisingly. We went in our favorite gift shop with the koa wood postcards, shopped around for some island wear, looked at pearls, and watched the lady making glass figurines, which is always fun. Also, I think it was this day that Corene discovered her deep and abiding love for kukui lotion.

We also had lunch at a great new spot, The Grass Skirt Grill. It has amazing seafood, served with brown rice, insanely good salad and homemade dressing, and of course, pineapple. YUM. David went out on a limb and got this astounding BBQ-ish sandwich. Of course, it is way too far away to visit often. Figures.

After that, we just wandered along the coast, because the water was too rough to get in. Along the way we came across these adorable guys:

What you lookin' at?

One crashed-out turtle

Random side-story, mainly because I want to chronicle every time I fall, just for posterity:

The continuing theme on this trip was the repeated breaking of my very nice sunglasses, sometimes within 10 minutes of me painstakingly fixing them. Furthermore, while holding them together so the super glue had a chance to work, I would always invariably glue myself to them, no matter how I tried not to.

This breaking was happening so frequently, that it got to the point I just kept going around squinting, because whenever I glued them back together, the fates would collide and something bad would happen to me, usually involving gravity. In this case, I had just reglued them in the car, and as I was STANDING STILL and watching Corene take some amazing photos of these turtle twins, when - wait for it - I fell over and just about sprained my ankle. !?!? So my glasses broke, again, but this time sand got stuck all over the still-wet super glue! Perfect. From my various attempts at trying not to glue my fingers to the frame, my glasses were covered with permanent bits of paper towel, metal flakes from my tweezers, and now sand. I'm nothing if not classy.

Back to the cuteness:

That is one fat seal.

We stopped at Sunset beach, because I thought it was going to be a Great Moment in Photography. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Will I never learn? Stupid Sunset Beach did not live up to it's name, yet again, and even Corene wanted to get out of there. SUNSET FAIL. So we drowned our sorrows in some pie; chocolate-halpia nirvana from Ted's Bakery. After that we just cut our losses and headed back home in the dark.

Day: Somethinger-other

Holy smokes, Corene and David got up and left the house at 5 AM to hike a trail and watch the sunrise. I'm sure it was very beautiful. I would have no idea, because I was at home, asleep.

Balance Strikes Back

At some point towards the end of the week, David took Corene on what would have been a beautiful, photogenic hike.


If it weren't pouring rain.

He took her into the mountains on the day the government closed all their offices in anticipation of an impeding storm.

He called and told me where we was, which I relayed to my coworkers. They started laughing.

A Little Damp

Cool tree. It's a good thing David wore red, otherwise it'd be more like Where's Waldo?

Corene crossing the stream

I like this picture.

After I got off work, I took over and Corene and I went to Chinatown while David was at his office. At the same time, the storm started blowing in, with some serious high winds and driving rain, which STILL could not dampen Corene's enthusiasm for the day's activities.

Of course, the Tiffany-forced poses started taking place immediately.

We wandered around the shops at Aloha Tower, found a few goodies and an ADORABLE little Hawaiian outfit for Benjamin.

After that, we headed into Chinatown, which is fun for its vast food markets, from sidewalk produce stands to butchers and florists, with everything so quaint it's just adorable.

Ok, maybe not the pig heads.

Corene took lots of fun pictures of the area:

Corene stops to smell the heliconias

Watching them make leis

She ended up buying me flowers - they were beautiful! And they lasted for like 2 weeks - it was amazing.

Of course, we are still in downtown, and I thought this was funny.

Back in the markets

We also wandered around a bunch of art galleries, but didn't take any pictures. I'm not a total neanderthal.

Then we met David for some pre-dinner snacks at Gordon Biersch, home of the best garlic edamame ever. I also had dessert out of a shot glass, which was a new, kinda weird way to overcharge us for something. It looks like a very generous portion, overflowing the glass, until you realize the glass is the size of a thimble.

Anyway, it was nice. Corene finally had the traditional mai tai, and we headed home.

Where I made us even MORE food, for who knows why. It was Macadamia Nut Fish Night, so we were eating, by god. Besides, there were no other 'eat at home' nights on the chart, so it had to be then. I put on my fatigues and went to battle in my kitchen.

Resting afterward. Everyone Stuffed. Mission accomplished.

Day Who Knows:

This must be a Saturday, since I'm not running out the door to get to work. I have finally discovered how to fill my my kitchen torch, and now I am trying to flambe everything in sight. On this day, I coated the top of the grapefruit with a vanilla-ginger sugar, and was attempting to make it crispy. As soon as I finished one, I would start squawking that someone better eat it RIGHT NOW because in about 3 seconds it would be soggy again. It is VERY HARD to torch something that is inherently ridiculously juicy. It's like trying to dig a hole in quicksand. Not that I didn't try. It was still good.

After this we got up and headed over to the Diamondhead farmers market. We had tied to go the week before, but hit it just as it was closing. Bummer. This week we were prepared, and armed with our cameras.

I can't tell you how much I love this place - the energy is awesome. All the local farmers and florists come out, along with a few other food vendors. It's loud, crowded, and there is always something to look at or try. The island's big rancher comes and sells fresh meat from his herd. The good stuff was already gone by the time I got there, but I'll get some next time.

David disappeared for a little while, as his is wont to do, and showed back up with a bag of fresh Kettle Corn as big as my head, just for me. BROWNIE POINTS. I shared, of course, but still.

Here Corene is sampling what may be the best tea/lemonade drink ever, and I don't like tea. She is looking very pleased with her purchase, as she should be. They need to bottle that stuff.

I like this picture, because this the stance Corene was in for most of her visit. Genius doesn't just happen, people!

David's long hair

I have a nagging suspicion that I already posted this picture, but I can't seem to find it. Sorry if it's a repeat, but he's pretty easy on the eyes, so I don't feel too bad.

At the market Corene bought some lychee fruits, which you can see above. Once you split open their skins, they are like eating a giant skinned grape.

Or an eyeball.

In any case, kind of wierd. I don't normally eat things that look like Tribbles, but I made an exception. They were very light and good.

It was a pretty day, so we headed out to the beach with our puppy.

Backseat Buddies II!

She looks normal and sane, right?

WRONG.

Lily hadn't been out in a while, so she had some energy to burn off, which she channeled into one of her favorite games, Eat The Sandball. If you blow up this pic, you can see her teeth closing on a ball to the side, and little sand flecks flying every which way.

In the end, it was a pretty lazy afternoon, with Lily providing all the entertainment. Hence, no pictures of actual people. I, personally, was too busy hiding under a blanket, because it was COLD that day. Brr.

More Sand Madness


David prepping Lily for a throw

After all that action, Lily needed a rinse.

Here David reassures her that we still love her, even though she is obviously mentally deranged.

On the way home, I decided that it would be perfect lighting to go check out a waterfall that was just a short hike away, because seeing a waterfall is On The List, and therefore must be done. This is the last picture I took, right before we headed off to the trail, and insanity. Those of you who do facebook/Gmail chat probably already know what happened next.

Ha! Wrong! I did NOT twist my ankle! ah hahaha

At least not yet.

To get to the trailhead, you have to park along the highway and backtrack a bit up it to start the actual trail. There is a small wall running alongside the highway to make sure that cars don't careen off into space, and I thought it would be safer to walk along it. Hey, I try at least, alright?

Naturally, disaster (or my ''impeccable'' balance) struck. I had the dog, and one minute I was on the wall, and then next...

I was totally lying on my back in the highway, hearing a vauge siren scream nearby.

Oh wait, that wasn't a siren, it was Corene, who was behind me, alerting David (in front) to the fact he was about to become a widower. I took a moment to notice my broken sunglasses lying infront me on the highway, and I started giggling. I was kind of out of it, but David came and scooped me up and carried me back to the car. About this time the shock started wearing off, and my body started reporting that I had done something retarded, yet again. A quick stock of injuries showed that I was going to have yet another scar on my knee, and that part of my toe was MIA. It beats having your head caved in, but I was still not in happy town. We got my bloody self home and I took like 4 Advil while David washed out and doctored my wounds. Personally, I was all about them just festering, because I did NOT want to scrub out or pour hydrogen peroxide on anything. Yes, I even procrastinate pain.

One I'm cleaned up, David sits me on the couch with what is basically a jug of Mikes Hard Lemonade. I kind of felt like an alcoholic, and posed for the camera.

You might notice that my eyes are open pretty wide, and look kind of panicked. That's probably because it took David SO LONG to take the picture, I was very nearly in danger of drowning. It was just that kind of night.

It was also Corene's last night, and I insisted we go out, because we wanted to look for something for me to wear for our photo shoot the next day.

We were right in the middle of Shirokiya, the Japanese form of Dillards, when I twisted my ankle. Finally. I bet you were all waiting for that one. Everyone is Shirokiya is very reservesd and quiet, as is the Japanese way.

I am NOT Japanese.

Thye probably thought I was being murdered, but I have twisted my ankle so many times, and each time it hurts so much more. I wonder that is going on in there.

In the end, a nice lady got me some ice, and I sat down for a while. Later, when I was trying to leave, she got up and offered me a diaper. ???? I was like, I am whiny, not incontinent. Then I realized it was for my ice pack, but I declined. I may have had hardly any dignity at that point, but I wanted to hang on to whatever shred that was left, and walk around with out a diaper strapped to my ankle. My ankle will heal. I'm not sure my self-esteem would.

So, we had to scrap the shopping idea, and just ate and headed home before I threw myself into traffic or something.

Again.

The next day I was home-bound, so David and Corene headed off to Foster Botanical Garden to look at some plants and take some photos. They said they'd be gone an hour, which made me laugh, and I was not suprised when they got home 4 hours later.

Of course, we were supposed to be heading over to the other side of the island for the pictures, so I was a little stressed out.

I was SO looking froward to this, because pretty much every picture of David and I in Hawaii is outside, so we are a bit bedraggled and water/sweat soaked. Which was completely fine with me, until this Chirstmas when I was trying to find a picture of us that looked halfway decent for our Christmas cards, and could not find a single one. So I was looking forward to one frameable photo, taken by the awesome Corene Dyer, photographer extraordinare. So when they got home, I definielty hussled them into the shower, and made David let me play with his hair.

His hair was actually getting prety long, and he was not sure what to do with it anymore. I told him I thought it was time to start blow-drying it, to which his Y chromosome told me to go jump in a lake. But it was ok as long as I did it. So I tried, and even on the lowest setting David was having issues with his ears being burned off. It was kind of cute, in a macrabe kind of way.

All gussied up, we headed out.

The shoot went well, except I could not really walk with my swollen cow ankle, and sand and salt water was getting into the gaping hole in my big toe. The pain was totally worth it, but some shots didn't work out so well, like the 'walk on the beach' were I look like Frankenstein and I'm holding my foot at a weird angle, or the 'on tiptoes' thing that doesn't work so well when one of your ankles cannot flex at the moment. I think Corene just got into photographer's mode and kind of forgot about it, which I can totally understand. David got kind of mad and protective about it, which was sort of cute. I spent a lot of time telling him I was ok.

In the end, Corene took like 150 pictures or something, so now I'm having the polar opposite problem, and can't decide which ones I like the most. I'm sure I'll force a bunch upon you all in the future. Corene went home and picked out her personal favorites, and threw them in an album and entered it into a portfolio competition. She won for best folio! Crazy good. It is awesome having such a good photographer in the family.

After that we had to go home and get Corene ready for the long flight home. With tears and hugs, we sent her on her way. It is such a blessing to have a sweet, amazing woman as my other mother.

Ponies!

PONIES!! So, I was pining for horses, looking at my forlorn riding boots, and taking deep breaths while in the leather jacket aisle at the mall. After trying (and failing) to find someone who needed some barn help in exchange for riding, my daily friend craigslist surprisingly came to my rescue.

I love craigslist. In addition to selling/buying basically most of my possessions, I also enjoy looking for items that I am not actually in the market to buy. One of the things I look up are the horses for sale in different areas around the US. When I checked in on Hawaii, I noticed a listing for a horse that was for lease. Eureka! I could totally afford to do that! The brain hatched a plan.

My awesome boss agreed to let me work an hour longer a day, and pay me so that I have enough left over after taxes for my riding fees. Sweet!

So, I choose Koko Crater, and have loved riding there. Horses - I'm still addicted.

Although, now I'm addicted and suck. I am kind of self-conscious (when am I ever not) and I was definitely the old lady riding with a bunch of 9 year olds. Ture, I kicked their ass, but still. I am a little off - the brain knows what to do, but the body isn't really responding. I walked around like Popeye for a few weeks. Also, I am tending to lean forward a little, and keep my hands too low - although the instructor assures me this is pretty normal for people coming back to the sport. (YES, IT IS A SPORT. NO SNARKY COMMENTS)

Anyway, so, love it. Corene took some photos of me 'riding' while she was here. Ha.

Actually, the different arenas are kind of terraced up the side of an old volcano crater. It was always awesome to ride and look at the overgrowth spilling out of the cone. I wish I had gotten a picture, although it would definitely lose the scope that makes it so beautiful.