I have been informed by Michelle that it has been over a month since my last blog post - so here is the month long catch up!!!
June 30th
Way back to the last week in June! Jen and Robbie arrived in Waikiki, and stayed at the Beachcomber, which is right around the corner from our apartment. On Wednesday night, they came over to our apartment, and met Rusty-man. He cuddled right up next to Robbie on the sofa! We took them to dinner at
Gyu Kaku, a Japanese BBQ.
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| Jen & Robbie |
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| Me & Tony |
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| Jen & Me |
July 1
On Thursday afternoon, Tony picked up his Mom and Aunt Candy at the airport. I was able to get in a quick hello before heading off to work for the evening. That night, they went to dinner and got settled in at the hotel.
July 2
The following day, we headed to the North side of the island - starting out at the Dole Plantation.
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| Enjoying some Pineapple Ice Cream & Fresh cut Pineapple |
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| View from outside of the Dole Plantation |
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Next stop was Turtle Beach on the North Shore, where we met Kuhina, the 35 year old turtle.
Next stop on our adventure was to the Waimea Valley Audobon.
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| This guy attacked a ladies french fries right at our table. |
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That afternoon, I got called into work, so I missed out on dinner and the adventures that followed... After work, Tony met Stacey and I outside to walk us home. He showed me this picture...
... of Heather Brown - one of my favorite local artists. I was so
jealous that he a) got to see her,
AND b) see her starting a new painting!!
When we arrived at home, Tony went over to the sofa and reached behind it, and handed this to me...
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| My very own Heather Brown print with re-purposed barn wood frame! |
Heather wasn't starting a new painting in the first picture - she was SIGNING the print that Tony was buying for me!!!
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| "To Lindsay! Keep pursuing your art and have fun! Love and Aloha, Heather Brown 2010" | | |
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I am still looking for the perfect spot to hang up the print, hopefully it will be up this week! I love it!!
July 3
The following morning, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Unfortunately at the time we arrived they were in the middle of their parade/show, so none of the "villages" were open. We walked to the end of the center, where we received an ukulele lesson.
Next we took a Canoe Ride through the center of the park. When the ride ended we were now at the "trolley ride." The trolley ride took us on a tour to Bringham Young college, and the mormon temple in the city of Laie. The Polynesian Cultural Center is part of Bringham Young, and is run by the students. After watching a video about the mormons, and their start on the island, we took a trolley ride back to the PCC, and promptly walked to the car and ended our experience there.
That evening, Tony, Kerry, Candy, Russell and I went on the Oahu Walking Ghost Tour. But, we couldn't begin a ghost tour without Tony swinging from a Banyan Tree.
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| Mom & Tony |
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| Me & Tony |
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| Amazing Banyan Tree |
The Ghost Tour took us around Honolulu, telling us a few of the ghost stories of Hawaii's past. It started at the
Iolani Palace, where the Kalakaua family once resided. It is also where Queen Lili`uokalani was imprisoned. On the tour we were told to take LOTS of pictures and look for "orbs."
(From Wikipedia "unexpected, typically circular artifacts that occur in flash photography — sometimes with trails indicating motion — especially common with modern compact and ultra-compact digital cameras.") To the fellow skeptics out there - those circular pieces of dust and light reflections that ruin your photos - are supposedly
ghosts.
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| Black & white photo for a scarier effect.... |
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| Tony was very excited when he found the "orb" in the upper left hand corner of this photo. |
After leaving the Iolani Palace, and after Tony finding many "orbs" we headed across the street to the King Kamehameha statue. (Side Note - there is a statue of King Kamehameha in Washington, DC at the Capitol Visitors Center.)
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| An "orb" in a cemetery |
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Next we headed to the Kaka'ako Fire Station - where firemen have said to be choked by a ghost sitting on their chests. "Some people think the station, built in 1929, is haunted because it is near a graveyard where 1,000 bodies were buried during a smallpox epidemic in the mid-1850." Supposedly all of the firemen sleep with Ti leaves under their beds/pillows to ward off these attacks.
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| "Orb" in a cemetery |
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| Close Up of the "orb" from the above photo |
After all of the hilarity of the ghost tour - which Tony & Russell took very seriously, we met Jen & Robbie at the Cheesecake Factory for their last night in Waikiki.
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| Jen, Robbie, Tony, Russell |
July 4th
I worked on Independence Day (hence the absence of pictures), but Tony, Kerry and Candy ventured out to Ala Moana mall for some shopping and dinner, followed by the fireworks across the street at Magic Island.
July 5th
On the last day of their trip, we treated Kerry & Candy to breakfast at Hula Grill, followed by a trip to the Nuuanu Pali lookout.
Before heading to the airport, Tony took us on a quick driving tour of Pearl Harbor.
We hope that Tony's Mom and Aunt Candy had a wonderful Hawaiian Vacation - we loved having them visit and can't wait for their return!
Another post to catch up on the rest of the month coming soon - I promise.
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