Click here (maybe)

If this link works, you should be able to view the photo book I made of our trip to Hawaii. Vacation pictures in a book. It's like a slide-show for the new millenium. If nothing else, on the page with the luau, there is another picture of bare-chested men. That one isn't gratuitous at all.


And if that link doesn't work for you, here's a picture of Benjamin to enjoy. He was trying to get my cell phone while I was taking the picture.

Pineapple garnishes, pt. 2

Saturday through Tuesday was all about "Paul and Carrie do Honolulu" except when Paul was on his phone with business calls. Which was pretty much hourly. Or half-hourly. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

We did try to cram as much as possible into the four days we had of vacation. As Paul pointed out, Monday through Friday, he could have been sitting in a conference room in Des Moines--this was his vacation time.

Saturday consisted of two things Paul had seen and decided he wanted to do. The first was a submarine tour and the second was a catamaran sail. My only question was how much Dramamine can one person take in a day? I'm rather susceptible to becoming sea sick and I have "chummed the waters" of many a lake and ocean. But I decided that both of these events would be more agreeable than the other thing Paul was really keen on doing--doing a dive in a shark cage. They give you scuba gear, lock you in a big metal cage, and stick you in shark-infested waters. I insisted that there was no way on God's green earth that I would do that and I most definitely did not want my 15-minutes of fame to be on Good Morning, America describing what it felt like when the shark ate my leg. (There was a shark attack the day we arrived in Hawaii in Waimea Bay--that's exactly what happened to that poor fellow.) So, I downed the Dramamine and off we sailed.

Me waiting for the boat that was going to take us to the submarine. Don't I look positively excited about this adventure?

There are always plenty of other tourists around to take a picture so Paul and I actually appear to have been on this vacation together.

Diamond Head (yes, we have lots of pictures of Diamond Head) with the top of the submarine we would soon be boarding.

It's a 48-passenger submarine with big portholes for viewing. The sub dives to a depth of 125 feet and goes around to four man-made reefs (put in place by the University of Hawaii and/or the submarine company) to look at all the sea creatures and fish hanging out there.

One of the reefs is a sunken airplane (bought after an airline company sunk-ha!). A reef shark is hanging out just under the wing.
Just trust me when I say that there are sea turtles in this picture. And some fish. Lots and lots of bubbles as we resurface.
We didn't take the camera on the catamaran sail. We didn't want to risk damaging the camera on the boat. I'm not much of a sailer (see above: sea sickness) and I didn't know what to expect. I've sailed with Paul's dad on a lake here in NM and up in Chesapeake Bay but that in no way compared with getting out on the ocean but those were both smooth and short (again: sea sickness). Paul knew it would be really rough and wet and just a ton of fun. The sail was about 1.5 hours long and Paul was right. The wind was blowing fairly strong so we got some speed up and were positively soaked by the waves. There was a little guy about four on the boat with his family. He started out the sail "driving" the boat and laughing. We looked over a bit into the sail and he was just sitting. Then he started working his jaws and we knew what was coming. Before we could offer to change seats (we were next to the side while they were in the middle), yep. Poor thing napped the rest of the ride (and the captain stopped aiming for the waves and swung around to go with the wind--a steadier ride for the little guy). We later caught the catamaran out on a sail and were able to snap a picture.

Sunday morning, we decided to visit Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. We thought we'd arrive early, before the crowds, and planned to arrive around 8:00. We did. And we waited in line for about 30 minutes. Seems lots of people had the same idea as us. We were able to get a 9:45 boarding ticket for the ferry to the actual memorial, giving us about an hour to tour the museum and grounds, which wasn't bad at all. The guidebooks we read said that on busy days, all boarding passes are given out before noon (the last ferry is at 3:00).

Before we left for Hawaii, my Gran (mom's mom) told me that this was one place we needed to go. My maternal grandfather (and my step-grandfather as well) served in the Pacific front of WWII and had been in Hawaii before shipping out. We'd already planned to visit Pearl Harbor but it was important to Gran that we did. I found myself watching for perhaps a glimpse of of my grandfathers in the videos of young soldiers that were shown before the ferry ride and at the museum. I figure many of these men are someone's grandfather--why not mine? When I asked Paul about it, he commented that he wouldn't even know what my granddads looked like as young men so, no, he didn't look for them. The history behind the attack was as interesting to me because I'm not sure I really knew the reason behind the Japanese attack. And it all comes down to oil and power. Huh. Imagine a war based on that.

Paul doesn't understand my need to take pictures of the signs outside places when we have pictures of the inside. I dunno--I guess to prove that we really were there. See--I really was there.
An anchor from the U.S.S. Arizona. The bell from the ship is also inside the museum.
Always get the audio tour. When we were walking around listening to the audio tour, we saw a couple that made both of us smile. It was an older couple, probably the age of my grandparents, and she was just holding the headphones. The man took them from her and started putting them on her ears, admonishing her to "Listen to this because we paid $5 for it." We giggled because both of us could imagine our grandfathers saying the exact same thing.
The view to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial and Battleship Row from the grounds of the museum.
Arriving at the Memorial from the ferry.
The Arizona is still leaking oil some 65 years later--about 2 quarts a day. That, to me, was one of the most touching things about the Memorial. Some call them the "Tears of the Fallen" and it's been determined that it would do more damage to drain the oil than just let it leak out.
The names of the 1,177 sailors who died on the Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Others who survived but were assigned to the ship may be entombed with their fallen comrades. Their names are listed on a plaque to the left (not in the picture).
Looking up through the Memorial.
The "Mighty Mo"--the battleship the U.S.S. Missouri at Pearl Harbor. Along Battleship Row are pilings indicating where each of the ships was docked on the day of the attack.
Sunday afternoon--Surf Lesson. No picture of that but here is a picture of Paul at lunch at Zippy's.
I'm not sure why I was so determined to take surf lessons while we were in Hawaii but it was on the top of my list of things to do. Surf schools are pretty much a dime a dozen down in Waikiki and we just went with one at our hotel (there were two). We met Surf Instructor Warren at the booth and the one other person who would be in our group. Warren took us through the basics of surfing and walked us over to the boards. At this point, I wasn't so sure I really wanted to do this. I'm not a big fan of big bodies of water. Or going under water. Or really even being in water. It was too late to turn back and the next thing I knew, we were paddling out. And paddling out more. And some more paddling. I think that was the hardest part of surfing--the paddling. Warren would tow us to the wave (literally, "toe" us--he used his toe to hold on our surfboard) and get us lined up, push us off, and say "Paddle hard!" And we were off. I didn't find the standing up part to be too hard. It is being good that is hard. I got a little cocky on my first wave, standing up and then waving at Paul. Then I was promptly swept under by a wave. Warren had warned us that if we were knocked down, you're only under water for 3-4 seconds. I swear I was counting in my head "One thousand one! One thousand two!" while I was flapping around under water. Longest four seconds in my life and I lost a contact. Second wave I did much better, slower about standing up, not waving. Surf Instructor Warren said, "You did a good job, Sis"--we're all "ohana" (family) on the Islands. Third wave, did okay, fell again, lost my other contact. After the fourth wave, we called it a day (we'd been out for 2 hours at this point). Warren suggested I blindly just hang on during the last wave so I only sat back on my knees rather than standing up. Paul was standing up and because steering is a little iffy on a surfboard, ended up pulling a muscle in his side when he tried to avoid another newbie surfer paddling out. Warren towed me in--I was pooped and besides, I couldn't really see where I was supposed to be going. (I started heading to a yellow shirt, knowing Paul was in a yellow shirt. It was the wrong blur of yellow.) We both ended up banged up and bruised--I had some very impressive road rash on my arm from the board--but both of us agree we'd do it again. It's that much fun.

Monday, trying to recouperate from the attempted surfing, we opted to head out on a driving tour of Oahu. While waiting for our luggage at the airport, I'd picked up a flyer about CD driving tour that you can purchase. I called the number to find out where to find one and picked one up on my wanderings on Wednesday. It ended up being a great purchase--we got off the beaten path that we would have missed had we just used maps to get around the island plus we had the explanation on the CD. We'd offered it to one of Paul's coworkers and his family before they drove the island on Saturday but they'd turned us down. When we saw them that evening, the wife said she really wished they'd taken us up on the offer. Apparently, they got lost and things got tense. See--always go for the audio tour.

If one just drives the island, it takes about 3 hours. Paul and I made it in about eight with all our stops and sightseeing and detours. It ended up being just a bit too much together time--we would have been good with seven. But it was definitely worth it with all that we saw.

Paul had the camera in the beginning. This is why we have this picture:

Back at the Diamond Head overlook. I just don't think I can do the "shaka" (hang loose sign) and not look like a dork. I should also sit up straight when being photographed.
An overlook at Hanauama Bay.
The Halona Blowhole which, unfortunately, wasn't doing much. It was more like the Halona Misthole.
In front of Rabbit Island (taller island) and Turtle Island (short island). This was the location that King Kamehameha's 800 war canoes came in sight for the Battle of the Nu'uanu Pali.
Lunch in Waimanalo Town. We had a plate lunch--traditional Hawaiian fare. It was two scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and meat (I had Kalua pig; Paul had teriyaki chicken). We could have gotten one plate and still had leftovers.
Waimanalo Town is the home of Akebano, the first non-Japanese Sumo Champion. Paul could take him. The Nu'uano Pali overlook.
Feral hen and chicks at the Pali Overlook.
We didn't go in so I can't vouch for the cleanliness of the store. At the crossroads of the Kahakeli Hwy. and Kamehameha Hwy. It was listed as a landmark on the audio tour.
Mokoli'i--Chinaman's Hat.
The Paliku ridgline in the Kualoa State Park. It was used in a scene in Jurassic Park.
We opted not to stop at the Polynesian Cultural Center or the former sugar mills that were along the route. This is an ancient temple that was once the site of human sacrifices. Nothing happening we were there. Some believe it is also the sight of an "energy vortex," similar to Sedona, AZ.
The ruins and the view toward Waimea Bay.
One of the sea turtles along the North Shore. The North Shore is also home to various surf competitions and the big waves during the winter months.
In Hale'iwa Town--the "world famous" shave ice stand. I did get mine with ice cream but neither of us was brave enough to try it with the beans.
Paul digs in to his shave ice.
Hale'iwa was a vacation home for Queen Lili'uokalani. The church was built as a place for her to worship while she was in town. On top of the steeple is the frigate bird, which is where Hale'iwa gets its name.
We stopped at the Dole Plantation as it is close to Hale'iwa and made a good bathroom stop. It was also where Paul and I figured out we'd been in the car for way too long. The rest of the drive takes you by Schofield Barracks and Pearl Harbor. The audio tour provided a nice commentary on the events of Dec. 7, 1941, which was great because we weren't talking.

Tuesday was check-out day but we didn't fly out until 11:00 at night. After checking our luggage with the bell desk, we went for a drive back up Kalakaua Ave., the main drag in Waikiki. This banyan tree is near Waikiki Beach. If you look closely, there are pigeons nesting in it. Ew.Lunch and then back to the hotel beach. We rented an umbrella and just hung out for the next three hours, debating if we really could open a shave ice stand and move to Hawaii. And it doesn't happen often, but pictures of us in swimsuits. A tube and a half of SPF 50, people.
Natural redhead--it's not even worth pretending to suntan.
The hotel provides complimentary hospitality rooms so we could play in the water and clean up afterwards. After cleaning up, we had dinner and then headed to the airport. After one minor panic attack when I thought I'd left our travel info at the ticket counter and had to go back through security to check, we were on the plane and out of Paradise. The flight home was rough--I have a list of things I need in case I'm ever again on a red-eye flight. This includes one of those goofy neck pillows, an eye mask, and ear plugs. And a toothbrush for when we get off the plane. We had a 3-hour layover in Phoenix and made it to Albuquerque about 1:30. Luggage, car, and home to the pissy cat. He still really loves us a week later so maybe we should go away for a couple of weeks at a time more often.

We didn't buy many souvenirs. Just a few little things, including of course, pineapples:

And the tiki god, which I only bought after the surf lesson because I watched way too much television as a child and we all know that it was the tiki god that made Greg Brady nearly drown when he was surfing.


We hadn't taken a vacation in about four years and this was definitely worth the wait. Next year, this conference is in Tucson--don't think I'll go to that one--but 2009 is in Quebec City. Oh, yeah. I'm already starting to look at travel guides for that one.

What I really miss is the pineapple garnishes, pt. 1

So, things have been busy since we got home on Wednesday. After spending the rest of that day catching up and napping, Thursday was back to real life--laundry, groceries, phone calls, Paul was back at work. We had dinner with Paul's family on Thursday and Friday, dinner with friends on Saturday, and church and baseball with Paul's family on Sunday.

I finally had a chance to wade through the 275 +/- pictures that we took while on vacation and write about the trip here. I lost a few pictures I'd taken with my camera phone when I dumped a bottle of water in my purse on Thursday. Paul has a few more from his phone that I've got to hound him to send to me.

Hawaii was a fantastic trip and happily (and surprisingly), Paul and I survived all that togetherness with only one fuss that occurred the last Monday after 8 hours in a car together.

So, here is what I did on my summer vacation.

I tend to be just a wee bit even more high-strung about usual when traveling with the worrying about getting packed and actually packing and getting to the airport and getting luggage checked and everything else. We left the car at the off-site parking and as we were driving off, I was so nervous, I asked the shuttle driver go back by the Subaru so I could check if I locked the car. I doubt someone would have left with the car but it became an actual fear at that moment. But I did get everything in the suitcases (we decided to add a third smaller bag so that we'd have something if we decided to buy something big and wonderful). The third bag actually came in handy when we were leaving because we packed out toiletries and clothes in it the last day to use in the hotel hospitality room. The car got locked, luggage got checked (and showed up on time in Honolulu) and everything went fine.
Our home away from home for the ten days we were in Hawaii. Elvis and several presidents have also slept here.
Diamond Head from the hotel beach. We didn't have an ocean view room--although you could see the ocean if you leaned way out over the balcony and looked between the two other hotel towers. We did have a (partial) view of Diamond Head from our balcony, if you overlooked the construction crane and other high-rise hotels.
Some of the critters on the hotel grounds. There were also various macaws and similar birds that were brought out daily, several koi ponds, flamingos, turtles and some Hawaiian ducks.
So, every time I try to take a picture of Paul, he never will just smile and look generally pleasant. This is what I get:
Sunday, we spent the day just wandering around, getting acclimated to the resort and the area and playing on the beach. Sunday evening, shortly after Paul registered for the conference, the "fun" began for him. Things got pretty stressful with work things. I told him I'd see him on Friday because I was not going to let his work stuff bring me down. I was in Hawaii, darn it, and I was going to have a fun, even if it just involved reading the newspaper on the balcony (which I did, like, every day and it was good). The vacation was basically split into two parts--my solo adventures while Paul was in the conference and Paul and Carrie do Honolulu. Part one is the conference week. Part two will follow in another post.

Monday, I didn't have any plans so I opted for a little pampering at the resort spa. I had a pahoehoe wrap. That is pronounced "pa-hoe-uh-hoe-uh" with a soft lilting Hawaiian accent (not my super-Texan "puh-hoe-hoe") and it was wonderful. Slathered in mud, swaddled in blankets and left with soothing music playing in a darkened room. Oh, and a head massage. That was the best 30 minute nap I've had in a long time. Definitely worth the splurge.

Monday evening was the conference social. We've never had one of these before, at least that we've attended, and we don't have to do it again. I was really thankful for my massage and complimentary mai tais when things started getting heated about work stuff between Paul and one of his coworkers and the two other men on the other side of the company (they're affectionately termed "The Weasels" and are the primary source of Paul's stress for the past 12 months). Thankfully, they all just avoided each other as best possible for the next four days and things were better.

Tuesday was the "companion trip" to Waimea Valley Audubon Center, formerly the Waimea Valley Adventure Park, if I understood correctly. The Waihe'e Falls--swimming is allowed in the pool and diving from the falls was once allowed (I think--I should have paid more attention to the tour guide). I chose the calmer, drier adventure of "photo op." Gigantic lily pads at the Audubon Center.
After lunch, we visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation--I now know more about pineapples than a girl from Texas probably ever needs to know but it was quite fascinating. We didn't do the pineapple maze but we did ride the Pineapple Express, the train that went around the plantation. There was an audio tour on the train that explained how the plants were grown and harvested. Fascinating stuff.
A banana tree.
Pineapple plants.
A rainbow eucalyptus--the bark of the tree is various colors of red and green in addition to the brown trunk.
Wednesday, I did a walking tour of Waikiki. One of the stops was the International Market Place--a tourist trap to end all tourist traps. Need an aloha shirt? In all sizes for every member of your family (including pets). Cheap souvenir t-shirt? Check. Bobblehead hula doll? Check. Hula girl bottle opener? Of course. It was both fascinating and scary. I also went to some of the historic Waikiki hotels and Waikiki beach.
Some fans of the television show Gilligan's Island may recognize this from the opening shot. The Ala Wai Marina was the starting point for that fabled 3-hour tour. Wednesday evening was the conference social--a luau. Paul joked that all of history should be summed up by dancing girls at tourist places. Bring on the Russian Revolution!

Paul and Eric with their shave ice before the luau--they really are just oversized boys. They tried to eat from children's buffet at the dinner on Tuesday because there were chicken strips and corn on the cob but they were kicked out of line. Neither one was quick enough to throw out a "the children are with their mothers"--I saved the day by simply acting like I should be there. And apparently, I had a very hungry child who would eat a mound of chicken strips and three or four cobs of corn.

Self-portrait. I have such a big smile because I, a 32-year-old, got carded when I picked up my complimentary mai tai upon entrance into the luau. They said they carded anyone who looks under 30. I'll take it, especially since the 28-year-old we were with didn't get asked for ID. It's the little things in life.
Bring on the dancing girls! And the dancing boys! And the jovial emcee! And the "authentic" buffet pig and fried chicken! We did try the poi. Eh. It just sort of is--it wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was just thick.


The Samoan fire dancer--if I could have figured how to bring him home as my souvenir, I would have. After I'd fought off every other female at the luau.
On Thursday morning, I went for a run in the park next to the hotel. I stuck my phone and my key card in my sports bra since I don't have pockets on my gym shorts. I forgot that it's really humid and sweat doesn't just disappear like it does back home. My phone kept sliding out the bottom of my bra and I ended up with a rash between, um, The Girls because of the metal from my phone. I gave it up after about 25 minutes and just took the stairs to our 13th floor room to finish out the exercise. After I'd showered and cooled off, I decided to go for a drive around Diamond Head. This is from the overlook--if you look closely, there are quite a few surfers and windsurfers in the waves.
Another view from the overlook.
I couldn't get a good picture of a mongoose--little ferret-looking creatures. This little guy was digging diligently until I snapped the picture, when he decided to skedaddle. The conference ended around noon on Friday and Paul and I decided to hike Diamond Head that afternoon. It's not really a "hike," per se, as there are people doing this climb in flip flops. It's more like a "strenuous walk up a big hill."

Paul had the camera on the drive up to Diamond Head. We always end up with lots of "interesting" pictures when Paul has the camera. Of the 275 pictures, one can definitely tell which ones were taken by Paul--we have, there are many, many of people Paul found amusing, things we were zooming by, the sky, the ocean, etc.

The tunnel driving to the Diamond Head visitor's center. No one else honked.

And we're off. The beginning of the hike is a nice stroll on a sidewalk, switching over to a dirt path with switchbacks.
And then you see the stairs. 76 stairs to begin. (Sorry, I don't know how to turn the pictures.)
Finish those, go through a tunnel, think things are great, turn the corner. 99 stairs.
Another 50 or so stairs in a circular staircase and climb through the opening that was an overlook built in 1910 or so. The view of Oahu is definitely worth all the stairs and the tunnel and the switchbacks. Looking toward Waikiki beach.
Lighthouse on Oahu at the Diamond Head overlook.
School spirit at the top of Diamond Head. We should make this our Christmas card--I'm hot and red-faced and Paul is sweating through his shirt. Nothing says happy holidays like that.
Going down was much easier. Some of the wildlife--a Brazilian cardinal.
Down at the bottom, another shave ice (See a pattern here? We had lots of shave ice.). A bee decided it wanted it's share as well.

We ended the afternoon splashing around in the water and sitting on the beach, plotting out the next four days of our vacation and trying to decide if we could afford to chunk it all back home and move to Hawaii for a year.