Julie's Stuff

We were mostly packed and ready to go today. We realised at some point yesterday that we’d need another overflow bag (I know, you’re shocked), so, along with a final breakfast at IHOP (waffle for the Boy, blueberry pancakes for me), we purchased another cheep bag for filling with assorted stuff. We juggled stuff around to ensure that no single bag was over weight and it was time to bid farewell to room 1104 for a final time. Sigh. It was a great home for almost two weeks and we were sad to go, but ready to go home. The trip back to the car hire place was uneventful, POS was bid adieu without any sentimentality (next time we’ll go for the economy, not the compact!), and we were off to the airport, where we were checked in and installed in the Hawaiian lounge (nothing to write home about) in quick time. We had about an hour before boarding, so we bought the papers (the airport turns out to be the best place to find the NY Times on the island), and sat and read.

Boarding was painless, and we were once again impressed with the prompt service of champagne (straight up for the Boy, and with some guava juice mix for me). The flight was as good as can be expected. The cabin staff were fabulous – attentive, humorous – just what you need on a 10 hour daytime trip. I watched a movie, the Boy made another Pac Man body, I knitted, the Boy watched some video podcasts and we sat. The seats were nothing to write home about, but the extra leg room was still much appreciated and the food was light-years ahead of what was being served in economy. All in all it managed to erase any memories of our last trip back from Hawaii (which, in all respects, was a trip from hell), and we arrived basically happy. Unfortunately our new, cheap, overflow bag managed to split open on the baggage carousel, but we managed to retrieve all of our belongings (Kosher salt, a pillow and a pile of books), and no major damage was done.

Customs was intrigued by our shellac, but we had no problems getting it through, and we were outside pretty quickly. Outside was dark, cold and raining, but our core temperatures were still warm and we didn’t notice it too much. The taxi was fortunately a silver service, which meant a well sprung, comfortable ride home (even business class seats can’t make up for the fact that you’re essentially sitting in one place for the best part of 10 hours), and we arrived safely home.

The house is musty, our bags are not yet unpacked, and we’re starting to shiver a bit, but we’re pleased to be back. However enjoyable a trip is, there’s no place quite like home.

Ah, all good holidays must come to an end eventually and this was our last day in paradise. We didn’t have anything particular planned apart from a trip to Home Depot and an attempt to find a set of Susan Bates sock needles. We set off late for Home Depot, and had the usual wander through the tool section. The Boy was extremely restrained and we walked out with a final bill of less than $100. Thoughts of having to pack were starting to become a bit scary… Then to find some knitting needles. The first place on our list to try was Walmart, but unfortunately, thanks to a fail on the part of the GPS (recording the street address instead of simply marking the map would have been a good idea…), we didn’t find it. So, on to Ben Franklin crafts, which turned out to be in a little suburban strip-type mall we had been to on a previous trip in search of wine. No needles in the size I wanted, but there was a good selection of Cascade 220 for some felted slippers for me, and some dishcloth cotton in Christmas colours for some experimenting with.

It was time for lunch, and we knew that if we kept driving down past Safeway we’d come to a little area with a variety of fast-food places. Someone at the Boy’s office had told him to try Jack in the Box (without telling him why), so we decided to give it a go. Surprisingly enough, it was pretty good. The Boy reported that his burger had a little bit of spice to it, and I had a teriyaki chicken bowl, which, whilst it reminded me a bit of a frozen dinner, was pretty good.

We returned in time for afternoon relaxing. The Boy finally got the hang of crochet, and got about ¾ of the way through his Pac Man. Looks like the wool purchase wasn’t wasted after all (a side note – he’s now sitting with me out in our back garden happily finishing off the last of it. I have to sew it together, apparently, but he’s having a good time. Photos later).

A little while later my mother called, summoning us for a trip to Bailey’s Antique Hawaiian Shirt shop. The Boy was enthusiastic, ever on the hunt for a black Magnum shirt (he has one in the classic red background as seen here (and looks much better than Tom Selleck did if you ask me!), but didn’t buy the one with the black background last time we were here and regrets it). We piled into POS, parked directly outside, and were successful. Shirts were purchased (none for me – I’ve decided that I really don’t do Hawaiian shirts well), and we returned home for beers on the balcony, packing (sigh), yet another sunset, and a dinner out at Chillis with my mother and Michael.

Yes, I know, it’s been a little while between posts. We are home again, but I want to finish off the trip properly, so back a couple of days we go.

The day dawned bright, clear and warm again. Typical really. We had plans again. Michael, the Boy and I were off to see the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbour (leaving my Mother, who has no interest in these things, to her swimming). We’ve been seeing one exhibit at Pearl Harbour each visit rather than trying to see everything in a day (something that seems to leave people dazed and confused), and this was the next logical thing. Some might say that a visit to the Arizona Memorial might be a plan at some point, and if we could work out how to do that without the hoards of people, we would!

Back to the story though. We set off in POS and made reasonable time to the museum. We had to park and catch a bus over to Ford Island, and we were worried that we’d miss the tour and have to wait 45 minutes for the next one, but our fears were unfounded, and after a quick perusal of the gift shop and a short introductory film (the inclusion of an interview with one of the Japanese pilots involved in the attack was a surprise), we were met by our guide and off we went. At first we were a bit concerned about him – he was very young (early to mid-20s I’d say), and seemed a bit nervous to start with. But then we got to the planes and he just shone. He was obviously an enthusiast, and was an excellent story teller. He told us about the only intelligence planes the US had in the air during the Pearl Harbour attack:

And about the fate of one of the Japanese pilots:

which included a sheep shearer and a murder/suicide. There were two other people in our tour party, both Australian, and we all smirked a little at the very US-centric view of the battle of the Coral Sea (turns out the US saved Australia from Japanese invasion entirely on their own, and that the Japanese were going to invade Australia for our rich natural resources. Who knew…), but in general the tour was excellent. As part of it, we got to go to the generally closed to the public second hanger where they restore the planes in preparation for exhibiting. We saw one that I only know as a “plane from Top Gun”:

They have left some of the original glass in the windows, with original bullet holes:

which added to the general atmosphere.

We all had an excellent time, purchases were made at the gift shop and we returned happy. Lunch was eaten, vegetating in the warm was done, books were read and holiday time was enjoyed. After yet another spectacular sunset:

we headed downstairs for dinner – excellent tuna steaks prepared by Michael with a pineapple surprise, and then back for some ice-cream and Cupcake Wars.

Michael, in his quest to see more interesting stuff, had located a garden than none of us had ever been to – the Foster Botanical Gardens (http://www.honolulu.gov/parks/hbg/fbg.htm). The Boy and I, ever enthusiastic for flower photo opportunities, readily agreed to an outing. We took our car and used the traditional GPS and arrived in good time. It was somewhat misty, with occasional heavier showers, but that didn’t bother us too much – shelter was easy to find under the huge trees. I don’t think words can do this place justice, so here is a collected sample out of the 300-odd photos taken:

We returned, happy that we’d fulfilled our quota of stuff for the day. We headed out to Safeway for one last top-up shop (juice, tweeter food, icecream, just the essentials really), and then it’s BBQ at our place on a little disposable BBQ for dinner. Only two more full days left for us. We’ll be sad to leave (it is nice and warm after all), but pleased to be home again.

I know, the blogging schedule is starting to slip a little…. Here I am after lunch on Monday and only just getting around to writing up Sunday. Hawaiian time is starting to kick in in earnest. So, I will do the best I can! We set off to see the Bishop Museum at the usual 9am. My mother drove in their big car (which was like a reverse Tardis – huge on the outside, tiny on the inside), using TomTom for navigation. It took us a different route to the one I would have used, but seemed efficient enough. There was much comment made over the voice and the seemingly nonsensical instructions to “keep left … keep left … keep left … turn right”, and much cognitive overload for the poor driver. I’m glad I’m not a designated driver on this trip!

We were at Bishop specifically to see the newly renovated Hawaiian Hall. The Boy and I had never seen it – it’s been closed the last two times we’ve been here, so for more than 4-odd years. They have done a spectacular job of the renovations and with the organisation of the collection. There are three levels, starting with pre-history and the arrival of humans on the islands on the ground floor, through the lives of the people before about 1800 on the first floor (lots of tool making and agriculture and religion), and finally modern history on the second floor from just before British colonisation, then US annexation and the modern integration of the Hawaiian culture and American culture.

The whole exhibition told the Hawaiian story really well. We had seen bits and pieces of the collection on our previous two trips, but they hadn’t been put together nearly as well as they are now. It really brought home the importance of good museum curation.

No photos inside this time (which struck us as odd, since we have plenty of the same stuff from last time – apparently now it’s for copyright reasons, although on further reading it’s only during a special exhibition that’s on now), so here’s their website with more information. There was, however, a small exhibition of some old surfboards, where we could take photos, and there were many with Girl for scale:

We returned home to lunch and more hanging around. Naps all ‘round this afternoon, followed by an excellent dinner at the Shorebird next door. It’s a cook your own BBQ place and this time the Boy cooked exactly according to instructions given by our server. He has resisted this in the past (something along the lines of “I’m an Australian, I know more than you lot about BBQs”), but this time decided that perhaps they know their grill better than we do. And they were right. Everything was done perfectly, the salad bar was good and my Mai Tais were excellent. We returned home and collapsed into bed.

I think we’ve finally worked out what our Hawaiian holidays are all about – shopping, eating and vegetating (and an occasional bout of seeing stuff). Today was a mixture of all three. We started the day reasonably early with a trip to IHOP. The Boy was desperate for some more pancakes, and my mother and Michael wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We arrived at about 8:45, and, after a short wait, we were seated (it’s a popular place on a Saturday morning). I had French toast with eggs and bacon, the Boy had blueberry pancakes, and my mother and Michael had various combinations of eggs, bacon, cheese and pancakes. It was all extremely good, thankfully proving that our first experience wasn’t a fluke.

Over breakfast a plan was formed. The Boy was done with Ala Moana, but my mother and Michael hadn’t been yet (I know – they’ve been here for days!). My mother also wanted to go to Isle Knits, and I was happy to accompany her. We dropped Michael off at Ala Moana on the way through and made rendezvous plans before heading out to do some focussed shopping. My mother picked up some needles and a variety of sock wool. I got a pattern for a gecko (already named Gordon), some wool, and some linen lace-weight:

How could I resist those colours! It’ll turn into a small summer shawl thing I think. Then we returned to Ala Moana to meet Michael and do some more focussed shopping. I wanted to get a bento box from the Japanese department store, and the Le Creuset dutch oven that we saw at Williams Sonoma on our first trip. My mother wanted to check Ann Taylor for more black pants (no, I don’t think she can ever have enough), and Michael wanted some shoes. Michael had achieved his goal by the time we met him, so we went to the Japanese department store where some shopping was done (including my bento box for $15), and then to Williams Sonoma for the dutch oven (for $100 less than in Australia at Peters of Kensington on deep discount) and some other small things.

We were all done, so back to the hotel for an afternoon of lazing around. I returned to the Boy watching the end of The Fugitive, so I had some lunch and we sat around. I read my book for a while and napped, the Boy did about the same. We, after some consultation, decided on dinner in, and we’re now sitting on the balcony in the usual position doing the usual stuff. The sunset was pretty good tonight, so you get to see another photo:

Do we really have to go home??

Today we finally had plans that went beyond “buy stuff”. Michael had, many months ago, suggested Shangri La as an interesting tourist destination in Oahu that none of us had been to. I organised tickets and today was the day. We finally made it to the Honolulu Academy of Fine Arts (note to selves – come back and see the rest of the museum on our next trip) after some issues with transport – the garage door was being repaired which meant that plan A, us driving, was out, and we had to resort to plan B, taxi, which turned out to work better than plan A because we didn’t have to worry about parking. After a short video and a quick look at a “Men in Lace” exhibit:

We were off on our little mini-bus to Shangri La, the home of the late Doris Duke. The website is probably the best source of information about the place. It was just stunning. A mishmash of Islamic styles, but they all seemed to work beautifully together. We shuffled from room to room agap at the amazing richness of the decorations. Unfortunately, photography was only allowed outside, but we took full advantage of the opportunities:

Suffering a bad case of “museum shuffle” (the aches and pains associated with moving slowly and standing for long periods), we were glad to get back to the hotel for some lunch. I sat and read for a while, and the Boy went walking to stretch himself out again. And then he suggested going to Woodcraft for “just a few more things”. Of course, by this time it was 4:30, peak hour! We had completely underestimated the effects of peak hour on the stretch of road between us and Woodcraft, so a trip that would normally take 15 minutes took more like 45.

My mother was waiting impatiently for the promised girly shopping trip, so we went out as soon as we got back. There was much fondling of soft fabric in Max Mara, and leather goods in Hermes, along with a beautiful jumper (again in Hermes) that was mohair, but lined with another layer of knitted cashmere/silk – a good way to minimize the itchies. The construction was impeccable, and you could very almost understand why it cost US$800….

We returned, and separated for dinners with our respective menfolk. Tacos for us, which meant I had to go out again to get some shredded cheese. I resorted to the ABC shop and orange cheese that was, despite saying it was “extra sharp”, was only faintly cheese-flavoured. But, it was good enough for tacos, and we ate well.

Now it’s time to review the many photos that were taken today, and select some to go into the blog. I’m finding I’m taking lot fewer photos now that the Boy has a digital camera. As an indication, he took 220 today (many of the fireworks – this in one of about 100…):

and I took 13. But, some of mine still make it in ☺

Today we planned a great circle-island tour, including a trip to Dole pineapple plantation/tourist trap, and the beaches of the North Shore. First up though, a trip to Woodcraft (Mecca for my favourite woodworker!) to buy all the little things that it’s not worth paying for shipping to order in Australia. We did significant damage and filled up a large cardboard box with cheap sandpaper, chisel sets and many other things that I can’t identify. We decided to return the treasure to the hotel room before setting off again. Then off we went again on our day tour. First, we drove up and over the Pali highway, stopping at the familiar lookout:

Then over to the town on the other side of the island, where I finally managed to find some nice beads for the end of the big red shawl (pictures when I get home and finally finish the thing!). We were hoping to buy a Cookie doll to keep Chip company, but the cookie place was closed – there is one in Waikiki but we thought it was a second outlet, not a replacement of the original. Oh well. We continued on, stopping at a beach park to have some sandwiches we’d pre-packed, and on to the North Shore. We got out of the car at Sunset Beach, and I had a bit of a paddle. It was dead flat. Bath-like even:

I imagine it’s a bit different in big-surf season!

We continued on and around to the Dole Plantation, where we headed straight for the gardens that have a nice variety of tropical plants, which, of course, provided many photo opportunities:

And some of the resulting photos:

Naturally there were pineapples too:

We purchased some edibles (fresh pineapple, dried pineapple and taro chips for my mother) and some non-edibles (a gift or two, not to be revealed here) and it was time to continue the drive home. We finally arrived back at about 4:30, tired from the driving. We repaired to the balcony, beers and snacks and books in hand for a relax. My mother and Michael did manage to stay awake until it was time to eat at PF Changs, which was excellent. We managed to order just the right amount of food – no doggie bags for us! Then back home and quickly to sleep.

Today my mother and Michael arrive. Not wanting to do anything major and miss their arrival, we kept it low key in the morning. The Boy awoke early and took some morning flower photos:

Then we walked up to the International Market Place to get some souvenirs (quilted pot holders, beer bottle cosy-things, a hat for me and some postcards), and some decent bread for lunch. We walked slowly back and sat on the balcony, eating lunch and vegetating. The folks arrived without incident (thankful for their upgrade and looking pretty good), and came up to our room to wait for their room to become available. My mother had an odd, twitchy look about her, which seemed to translate into “I need to get into the ocean immediately!”. She went to get her swimmers, and discovered that their room was ready. We agreed to take them to the supermarket in a few hours so that she could get rid of the twitch and Michael could settle in.

We sat and read and vegetated on the balcony. The Boy tried, and gave up on crochet. I seem to either need to work out how to crochet myself, give the pattern and the wool to my mother (who can either do it herself or teach one or both of us), or figure out what else to do with a bunch of brightly colours worsted weight acrylic/wool blend. Soon enough the crowd was ready for shopping, and shop we did. We spent more than we did the first time (mostly because we only had two things on our list…), and more than the new arrivals. We’re well stocked now for the rest of our trip (hopefully). We’re off to their place for dinner. Michael has been put to work and is slaving over a hot stove as I type. The Boy has discovered blue corn tortilla chips and is happy. We’re not sure what the plan is tomorrow, but I’m sure it’ll be decided in short order tonight. Ah, happy days!

First up, a brief report on the Japanese/Italian restaurant. It was really good. Excellent even. Reasonable value ($70 for the two of us with a beer and a grappa for the Boy), and we were well fed. The Boy had pizza – I even managed to persuade him to do the typical Japanese pose with it:

And I had pasta with tomato sauce and tiger prawns which were cooked perfectly. Overall, a great choice and we may go again.

We managed to awake reasonably early this morning (despite Food TV until late again!) and thus we finally implemented our plan to go to the zoo. After a quick breakfast we drove the short distance to the zoo (it’s at the other end of Waikiki beach), parked, and ventured in. It’s a small zoo in comparison to Taronga, with small enclosures that were quite spread out. Nevertheless, there were many interesting animals to see:

The Boy was disappointed that the reptile enclosure was closed (thanks to termites apparently), but we had a good time anyway. We repaired back to the hotel for a light lunch (salad for the Boy – he was feeling the effects of a large pizza all to himself last night!, and a turkey/cheese/salad bagel for me), and we were off again. This time to Pearlridge mall, where there was another geeky t-shirt waiting for the Boy.

With map in hand, the GPS lead us to the mall with ease, we parked, and found a map of the place. It’s in two parts, and of course we parked next to the wrong part. It was a short walk to the other bit, I, using a map and my innate ability to find my way around strange malls, lead us to the t-shirt shop and said shirt was purchased. No photos yet, but he promises to wear it tomorrow. We headed back up to the main part of the mall and had a brief wander around, but it was pretty down-market in comparison to Ala Moana, and we didn’t spend a long time there. There was a Borders that we checked for woodworking books for the Boy, but we quickly established that he owns all the decent woodworking books that your typical Borders has in stock.

Then, the Boy expressed a desire to go to Office Max. Of course, he didn’t specify which Office Max, so the trusty GPS was leading us to the smaller one, closer to Honolulu. The Boy queried our direction, and, after some discussion and consultation with the map, we took a quick detour via the airport and turned around in the other direction, heading back out the to outlet stores, the location of the larger store that was the one he wanted to go to. A while later, after going up and down all the aisles, we are the proud owners of 144 pencils (best not to ask), two sets of whiteboard markers and other sundry stationary supplies (no, I don’t think we have a problem….). We headed back home for tea and a rest!

A short aside – last night, just before we went to dinner, we placed and Amazon order for some woodwork books (for the Boy) and a mitten book (for me, obviously). We selected next day shipping, partly to see how efficient it was, and partly because the boy is in desperate need of something to read.

So, we arrived back at the hotel at about 3:30, and I sent the Boy down to reception to see if our parcel had arrived. It had! Less than 24 hours after the order had been placed. We were very pleased! We spent a few hours reading our new books and drinking our tea and being very happy. It was a bit overcast today so the sun wasn’t too hot, making the balcony a perfect place to spend an afternoon.

Dinner tonight will be simple home-made pasta and salad. We’re both starting to feel the effects of all this eating out, and some simple food will be much appreciated.

Tomorrow, my mother and Michael arrive, so our plans are purposely vague at the moment. I’m sure we’ll enjoy it, regardless of what we do.