Days before hopping on a plane to fly home for the holidays, I got to meet this little bundle of joy. Welcome to the world Kaylee! Julie, Richard, Devin, Daniel and Karen couldn't be happier to have you join the family!
Phil, Nick and I jogged up Koko Head Krater one of those first couple afternoons for a bit of exercise and a brilliant view. I've been up there quite a few times over the past few years and I can say it hasn't gotten appreciably easier at any time...
Had to visit the old stomping grounds at least once and I'm glad the school graciously allowed alumni the use of the athletic facilities during the holiday break. Nothing makes 100 burpee-pullups feel good, but I appreciated being able to relax beside the Lily Pond shortly thereafter to catch my breath.
Got some lunch at Kaka'ako Kitchen with Phil and Brent and afterwards, we were joined by Noelle. Here, Noelle experimented with a panoramic shot of us. We learned that some humorous results can occur if you don't hold still during the shot.
Grant, Kevin and I met up with Mari for a bit of hiking up Tantalus and while she had to turn back part way through, the guys and I got to the end of the Pauoa Flats Trail to see this lovely view of Nu'uanu. We also got to see the memorial bench for Daniel Levey (a fellow Punahou student who sadly passed away while hiking in the area).
The three of us at the trail end. We took this pic and also took a break to enjoy the view and some spam musubi that Mrs. Kosaki made for us (Thanks!).
We had a holiday/housewarming party at Darren's place and got a group of folks together to celebrate. Nothing like good food, good friends, good times and HD nature videos!
Went fishing with Kurt and his Dad out at a "secret spot". We didn't have a lot of luck that particular day, but we had a good time casting, hanging out, eating plate lunches and relaxing.
Continuing with more hiking, Grant, Kevin and I hiked up the Kuliou'ou Ridge trail. Part way up, we ran into a familiar face and I got a picture with Karissa at the lookout. Funny story, we had both independently asked Darren to join us on the hike and he said no to us both. Oh well, we got to enjoy the great weather and the awesome hike.
Since Deryck is now a big shot in the (amateur) Yau Yee League in HK (his 25 goals being more than double the next closest scorer), he felt he needed some fancier shoes than the plain black ones he had now. And I, not wanting to continue wearing hand me down shoes that were several sizes too big decided to get some new ones too. Behold our new shoes: my conservative black pair and Deryck's silver orange pair. I doubt the competitors in the Yau Yee League will forget seeing those flash by them on the way to the goal.
Before Deryck had to head back to HK for the end of his holiday, we had a family New Year's dinner at 3660 on the Rise. Pretty tasty food I must say.
While some days were a bit windy and wet, there were some other really outstanding days. Kevin, Grant and I spent an afternoon out at Magic Island with the sun, sand and a football. Can't ask for much more than all that and this beautiful sight of Diamond Head in the background.
After the beach, we met up with Harrison for dinner at Koko Marina. This delicious rack of lamb was pretty good from Fatboy's. We also got dessert from Bubbie's Ice cream afterwards. I'd like to think that all the hiking we did kinda/sorta justifies all this gratuitous eating...
I was looking for lunch on New Year's eve and I hadn't had one of these Boston pizzas in a while. I must say this spinach, mushroom and garlic slice of theirs was delicious.
Having spent last New Year's over in HK, I was sad I missed out on the Kosaki New Year's celebration of firecrackers and ozoni. I'm very thankful that they allowed me back into their home for New Year's 2013 to enjoy their company and traditional activities. Happy New Year!
Dinner one night from Nico's. Fresh opah in a cream sauce with rigatoni and veggies. Nothing like some ono, local seafood!
It's quite surprising that in the many years I've lived and visited Honolulu, I had never yet been to Spalding House (the former Contemporary Museum). The museum showcases some great contemporary art in a beautiful home in Makiki Heights that also features a lovely pool and sculpture garden. Thanks Mari for showing me around your old stomping grounds.
This is one of the works displayed near the entrance. I always enjoy good usage of mirrors a la this and Anish Kapoor's work I saw at the Met in NYC some years back.
Thanks to Scot for introducing me to Hank's Haute Dog (shout out to Darren who I saw running nearby while I drove to meet Scot) and their duck fat fries (a bit too salty/greasy) and the Fat Boy hot dog (i.e. bacon wrapped, fatty deliciousness).
Speaking of Darren, we visited Bishop Museum for the first time since probably some elementary school field trip we took ages ago. As always, the main hall still had some great Native Hawaiian artifacts and, of course, the giant, hanging whale skeleton that every Oahu school kid remembers.
We also popped into the new building (you know, the one right along the H-1 freeway) which housed a lot of hands-on exhibits on the natural sciences that are relevant to Hawaii like the lava exhibit pictured and some cool tsunami/wave ones too.
After spending an awesome two weeks or so back at home, it was time to head back to the mainland and to work. I connected through Lihue where I spent all of about 15 minutes walking through the small airport and seeing some of the cool exhibits they had. I hope I'll be back in the not too distant future to tackle the Kalalau Trail on the magnificent Na Pali coast!
Alrighty folks. So I'm finally caught up with all the events of 2012 and the very beginning of 2013. Onward!
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