Here we go folks: the highly anticipated photo blog of my winter vacation back in HI. We celebrated the Holiday season, farewelled last year and welcomed in the new year. Have a look at a few of my pics from another awesome winter break.
Nothing beats the first sighting of the islands from the plane window. Off in the distance, you can see the peaks of Mauna Kea & Mauna Loa as the B767 that I found myself in on the flight home flew on by.
In between all the heavy rain that hit the islands, particularly in the week before X-Mas, I did my best to enjoy the outdoors. During one of the first opportunities I had, Mari & I hiked to Manoa Falls. Thanks in part to the rain, we had a lovely view. And thanks to me wearing shorts, many mosquitos feasted on the exposed flesh of my legs.
We had some time after the hike and took advantage of it by strolling through the nearby Lyon Arboretum, where I snapped a pic of the flowers on this ohia lehua tree.
And I also grabbed a pic of this bridge & hala tree in the Great Lawn.
In the Young Memorial Garden, we saw this beautiful water lily. Good job camera.
After some post-dinner drinks at The Veranda, we posed for a picture with The Kahala's impressive, in-lobby Christmas Trees: Randahl, Brent, Me, Phil & Sara.
I'm a little surprised I haven't had this (fried spam musubi) elsewhere... I had an awesome lunch with Cat & Ryan at "Da Kitchen" in Moiliili.
And we split the Hawaiian plate. Chicken long rice, lomi lomi salmon, rice, lau lau and kalua pig. Ono kine grindz! I showed up to lunch hungry and even though we all shared, I left plenty full!
A view of this year's Honolulu City Lights display. As always, they had Mr & Mrs Claus chilling island-style beside the massive tree in front of Honolulu Hale (City Hall). Inside, they had a bunch of trees decorated by City workers as well as a Wreath competition.
Lunch at the Oahu Country Club with Grant and Kevin (the member). You can see our sliders (Grant & Kev opted for the kobe burger while I chose the slider mix plate - one beef, one salmon and one kalua pig), fries and country club ice teas. Fine dining! I'd like to note that apparently, my Arsenal jersey wasn't good enough for OCC so I had to borrow the pink Dior shirt that I'm wearing from Grant.
And then we worked a bit on our swings at the driving range. At the end of our session, we had a contest to hit the yardage markers. Grant nailed the 50 yd sign and I came through with an amazing shot to clip the top of the 100 yr sign. Victory! We also saw Alex Ching getting a bit of practice there too and I'd like to apologize to my former tennis doubles partner if Grant we disrupted his session.
I definitely needed that practice at the driving range because the next day, I hit the links for a round on the Championship Course at the Hawaii Kai Golf Course. I'm proud to say I played with the same ball the whole round though Brent & I (and our generous handicap) couldn't top Randahl and Kasper. As a reward for their victory, Randahl & Kasper got lunch on Brent & I at the Kona Brewing Company in Koko Marina.
After seeing tons of commercials on TV for this, I had to try the haupia pie at McDonalds. The verdict? Pretty darn yummy though admittedly a poor substitute for a real haupia pie.
Friends since 6th grade: Brent, Anne & I. The only two people left in this world who call me by my old nickname: Wes. Unfortunately, we don't spend as much time together nowadays as I'd like, but I'm glad I got to hang out with you two for a little bit back in the islands.
Some more food pics. On Phil's "last day" in Hawaii, we met up for drinks and appetizers at Ryan's Grill in Ward Center. I put "last day" in quotes because Phil's return flight to NYC got cancelled due to the crazy snow storms slamming the East Coast and he ended up spending a few more days back home. Anyways, cheeseburger sliders, kalua pig quesadillas and some potstickers.
Phil, Me, Brent, Noelle & Stef after our food and drink session at Ryan's.
Afterwards, Brent & I still had time to kill before our respective commitments later that evening. We decided to eat dinner at Goma Tei Ramen in Ward Center where I finally got to try their highly acclaimed ramen (I chose the mixed veggie variety). Pretty darn good, though my favourite ramen place back home remains Tenkaippin.
I left Ward super full and (slowly) made my way over to the Tyrone Wells concert at The Venue. Pretty cool that he comes back here to do a show every year and that probably has a lot to do with his wife being from here originally. Great acoustic set (with a few nice duets) that I liked much more than when he usually plays with the rest of his band.
No trip home is complete without going on some sort of adventure with the USC gang. Cat, Melissa, Me, Ryan, Gigi, Kurt & Traci all headed over to Kailua to enjoy breakfast at Moke's (it definitely gives the traditional Kailua faves - Boots & Kimo and Cinnamon's - a run for their money). We were supposed to go to the North Shore after brekkie but the weather was lousy and we instead opted to watch Black Swan (the movie) at Kahala instead.
I ordered the corned beef hash, fried rice and scrambled eggs at Moke's. Yum.
After the movie, we headed on over to Menchie's in Ward for some frozen yoghurt.
The view, looking out to Hawaii Kai, from my 2nd Annual Koko Head Crater Hike. Finally some beautiful, sunny skies so that I can actually enjoy wandering around outside and get a much needed dose of Vitamin D.
And here I am with Sandy's & Makapu'u behind me. As I mentioned in the previous NY Resolution post, I did manage to climb to the top quicker than last year!
After the hike, I hurried on over and caught the very end of the Punahou Alumni Soccer game. Who knows when I'll get to see Deryck play soccer again but I enjoyed the last few minutes of this game where he played with a bunch of his old teammates against the current Punahou Boy's Varsity (the Varsity triumphed over the Alums this time). After the game, I enjoyed another benefit of being family of a former player and I partook in the potluck. I can't remember everything I had on my plate, but I can see pasta, fried rice, fried rice noodles, zippy's chili, chicken karaage, chicken katsu, kalua pig and a piece of starfruit. All washed down with a Hawaiian Sun Island Iced Tea!. Local food, I miss you so much!
After the potluck, I headed over to Ala Moana Beach Park to enjoy more of the great weather.
Grant in the foreground, Magic Island in the background. Funny story: Grant & I saw a guy walking around and talking to random girls on the beach. With our curiosity sufficiently piqued, we waited for him to finish making his way around our area and we asked two of the girls that he talked to what his deal was. According to them, his story was that his girlfriend had stood him up in favor of hanging out with her ex. Weird stuff, but despite his lack of success, I guess you gotta give the guy a bit of credit for having the gall to walk around and talk to so many women.
For the third year running (at least), I headed over to spend New Year's Eve with the Kosakis. The state government passed a law this year that takes effect in 2011 to ban most fireworks (on Oahu) so the folks all over the island sent out this year with a bang.
We strung together four or five strings of crackers together and lit them all at once. It made a lot of noise and gave off a lot of smoke. It also left a nice burn mark on the front lawn.
Lunch @ Mariposa in Ala Moana with Darren & Priscilla (who started their holiday very, very late). I chose the crab omelette with roast potatoes and fresh fruit. Yum, yum.
Later that night, I enjoyed dinner with my family at Le Bistro. Thanks to Deryck for putting up with the restaurant choice (though he made his displeasure very noticeable throughout dinner). I started off with a tasty French Onion Soup. Hard to go wrong with this cheesy classic.
My main course: sea bass with mushrooms & asparagus. Very, very good.
And Deryck & I split the apple tart w/vanilla ice cream for dessert. Sadly, this was the worst dish of the evening (though, my expectations were probably unreasonably high since I have very specific thoughts on what an apple tart should be like from my time in France).
Finally, I had to head back to Cali (and the "real" world). Here's the last photo of this entry of the sun setting over the Pacific from the B767 flying back to the Mainland. A nice bookend to another awesome trip home.
I'm extremely thankful for being able to spend all that time back home with family and friends. Too bad I only go back once a year... I hope you all enjoy the photos! Until next time.
Having recently bid adieu to 2010, let's take a moment to review the resolutions from last year.
1) Go somewhere old and somewhere new (I'm curious to see where I'll end up)
I didn't quite get to go somewhere completely new, but I feel like I went some ways towards capturing the spirit of the resolution. Having the chance to go back to Costa Rica to work for a bit and then see Monteverde, an awesome town I missed on my previous visit, I think counts definitely. Also, I traveled to NYC, somewhere I had not gone in over 9 years, got to hang out with some really great friends and essentially got to get to know the Big Apple as a brand new place. Good enough for a pass I'd say.
2) Return to 100% health and keep up the fitness (Fix the shoulder and then be able to do the Koko Head hike next Xmas faster than this yr)
So, I don't know that I've ever failed a resolution quite so miserably. I started the year with more illness and it took me an agonizing two months or so to right the shoulder. I got sick a couple more times over the year and in the end, could've honestly tried harder to be fitter. On the bright side, I did hike Koko Head faster than last year so I can be thankful for that!
3) Mind the memory (Be better about remembering things)
Mind what? I'm, 50/50 on this one. I didn't notice a significant improvement in my memory of little details but I'll say that I did have many great memories of a wonderful 2010.
4) Take more/better photos (I've been a bit too reliant on friends for pics in recent yrs)
I actually did a brilliant job of achieving this one. I finally got a new camera when I visited HK in March and that inspired a whole glut of photo-taking that carried on strongly through the year. Just look at the number of photo blogs from this year and I'll just about guarantee that a large percentage of the uploaded photos came from me. Hooray!
5) Make something (art, home improvement, a garden...whatever)
I'm going to cop out a little bit on this one and count the Kadomatsu that I made this year. While I have historically made these many times in the past many Decembers, this year marks the first time in a few years that I had a hand in all facets of Kadomatsu making. I hiked to get the bamboo, cut them to length, wrapped and decorated them. This year, the Changs, Kosakis and Lims all got to enjoy the lovely Kadomatsu that I made.
I must say that I feel my perception of time has not ceased to slow and 2010 flew by as have many of the past several years. I'm quite thankful that I continue to have opportunities to pass that time, no matter how brief it seems, with some special people (friends and family, that means you!) in some truly awesome places. And now, how about a list for 2011...
1) Simplify things (...and de-clutter where possible)
2) Organize the finances more (Sort out what I have and start planning for something I don't have yet)
3) Three sets of ten push-ups every evening (Or planks)
4) Pay more attention to diet (Not how much I eat but rather be more aware of the things I eat)
5) Make a new friend (Or reconnect with an old one...)
Let's see how I do with those goals.
We know not what 2011 holds in store for us all. Let's hope for more good things to all (rather than the recent craziness in AZ and Queensland). And, let's all cheer for the All Blacks in the 2011 Rugby World Cup on home soil!
Pau with the Koko Head hike, Dec 2010.
Hi! It has been a busy holiday so far (Happy belated Xmas) but I just haven't had much time to update the blog. I thought it might be nice just to include a couple of pics to show you all how things have been going since I got back to Hawaii.
Exhibit A:
Plate lunch from Pearl's. Meat jun, bbq chicken, garlic roast potato salad, shoyu potatoes, long rice and choy sum. Ah, nothing quite beats the food here.
Exhibit B:
I narrowly escaped the wrath of the major storm that has hit California...only to be subject to the constant rain that has hit Hawaii. As a result, I have seen lakes and waterfalls pop up around town that I have never seen before (case in point, the water features pictured above appeared at the Blaisdell Center). At least I am much, much warmer here in the islands!
Anyways, I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season. More pics to come at a later date!
Hello, hello. Firstly, I'd like to thank those of you who contributed to my Movember fund. Though it's debatable whether my facial hair growth improved this year, I did improve on my monetary showing from last year. Thanks to Harrison, Mari, Scott, Claudia & Kurt for your donations. As annoying as that mustache can be sometimes, it's nice knowing that its growth helps in some small way.
Merci!
Anyways, I had the privilege of joining Grant & Co. on a trip to Lake Tahoe to hit the slopes (my first trip in over five years). The rust showed and I have the achy joints and a bruise or two to prove it. I didn't take many pictures but I would like to share a few of the ones I did get.
Grant & I taking a short break after my horrible first run (more like rolling down the hill really) and a couple of runs down some green slopes (with all the kids).
We hit the slopes at the Squaw Valley Ski Resort and despite not getting the big storm some forecasts had predicted, there was plenty of snow and it was plenty cold.
Squaw!
Grant & I in the Squaw Valley village. Despite the light rain and chilly breeze, we braved the outside in order to enjoy a smoothie and toasted bagel by the outdoor fire.
A rough day on the slopes deserves a hearty meal in order to help ease the hunger (and a little bit of the pain). I cooked up course number one, consisting of sauteed veggies (mushrooms, capsicums, onion & courgette) alongside a grilled NY Strip steak. Yum!
Brian & Grant combined forces to cook the second course with homemade macaroni & cheese, roasted potatoes and cornbread. After eating this second plate, I felt pretty damn full!
We stayed at a lovely cabin with plenty of space, high ceilings, a well-equiped (and stocked) kitchen and a chess board (Grant & I won one game each against each other). I apologize for the lack of cabin photos which was due in part to the constant state of clutter which detracted from the photographic appeal. I also apologize for the lack of scenery photos, especially since it was a gorgeous day today (sun & clear, blue skies); a stark contrast to the heavy rain that greeted us on our return to the Bay Area. I'll get some more pics the next time I make it up there to Tahoe. Until then, I'll let my ski injuries heal up nicely! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well. Roll on December!
So, I've finally got a minute to share a few of the pics from my NYC trip a couple weeks ago. Check it out:
I arrived at JFK around 10:30 pm and immediately hopped into a cab headed for Manhattan. After meeting up with Kurt, Traci, Travis & Dorothy at the Fat Buddha, we ended the evening by stopping by the Tuck Shop for Aussie meat pies.
Me, Travis, Traci & Kurt (apologies for the darkness) just before eating our food.
Nothing like a late night (2am) ride in the subway. And, yes I did see a rat in the tunnel.
We ate lunch on my first day in NY here. Oddly, my first two meals in NYC both included meat pies. We headed to Brooklyn to try out Dub Pies, known for their NZ/Aussie style pies.
Amongst those pies we tried: steak & mushroom, steak & cheese, potato top and a sausage roll. Can't quite match the pies I'm used to eating (e.g. Bernie's) but pretty damn good.
After ingesting a bunch of pies, we took a leisurely stroll through Prospect Park (conveniently located next to the pie shop) and enjoyed the lovely weather. I lucked out by being in NYC on a relatively warm weekend!
Grand Army Plaza where we ended our journey through Prospect Park. We even caught the end of a small farmer's market. Very, very cool.
Next up, a subway ride back to Manhattan to cruise around a few of the museums. Here we find ourselves outside the Guggenheim.
And the Guggenheim from within. Beautifully quirky building (Frank Lloyd Wright FTW). As we didn't have too much time, we didn't get to view any of the exhibitions as we headed straight on down the street to the Met.
Temple of Dendur at the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met).
This ipu pic is for you Mum. Ho'o ma kau kau!
Maori tiki also found in the Met's Oceania collection.
Some funky looking furniture in the collection.
Me, Kurt & Traci enjoying our trip to the Met.
Seen in the Modern Art gallery.
Kurt.
More from the Modern Art collection.
Weird. Kurt & I as reflected by Anish Kapoor's mirror. Made of tiny hexagonal mirrors arranged in a concave manner, you get quite a view when you stand at the appropriate distance and gaze upon yourself.
Ah, Monet. One of these days I promise I'll make it to see your work at the l'Orangerie...and Giverny.
We entered in the late afternoon and exited in the early evening in darkness. The façade of the Met looks lovely lit up like so.
Sunday afternoon called for some Dim Sum at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown.
USC represent! Kurt, Travis, Dorothy, Gigi (sorta) & I after eating a ton of yummy food.
And since they ran out of egg tarts at the dim sum place, we walked over to a nearby shop to grab some tasty ones before walking on over to SoHo for a bit of window shopping.
Dorothy & Travis stopped at a cart to pick up some of their favorite nougat.
Dinner at Max Restaurant in Tribeca with Phil, Traci & Kurt. Great Italian food.
What better way to begin the last day of my whirlwind NYC trip than with a stop at the 5th Ave flagship Apple Store!
Followed by a trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for some awesomely modern artwork. Van Gogh's Starry Night!
And Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel. Ah, readymades...
Disappointingly, one of the works I wanted most to see, Dali's Persistence of Memory, was loaned out the day I visited. If only I had come a day or two earlier. :-(
Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans kinda started to make me hungry...
And this lovely shot of the center space of the MoMA. Visible at the bottom is a large (though looking relatively small in this pic) Kara Walker work.
Finished off my trip with a quick lunch at Takahachi with Phil & Gigi who both work nearby. You can see Gigi's black cod above and my Katsu don (I copied Phil's order) below. Yummy food, great company.
And finally back to JFK to fly back to the Bay Area. Farewell NYC. Until next time!
I am greatly indebted to those friends I had the opportunity to hang out with during my brief trip to New York. Travis, Dorothy, Gigi, Kurt, Traci & Phil, thanks a bunch and I hope I can see you guys out there again sooner rather than later. After having been away from NYC for over 9 years, I hope my next trip to the area won't require such a long wait!
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