Waikiki

I ended up last week with an almost last minute client trip to Hawaii.  I arrived late Thursday and left mid-day Saturday, but I did get a few hours Saturday morning to explore.  This is Waikiki beach.  One of the cab drivers told me it is all fake - it was originally marsh land that was filled in with sand from Australia.  Even if true, the result is a really beautiful beach.  I am not normally a fan of highly developed beach resorts, but I liked this spot.  

KCC Farmers Market

What to do when stuck in a strange city on Saturday morning?  Google 'Farmers Market'.  This is the KCC Farmers Market at Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu.  The selection was wonderful, but I did not think local tomatoes, pineapple, orchids or other goodies would survive a ten hour plane ride back to Virginia.  I did get half a pound of Maui coffee beans and four different varieties of local honey.  

Yard House

I stopped for one pint of the local IPA at the Yard House restaurant on Lewers Street in Waikiki.  It is a Western US chain that claims to have the largest selection of beer on draft in the US.  They certainly had an impressive selection of taps, but I don't trust myself with the tall glasses that are their namesake.  

LIVE FIRE!

I just find this billboard, which was common in Waikiki, to be bizarre.   

My understanding is that with strict gun control laws at home, many Japanese take the opportunity of visiting the US to try out shooting.  I get that.  

But advertising for the lady in the lace blouse who want to take a break from shopping at Hermes and Cartier to try out the high-tech pistol with the laser sight?  I guess this is just a niche market I don't appreciate.  

I am also not certain I want to go shooting anywhere that welcomes children.  

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A fine day at the zoo! Eva had a surprise half day (surprise for me since I forgot to put it in my calendar). Will is having his final chorus performance at 4:00 so we have time for a fun zoo outing. Poor Lyra hasn't gotten as much zoo time as Will and Eva did at her age so this is good for catching her up!

Happy Birthday Will!

I have had a lot of trouble getting birthday parties together for the kids. Will takes care of this by planning his own. To celebrate turning 11, Will decided he wanted to have Capture the Flag birthday at the park complete with nerf guns and general mayhem. He drafted rules (since there are lots of variations in this game) and drew a map of the park for his friends to see in advance. We had a total of 12 children (though Eva wasn't there the whole time). Great fun was had by all despite the foul weather. It was about 60 degrees and rained lightly through the whole game. The advantage of this was that no one else was at the park so the boys did not run roughshod over any children, small or otherwise. I think the red team was the overall winner. We trekked back to the house for cake.

Now I have to figure out Eva's birthday....her plans are often more elaborate and, as a result, don't come to fruition as frequently.

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You're never too old for the merry-go-round!