To O'ahu We Must Go

Connor and I just got back from a quick getaway in O'ahu. It was very spur of the moment, but there was a good deal on plane tickets, so there you go. As usual, we really packed it in, but because we took time to sit and enjoy ourselves, we came away feeling well rested and relaxed.

On our first day in O'ahu, we hiked up Diamond Head to watch the sun rise. Or we almost saw the sun rise... more like we saw the sun rising. I sat and painted this scene while Connor listened in on the many Japanese tourists to see if he could recognize any words.

The hike wasn't too hard, but it was humid, so we came away rather sweaty and tired. After a nap, we headed out to see the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. You see a film, which is sobering, before you board a boat to visit the actual memorial. I think the film allowed everyone to be much more respectful as we were all on the same page about the gravity of the bombing in Pearl Harbor. We came away with a better sense of the loss that happens during war.

After Pearl Harbor we stopped by a beach to snorkel. It was the beginning of our snorkel adventures as the next day we got up to snorkel at Hanauma Bay. We arrived about mid-morning and we relieved to get a parking spot. After watching the required movie, we were allowed to go down to the beach and reef. There was a huge variety of fish in the reef. I must have seen 3-4 varieties of parrotfish alone. I got a kick out of seeing both the largest and smallest rainbow parrotfish I'd ever seen. We also saw a few Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Hawaii's state fish) swimming around.

After two rounds of snorkeling, I was ready to warm up, so I did something I don't think I've ever done in my life: I sat on the beach and did nothing. Connor went back in for a bit longer before we left.

Eventually we left and drove to the east side of O'ahu to see what we could see. We might have chosen the best time to leave because soon we were driving through a giant cloudburst. After exploring a few places we found ourselves on Lanikai beach. It was pretty quiet and as advertised: beautiful. We decided that if we ever made it back to O'ahu, we'd have to spend a little more time here.

It was here that we decided that we could live in O'ahu quite happily

On our last full day in O'ahu, we headed north to see the Dole Plantation. The first order of business was to get lost in the biggest botanical maze in the world. We spent nearly 50 minutes looking for the 8 stations throughout the maze.

Afterwards we jumped aboard the train to see some of the pineapple fields. I've decided that pineapples are a weird fruit. They grow at such odd angles on the mother plant. We also learned that pineapples aren't even native to Hawaii, but because of Dole's success, we associate them with Hawaii. After our train ride we stopped for some Dole Whip, which is as good as they say, before going to the north shore.

In winter, the north shore if famous for its large waves and the surfers that follow them. We decided to go to Banzai Pipeline to see if anyone was there. As it turned out, there was going to be a competition the next day. We saw quite a few great surfers. Connor decided he wanted to frolic in the waves and did so while I painted. When I finished, he talked me into joining him. It was fun until the second time I got a mouth full of seawater. 

If you look carefully, you can see a surfer riding the wave

After exhausting ourselves, we found a bar/grill that served Loco Moco past breakfast. (Loco Moco is a rice/egg/beef patty/ gravy dish that is rather tasty) While waiting for our meal, we spotted some of these guys. Unfortunately, these geckos are not native, but they were sure fun to watch. One stalked a fly and another one tried to sell me car insurance. We also saw a brown one that had two tails! He was too quick for a picture.

We came away with two patches and a magnet, which was much more restrained than the last time we were in Hawaii.

All in all, we had a great time. I only wish we had a few more days to snorkel and eat a ton more tasty food. 

In The Florida Keys - Pt.1

A strange sequence of events lead me to visiting Florida and the Florida Keys last week. Connor and I had planned to go to the Keys for our honeymoon. (It was a place full of vacation memories for him that he wanted to share with me.) It ended up being too overwhelming to plan around wedding, so we started looking into what it would take to go at our 1 year anniversary. But after learning that: 

1. He had previously gone only in May or August, which would guarantee warm water

2. His family was going to be there this August 

3. I had promised to see his family again sometime this year (Which would have been to Kentucky)

I told Connor, "I have this crazy idea."

The beginning of the trip was full of issues. (I've just deleted my long rant about what happened, but Expedia's customer service is non existent and we won't be using the service again. We felt taken advantage of and lied to. Jet Blue, however, was awesome even though it wasn't their problem to fix. We will be using them again.) We took a red eye out and upon landing I got teary and said, "I want to go home." Connor took me to a breakfast place at Miami Beach and my attitude improved. Then we walked out and I touched the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. I had never seen the Atlantic before and I was skeptical that an ocean even could be warm. I wanted to stay in it.

A wave hit my leg and went up underneath my shorts. But it was a warm wave, so I was ok with it.

From Miami Beach, we drove to the Everglades and took a fan boat tour at Buffalo Tiger's. Buffalo Tiger was the chief and as such, this tour company has more rights as to how deep into the Everglades they can go. He passed away this year at the age of 95, but we were told he was one of the last to be born on the tree filled islands that are in the everglades.
Our tour was 30 mins as opposed to the usual 60 mins due to low water, but that was more than enough for me. Our guide was wonderful. He also was able to give a demonstration with one of the male gators that swam out to meet us.

He told us he was keeping an eye on this guy's tail because the tail would tell him about the gator's intentions

We drove to Big Cypress before doubling back and going to the Biscayne visitor center. It had close a few minutes before we arrived. Luckily we weren't far from our hotel in Homestead. We popped out to a Cuban restaurant two doors down and Connor asked the waitress what she recommended. Connor likes fish, but he wasn't expecting to have it still look like one. I got a steak. It didn't still look like a cow.

How will I eat this?

The next day we got up bright and early and headed back to the Biscayne visitor center to grab a patch and walk around. It was beautiful out there, but most of the park can only be accessed by boat. I hope we get to visit there again in the future.
Much of this day was spent in the car as we took the Overseas Highway to Key West. We got caught in some traffic though, so we started singing silly songs to the tune of the Beach Boy's "Kokomo." My favorite was:

In the Florida Keys

There's a place we'd like to go

But the traffic's really slow

It's not moving at all

7 mile bridge towards Marathon Key

We skipped a bunch of what we had planned to see on our way down in order to get catch a late tour at the Hemingway House. It was worth it. Our guide was informative and entertaining. The house is full of cats descended from Hemingway's polydactyl cat. All of them have the gene, but only about half have the extra toes. Our guide also had a pocket full of cat treats, so some of the less shy cats followed us around. He also let every lady on the tour feed the cats, much to Connor's disappointment.

Me: "If you want to feed that cat, ask him for a treat." Connor: "I don't want to break the tradition."

After the tour we walked all around Key West. First we got me fitted for a snorkel mask. I had never been snorkeling and would be trying for the first time the next day. We decided that it was worth the investment because the best way to ruin a snorkel experience is to have an ill-fitted, leaky mask. As we passed by Key Lime Pie Co. Connor insisted on going in. I am not a pie person, but I was more game after I saw that they had a gluten free version. (Being gluten free is pretty trendy these days. I, unfortunately, am not doing it to be trendy....) The pie was amazing. After my first bite, I said, "Oh no!" then preceded to consume the rest of the pie in an unladylike fashion.

They marked by pie with extra whipped cream so we wouldn't mix the two slices up

We wandered around a bit while looking for a few more landmarks. Here is mile marker 0 at the beginning of US Route 1. (Not to be confused with California's Highway 1.)

Then we waited in an enormous line to take a picture by the Southernmost point in the continental USA. I have to admit, I'm a big fan of cheesy tourist destinations. 

After the picture, went to a nearby cafe that touted itself as the "Southermost" and watched the sunset while eating tasty seafood. After filling ourselves to the brim, we waddled back to the inn and passed out.
(A big shoutout to Chris at the Cabana Inn. He prepared us a breakfast to take to our room because we were going to leave before breakfast was served the next day.)

Joshua Tree, Salvation Mountain, And Disneyland, Oh My!

Last weekend Connor and I went on a trip to see bits of California I've never seen on our way to the final destination: Disneyland. Originally we were going to go by the coast and stay in Morro Bay. But wouldn't you know it, all the colleges in the area were doing their graduation and there wasn't a hotel available along the entire central coast. All of it. So despite the heat, we decided to go to Joshua Tree instead. We arrived in the evening and saw the sunset, which was much more impressive because a storm had rolled in and we saw the occasional flash of lightning.

The next day we headed further south to Salvation Mountain. On the way we stopped by Bombay beach, which contains ruins of a once vibrant holiday community. The Salton Sea smells just as bad as everyone describes, but it was still quite interesting to walk around. I hadn't realized that the Salton Sea was formed from a leak in irrigation from the Colorado River in the early 1900s. It has no inlet or outlet and over the years has gotten polluted from agricultural runoff in the area.

By the middle of the day we made it to Salvation Mountain. It is a monument built by Leonard Knight out of adobe and is his tribute to God. The scale is amazing. And to think one man built it. There is a "yellow brick road" that you can climb to stand at the top of the monument.

Salvation Mountain is just in front of Slab City, a place that looks like it has come straight out of a Mad Max movie. There is an outdoor art display in "East Jesus", not far from "West Satan". We drove by, but it was quite hot (106F or 41C), so we stayed in the car. We spent the rest of the day driving around the rest of the Salton Sea, including stopping at a border patrol checkpoint (we were pretty darn close to Mexico at this point). We eventually made it to our hotel in Anaheim that was walking distance from Disneyland. At this point I was suffering from a pretty bad cold, but we walked to downtown Disney, had a lovely dinner, and walked back.

The next day was epic. We spent 15 hours at Disneyland, including lunch at my all time favorite restaurant: The Blue Bayou. It was quite crowded for a Monday, but no matter. We got onto each ride we wanted to once. (We also saw someone getting proposed to.) By the end of the day we staggered back and passed out immediately. Not too many pictures were taken because we were having a lot of fun. But near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I found this hat and decided that Disney missed out on having a really good extra in their movies.

On our last day, before leaving LA, we stopped by the La Brea tar pits. I'd been there before, but Connor hadn't. I highly recommend going to the Page Museum that is located on the grounds. Connor got to meet a large mammoth.

We then drove up Highland street so Connor could get a glimpse of the Hollywood sign before we drove on to Solvang for an early dinner. It was 10pm by the time we got back home. We filled our four days to the brim and drove over 1000 miles (1600km). By the end, we were quite happy to be back in our own bed again.

Honeymooning

I know you are all wondering, "Did she finish the shawl?" I'll put you out of your misery. I did. But I won't have pictures to share for a bit longer. Just know that it looked great.

So Connor had kept the honeymoon a secret. He asked my boss for a mystery number of days off and took me to a mystery location. He did well. We spent three days in Carmel and Big Sur. 

On one of our stops we walked down a path to the ocean. I leaned against the fence and took in the view. Then I looked down.

And saw that there was poison oak everywhere! I somehow managed to miss it all. Even the sprig that was right between my knees.

Connor had never been to Big Sur, so I volunteered to do the driving so he could enjoy the view. We stopped by classic Big Sur locations such as Bixby Bridge.

We popped by McWay falls as well. Some kids hopped off of the path to see if they could find a way down. (terribly illegal) I don't think any of them knew what poison oak looked like. They might now.

It was a lovely three days and it was pretty tough going back to reality (work, responsibilities, etc.) But Connor and I have been hard at work making the apartment comfortable and improving our cooking. Now if only I could fit a little more knitting into my life!

New Zealand Recap

Those of you who have followed the blog for the last two weeks don't need to be told this: I had a great time in New Zealand. I got to hike all over the place.

 

Taranaki Falls

I saw some interesting sights. This wasn't the only car I saw with gumboots on the back bumper.

Somewhere not far from Upper Hutt

I even fit in a jumping photo. (Here you go Wei Siew. This one was for you.)

Makara Beach Walkway near the wind farm. Photo credit to Dad.

And I came away with some neat finds. The yarn was covered on the Yarn Day post. But most of these books were found while I was near Auckland. The books, left to right, are as follows: Tribulations of a Chinaman, King Lear, Chronicles of Avonlea, King Solomon's Mines, Further Chronicles of Avonlea, Pilgrim's Progress, Wuthering Heights, Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals, Romance & Legend of Chivalry, Ancient Legends of Ireland, Gulliver's Travels (with Rackham illustrations!), and Picture of Dorian Gray.

All in all it was a great, albeit not restful, trip. I hope I can go back soon. But until then, I'll be pressing my nose upon the grindstone to get The Book finished. 

Poppies, Floating Rocks, and Smilodons

I just got back from a wonderful vacation. My parents and I went down to see my brother's guitar recital. On the way down we went to check out the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. This is the time of year when the hills are supposed to be covered in poppies. I was a bit skeptical as we drove up because the hills looked a little too brown. Turns out the rains didn't come, so they all died. Dad bought a postcard and we walked up to see where the poppies would have been. 

 There are more poppies in our backyard than in Antelope Valley this year.

The next day, after the recital, we visited the La Brea tar pits. We all thought that the constant bubbles coming up from the pits was some sort of Disney magic. Boy are we used to a manufactured world. The bubbling occurs because of built up methane gas under the pits.

Before we checked out the Page Museum, I noticed that we were next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. There is a piece out front called Levitating Mass, which consists of large granite rock displayed over a lowered walkway. The opinions on this piece are extremely polarized: you either think it is the best bit of art since Michelangelo's David or that it is a waste of money. I just think it is a very difficult piece to get a picture of it if you've left your wide angle lens in the car.

The Page Museum is pretty neat. There are a large number of skeletons, including these two Mastodons. It is a mum and her baby that got stuck at the same time.

I learned that Smilodons, or Saber-Toothed Cats are often incorrectly called Saber-Toothed Tigers. They aren't tigers, they are cats. 

My last day in LA, my brother and I went to Disneyland. There are no pictures because the only thing I brought with me was chapstick. We were there nearly the entire time the park was open. Highlights include getting seats closest to the edge of the water in my favorite restaurant, the Blue Bayou, beating Christopher at Astroblasters after he bragged about what a great shot he was (95,000 points to his 69,000), and the sad whimper Christopher made when his sunglasses disappeared on the last turn of the Matterhorn. I think the highlight of Christopher's day was when we went on Splash Mountain and the wave missed him, but entirely drenched me. 

I didn't knit or touch the computer the entire time I was in LA. It was a true vacation and I savored every moment. Now back to work.

Knitting Delusions

It's funny how, before every trip, I have grandiose ideas on what kinds of projects I'll have time to work on. This time, I believe that I can knit an entire vest in 5 days. I spent today designing and casting on. This particular vest is one that I promised to knit for my aunt last year. Since I'll be seeing her, it is "completely reasonable" to believe I'll be done with it by the end of the trip. 

Last week, after forcing a chunk of my stash on my coworker, she felt the need to need to reciprocate. Neither of our stashes really shrunk much as a result. I think this yarn needs to become a cute pullover with a little cabling. I'm really not sure if there is enough for me to add a little cabling, but I like to live life on the edge. 

It's been a little over a week since I got my wisdom teeth removed and I'm happy to report that I no longer look like the Godfather. But I'm still a bit too sore to eat steak.

Hermie The Hermit Crab

In the previous post, I left off where Mum and I drove up the coast. We stopped in Brookings to meet up with my Aunt. The next day we went to Harris Beach where there are some famous rocks. 

I thought that the footprints we saw on the beach were rather interesting. My guess was initially Skunk. I got poo-pooed and the general consensus was Raccoon. Although I still don't think it's Raccoon. Any insight would be lovely.

The reason we were in Brookings was to see the negative tide, which was -1.4. It was pretty amazing. This funny looking rock is actually covered with Anemones. 

Mum gets the Eagle Eye award for spotting this guy. It was a Sea Cucumber that looked very much like a rock. I'm really happy I didn't step on him.

We stayed around the tidal pools until dusk. Mum and my Aunt chatted a bit as the light faded away.

The evening became even more magical as the lights of Brookings flicked on and twinkled across the harbor.

Our adventure doesn't end there, I'm afraid. For you see I did a bad thing. I found a bit of driftwood that I thought was funny looking and put it in my pocket and promptly forgot about it. You shouldn't take things from the beach. And in typical me fashion, I got an instant punishment. When we got back to the house, I pulled the driftwood out of my pocket and a little shell fell out a crack in the wood and into my hand. Then the shell started to scurry... across my hand. I screeched and threw the now identified hermit crab onto the bed, where he spent some time scurrying. (Quickly I might add) I felt bad about accidentally bringing the hermit crab home, so Mum took me back to the beach where we walked for 10 minutes to get back to the tidal pools. Unfortunately the tide had come in at this point and the only pool I could get Hermie into (I named him Hermie) could only be reached in the brief time between waves. So I waited for the wave to recede, ran to the pool, dumped Hermie in, and ran back. I earned wet pants for returning Hermie. But I felt like I owed it to him. It wasn't his fault he got jammed into my pocket and taken far from home.

Hermie had better live a bloody long life after all that. I hope he's ok.

The Seagulls Of Clam Beach And Other Adventures

When I last left off, I had a really strong margarita in Chico. That night I called up Justin to make sure he'd be around for a visit the next day. The next morning, Mum and I had a good breakfast at the Diamond Hotel's restaurant, Johnnie's. Then we packed up. Mum commented that she felt like she was on assignment. Then she said something that had me giggling the rest of the day. "Let's take the elevator. No need to be a hero." Like taking the stairs would have made us heros.... hahaha. (We were on the third floor, so the elevator was nice.)

When we got to the coast, we picked up Justin and visited Knitter's Lane. Neither Mum nor Justin knit, but both have been dragged to enough yarn shops to know the lingo. They spent time giggling over how the could make complete sentences using words such as dye lot and fiber content. Then they both told me to check the dye lots and fiber content. Haha, very funny guys. 

The shop is small, but well kept and the prices are good. Mum picked out yarn for her annual birthday scarf, Patons Silk Bamboo in Orchid.

Justin pointed us in the direction of a local sandwich shop called Central Sandwich. Mum had a wrap, Justin had some vegetarian sandwich, and I had the The Big Turkey, which is a BLT with additional turkey and avocado. We took our food to Clam Beach and sat in the sand eating. Turns out there are some rather aggressive seagulls that live on Clam Beach. That seagull is about a yard away from Justin, and he had to duck a few times because it swooped at him.

While I was eating, both Mum and Justin started to laugh. Why, you ask? Well, the stupid seagull (who I thought had finally left) was actually hovering six inches above my head. It had its feet outstretched and was about to land upon my head and eat the sandwich out of my hands. I shrieked and ran off, but it followed me. 

And chased me down the beach.

This happened a few times. I'd see the seagull, hide the sandwich in my sweater. When it wasn't looking I'd take a bite. But then Justin took to trying to attract it. Mum thought it was funny. Justin thought it was funny. I did not. Justin got minus points for this. (He later found my lost lens cap in the sand, so he got some plus points for that.)

Before we left, I got my "Jumping At Clam Beach" picture with Justin.

Don't worry Justin. I photoshopped out your butt crack.

We ended the visit with Justin earning a million points. He was able to go to the Natural Fiber Fair in Arcata. (I'd like to point out again that at the moment, he does not knit, crochet, or do any kind of fiber craft) He handed me a box. I thought that maybe he picked up a little roving for me. Justin did so much better. He got me two different colors of Alpaca roving, two skeins of Alpaca, two circular needles, and a cable needle. Justin is awesome. He has earned a pair of hand knit socks. I might even come up with a new design for them. He is that awesome.

 

 From Double Diamond Alpacas

After leaving Justin, Mum and I headed northwards. We passed the Trees of Mystery. They were closed, but I still like getting my "Me and Paul Bunyan" picture whenever we pass by. Me and Paul are buds. However, Paul is much, much taller than I.  Let's put that in perspective, shall we.

Much, much taller. I wasn't even next to him. I don't think I even reach his boot. On a slightly separate note, I've done the Trees of Mystery tour before. It's a fun thing to do at least once in your life.

Not pictured: The anatomical correctness of Babe the Blue Ox.