June 14, 2022
The parents arrived in Oahu in the afternoon. Knowing they'd be tired and hungry from traveling, Bill insisted I not pack the schedule on the first day so they could settle in and relax. We grabbed take out at Makoto (giant sushi rolls) for lunch, walked the dogs to our sentimental tree in Aiea, and ate Rangoon (Burmese) take out for dinner. We typically eat outside, and the parents loved the 30 degree temperature drop compared to the mid-summer Texas weather they had just left. We ended the night with an episode of Shmigadoon (Mom and Bill initially objected, but they couldn't help but love it).
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| Sesame, Anna, and Bella's Tree |
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| All of Us |
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| Loop-de-loop Tree |
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| Mama |
June 15, 2022
We saw 3 rainbows today! The morning started off with a muddy morning hike at Aiea Loop Trail and then we headed to the North Shore. I figured 2 hours would be enough time to explore Waimea Valley botanical garden, but we actually ran out of time because I always forget how gigantic it is (52 gardens and over 5000 plants). We enjoyed Toa Luau, which had a pretty impressive coconut tree climber, a good lead fire dancer, and an adorable 9 year old fire dancer. On the way home, we stopped by Laniakea Beach where we saw at least 8 turtles. We ended the night with 2 more episodes of Schmigadoon.
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Morning Rainbow
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| Aiea Loop |
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| Newly Hatched Butterfly |
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| Camera Happy |
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Blue Jade Vine at Waimea Valley
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| Coconut Climber at Toa Luau |
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| Honu! |
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| Evening Rainbow
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There were another 2 rainbows today! Bill went on a run while the rest of us enjoyed a lazy morning. We went on a short walk at Ala Moana Beach park and then took Mom & Dad on their first parasailing experience. Lunch was at Marukame Udon per Dad's request, followed by a quick stop at my favorite Vietnamese market New Cholon. Mom & Dad took a nap while Bill & I walked the dogs around the neighborhood. We enjoyed a splurgy multi-course dinner at Casablanca (Moroccan), which has the best rack of lamb any of us has ever had. We ended the night with another 2 episodes of Schmigadoon.
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| Ala Moana Beach Park |
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| Dad & Lien Getting Ready |
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Dad & Lien Taking Off
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| Dad & Lien Parasailing |
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| Dad & Lien Getting Dipped |
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| Bill & Mom Getting Ready |
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| Bill & Mom Parasailing |
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| Bill & Mom Getting Dipped |
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| Bill & Mom Getting Soaked |
We had another 2 rainbows today (for those of you keeping track, that's 7 rainbows in 3 days which is a lot, even for us)! We visited our special tree again this morning. The rest of our morning was spent in Kaneohe: we did a short 400 foot zipline at Bay View (Dad's first zipline!), fed koi at Byodo In Temple, and then returned to Bay View for a round of putt-putt golf where Mom destroyed the rest of us. We headed back to Aiea for lunch at Build Your Own Ramen. Mom & I attended 2 tap dance classes (a first for Mom) while the boys went on a run and picked up dinner at Poke & Box. We met up at Ala Moana Beach park to eat poke and watch the Friday fireworks show. Before bed, we watched the last episode of Schmigadoon.
We hiked Hawaii Loa Ridge, one of my favorite hikes in Oahu. Mom & Dad tried their first kouign amanns, a decadent pastry Bill & I go crazy over. Mom made us a Vietnamese lunch that had fried tofu, something like spinach that isn't spinach, and huge chunks of garlic. We ate dinner at Tane (vegan sushi), killed some time at Leahi Millenium Peace Garden, and were joined by Cynthia & Mayur for a local production of Waitress at Diamond Head Theater.
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| Gotta Love Those Ocean Views! |
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Climbing the Ridge
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With the Pups
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| Rain Clouds |
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| Can You Spot Zoltan? |
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| Mom |
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| Mom Re-enacting Her Fall (she was okay) |
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| The Whole Group |
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| Leahi Millenium Peace Garden |
June 19, 2022
Today was Father's Day. Raquel joined us in the morning for a doggie play date at Kuliouou Beach, where we saw a dead baby hammerhead shark on the sand. Afterwards, we dropped the pups off at home and headed to Waimanalo. We bought fresh fruit from Frankie's Nursery, ate a grilled sunflower head at Waimanalo Country Farms, and frolicked in the waves at Waimanalo Beach. We barely took a break at home before heading out to the State Fair to enjoy some rides (Ferris Wheel with all 4 of us, The Zipper with me/Mom and then again with me/Bill, and Seven Seas with me/Bill), a funnel cake, a petting zoo, a dog show, and a circus performance where Bill was called up on stage. Perhaps the highlight of the entire trip was hearing Mom scream throughout the entire Zipper ride. Dinner was at Pho Vietnam in Chinatown. We had no more Schmigadoon to watch, so we finished off the night drinking kava while watching Wallace and Gromit's The Wrong Trousers.
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| Trying a new fruit (abiu) during breakfast |
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| Pink Pineapple & White Pineapple |
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| Pink Pineapple |
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| Last Rainbow |
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| Last Hike |
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| Waimano Irrigation Tunnels |
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| Green World Coffee Farm |
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| Mom's Nails |
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