Blue Hawaii

(This was taken yesterday by me, but since I don't have many photos up of myself, I figured I'd add one!)

Day three of the Hawaii trip began with a trip to the fruit stand located next to our hotel here. Turns out that a local Senior Citizen center has a weekly fruit stand they put up for the locals and tourists alike. Nothing fancy just the staples like bananas, mangos, and pineapples. It was all for their center to stay afloat for all their senior programs like line dancing classes, and get this, tap dancing! How cool is that!



After our visit to the fruit stand, our next stop was the Waikiki Aquarium. This was my first time visiting the Aquarium, and it was cool. It's a rather small place, but it does it job. It's literally right on the shore on Waikiki, so it's like having a museum about snow in the Antarctic, so that's why I think it's rather small. It had it's share of indigenous Hawaiian fishes including a Black Tipped Shark, which was cool, as well as two seals in their one outdoor tank. Here's a photo of a Seahorse and a tank window. Cool!




Oh, and here a few photos outside the Aquarium, kinda cool I think!



What's great about aquariums and museums, etc. is the learning that takes place. There were kids groups all over the place led by volunteer docents teaching them all about the different kinds of sea life. This next photo shows that anyone can be bewildered at learning about new things (it's also my favorite of the "Aquarium" set of shots):

My Mom and Grandma at an exhibit.




Here's a photo of the beautiful palm trees that surround the island.



Okay, so that's day three. Tomorrow, it's back to the swap meet and to the North Shore! Woo hoo!

A shout out goes out to my cousins Joe, Tod, and Alex, as we all once surfed the same break I did today - great times!

Aloha!

Paradise is returning!

Okay, as the days go by, the weather gets better, and today was just that, with of course, the occasional (and HEAVY) liquid sunshine that dares to visit the islands during tourist season (which is basically every day).

It did still put a bit of a damper on our activities today, but at least we were able to see the sun for a while in between down pours. Here's the shot from the balcony this morning. See the difference from yesterday? (The BW shot is from yesterday).




However, about an hour after I shot this photo, clouds came in and out, making the day spotty at best. Oh well.

After the morning realization that the weather wasn't going to stick, my mom, cousin and I decided to go out for a morning walk. For the first time this trip, I was finally able to see my favorite part of Hawaii, the beach:

When I was "younger", each time we would come to Hawaii, I would surf right off this point. It was cool cause my mom and grandama would walk to the end of this short pier to watch me and tell me that it was time to come in. Ah, the good 'ol days.

A shot from the edge of the pier towards the world famous Waikiki Beach, ah...



My mom next to the Duke Kahanomoku statue on Waiks.




Center Stage at Ala Moana Mall. Many "famous" celebrities have graced this stage.

And finally, the object of my gastrointestinal desires while in the islands, the Zippy's Mixed Plate (Chicken Katsu, Beef, Mac Salad, Zippy's Chili, and Rice)

More tomorrow! Till then, enjoy today :)

Liquid Sunshine - NOT!

Day two of the this Hawaiian adventure was filled with water, and sadly, not the kind that you would hope for in terms of the beach and ocean, but literally torrential downpours with 1-2 inches of rain per hour! The second morning started off with a gloomy outlook on the day from our balcony:

Sadly, the rest of the day looked exactly like this, with on and off rains, each varying in intensity and downpour.

However, being in "paradise" doesn't mean that you stay in your hotel room cause of a little rain! No, you go out anyway! So where do you go? You go to Leonard's!

Despite having visited Hawaii for more times than I can remember, I have never, ever gone to Leonard's until now! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Leonard's, they are a portugese Malasada bakery that has been a staple here on Oahu for decades! Their pastries are simply delicious Portugese creations! I've never had them any where else before. The above photo is of my mom and holding our first ever box of delicious Leonard's malsadas (gee, how many times can I say "Leonard's" anyway?)

Just think, inside each of these lightly sugared malasadas are sweet creamed filled centers! Haupia, chocolate, and for November, Pumpkin! Ah, sweets, yum!

After the nutritional debauchery that took place at Leonard's, we were off to see if the local Swap Meet was still going on. Despite the weather, there were vendors, but not as many as usual. Here's a few photos:

We pretty much tried to stay indoors for the rest of the day, including a trip to our newest favorite hole in the wall restaurant - "Dirty Lickens", buffalo wings in paradise.

Okay, sadly I was having internet problems last night, probably due to the weather, but hopefully you enjoyed day two's happenings. More to come!

Aloha!

Back in Paradise!

Yes, as the subject heading reads, I am back in Paradise! Oahu, Hawaii that is! After a two year "hiatus", I'm finally back in the land of fruit punch, Zippy's plate lunches, and of course, the awesome beaches!

Day one was of course filled with traveling and getting settled in. My 5 hour flight from LA felt long. At one point, a little kid near me threw up and added to the plane's air effervescence! But, even a little vomit can't spoil the fact that I was on my way to Hawaii!!!

Paradise is also well marketed as this photo shows:

I was in charge of getting our car rental - our "G" ride for the entire week. Check out our wheels!

And what has now become a tradition, we stopped by Zippy's before heading over to our hotel. How I love their Mixed Plate Lunches! I'll be sure to take a photo of the dish later.

Okay, that's it for now. Do check back for other photos to come. I have to go to the "Kane's" room now!

And a huge shout-out goes out to my cousin Junior and his wife. I wish I were there to celebrate with you all.

Till tomorrow - ALOHA!!!

A "Ghoul" Evening

Do you recognize these rather "famous" hitch-hikers? They were taking a little leave of absence from their regular gig at Disneyland for Halloween last night in Toluca Lake. Looks like they need a ride back to the park ;p

Yes, last night was Halloween, the one night of the year where kids can actually ask strangers for candy without their parents worrying about it. And boy did we give out a lot! The night was spent at David's house passing out full sized Kit-Kat, Hershey, Reese's PBC bars to any a Halloween ghoul. We all dressed up for the occasion to greet the happy haunts appropriately. I was dressed as a Knight, Tamlyn as a Sorceress, Tara as Victoria Beckham (which was quite a popular costume BTW), Daniel as some sort of purple hat wearing ghoul, David as a Cowboy (how creative!), and Mike as a Geek (which really wasn't really a stretch for him).

Because Tamlyn and I are actors, Daniel too, we totally played our parts while passing out the candy. Me with my Medieval euphemisms and phrases, and Tamlyn scaring kids by asking them the Halloween password of "Trick or Treat". It was fun to see the kids come over to the porch and see what awesome costumes they had on. BTW, "High School Musical" costumes were also quite popular as well.

In between passing out the treats, we walked over to David's neighbor's house which was fully decked out in Halloween paraphernalia, including full sized coffins, Leather Face, Predator/Alien, and a mini Haunted hallway. Heck, there was even a full sized werewolf. Can you guess which one is "real"?

In the end, we passed out 1950 candy bars over the course of 2 hours. Wow. That's a lot of cavaties!

Ah, Halloween. What a night! Oh, and a huge happy birthday goes out to my mom whose birthday is on Halloween. Happy Birthday mom!

P Monte Got Married

After eight years, yes EIGHT years of being boy-friend and girl-friend, my buddy Pablo and his new wife Gladys got married today. I'm sure you're wondering why the subject heading says "P Monte Got Married" right? Well, back when Pablo and I were working together, his computer log in name was "P Monte" cause someone else had his sign in name. It stuck with me, and since then I've called him P-Monte along with other guy-ism nick names, mostly in the Latino homeboy sense.

It was great to see Pablo today, on his big day, a day that has been in the works for a long time now. Through the years, I got to know Gladys as well, and they both make a terrific couple, and will certainly have a great life together. Plus, if anyone ever gets in their way, Gladys is a lawyer, so I think they will be alright!

As I mentioned yesterday, here are a few photos I shot today at the wedding ceremony. Sadly I wasn't able to attend the reception, but I figure the actual nuptials are more important.

Here's a shot of some friends adjusting P Monte's collar before the ceremony. He was actually very relaxed all throughout the day.

The dapper don himself




Greeting guests in the foyer of the church




Pablo and Elene

I really like this shot of the bridesmaids boquets

Gladys after the ceremony thanking her family and friends

P Monte's former co-workers Mary, George and Mary Ann

Group shot of more friends
(L to R)
Elene, Adam, Kay, Mary, George, and Mary Ann

Congrats to the newlyweds, and may their lives be long, happy and prosper :)

A quick two from last night

In my quest to provide for you, my reading audience, a photo or two for you to peruse, I decided to post these photographs from last night. It's from our Cold Tofu workshop. I thought they were kinda neat, with Jully (pictured below) looking pensive, and Kevin, looking rather mischievious. Oh, and for the photo of Kevin, I added a texture layer to it to give it a gritty look, just in case you camera-philes were wondering.

I'm sure to have more from this upcoming weekend, some from a good friend's wedding, and a headshot session on sunday, so be sure to check back for more! Until, enjoy your day :)