Rain

Friday night the weather was forecasted to be rainy with sunshine. Well we definitely got the rain part. A tropical depression is moving across Oahu, Molokai, and Maui through next week. Zach got wet coming home from Ala Moana but I managed to get a smile out of him for the camera. The first picture is of the mountain range that is not visible because of the wall of rain and clouds.

Dairy Cows, Hawaiian Hello Kitty and other stuff

Zach and I went to Sam's Club down near Ala Moana to drop off two waterproof disposable cameras at the 1hr Photo. It was tasting day! Lots of free food samples. We tried ahi (tuna), coffee from Kauai and gyoza (potstickers). Good food! Then of course we had to try the free ice cream by the local dairy, Meadow Gold, and get my picture with the Meadow Gold Aloha Cow. We then went to Ala Moana shopping center to see if the pet store had a ballast for Zach's aquarium (didn't have one) and I went to the Sanrio store (Hello Kitty store) and they were having a celebration complete with a Hello Kitty in Aloha wear. Then we went to the bus stop to catch the A Express home and I had to take a pic of the Muumuu Factory. More to come....

Cat TV

I saw this cute cat bank at the rummage sale and for $3.00 he came home with us to take his place on the TV next to Darth Vader. He is an Asian good luck symbol that you find in many stores near the cash register around Honolulu.
Just making sure everyone sees my little buddy next to the cat as well.

Zach and I went out to a rummage sale at a local Buddihst temple. The street sign at the intersection of the road which our apatment is on (Kuilei Street) and University. I also wanted to take a picture of the supermarket which is a 5min walk from our apartment. Kinda expensive so we only go there when we need a few emergency items. The last picture is of my monthly bus pass. $40 a month gets you all the rides you want!

North Shore

Zach and I went collecting on the North Shore of Oahu two weeks ago and after we'd spent three hours in the water of Turtle Bay with finding only one sponge we decided to enjoy ourselves by touring the coast on the way back to Honolulu. Zach spotted a really cool mid-1960s Dodge Baracuda in a handicap parking spot. I took pictures of a nice rocky tide pool area that would be great to revisit for collecting. The nice bay is known as Sharks Cove. Not sure if there are actually any sharks there or not. Zach and I stopped at a beach because of the really neat algae that totally covered the rocky shore. We also got a little rain which made for some nice cloud pictures.

Waikiki Beach at Sunset

Zach and I went down to Waikiki beach one Sunday evening to see the sunset. We got some nice pics of the famous Duke statue wearing leis and of people on the beach watching surfers in the water. There was a surf contest wrapping up as we arrived. And of course a nice picture of the sun setting over the water.

Eating around Oahu

Zach and I went to the famous local eatery known as Anna Millers. Your basic everyday American style food with some Polynesian/Asian influence. The first image shows the dessert area and the short outfits of the waitresses. Good place to eat. I would recommend it to anyone coming to Oahu and looking for a decently priced place that you can take the whole family to for any meal. Zach ordered the local favorite, chili loco moco. Lots of places on Oahu serve this dish and many proclaim their's as the best or most original. I can't speak for either points as we haven't tried it anywhere else but Zach really enjoyed his Anna Millers Chili Loco Moco (second image). The third image is of my chili pot pie. Good chili but the crust was a little to dry and crumbly for my taste. The last two images are of us eating at Hanazen's a nice little bento eatery near Walmart on Keeamoku Street. One image shows Zach holding up a taro roll made from the locally grown taro plant which is basically a starchy root with little taste. The roll was good but more so because of the yeasty flavor than the taro. The second image is of Zach's spicy tuna roll i.e. sushi! I tried it and found it ok. So Gail you can't say I haven't eaten sushi anymore!

Emilie's Bat pumpkin

Jen's pumpkin

The top image shows Zach's pumpkin with a carving of Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty followed by Katie's scary pumpkin and then Brad's scary pumpkin.
The bottom image shows Jen with her really cute castle pumpkin. I tried to get a picture of the pumpkin with a candle in it but couldn't get one that was in focus.

Mingxiao and pumpkin carving

Mingxiao wanted to participate in the pumpkin carving so she helped clean the pulp and seeds out of one of the pumpkins.

Cutting the cake

Katie cutting into the pumpkin cake.

Witchy Mingxiao

Mingxiao wearing my feathery witch hat.

Too much candy....must keep eating.....Oooo! Cake!

The bar covered with food for the party including a pumpkin cake made by Sharon. Jen brought some really good rice krispy treats with orange and black chocolate chips. Zach also made really good Lime Jello punch in the black cauldron near the aquarium.

Emilie and Katie in the Kitchen

Emilie made some great spaghetti as our main dish. The sauce was absolutely delicious. Katie chopped up fresh veggies for us to enjoy her wonderful spinach dip. Thanks gals!

Spooky Cheesecloth

 

Zach wanted to create an atmosphere of creepiness so he got some cheesecloth from Walmart, dyed it with tea, cut holes in it and ripped the edges. Nice effect as the tradewinds blow it around. 

Halloween Party

 

Zach and I hosted a Halloween party for our friends in Hawai'i and to give Emilie a chance to experience the tradition of pumpkin carving. The picture here is of Zach and I in our KMART special Renaissance Halloween costumes that we'll wear down to Waikiki on Halloween. 

October means its time for Halloween!

 

In celebration of Halloween, Zach and I decorated the shelf in the bathroom with a scary black metal Tree candle holder from Illuminations (they have some really neat Halloween candles this year!) and some pumpkin scented candles (Sharon's favorite fall candle). Sorry the picture is not scratch and sniff. 

Leis (Lei sing.) from the Big Island of Hawai'i

 

Sharon decided to create a display of the three Leis that she received at the MSA meeting in August at Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i. The bathroom is one of the few places in the apartment where we can hang things as it is drywall and not concrete unlike the living room and the bedroom. The top lei is made of the traditional ti leaves and the second lei is a native flower the seeds of which can be planted. The third lei is a shell lei. 

Bar-Be-Que!

 

We had an impromptu BBQ to celebrate new things happening to people we know in Hawaii: New job (Jen), baby on the way (Jen's sister-in-law and Jen's brother are expecting), and the opportunity to grill outside (Zach)! It was a little rainy but we persevered. Zach grilled some great ribs, Jen and Heather brought some really good mashed potatoes, Emilie made a wonderful pizza (basil was a nice touch). Katie made her delicious spinach dip and much swapping of beer occured between Jenny (Emilie's roomate), Zach, me, Katie and Anna. Since we had to leave the picnic area by 9pm, everyone moved to our apartment. We watched "The Longest Yard" remake with Adam Sandler in Burt Reynolds's role. I think Emilie might have a slight addiction to watching DVDs. 

Cool Wave Tank

One of the other labs had a cool wave tank out on display.

SOEST 2005 Open House

Sharon and her fellow labmates, Anna and Mingxiao, volunteered at the bi-annual SOEST (School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology) Open House to help educate kids from local schools (K-12) about the research being conducted by scientists in SOEST. The open house was on Friday and Saturday, October 14th and 15th, 2005. The picture here is of the SOEST banner hanging from the HIG building.