glad to see the sun

Today was the first day in about 9 days where I actually saw the sun and blue skies! It was so lovely!!!

Being back in Honolulu is great. The conveniences of stores that stay open later than 9pm (and it's not just the mega-24-hour one we all "love"), coffee shops that are open till 11pm, you know, when you actually want to go out for some desert and coffee.

Oh and the kicker, people who know how to drive!!! Hilo is not known for their excellent drivers let me tell you, and oh, Kona is worse! Not only are the drivers scary, the roads don't make sense.

Anyway, I was so in "awe" of the sun today that I took some pictures on my way to and from visiting my friend in Kaneohe.

tourist stuff

It was Aimee and my last day today in Hilo and we ended up finally going to see Rainbow Falls and Boiling Pots (too bad I left my camera in my car during the B.P. part).

It was pretty uneventful as I've been there a few times, though there were a lot more visitors than I've seen at one time at the falls. And it always amazes me that each time I go, a tourist decides to jump the railing and get "closer" to the edge for that perfect shot...I guess they never notice the "danger keep back" sign.

cool stuff kids get

My nephew, who is only 3 has his own John Deere pull tractor. Yup, a power-wheels version. Oh how toys have changed since I was his age. Nothing was motorized, no mini-versions of "big kid" toys. This one even has 2 speeds and reverse!

I babysat him yesterday while his mom and baby brother went to Kindermusik. The weather was good enough for Shosei to go out and play, which meant go for a ride. It's just amazing how dexterous these kids are these days with both electronics and motor vehicles! I'm so glad my brother was smart enough to buy a helmet for his son.

lu‘au stuff

Ended my Kona trip with watching my Dad's lu‘au show at the Kona Village Resort. Lucky for Aimee and I, my dad is the music director and musician, so he took care of our fee (which by the way, if you are 13 and older, it's $98).

We sat across a couple from New York (both lawyers and about our age). It was their first time in Hawai‘i, so I hope they enjoyed the show and their stay in Kona.

Noticed that the crowd there was really "stiff," like they didn't get the jokes and dry humor. Oh well, can't win 'em all! I noticed that the only time they perked up was when the tahitian dancers came out to shake their thang. Was kinda disturbed by the snickering of the teenage girls behind me when the lady dancers came out in their skimpy attire and their dance...like they thought it was the funniest thing they ever saw. I kinda wanted to scold them about being so disrespectful and scold their parents for not teaching their kids to be respectful of other cultures. Or maybe it was just teenagers being teens...stupid and defiant.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

1. Pretty flowers, even the ants thought they were so sweet
2. Close up of taro chips (the alterna-potato chip)
3. Of course the traditional guest lei (this one was a haku lei of orchids)
4. The musicians (my dad is the one in the middle)
5. Kalua pig
6. Imu after the pig was taken out
7. The men of the hula
8. And the finale, fire knife dancer. I found out that there really is a knife in there surrounded by the fire. Can you say super uber danger?

coqui stuff

So Hilo has a coqui problem...and I found one that isn't contributing anymore! YAY!

This little froggie was found dead behind my mom's car in the garage. Not sure how it happened, but it did. It's death created a beautiful picture, and slightly quieter night.

weeds and stuff in the yard

Today I babysat Choki since his regular babysitter is still sick. He's such an easy baby to take care of...except for the poop diaper I had to change...my first poop diaper.

Since I watched him at my bro's place, I was fortunate to have lots of stuff to shoot...1 cheerio, 1 hibiscus and lots of weeds.

Practicing my elementary skills with the camera is fun. I don't know what I'm doing and often surprise myself with the outcome.

funny face stuff

These are just 2 photos of a boy (Shosei) being a boy...

How can you not love these classic faces?!?