Diamond Head

Today I proved to myself that I'm in better shape that I think. Jon, Evan and I hiked up Diamond Head, and I carried Evan most of the way, mostly because I'm stubborn and wanted to prove to myself I could carry the extra 25 pounds, though I admittedly let Jon carry him up the 99 steps at the very top. There was an older gentleman, maybe in his 60's, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt who insisted on climbing up and down these steps repeatedly, saying that this is his daily exercise. We should have taken a photo of these steps, to appreciate how ludicrous this exercise regimen is.

Anyhow, it was well worth the hike, and it wasn't very crowded at all. There are great views of the ocean and the island.

Unfortunately, the two guidebooks and a friend of ours from home were all correct in that, one should never leave anything valuable in their car when parked at a tourist location, Diamond Head/beach, etc. Fortunately, we did leave our car unlocked as is advised, because, it was broken into. In broad daylight, about noontime. In the middle of a busy parking lot. The irony being that we left it unlocked in case of such a situation, and took our wallets/keys, etc with us on the hike, so that if it was broken into, at least there'd be no damage to the car (yes, this is actually what several guide books advise that you do). Rather than use the trunk button however, the person/people jimmied the trunk open with a screwdriver. Fortunately, Jon was able to fix the lock and all is right with the world, minus my new swimsuit, a beach towel, and a very expensive diaper bag that was a gift of my friend we'll be visiting in Maui.

Evan had another meltdown, but is now resting soundly, again, thanks to Elmo. :) Minus the daily meltdowns, Evan seems to be having a great time and makes friends everywhere he goes.

Jon was concerned that I am not having a good time and want to go home. All things considered, it's 75 degrees here, I don't have to work or cook, and I can get a tan. I've also managed to get some shopping in, and get to do more to "replace" what went missing today, so, I can't say that I feel the need to go home right now. Loribeth arrives on Friday night and is spending the weekend with us, and I'm sure that will be a blast as well, I'm really looking forward to it.

I've also been watching the surf reports to see if the Big Wave competition is going to take place at Waimea Bay while we're here. Hmm...watching surf reports vs. watching the news about how much snow we're getting in Cleveland. I'll take my chances with the beach and the surfers.

Later.

Yesterday

I didn't get a chance/feel like writing yesterday, which could mean I'm finally starting to relax. Yesterday morning, Evan and I went around the corner to Egg's N' Things again for breakfast. The best thing about this place is that, their breakfasts are both delicious AND huge. Yesterday, I ordered a spam, green onion and cheddar omelet (spam is a very popular protein item here in Hawaii, so I figured I'd give it a try). The omelet comes with either pancakes, rice or potatoes. I've been getting the 3 pancakes that come with it. The omelet and pancakes can been enough food for both me and Evan for breakfast yesterday and today. The spam omelet actually tastes better the second day. Anyhow, it made it worth the 40 minutes Evan and I waited for our food, even though I called in the order ahead of time.

Once Jon woke up (he worked until 2am), we all went to the Waikiki Aquarium. It was just perfect and large enough for Evan. He loved it, until he got tired and had a meltdown, banging his head on a fish tank where I was sure he broke his nose. I think he's still a bit jetlagged, even though his sleep schedule has adjusted very well. Hopefully today will be better. Driving back was an adventure, because all of the roads in Waikiki are one-way, but we actually made it back pretty easily once I looked at the map. Coming back to the condo from the East side of the Waikiki, where the aquarium and zoo is, taking Ala Wai Blvd. to Niu worked very well. Turn left on Niu, which , at Kalakaua turns into Ala Moana where the condo is.

Anyhow, Evan and Jon took their naps, I sat on the lanai and worked on my tan. We all went to the Ala Moana Shopping Center in the afternoon. They have a great, but very interesting, food court. Since about half of the tourists here are Japanese, there are literally 6 different asian noodle places. Since Jon is a huge asian noodle fan, we had to walk around and look at all of them. Once he realized he didn't know/understand what was on the menu at about half of them, even if it was written in English, we settled on the Japanese noodle place, I think it was called Soba-ya. Their menu was pretty easy, some combination of either soba or udon, hot or cold, plus tempura shrimp and vegetables, or teriyaki chicken. The noodles were way better than the generic "Japanese" chicken teriyaki noodle places we have in our food courts at home.

Finding anything in the shopping center can be very confusing. Picture a multilevel strip mall within a parking garage. Jon learned this when trying to go to the grocery store on Sunday night.
Anyhow, we went over to Ala Moana Beach Park after lunch. Evan made some friends, which he does anywhere he goes, and we walked around looking for seashells and just generally letting Evan run off some loose energy. Once he nearly had his second meltdown back at the condo, we decided we'd stay in the rest of the night watching Elmo and eating Mexican leftovers while Jon went to work. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't know what I'd do without Elmo.

I'll try to post more pics later.

Lorelei