You Knew This Was Coming

We've been here now for over 3 weeks.  The twinges of homesickness are starting to creep in.  I'll take this moment to list a few things about Hawaii that are starting to bug me.  No.  I am not asking for sympathy.  I do not expect anyone to feel the least bit sorry for us, and I will immediately delete any snide comments about how we have it "so rough."  We still moved far from home.  Dan is still in the middle of a job change.  We're still experiencing a little bit of culture shock.  A small bout of venting to cope with all the change never hurt anyone.  Here we go.

There are NO SIGNS!!!  I know I've mentioned this before, but I don't believe I emphasized how incredibly inconvenient this is.  No "Food/Gas/Lodging Next Exit" signs on the Freeway.  No signs in front of a large strip mall to tell you what it contains.  No street signs whatsoever at most major (or minor) intersections.  (You have no idea where you are most of the time.)  No signs for any restaurants or stores telling you that they are there, let alone where you should enter.  If you happen to notice a Wendy's then you must have seen it on the building itself, because that's all you're going to get.  Imagine trying to find a Wal-Mart (You know - huge blue store - they stick out like a sore thumb - you can see them coming for miles), and you know it's in this parking lot area somewhere, but it still takes you 10 minutes to find.  Yeah.  As if Wal-Mart wasn't annoying enough already.  More on that later.

There is no Sonic in the state of  Hawaii.  To quote Brian Regan, "if that isn't the biggest oversight in the universe, I don't know what is."  The weather is perfect, and all you need is a good Vanilla Dr. Pepper between the happy hours of 2-4pm.  No dice.  Maybe it's because they aren't allowed to have a sign.

People are friendly, so long as you are a patron of their business.  I don't believe they are doing this (solely) because you are giving them money.  I truly believe that their friendliness is genuine.  I just believe that these businesses have hired-up all the friendly people on the island, so there are none left just wandering about society.  They're ticked at you.  You did something.  You'll never know what it is.


My Steelers got Tebowed.  (I know this has nothing to do with Hawaii.  Still.)

Wal-Mart is old school.  No Super Centers.  Didn't know how much I counted on being able to grocery shop in the same place I buy my socks.  This is slightly detrimental to a habitual ad-matcher like myself.

There was a roach in my kitchen this week.  I know Hawaii is known for their bugs, and I'm going to be seeing plenty more unwanted icky creatures, but this was the first, and it wasn't cool.  It was huge.  I tried to find a pic of a Hawaii roach and post it here, but the page freaked me out too bad and I had to close it.  Sorry.  I sucked it up in my Swiffer Sweeper Vac and left it in the little container to die.  (If you know me, then you know what a brave accomplishment this was.)  It's still over there in the corner waiting for Dan to empty.  (Hint-Hint)

I can't figure out the food.  I'm all for trying new things.  I just can't figure out what they're trying to sell me.  We passed a restaurant last night and the plain, white building said, "No. 1 Barbecue and Chinese Restaurant.  Shave Ice." What exactly are you going to get there?  I'm guessing Saimin.  You can get this everywhere, but I'm still not sure if it's the term for the noodles themselves, or what's in the noodles.  There are these things in all the rice and noodles that look like shaved, cooked radishes.  That's what I thought they were.  Turns out they're some type of fish.  Huh.

Can I just get a Starbucks with a drive-thru?  I think I'd rather live in a land with no Starbucks than a land where you MUST get yourself and 2 babies out of the car to go in and get it.  It's just mean.

That being said.

I got to see a whale jump completely out of the water this week.  From my balcony.  We're about to move into one of the nicest houses on the whole Army post.  I get to stay home and play with these kids all day.  Dan really thinks he'll love his job (as soon as the training is finally done).  The weather really is perfect all the time.  There are more golf courses than Dan knows what to do with (okay, that's a mixed blessing for me).  The hotel next door put up some NFL regulation goal posts in one of it's lawns, so I'm counting on meeting some Pro Bowlers this week.  Dan's parents will be here in 3 weeks, and mine in 8.  We got to eat and play on an incredibly beautiful beach last night and watch the sun set beside the mountains.  We're blessed way beyond all these little annoyances.  After re-reading this paragraph I'm not sure I can name all the complaints I listed above anymore.

Life is so fun right now.  There's a lot of change, but we'll look back forever on this month with only the fondest memories.  The kind of memories where you'd trade whole chunks of life to go back and live again.

But if there could just be a Sonic . . .

We Saw Hawaii Today

We've posted pictures and talked enough about the condo in Ko Olina where we're staying in January.  It's beautiful, blah, blah, blah, perfect weather, blah, blah, blah, awesome view, blah, blah, blah.  We saw Hawaii today.

Did you know that palm trees aren't native to Hawaii?  I didn't know that.  They have been brought in by the developers.  In fact, you really only see them around businesses and in the resorts and tourist areas.  The native trees are the most unique I've ever seen.  I now know what a true shade tree is, and I'm pretty sure Dr. Seuss got some of his ideas for trees from a drive up the Kamehameha Hwy.  This is where true Hawaii begins.  North on the 99/Kamehameha Hwy.

The road slowly curves through a valley that is somewhere between an African plain and a tropical jungle.  To both the east and west sides are sloping green mountains, perfectly framing the ocean, which is at a slightly lower elevation a few miles ahead.  Most beautiful place I've ever been.  As you approach the North Shore "Kam Hwy" veers east, and for a few minutes you wonder where the ocean went.

North Shore is practically untouched by developers and ABC Stores (the local tourist store . . . they're everywhere else).  With the exception of the Turtle Bay Resort at the farthest north point, the entire stretch of coast is rustic and very local.  No Wal-Mart, no fast food, no traffic lights.  There's a 2-lane road lined with thick brush, the occasional tiny church, a small grade school, and matted-down grass/dirt spots where people pull their cars to the side of the road to go surfing.  Every mile or so there will be a break in the brush and you'll catch a glimpse of a 20ft wave.  There are small wooden doors peeking through the lush green trees.  Some of them have murals painted on them by local artists.  They hide old-school Hawaiian homes, most with views that are worth far more than their structure.

We happened to find an open "spot" along the side of the road, and when we made our way through a hole in the brush we found an expansive beach hosting a surf competition.  No stands, no parking lots, no big signs.  Just the biggest waves I've ever seen, a bunch of people sitting in the sand, an announcer with a bull horn, and a couple dozen people with expensive cameras.  We stumbled onto the Banzai Pipeline.  Something about a reef just off the coast that makes the waves curl so high that it's a very popular surfing spot.  It was incredible.  Axel was a little disappointed that we wouldn't let him, "water get toes."  (Can you find the tiny surfer in the pic below?)

After watching for an hour or so we decided to find some food.  Since Dan isn't fond of the Food Truck movement, we drove further into Haleiwa.  I have a new favorite town.  Oh, yes.  They cater to tourists.  But NOT in the same way.  Trade the Waikiki tourist shops for local boutiques.  Trade "Pizza Hut" for "Pizza Bob's."  No real sidewalks to speak of or recognizable grocery stores, but plenty to eat and plenty of shopping.

The gem of the town is the 500sqft Waialua Bakery.  There isn't enough room for the line of people or the baskets of fresh produce they use to make their sandwiches and smoothies.  No one minds.  The fresh loaves of bread are cooling on the small half-wall that separates the baking area from the food assembly area.  There is a case full of freshly baked cookies, all $1 each.  A chalkboard hanging above the small counter reads, "Ice Cream Sandwiches $3.50.  Pick your cookies and we'll make it for you."  They have wonder cookie bars 10" long and 5" wide for $2.  I ate one all by myself.  There is no tax at any of the little shops.  I don't know why, but I love it.

If you come to visit, we would love to take you there.  We'll buy your lunch.  You've just got to see it.

Waikiki?

We'll just say it's overrated.  It will take you longer to find parking than it will for you to realize that you were better off on the prettier beaches, far from the ABC Stores, mobs of people and free fliers for nail salons.  If you really want to see Waikiki, then you'd better see it before you see ANY other part of the island.  Unless you want to stand in line for half an hour to go into the Ugg store.

We saw the real Hawaii today.

Big Big Big Big Big BIG Wada

We're there!  After a looooooong day of travel we arrived at our condo in time to see the sunset on the beach.  We've been telling Axel that we were moving to "Big Big Water, Hawaii."  However, when he actually saw it he renamed it, "Big Big Big Big Big BIG Wada."

The kids did great on the flights.  The lady in front of Joslyn turned around when we landed and said she didn't know there was a baby behind her for the past 7 1/2 hours.  As far as Axel goes . . . we'll just say that there were kids on the plane who were worse.  The time change is making things interesting, but they really are doing better with it than I thought.

Our first morning we woke up to the whales playing off the coast.  I'm not kidding.  They tell us that in a couple weeks they play in the same spot at the same time every morning, just like clockwork.  If we're lucky, we might be able to see them from our bed.  It's crazy. 

Our condo is beautiful.  Above is our view when we look left/west off our lanai (oh yeah, we speak Hawaiian now).   Below is the view to the right/east.  So, yeah.  It's gorgeous.  I forgot about the mountains until we arrived.  They're every bit as breathtaking as the ocean.  And they're everywhere!  The high today is 81, with a perfect cool breeze.

We got to see our house on base yesterday.  I LOVE it!  We're so excited about it that it was almost hard to leave and come back to the condo.  That is, until we remember the view.  It's a little better here than on base.  Axel was VERY excited when we showed him his room at the house.  He jumped around yelling, "Aaa Room!  Aaa Room!"  Then he about exploded with joy when we showed him that he can see the basketball court in the park from his bedroom window.  I have a feeling that I'd better get in some good beach time now, because I'm going to be spending the next 3 years at that basketball court.

Last night we celebrated New Year's by going to bed at 9pm.  Probably earlier than any of our family back home.  :)  However, we did get up at midnight to watch the best fireworks show on the island from our lanai.  The kids slept right through it.  We already have sores in our mouths from our pineapple breakfast.  It's definitely a different experience to be eating breakfast, drinking coffee and watching football in your pj's.  I can probably get used to it.

P.S.  We really do take pictures of Joslyn, too.  I promise we'll post some soon.  :)