Here are the stories of what we've been up to lately, along with some new pictures. Michael is at his last conference event so chances are I won't be back to blog until we're back in Ohio again.
There is no way of telling whether our children will grow up to be foodies like us or not, but in utereo this kid is getting exposed to a little bit of everything! Tuesday night we went to an American-style grill that appeared to be run by Japanese people (or more likely Americans of Japanese decent). They know how to market well, and offered a great special where you get two grilled meat choices and a bunch of sides for only $12 (a real value around here). The reviews all said the place is good and you cannot beat the value, so we tried it and it was really not bad at all (not gourmet, but still good). I had maui maui and stuffed salmon. I liked how their portions were just right....not too big.
Wednesday Michael didn't have time to meet me for lunch and had to be at conference events all day, so I went shopping around Waikiki. I splurged and bought myself some Jamba Juice! I love it, and it is something I cannot get at home (which is probably good, since it is a bit pricey). This reminds me we need to buy a new bowl for our blender so I can make my own smoothies at home. It was a nice supplement to the breakfast our hotel serves: basic toast with butter and jam, croissants, muffins, juice, Go-Gurt (the portable yogurt in a package you can squeeze into your mouth), and sometimes cereal bars. It's free though, and enough to start the day. For lunch I tried tasty real Japanese ramen noodle soup with won tons. I also tried the gyoza (aka dumplings or as many Americans call them "potstickers"), and they were awesome! Very similar to the dumplings our Chinese friends make around Chinese New Years. This is a picture of what the wonton ramen soup looks like (this guy took the picture of his ramen at same restaurant I went to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/disneymike/34861825/!
I took it back to the hotel to eat, and saved some left-overs for Michael to try. He really enjoyed it as well! After that we ran off to go on a tour of Pearl Habor offered by the conference. Michael was really looking forward to this part of the trip as he knows a lot of history and is always eager to learn more and see things in person. For me it was just a chance to learn some things I didn't know. The experience was fine, but reminded us why we never sign up for tours when we travel....with so many people to board on the buses and such we only had 30 minutes to tour the USS Missouri battleship, then we ran to see the harbor tour and finally stop by the USS Arizona Memorial. It timing was about right for those like me, without as much interest or knowledge, to have a general overview but I definitely would have wanted him to have just a little more time. Here are some pictures (there are more and if Michael was writing this, there would be more details and such here too ;-).
And for those who said to me, "I don't see pictures of you!" here is a picture of both of us. Too bad I don't have Photoshop to help enhance this lighting, it was hazy when this was taken. (As a side note, we found out from the local news the haze we have noticed in the area is from a volcano on the big island of Hawaii).
Here are a few from the rest of the Pearl Harbor tour and the USS Arizona (For those who don't know like me, USS Arizona was one of the ships the Japanese sank where many died. There were only around 300 something survivors...many of which who chose to be buried here):
After we returned, we bought a 4-day bus pass so we could expand our horizons (and our local food choices). Michael and I are, in general, both fans of fish tacos. They sound weird to many people in the Midwest, but we have a local restaurant that makes the best I've had anywhere which we love that inspired us to make them at home too. There was a local chain that had them in shopping center that was about 15-20 minutes away. This area was very different from Waikiki, and looked more like regular suburbia with many of the familiar stores and all kinds of restaurants. It took awhile to find the restaurant we were in search of, but we finally did. Michael was not a fan of these fish tacos, I thought they were fine. At least our meal cost only $8 or something outrageously cheap. We tried a local bakery called Beard Papa that sells real cream puffs that were very good.
On the way home, I had a very upsetting experience. First we had to wait awhile for the bus near a park where this creepy, old, petite Japanese bum with a huge shopping cart of junk. He seemed more worried about us taking his stuff, than trying to bother us, but Michael still kept a close eye on him. So the bus shows up and I follow Michael aboard. The bus driver is equally creepy looking, and at first gives Michael a weird look when he shows him the pass. When I went by and held up my pass, suddenly he goes off at me and says something like "hold it down here (making choppy hand motions) not the f*** in front of my face!" It actually took a moment for what he said to hit, but when it did I was both offended and upset. I have never ran across a bus driver that rude anywhere in the US or Europe! Seriously, I also was not exaggeratedly holding it in his face, only trying to be sure he could see the dates. If he had a preference or I was doing something wrong he should have told me in a polite, professional, or courteous way. I was silent most of the ride, and Michael was wondering if he made a comment about the bum by the bus stop or something. I waited to tell him until after we got off (since being pregnant and extra emotional, I didn't want to get upset while on the bus). I just carefully noted the bus number and all details, then went straight to the hotel and filed a complaint on The Bus website. What a jerk!
Thankfully, since that experience all the other bus drivers have been much more friendly and helpful. Ironically, last night we also rode the same bus number again but it was on a different route with a different driver. I don't plan to board on any bus if I recognize the jerk driver! Yesterday we decided to be beach bums for part of the day and went swimming in the ocean and walked around. I still didn't want to bring the camera so I don't have to worry about it, but plan to get more beach pictures before we leave. Michael had a luncheon this day, which gave me the chance to try another interesting place (this one I don't think he would have been as interested in) called Well Bento. This places makes food as natural as possible, uses organic when they can, and use no dairy products or eggs so everything is super-healthy. I had their grilled salmon: http://www.wellbento.com/
What I didn't know was this place was take-out only. It was actually this hole-in-the-wall kind of place that would have been impossible to spot on the street. There was no air conditioning in the tiny place, and the guy who owned the restaurant was doing all the cooking with one employee helping take orders. This place wasn't far from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, so I went there to find a place to eat. I was also aware of where bathroom and water was on campus, which are very important for a pregnant woman to find. The one thing about this area that is a plus is I have been able to find public bathrooms fairly easily.
For dinner, Michael and I boarded a bus and went to an Austrian restaurant way on the eastern side of Oahu. This area was completely different from anywhere we have seen so far. Here the neighborhoods were beautiful, clearly middle to upper class, and there were a lot more mountains. We plan to come back later to get more pictures. The Austrian restaurant was our one splurge, the restaurant where we spent the most money ($60). For what we got, the value was still excellent and the prices were the same as we would have expected from home. We had real Wiener Schnitzel that reminded us of our honeymoon, and the chef (who came out and chatted with us a bit and seemed to know many of the regulars in there) was from a small town right near Innsbruck where we went skiing. The food was excellent, and I had leftovers to take home. Here is a picture of me taken as the sun was going down before we had dinner. Too bad the lightning wasn't better!
Can you see my little belly? ;-) This was before dinner too, it's more pronounced often after I eat.Here are a few pictures from the eastern corner of Oahu. We talked to a local man on the bus who said this is the countryside, and they call it "God's country" here. We clearly saw why, it was gorgeous! These couple snap shots at the bus stop don't do it justice at all though and we have to go back when it's not dusk!
This morning I was super-tired so I think the Little One is growing again. I noticed now when I try to lay on my stomach, it feels like I'm laying on something! This afternoon we got to explore a little of Chinatown and ate at one of the best Vietnamese restaurants around (so good, though there are many placed to get the Pho (or special beef soup with rice noodes, and many herbs and such you add) this was the only one with a line out the door). Here is what our food looked like. It was so good!!
Other than that, we both realized last night we got a little sunburned at the beach (Michael only got it on his shoulders, I had it all over my upper body as I burn very easily and rarely tan thanks to my Irish hertitage!). We believe some of our sunscreen got washed off while swimming. It is just on our upper bodies, and thankfully it is just a very light pink and not painful. I have gotten in a habit of wearing sun screen every single day, and was glad to find the Neutrogena Ultra Thin which goes on so soft and smooth. Normally, I hate wearing most sun screens. We also booked a rental car for Sunday for only $23.37!!! That's cheaper than a taxi and gives us a place to keep our bags during the day after we check out of the hotel. Let's here it for good deals and freedom! The gas is still only $3.81-3.85 which is better than at home, and the island isn't that big so it shouldn't be a big deal to fill up the tank again. Tomorrow we also plan to go to the Dole Pineapple Plantation, the local palace, and Sunday will be our big sightseeing around the island day! Time to finish post cards.
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