Hawaii
First Post*Blogger’s note: In Hawaii, I’m making a practice of sitting down each evening to jot down my thoughts from the day. So you may find these posts a bit choppier and more of a stream-of-consciousness. Enjoy, lol.
At some point mid-October, we made the decision to cut our time in Japan short, and head to Hawaii. I’m feeling an urgent need for routine, casual living, chill community, etc. for these last few months… in short, we are feeling a bit burnt out from being ‘tourists’ and wanted to land somewhere that we can have fun, explore outside, and build up a bit of a community.
We flew out of Haneda Airport at 9 PM on November 5th (Tokyo was wild to see at night from the air, so many lights!). Because we crossed the International Dateline, we landed in Honolulu at 9 AM on the 5th, so the kids were tickled to think we got to do the day over (if only we could do that in real life when needed).
We very seamlessly Uber’ed to Kailua in the mist and light rain and the rental manager was there to meet us with recommendations, offers of kid play dates, and even an offer to loan her bike to us. We walked across the road to the endless, gorgeous Kailua Beach in the dusky light, and the kids played in the waves while we walked off our jetlag. Later, we could barely keep our eyes open over a game of Exploding Kittens… but of course, as soon as my head hit the pillow I couldn’t sleep. Everyone woke late the next day feeling groggy, to say the least.
We had a bit of a slow start to the next day dealing with issues back home (flooding basement!) and ‘life admin’. Finally, we walked into town to check out a gym, a rock-climbing place, and the Target for some basics. I had an awesome salad at Down to Earth organic market and did a Lagree class at KOMO Studio – so good to be back at it!
Huge sleep-in again! I think it was nearly 1 PM by the time we were all up and ready to head out. Sean took the kids to the beach as I furiously googled things to do here and calendarized accordingly. This is the first place that we’ve joined and followed local groups on social media to try and build a bit of community. We hit up the Thursday night market which had some of the best food offerings I’ve ever seen at a market… I ended up with a fabulous poke bowl, while Sean got lobster and crab empanadas and the kids enjoyed Thai roasted pork, fruit-filled crepes, and a massive bowl of fresh-cut tropical fruit. It gets dark so fast here… we dodged the drastic but quick downpour under an awning while we ate, and then strolled home along residential roads in the pitch black – luckily, I had brought my headlamp, and we were proudly led home by Kieran.
We rented a car today, having now been in the town for a few days and realizing all the hikes we want to do, as well as gym visits, Lagree classes, and some activities we’re organizing for the kids. Koa, who rented to us, was so friendly. Toyota Yaris keys in hand, we can now zip to the gym, the climbing wall, the kids’ tutoring (my homeschooling has not kept up the pace, to say the least), mini horse-petting, cookie decorating, Christmas light viewing, and more. Oh yes, we have quite the adventures planned for our time here. Stay tuned!
Such a good, active day today. Workout at UFC Gym followed by a delicious cappuccino at Holoholo Espresso and Lagree at KOMO. Met Sean and the kids at Volcanic Rock Gym and watched the kids boulder for a while (as well as watched the adorable + huge spotted Great Dane who hangs out there). Lunch was followed by a liberal application of sunscreen and an afternoon in the surf. Walked 8 KM (!) down the beautiful beach that goes forever and now am definitely.feeling.it. in my feet! Forgot to mention… was JUST drifting off to sleep last night when I felt something tickling my scalp and then forehead. Realizing it wasn’t just my sleepy thoughts, or the AC blowing my hair, I reached up to close my fingers around something tiny and slimy, before hurtling it across the room. Turns out it was an eensy brown gecko which usually stay on walls and ceilings… this one maybe fell on me? Regardless, it was not a comfortable realization that if I hadn’t woken up it could have gone on (and in!!!??) any part of my face. Could not sleep after that.
Excellent HIIT class this morning at UFC Gym, though I was pretty daunted before we went. I don’t know why those sorts of scenarios intimidate me; probably it’s because I’m not very strong but also, I’m a perfectionist and don’t want to look bad. Turns out, it was a super welcoming environment and an awesome coach, and I was so happy I went. The kids were busy crafting up a storm from the craft supplies we got in town the other day, as well as working in their new spelling workbooks. We haven’t been travelling with any workbooks and I’m just finding out now how helpful they would have been this WHOLE time. Better late than never…? Dinner was out at Rai Rai Ramen – delicious. Came back to read a few chapters of The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin which I bought at a used bookstore here for us to read as a family. Kieran groans every time we gather on the couch for it, but I think he is secretly enjoying it.
We got up at at ‘em early this morning because the kids were signed up for an all-day art camp (Veteran’s Day holiday). Sean dropped me at UFC Gym for a “Bodypump” class followed by a yoga class which were both.so.good. I have missed yoga so much! Then we were off to The Sunrise Shack for bullet coffees and smoked salmon avocado toasts. That buzz propelled us through an ocean swim, a 6.5 KM beach walk, and a (leisurely! Kid-free!) trip to Tokyo Central grocery store where we saw the most delicious-looking array of poke and many of the same ingredients we were loving in Japan. Sean grilled chicken and veggies and made Grace’s favourite Lemon Greek potatoes for dinner – we’ve made a list of all the things we’ve cooked and learned to cook and loved over this year, and are going to slowly cook our way through it. Lemon Greeks are something my dad makes all the time and something he taught Grace how to make during our time together in Sardinia.
Another early start to the morning as Sean took the kids to the childcare at the gym (included in membership, what a treat!) and I went to KOMO. We met at Cinnamon’s Restaurant where the kids were making good work of ginormous places of fluffy pancakes (banana for Kieran, cinnamon bun for Grace); OMG yum. Then it was on to making protein balls + doing laundry (me) and climbing club + Kumon tutoring (kids). Kieran’s latest interest is in making a mini bow and arrow, so Sean and he headed to the hardware store at one point for wooden doweling. I must say, his first prototype made out of pipe cleaners, cereal box, plastic knives and elastic bands was not half bad! Many evenings here, there has been a huge dump of warm tropical rain which comes down hard but only lasts a few minutes. That has just occurred and now the kids are out on the patio playing in the fresh petrichor-filled air amongst the clamour of birdsong in the trees. The dusky sky is purple and it will be pitch black very soon.
A great day hiking up to the Makapu’u Lighthouse. We saw myriad shades of gorgeous blue water and the awe-inspiring power of the waves crashing against the rocks as we went up and up. Spied a giant turtle swimming around in the surf way below. The lighthouse is quaint and lovely and there is a poignant monument at the top of the trail honouring nine service folks who died when their helicopter crashed on the hill. The wind was wild, and though the sun didn’t feel toooo strong, my sloppy sunscreen application was very apparent later in the evening (all the many straps of my sports bra and workout tank criss-crossing my back!). Kailua’s centre is dominated by a massive public sports complex including a free, lifeguarded outdoor pool, so we checked that out in the afternoon (cold, but lovely) before hitting up an evening gym class at UFC. I am finding a lot of folks do not have WhatsApp here and we don’t have ways to call or message, so with my Airalo e-Sim just running out, I signed up for a screaming deal with Mint Mobile and giddily received my first texts and calls in nearly a year. I’m sure I’ll come to dislike calls once again very soon, but it’s nice to have the ability when needed.