Pooks Canyon

 I am sitting on the plane getting ready to fly home. So excited to see Jon and Axel and the rest of the fam. Last night Robert and I had a last hurrah at Gen Korean BBQ in Honolulu. Robert said he’d been waiting to go there when he was with someone who knew how to grill meat. I had never been to Korean BBQ before, it was so much fun. We grilled chicken, pork belly, brisket, marinated steak, and shrimp. Robert took some photos of the action. Seasoning the meats. Shrimpies! This concludes the travelogue. See you all on the mainland.

 Today we set out with another trip to the Kountry Kitchen, in which I had the Elvis Waffle. The Elvis Waffle is a large waffle topped with peanut butter and sliced bananas and coconut syrup. Robert had a much more sensible omelette. Half of my waffle is still in the fridge. It will likely make a good dessert since it was sort of like ordering a cake for breakfast. Does it make it sound better if I mention that I also ordered a side of crisp bacon? Anyway, let’s just say I was well-fueled, possibly over-fueled, for the next activity. Surfing! Robert drove me out to White Plains, a great surf spot and ocean hangout, one of the several beaches here in ‘Ewa Beach. White Plains beach is part of the old Barber Naval Airfield and the rental concession requires military id. I got a sweet board (no soft top == no rash) and surfed until I was exhausted. Robert reported the total fee was $5. Other amenities available to military here at White Plains? Beach cottages ranging from 1-3 bedrooms,...

  Robert has been such a wonderful tour guide around Oahu. By far the most exciting thing was getting a private tour of the USS Hawaii, the Virginia Class Fast Attack Submarine that Robert spends his time on with the US Navy. Where do I start? First, no photos were allowed, but I found a pic on the interwebs for you, below. We started by crossing the brow and walking around on top of the sub, which as you can see in the picture, curves down toward the water. The surface is non-skid so traction was good. Then we climbed down a hatch inside the sub. There were crew quarters named after each of the Hawaiian islands (Robert stays in Hawaii, fancy) and each had a door curtain with the name and a large depiction of the island embroidered. Most rooms had six bunks each but more than six crew would be assigned and they sleep and work in shifts. Downstairs there were a bunch of torpedoes and piles of mattresses, apparently when they have extra guests they put up racks in there and the guest...

 Step one in making my way back from Maui was to go to Oahu and visit my nephew, Robert, who is on a rare shore leave right now. Lucky me. He also owns a house in Ewa Beach (pronounced evah) with rooms he rents and one of the rooms happens to be empty right now. So I am not staying on the couch. I relished my own room last night because I was quite unwell from Fauci Ouchie dose 2. Went to bed feeling rough, woke up at 1am with extreme joint pain in my left arm. The fingers in my left hand were painful to move. I was feverish and   sweating. Then, by 9am, all better. Well, 90% better. This morning we went out for brunch and split a Loco Moco and Mac Nut Pancakes. Yum! This is Robert as we were waiting for a table. This is a certificate my “shellback” nephew was issued upon crossing the equator. Today I get to go on board the USS Hawaii, the submarine my nephew spends a bunch of time on. No photos will be allowed, of course. Here is some more Navy stuff of Robert’s. He has appar...

 Today I took the rented GoPro out to try and film myself surfing. This was hard as I did not have a mount; I had to actually hold it in my hand the whole time. I did manage to catch one small wave on film, below. I apologize for the part where I paddle, the camera had to paddle also! Catching a wave. The view at Ukumehame.

 My mom said I should get a waterproof GoPro and film the turtles. Done :)

  I’ve got nothing much for you today. No surfing and mellow yoga, no one even did any splits. It is 4/20, which has become National Marijuana Awareness Day. This is celebrated by consuming such great quantities of cannabis that one is no longer aware of much of anything. I will give you a relevant New Yorker cartoon: