First Weekend Excursion!

During the week we stay fairly close to home base,
venturing across the street to the beach, a few floors
down to the rooftop pool/hot tub or out on the bus
if we want to get somewhere.  So by the time the weekend
comes we are hankering to expand our horizons and get
 out of town.  Jason is the only one allowed to drive
 the rental car so he's our ticket to freedom on his days off!







MAKAPU'U LIGHTHOUSE HIKE
See my completely separate post for more pictures of this beauty!  We know we want to do a lot of hiking while we're here.  But 3yo legs and intense sun are a limiting factor.  We started out easy on our first weekend excursion and went to the Makapuu (pronounced Ma-ka-poo-eee) lighthouse.

Its a paved path, at a slight but steady incline, about a mile long and the views are absolutely breathtaking.  I cannot describe the vivid blues, lush greens and amazing landscape.

We had hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and water.  But the littles were DYING from the heat and moved pretty slow.  We stopped a lot for water and lookouts, found the tiny spots of shade and kept the pace SUPER slow.  There was quite a bit of upbeat encouraging and pointing out of cool cacti and flowers that we don't normally see, and they made it!  But they don't want to do it again.




BELLOWS BEACH
Next we headed to Bellows Beach.  The Department of Defense owns it and part is public but part is only open to DoD employees.  I feel so fortunate.  Daddy and Ella tried their hand at boogie boarding.  The waves were a little too big for Ella and tossed her around a bit.  Josiah wanted no part of the waves.  We enjoyed but moved on much sooner than we had originally planned.








NUUANA PALI LOOKOUT
On our drive back we went THROUGH the mountains via tunnel which was neat and stopped at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout. (pronounced "New-ooo-ah-new) 
     
This is a steep cliff that is the historical sight of a fierce battle where King Kamehameha (pronounced "Kah-may-ha-may-ah) invaded the shores of Waikiki, marched up this valley and  overtook the Oahuans by an overwhelming margin.  The wind coming off the ocean hits the steep cliff and is driven upward with such force that it pretty much blows your hair straight up!


MAGIC ISLAND

We checked out Magic Island.  Its a lagoon out on the end of a peninsula.  It was built to be part of a resort but they ran out of money and now its part of a public park.  We LOVED it!  Sandy, sunny, gorgeous, calm.  Daddy and Ella donned their snorkel gear and found fish and sea urchins!  Josiah and I played in the water and rested in the shade of the palm trees.

                                             







Sunday morning we tried out Metro Christian Church and loved it!  It was THE BEST sermon I have EVER heard on this topic.  And I've heard a lot in the 15 years I've been a believer in Christ!  The link should take you to it if you want to check it out!  The kids space is awesome, friendly and well staffed.  The message was THE best I've EVER heart on Ephesians 5:22.  And the atmosphere is great.  I'd say its mostly locals.  Ella was the only Caucasian girl in the kids church and I think it is such a valuable experience to be the minority for once in her life, as that is an experience she'll never get in Maine!  She said a boy about her age befriended her and "showed her the ropes" telling her the routine and what would come next as well as offering to be her partner in a game where they needed to pair up.  That was music to my ears and I can't wait for future Sundays.  I want to meet this family and tell them what a blessing their courteous, thoughtful boy was!

Shield Your Eyes People, Maine Winter Skin has Arrived in Paradise!

A morning ritual just outside the condo building.

I'm fairly certain the locals needed polarized sunglasses just to protect their eyes from the glare of off our Maine, winter, white skin; But I was determined to get the kids to the beach on day two!  After being cooped up, sitting down, the entire previous day in one form of transportation or another, we needed to stretch our legs in a major way.  I called off school for the day and we went exploring!

Taking my friend Jen's advice, we slather SPF 100 on, wear rash guards, hats and sunglasses.  We reapply after we're in the water and we STILL get color.  The sun here is no joke folks.  NO JOKE.  Our pastey white bodies are slowing acclimating.

The government per-diem rate allows Jason so much per day for housing.  We knew we wanted a 2br if we were staying for 3 months.  It had to be a decent commute to work for Jason.  The city made sense because the kids and I could use the bus to get around as we would not have a car.  And it would be a plus if the kids and I could walk to the beach.  It wasn't easy to find, but once again God provided!

See.  CITY.
But the beach is oh so close!

Now, the term "across the street" means something very different here than it does in Maine.  We do only have to cross one street to get to the beach.... but its 8 LANES of traffic.  I'm not gonna lie, this safety conscious, type A, slightly anxious momma just about has a heart attack every time I take the kids outside.  Its city, people... like high-rises as far as the eye can see, bustling sidewalks, bumper to bumper traffic, BIG CITY.  It's not my ideal, folks.  Here's the reality.  The road noise is pretty much constant.  The lanai is kind of useless because you'll get a headache from that 8 lane road which is directly below.  By the time I walk back from the beach with the kids, this snow-loving, country girl to the core, introvert is hot, sweaty and so frazzled from navigating the crowded sidewalks with two kids and a beach cart that all I want to do is NAP!  Im NOT complaining!  This is a blessing, and a gift and I see it that way every day.  But also want to aknowledge, for the whole families sake, that this is not our norm.  Its a struggle sometimes.  It takes patience.  But all of it is SOOOOOO good for us!

Josiah LOVES pushing the crosswalk buttons.  The simple things that bring delight to his face are so precious.  I wish you could see the smile that spreads across his face and hear his happy little squeaky voice!  A week in and the kids are already experts at big city navigating on foot and crosswalk signs and safety!

Say hello, to our friends Mr. Blowfish. Angel, and Thingy.  The first morning out we passed this boat marina to get to the beach and were surprised to find exotic fish hanging out in dirty water just off the sidewalk.  We see these three every morning.  Ella named this one "Thingy" because it has a "thingy" (likely a hook) hanging off the side of its mouth.  Apologies for the poor photos.  Im mostly just using my iphone and these pictures are through the marina's dirty water :(

The Hilton is across the street from us and it has this man made lagoon.  Its still saltwater, changes with the tides and has schools of fish teaming about.  But there are no big waves and there are shaded grassy areas around the edges that make it perfect for the littles.

Just over the sand mound, the vast stretch of Waikiki beach unfolds and we've found our places that we like the best... where the waves are little and the kids can bob in the surf.  Ella is much more adventurous and swims out deep and puts her mask on to look at the ocean floor.  But Josiah is more timid, doesn't want to see underwater and afraid of what might be out there.  He's growing in confidence each day but still sticks to where he can touch.  He's learning to like the waves and once he gets past the point where they break and pull, he exclaims "Ooooo!"  and "Wahooo!" each time one bobs him up and down.

Okay.  Its not even 9am here.  But that means its 3pm for most of the folks reading this.  Im off to prepare for our Saturday exploration.... A submarine ride!  NO... not the Navy kind.  The sightseeing kind!  Pray for the kids and I.  They were SUPER gung-ho but are now second guessing their desire to be underwater in a sub :/

24 Hours of Travel. Oh my!

Our gear for 3 months.  Super proud of our packing.

Those two smaller suitcases are empty, for bringing home

presents and souvenirs and such!

4:30am was the time we needed to get the children up Tuesday, May 17th, to start our journey to Hawaii.  Jason's mother suggested he and I don grass skirts and play hula music to wake the children. Oh I WISH I were that cool of a mom!  If y'all have that kind of energy and creativity at 4:30am, kudos to you.  I am NOT a morning person.  I'm a, "kids, you're sleeping in your clothes so I can easily haul you out of bed and throw you in the car with minimal fighting to change you," kind of person.  And so that, my friends, is how it went down.

This little boy was SO excited every time he saw

a plane take off!  Such joy!

After the 4:30am wake-up, the following ensued:

A drowsy drive to the bus station.

1.5hr bus ride to Logan

security, breakfast and boarding

5.5hr flight to Phoenix

1hr layover

6.5hr flight to Oahu
Car rental
Navigating big city
Trip to Walmart
Finding and checking into condo
Finally sleeping at 10:30pm Hawaiian time (4:30am EST)

By the time we deplaned in Oahu it was 6pm Hawaiian time (which is 12am Maine time).  We had been awake and traveling for 19.5 hours with a 7yo and a 3yo.  Each had managed about an hour nap on one of the flights.  Let me tell you, it was purely by the grace of God that I was still energetic, joyful, and patient.  I was determined to make it an adventurous, exciting experience.  With lots of prayer and by the power of the holy spirit, It was!  The kids were ABSOLUTELY amazing.  Only one toddler meltdown was had and thankfully it was o our layover, NOT on a plane.  And only a few minor whines or arguments were had between the littles.  I mean seriously!  Can you even imagine!?  Rock stars I tell you!

Our first view of our home fro the next 3 months!

It took a while to get a rental car.  The kids were getting loopy and goofy, running around the rent-a-car lobby... It's 1am their time by now.  Thankfully no one else was there.  I just went with it.

And, another God provision... we asked if we could possibly get a larger vehicle for the same rate we are allowed by the government.  We got one of those little Mazda minivans! It is PERFECTION.  Enough room for all our luggage/gear in the back or a 3rd row seat if we ever need to transport friends, sliding side doors and still compact enough for easy city driving and parking in tight spaces!

But we still weren't done!  We had to navigate the city (on VERY tired brains) and find a Wal-mart to get carseats and a few groceries for the morning.  We managed to find it, but all started going downhill quickly.  Our sweet little boy was SO DONE.. it was 2am his time.  He was sleepy and running into things as he walked and had a meltdown because he wanted the BLUE car-seat... like sat in it and refused to move, was pulled kicking and screaming from it... meltdown.  Daddy's nerves were done (the poor man had to work in the morning!) and Ella was just wired and excited and enthralled that the Walmart had an escalator!  Again, by the shear power of the Holy Spirit, (because if you know me, you know I am not, by my own nature, the gal that easily stays patient and positive) Mommy was the glue that held the crumbling pieces together.  Oh we were a sight to see!  I laugh now thinking about it!  

This is the first thing we saw when we

stepped off the plane!

We walked through the dark city, hauling our loot back to our parking spot, passing homeless people setting up for the night in parks and doorways and I had a very real, "We are not in Kansas anymore Toto" moment.  

We still had to find the condo, get the keys, find our parking spot in the parking garage and haul our luggage to the 18th floor.  Praise the Lord.  We made it.  The Condo was beautiful, exactly as pictured and the beds were OH SO comfy!  

I think the kids got to bed at 10:30pm Hawaiian time, which would be 4:30am Maine time.  Which means they were awake for 24 hours, with an hour nap each.  Crazy!  Then Ella woke up at 3am!  But that's another story...