May day...lei day

May day is lei day at Kapiaolani park and schools all over Hawaii. Kids do presentations for their parents wearing beautiful Hawaiian flower and plant leis. Kapiolani park hosts a lei competition and ceremony for the lei queen. All of these gorgeous flowers strung together are found growing on trees and shrubs around the island.


The old native kapa cloth skirts or wraps worn below are made from plant fibers pounded and woven together and dyed with plant dyes from various trees and shrubs to get the different browns.


On Memorial Day evening, I missed an event that I had been looking forward to; the floating of thousands of hand made lanterns on Ala Moana beach. (The island is going to my head! ...Okay, I agree, I always forget stuff like this! Anyway, click on the links for the local report. I watched it here too; great music, wonderful ceremony, perfect sentiments if you've ever lost a loved one. Watch this for a while, and remember that person.)

http://www.lanternfloatinghawaii.com/
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/17638/245/

Our Hawaiian life

We are kama 'aina!...That's Hawaiian for "folks who are living in the islands." We have routines, schedules, and we know our way around to most important places. That doesn't mean we don't lean heavily on the GPS when setting off on an adventure, but finally, a trip to the grocery store or library no longer fits into the category of "adventure." We've made good friends, and many new interesting acquaintances. Our 7 year old started at the local school where they teach Japanese and where he feels "smart" in math. Our 10 year old is working on reading every book in the Kailua library and eagerly awaiting a visit from his friend who will be here for 2 weeks. We snorkel at Hanauma bay every Monday morning, Susan is singing in the church choir, John and Noah are paddling in the canoe clubs, there's papaya at the farmer's market each Thursday, and recently, we had so many social engagements that we over-booked! So it's a sign to me that we've created a spot for ourselves in this new community.

Honolulu fish auction

A visit to the Honolulu fish auction with Pierre Kleiber, Ph.D. fisheries biologist. We got up early for this field trip, as the bell rings at the fish market at 5:30 a.m. Pierre taught us that these swordfish and marlins below show up on the pallets with their bills cut off by the fishermen so that they take up less room.

He taught us about how the auctioneers and buyers assess the value of the fish. They look at color, size, freshness, oiliness, assess for parasites... The process happens early every morning, and it's over before 8 a.m. when the buyers then haul away their fresh fish on ice.

Below we are listening to Pierre teach us about the fish. You can see Grandpa is here with us taking in the sites! We're enjoying his company.

The fishing boats such as the Sea Dragon II are long line boats, with hooks baited every few feet along a line that extends out behind the boat. These boats stay out for up to two weeks before returning with their catch.

Moonfish in front of Silas, auction behind him. Booted buyers snatching up fresh catch!

Waimea beach and whale watching

Waimea Beach
We had tons of unexpected fun last weekend when the freshwater river basin, which is fed by the mountain rain, broke through it's boundaries and flowed with surfing force for about an hour. The guards informed us it only happens a few times each year so we felt very privileged! The guards rescued the same people over and over again during the time we were watching...

Below, the Nicol boys had a fairly calm ride. The surge increased and decreased without warning throughout the hour.(Click on the grey arrow!)

Below, John and the kids also did some whale watching on Saturday, where Silas made himself a very nice lei.


We miss you friends!

Noah's post

They don't call this the windward side for nuthin'! However, there are bigger waves to be had certainly. The north shore boasts something called the "pipeline". We have yet to see it for ourselves, but I think we'll be leaving the boogie boards in the car that day!

Didn't that look like fun! (You click on the arrow for action!)
Below, I am snorkeling in Lanikai. I see rocks, coral and colorful fish 15 feet below me.

Below,I am one of the snorkelers in this bunch. Me and my dad saw a sea turtle and an eel!

This is a sand castle I made(the hole is as long as my arm!).

below: Hiding in these leaves is a gecko, can you find it?


above: I am looking over Kailua, on the left side of the hillcrest. Lanikai (my neighborhood) is on the right side of the hillcrest.

above: I am looking into an army lookout building from above the ladder hole on the roof of the bilding on the top of the hill.
below: I am looking out over Lanikai from the peephole in the lookout.

Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Missouri -Arizona Memorial

Many thanks to our friends Pam and Ray for all of the lovely photos in this post.
Silas giving a completely accidental "salute" as we prepare to learn more about the site of the ill fated U.S.S. Oklahoma and it's crew, which was docked in the same location on Sunday morning December 7, 1941. Over 1200 unsuspecting died that day off Ford Island. Only 26 crewmen survived. In addition to the lives lost, several impressively massive vessels (including the USS Arizona) were destroyed. The U.S. thusly entered WWII.Noah, John and Pam standing near a very large brown and gold shell casing. John and Pam looking prepared to step into the next available secret service positions.
That is only the bridge to cross over to the Battleship (where you read .S.S. Missouri..) The battleship to our right.
Us on deck.
Ray and John looking "aft". Ray is the program manager of the work John is here to do. He is also a Major General in the Air Force.
Looking forward. You do not want to be in the way here.
Silas sitting in the blue "command" seat. Action in 3 wars was directed from this seat. It's a scary seat to sit in.

Silas, Noah, and me, observing the site of the kamakazie pilot crash, where only the smallest of dents were left on the side of this huge battleship.
Noah and I on opposite ends of the "interested" spectrum, listening to the guide as he tells us about this spot on deck of the Missouri where the peace agreement was signed, putting an end to WWII. The Missouri was then moved to the site where the U.S. entry into WWII officially began, here at Pearl Harbor, memorializing both the U.S. entry to the war, and the Peace agreement.
To see any of these photos more closely(for reading, or for a better look), double click on the photo square, then use the blue "back" arrow in the upper left to go back to the blog.
Enjoying an open air dinner together at Hickam airforce base. Thanks to Pam and Ray! Mahalo!

A windy hike in Manoa Falls arboretum

A little more Waikiki...


Then, Manoa falls, a rustic hike above the University. As usual, the boys collected sticks which happened to be fallen bamboo. It was an extremely windy day, and the bamboo knocking in the wind dwarfed us as the whole sky seemed to be filled with the hollow wooden knocking sounds.

Ever in search of a "better stick," we left the hike with a few, and a policeman informed us that it wasn't a problem for him, but Pele might take issue with it. Pele must make law enforcement easier.


To learn more about Pele, highlight the URL below and cut and paste it into your web browser (I was unable to make it a link, sorry!).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pele_%28deity%29