Happy Halloween!

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I keep thinking of this year as Makai’s first Halloween even though he was born before Halloween last year. Last year my parents sent a Halloween onesie and I found a pumpkin hat in our hand me down clothes. Makai wore this ensemble for our first big outing: to the doctor’s office. The entire pediatric practice was filled with nurses and doctors all dressed up for Halloween! Our first meeting with our pediatrician had him dressed as Mike Ditka, fake mustache and vintage Bears sweater and all!

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This year we got Makai dressed up in his honu (turtle) costume and headed to Roscoe Village. For a few hours in the afternoon they shut down Roscoe Street and all the kids take over. It was crazy!! So many cute kids and families all dressed up. We saw Danny and Caroline and Rory and Pete and Allison and their girls. Logan Square had a kids parade too, but it was in the evening, so I thought that the Roscoe Village parade might be a bit better for a baby. Maybe we’ll stay in Logan Square when Makai gets bigger!

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Makai’s daycare had a fall festival last Friday, but he was out that day. I was kind of surprised that it wasn’t actually on Halloween, but since it’s on a Friday maybe they thought people would be off to do their own things. For some reason tomorrow is pajama day in his class. Lucky boy opened a package in the mail last night at it was Halloween pajamas from grandpa and grandma. Perfect!

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Danny & Caroline’s Baby Shower


The clothesline before everyone added their onesies.


Danny & Caroline


Caroline


“There is a Revolution Brewing in my diaper.” We got this onesie for the baby.


Wine for Caroline from Cousin. He also got Danny some beer! They’ll probably need it!


The clothesline after everyone added their onesies.

This past weekend Trent and Loden hosted a baby shower for Danny and Caroline. This was my second shower I went to for these guys. There was one around Christmas with Danny and Dallas’s family and was girls only, but this shower was more like a party with a bunch of friends that just happened to have some baby things. Loden had the cutest onesie decorations. She ironed on letters to spell out “B-A-B-Y H-A-R-A” and strung them up along the banister along with a bunch of blue balloons. Trent had a ton of beer and Loden set up a make-your-own-margarita stand and a a taco bar for dinner. Kristin brought guac and I brought cupcakes (more on that later). Everything was so delicious!


Doesn’t quite fit Cousin.

For a fun activity, Loden got a bunch of onesies and some fabric pens and paint and everyone at the party decorated a onesie for the baby. After a couple drinks these turned out pretty great. Mine is kind of an inside joke. At Caroline’s family baby shower I got her a bunch of Green Bay Packers baby things, much to Danny’s dismay. Caroline said that these things went missing and later on realized they were in the garage, where Danny said he “accidentally” “dropped” them. Um. Yeh.


Sugar Bear


Much excitement with two dogs, a turtle and a two-year old kid!

Halle was the only kid at the party and it was fun to hang out with her. Lately she is very shy when she first arrives, clinging onto Jill’s legs, but within about a half hour, she’s lively and talkative and not shy at all. Tent and Loden have two dogs, Charlie and Winston, and a turtle Sugar Bear. Halle has a big dog at home, Vegas, so she was really into the turtle. Like really into it. When Loden took him out of the tank and let him run around for a while, Halle just about lost her mind. It was so cute!!!

It was fun to spend time with everyone and see Trent & Loden’s new(ish) place. We also watched some football. Lions lost. HAHA, Ed. Nice to see Danny and Caroline again. They’re just about exactly one month out from becoming parents. Can you believe it?!? Caroline looks tiny! Before we knew it, it was 1 a.m. and we were still hanging out and talking. Time to go! Hopefully we’ll get to see Danny and Caroline again soon, but maybe not before the baby? We’ll see…

Waikiki & Alewa Heights, Oahu


Sheraton Moana Surfrider


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Banyan Tree


Rachelle & Banyan Tree


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Makua & Kila statue


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Diamond Head


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


ABC Store


Jack in the Box


Jack in the Box


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


View from Alewa Heights


Dinner in Alewa Heights


Kala


Dallas & Grandma


Rachelle, Caroline, Kathy, Dallas, Grandma


Dallas, Kala, Caroline, Grandma


View from Alewa Heights

One day Dallas and I spent an entire day just hanging around Waikiki.. at the beach, walking around, shopping.

The beach that was across from our hotel was Kuhio Beach, named after Prince Jonah Kuhio, who was prince of the reigning House of Kalakaua when the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893. There were a ton of tourists, for sure, but on the pier there were a lot of local kids hanging out and boarding and jumping off the pier.

For lunch, even though we both prefer In-N-Out Burger as our favorite West Coast burger joint, we had Jack in the Box Sourdough Jacks and it hit the spot. Reminded me a lot of when I lived in San Diego. The first account I worked on when I moved was Jack in the Box. Coming from Wisconsin, I didn’t even know what it was.

Later we walked up and down Kalakaua Ave. and did some shopping. I got some shirts at the Quicksilver store in the International Marketplace and a few other things at Lush.

In the afternoon we walked through the Honolulu Zoo. It’s an alright zoo, not great, but only like $6 (only $4 Kama’aina rate) to get into and worth a stroll around to see the animals and flowers. There was a lot of construction going on at the zoo which might have distracted from the overall ambiance, but probably guarantees that it will be getting better soon!

The thing about Waikiki.. it’s gorgeous and so well manicured and all that but it’s totally created for tourists. And is swarming with tourists. Which sort of drives me a little crazy. There is an ABC souvineer store on EVERY BLOCK. For a relaxing vacation I much prefer Kaua’i. Kaua’i has all of the touristy things that Waikiki and Oahu has, but it’s not so “in your face”. You can hike, you can go on tours, you can rent a bike.. but it’s not there every where you turn. And the beaches and countryside are much more natural, the towns are much smaller, there are way fewer people. Nice and relaxing .. although I think if I had to live there I’d go batty.

For dinner we went to Alewa Heights, where Dallas’ Uncle Bob and Auntie Helen live. Their daughter Kala, Grandma, Uncle Mel and Aunt Wendie were also there. We had local food – lau lau, kalua pig, rice, lomi lomi, poke, purple sweet potatoes, haupia, and lemon cake. It was nice to meet everyone, they’re all really nice, and Grandma said she remembered me from last year.

Snorkeling Kaua’i’s South Shore


Zodiac


Sarah


Sarah


Rob


Sarah


Rachelle & Cousin


Rob

On Wednesday, Cousin, Rob, Sarah and I went on a snorkeling tour with Z Tourz. After some basic instruction, our captain, Ray, drove us out on a 24-foot Zodiac raft. Our guide, Clyde, then got in the water with us and pointed out wildlife of interest. Our first stop was off Baby Beach. In this spot there was a ton of cucumber coral and many tropical fish. On the drive to our second spot we came across a pod of about 50-75 spinner dolphins. We stopped for a while to watch the dolphins swim and jump by the sides of our raft. At the second snorkel spot the main attraction was large sea turtles. This was my favorite. In the Caribbean I snorkeled and saw many tropical fish. In San Diego, while whale watching with my parents, we saw hundreds of dolphins in a pod. Also in San Diego, my friend Kevin and I spent one morning feeding and playing with dolphins in the Dolphin Interaction Program at Sea World. Sea turtles are something I’d never come into contact with before and they were amazing.

When we got home we hung out by the pool and then went out to dinner at Mi Casita in Koloa for Cinco de Mayo.

Coney Island, Brooklyn


Coney Island, Brooklyn


Walking back towards Coney Island down the boardwalk
we passed by a wall with a mural.


There is about 5 miles of boardwalk stretching from Coney Island to Manhattan Beach.


Food stands on the boardwalk at Astroland Park.


Walking down the boardwalk, we came across some sort of
school bus storage yard.


Along the boardwalk we also came across several neglected areas where weeds had just taken over the entire space. Obviously Playland closed a long, long time go.


On the beach – lots of local Brooklyn families.


Walking down the pier.


I stopped for a while to watch this ancient Asian man fishing on the pier. He had some sort of chum or bait in a small bag that he put into the large net and then lowered it into the water. After a few minutes he would raise the net and it would be filled with a bunch of tiny silver fish. He’d scoop them out with the small net, dump them in a pail, smash up the chum/bait, put it back in the net, and lower the net back into the water.


These are the fish he caught.


I was looking back towards the shore, looking at the people and the rides. I looked down and saw that right next to my hand was a dried up fish baked on to the pier railing.

For over 100 years people have been flocking to Coney Island for cheap thrills and eats. Back in the day, it was known The Poor Man’s Paradise or as the Nickel Empire, because for 5 cents you could get a hot dog, a knish, or a whirl on an amusement park ride. Coney Island is where the first roller coaster in America was built and where, although it’s disputed, the first hot dog was made.


Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower, the Parachute Jump, made it’s debut at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. It was operational for many years, but is no longer. In 1977 it was declared a historical landmark.


Farther down the boardwalk there is a building that many mistake for an old bath house. Research shows that it is used to be a restaurant in the Childs restaurant chain. This year it was awarded landmark status. More information here and here.


Some reports I’ve read say that Coney Island is where the hot dog, a sausage wrapped in bread, was invented. Others say that they were served like this in Frankfurt & Austria for hundreds of years before. In either case, a visit to Coney Island wouldn’t be complete without eating one. More on the history of Nathan’s.


Next to Nathan’s was a bar (that we did not go to) serving
Pina Coladas with free refills and having a wet t-shirt contest.


Next to the that bar was a sort of arcade game but with a real person. For a fee, you could shoot at this guy with a paintball gun. As you can tell, this is the classy end of the Coney Island boardwalk.

Yesterday, Mark and I visited Coney Island for the first time and found that today’s Coney Island is a mere shadow of it’s former self. That hotdog will cost you at least $2.50 and a ride on the Cyclone goes for $5. It’s magnitude was less than I’d expected and included a lot more urban decay.


It started to rain, but luckily we were headed indoors to the New York Aquarium. Months ago I saw a women in the subway carrying a tote that said “New York Aquarium” on it and became somewhat obsessive about finding out where it was and visiting it. Now I can let it go.


Seahorses at the aquarium.


One of the underwater viewing areas at the aquarium. The walruses were one of my favorites. They were very active and swimming so close to the window that they touched it.

When the rain started up Mark and I fled to the New York Aquarium for shelter. Overall, a pretty good aquarium, but not quite as nice as the Seattle Aquarium, which I visted recently.


Something Russian for 50 Cents, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn


Um. . Shish Kebab of Lamb Balls?, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn

Also, while we were out there we visited Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, which is commonly referred to as Little Odessa because “it is by the seaside and chock-full of Russian immigrants, who came here in waves over the last century“. Mark & I tracked down a cafe that I found recommended online, but it was pretty pricey and seemed touristy so we left and discovered this little place that had really cheap, really tasty shish kebabs. We ate them while watching Russian boy bands sing & lamely dance on the wide screen TV in the back. This place also had really tasty Russian pear soda. After the shish kebabs we ate big pieces of fried dough, one with meat and one with potato.

Brighton Beach feels like a foreign country. Everything is written in Russian. Our waitress walked up to our table and spoke to me in Russian and seemed a little surprised that I didn’t know it. Do I look Russian? Also in Brighton Beach – towers upon towers of beach front old folks homes and public projects.

It was fun trip out to see a historical destination spot, a neighborhood that made you feel like you were in a foreign country, and to hang out with a good friend I haven’t seen in quite a while.


The Wonder Wheel is a 150 foot tall ferris wheel that was built in 1920 and still runs today.


Astroland USA opened in 1962 and still is in business today. This
is where all of the carnival rides and games are located at Coney Island.

Mark’s photos.