NOVEMBER! In a Nutshell!!

Amy and I viewing the lighthouse from Diamond Head

I can’t even begin to explain everything that happened in the past few weeks since Rich and Alison left, so I’ll do my best to sum it up.

After they took their leave of us, the very next weekend, we were the lucky recipients of a rainy day with no power. Why? You wonder. Well, as most of you must know, there was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred just off the coast of the Big Island at 7:06am on October 15^th. It didn’t effect us too much shook the room for about 1 minute and then there was a smaller (6.0 magnitude) at around 7:14am, but after the first one, the electric company decided to turn off the generators…ALL OF THEM ON OAHU!! So the geniuses that they are, it took them until 8pm to get them back up and running. Apparently, to have to sets of functioning generators touch each other is so catastrophic that they didn’t want to chance it.

Anyway, that was a boring day. The girls planned and corrected by candle light and I read a lot of my book while watching patches of our skyline turn back on. The people downstairs were funny, they were drinking since 8am and kept going all night long…until they ran out…I've mentioned them before...they are the ones with the Dogs (one of whom has no right to be alive...observe)

So from there we just had to survive October. And did so without much to report, really. Amy and I did get to see H-3 for the first time, it is a gorgeous highway that leads into Kaneohe and goes through the mountains and then THROUGH a mountain. The view was absolutely breathe-taking coming out of the tunnel. It really is something to see, even if that was the only reason we went that far.

After that, we were into November, and November began with another trip to Germaine’s Luau. It was fun, but once you know what’s coming, the night seems to fly by. We also learned a little trick that if you buy a souvenir glass, they will fill that for your drink ticket. NICE! And then, once again, we were back to business as usual until November 9^th, when Amy’s mom and her boyfriend, Joe came to visit us.

We did a lot of the same things with them that we do all the time on the island. We took them in to hike Diamond Head and watch the sunrise from halfway up the crater. Then took them into Honolulu to take a look at Iolani Palace. Both were very cool adventures. The day of Diamond Head wasn’t over with just that; we also went to Koko Head, Koko Crater and then all the way to the blowhole and Hanauma Bay.

Iolani Palace and its front gate

Hanauma Bay was amazing! Amy and I and Joe and Amy’s Mom took turns using our snorkels and saw lots of cool fishes. It really was a ton of excitement for us. I guess it depends on what kind of fun you are into, but seeing all those animals and fighting the currents, was awesome.

Amy's mom, Joe, Amy and Me in front of Koko Head

Hanauma Bay Reefs and Mountains around it

We went to Sunset with Amy’s mom and Joe and finally saw some good surfing. I have pictures but it takes some zooming before you can see them good. The waves were incredible, at least 5 feet and constant. We got in and let the current bring us from the blanket to the lifeguard, then we would get out and walk back and get in again. We were swimming against the current as hard and fast as we could and as we looked to the shore, the tree that was across from us before was STILL across from us. It was really a strong current and Megan almost lost her bottoms trying to get out one time. All-in-all, a funny time with some cool sites (the surfing not Megan’s butt).

And once again, how do you end a visit in paradise? A trip to Paradise Cove for a Luau. It was a good one, too. The dancers weren’t as good as Germaine’s but the food was a bit better. I enjoyed Germaine’s more, but there was more to see at Paradise Cove. They showed more everyday life-type things there, but the drinks were more expensive and the people/ actors were less into it.

Amy’s mom took Joe and they headed home on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The visit was fun and we did a lot of fun things and saw some new and some old stuff. After the visit, we were left doing some work and then two days later was THANKSGIVING! That was a fun day as you can see. We began the day, Amy and I, eating breakfast with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Ginny, and then met up with friends in Nanakuli. Kevin, the one in the front right, cooked the turkey.

The girls are all our friends who teach in Waianae, and the other guys are friends of Kevin’s. We had a whole great dinner and then we all took some home for a couple of days leftovers. Good times with good friends.

Thanksgiving!

We did Black Friday and bought nothing for anyone but us. HAHA! We bought a few DVD’s, nothing big. And the next day, we decided to go to the UH game against Purdue. We had a LOT of fun. We tailgated for a couple hours, but it took us more time to get to the stadium in the traffic. We actually didn’t get into the game until the end of the second quarter. We had great seats in the nosebleeds, but the front row, so no one was in front of us. It was a lot of fun ( I keep saying that, but it is very true )

A nice Pic of us at the UH game against Purdue!

As for this past week, it has been getting kind of chilly. It’s somewhere around the 70’s in the morning, 60’s in the evening and never really warmer than 80 lately during the day. We have been bundling up, Amy more than the rest of us. My kids have been out of control, too, which makes me think it’s the weather…haha…or maybe just their upbringing. Who can tell?

Amy Bundled up this past week! IN HAWAI'I!!

Well, that’s pretty much it for the end of October through November. If you would like to know more, let me know. We ended this week with a UH football game, too and I will write about that in my next post. So, until I take another 5 minute break from my life…

Bonus Pic of Megan with her Aloha Bud Light beer labels