Family Hawaii Picture Slideshow

day 5 in oahu

lazy day...very lazy day (read: short post).  we had nothing planned but to lounge by the pool and the beach today...our last full day in oahu. 

we discovered the 3rd pool in the resort complete with tunnels and waterfalls (less windy and less crowded too.  why did we have to discover you this late in our trip? 

paul and daddy went on another trip to ono seafood all the way in honolulu today to buy more poke.  yes, the poke is THAT good!  truly ONO (delicious)!

day 4 in oahu

jetlag's just about overcome with only 2 days left in hawaii.  isn't that tragic?


we woke up 'late' today (around 7 am) because we were all exhausted from the trip to pcc yesterday.  instead of heading to pearl harbor as originally planned, we stayed at the hotel in the morning then went to my dad's friend's house in honolulu for lunch.  after lunch, we made a quick stop at the swap meet (flea market) to look for a ukulele.  paul wanted to buy one since last year and he was advised by the concierge here at the hotel that the swap meet would be one of the more affordable places to look.  he found what he was looking for, hindi nga lang inexpensive in my mind pero i know that paul really likes it and it's something he would actually use...the ukulele he got is a nice, rosewood ukulele and a bright pink one for michelle.  paul said he's going to teach michelle to play.  he's given up teaching me to play the guitar (even if he knows i can play a little) because i give up when i need to use all my fingers to press on the chords.  kahit na 4 lang ang strings ng ukulele, give up parin ako.  magkakakalyo kamay ko no?  (oo maarte ako! masakit kaya magkakalyo!)


anyway, we are the first time honolulu visitors who have never been to waikiki beach.  it was in the itinerary i planned originally pero kasi wala rin sa plano yung pag punta namin sa bahay ng friend ni daddy.  i don't know why i'm not to keen on spending time in waikiki and downtown honolulu.


anyway, after the swap meet, we went to lanikai beach over on the east side of the island.  sabi nila, this is the best beach in hawaii DAW.  well, so far, i would have to agree.  after seeing several beaches in maui and here in oahu, this is indeed the most beautiful.  it's a pain to park here though because there is NO PARKING!  good luck looking for a place to park on the one way streets near the beach.  but once you get to there, wow!  the sand is fine like the sand in boracay and the two islands not far from the beach make it all the more picturesque.  
it was crowded today though and there was no shade to park our bums while we stare at the beautiful water.  sandali lang kami nagbabad sa tubig then back to the hotel we went.  


it's almost 11 pm and i'm still awake.  wala na nga akong jetlag.  

day 3 in oahu - polynesian cultural center

our third day in oahu was a trip to the north shore.  first, we went to laniakea beach to look for turtles but we didn't see any =( so we just strolled the beach and watched the big waves of the north shore.  it was a little overcast in the morning and the rain stopped our beach trip short.  on our way to giovanni's shrimp truck for lunch, we stopped by a fruit stand and bought some mangoes and guava.  ang sarap ng bayabas!  kung may bagoong lang kami, solve na solve sana.  


we arrived at giovanni's at a little before 11 so there wasn't a lot of people yet.  we ordered the shrimp scampi that was swimming in loads of butter and garlic.  it was really good but it could use a lot less butter.  i feel like it would still taste as good if they didn't use a stick of butter for each order.  


after lunch, we went to the polynesian cultural center.  i was very hesitant to take this tour in the beginning,  primarily because of the price.  the package that we bought was the ali`i luau package.  given all the performances that we saw, it was worth it.  it was a nice cultural experience and the food at the luau was pretty good (the choices were limited though).  my dad, who is incredibly hard to please, was very impressed with everything that he saw.  he even gave a standing ovation to the performers at the 'ha breath of life' show.  


we spent the entire day at pcc and we were all exhausted after the long day.  it was a surefire way to get rid of jetlag.  now, we are more or less on hawaii time.  

day 2 in oahu

it's only after 4 pm, but i'm feeling exhausted!  we woke up after 5 am due to jetlag so we had an early breakfast  and took a drive to hanauma bay to go snorkeling.  i wanted us to go early to hanauma bay because i read that the parking lot fills up and the beach gets crowded.  the only drawback to leaving before 7 am is we caught some rush hour traffic in honolulu.  parking in hanauma bay is $1 but entrance fee for each adult is $7.50.  after paying the fee, we watched a 10 minute video about how the bay was formed and what types of marine life we can expect to see.  the bay was beautiful!  paul and my dad went snorkeling first while i played by the beach with michelle.  the water was super clear, but the seabed was a bit rocky.  we saw quite a number of fish (but not schools of them).  

after hanauma bay, we went looking for ono seafood for what i was told was the best poke in hawaii.  it's a hole in the wall place that's quite challenging to find.  after we found, we bought two pounds of poke (it is expensive at $15/pound) and contemplated driving back to the hotel and eat lunch there...but we were all starving after spending the morning in the beach.  we succumbed to the call of the nearest kfc and ate greasy fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and coleslaw.  we ate our poke, too...and my...there's a reason why it's expensive.  the fish was sooo fresh and flavor was perfect!!!!  we had quite a bit left over so we bought beer and we'll have beer and poke later tonight.  =D


back in the hotel, we spent some time again in the beach and the pool.  i am the darkest i have been in a while because of spending the entire day under the sun...but this time, i don't mind so much.  i just want to have a great time with my family who slathers me with sunscreen SPF 50 because they know how paranoid i am about the sun.  

tomorrow, i turn 31 and i am spending it in paradise with the people i love.  i am truly blessed!  =D

day 1 in oahu

we're here!!!


yipeee!!!!  vacation has officially began!  we arrived in honolulu after a 5 hour flight from san francisco.  we were greeted to a perfect 80F weather!  i hardly ate anything during the flight  so by the time we landed, i was starving so we went straight to highway inn for some hawaiian food.   highway inn was recommended to me by a friend of mine who now lives in oahu.  the food was good and i enjoyed the meal and the friendly service.   =)   


after lunch, we went to safeway to get groceries.  we'll be here for almost a week so we'd be saving a lot of money by cooking some of our meals at the hotel/condo.  groceries here are soooooooooo expensive.  strawberries were $4.99 when at the safeway in california, it would only be $2.99.  onions, $1.69/lb; back home it would be $0.69/lb.  it's an island, so a lot of the island's supplies get shipped in...we already knew this so we expected it but i guess, sticker shock is...well, shocking.  it's still cheaper than eating each of our meals out and since we have a full kitchen, might as well take advantage of it, right?

next stop, the marriott ko olina beach club.  i love how the lobby is open and breezy with a view of the pool and the beach.  when we walked in, it really felt like we were on vacation.  we haven't had the chance to explore the entire resort yet because we're tired from waking up so early + the long flight but from what we've seen so far...it's beautiful!!!  our 'villa' is big... almost 1,000 square feet i think (about 90 square meters).  we got a full kitchen like i mentioned earlier, and a large bathroom (large tub with a view of the marina and separate from the shower). there is a separate bedroom too and a king sized pull out bed.  i love how it feels homey and comfortable.  we have a lanai with the view of the golf course and the marina.  

we spent some time in the pool (salt water pool i think) and had some fun in the sun.  even my dad took a plunge!  i don't think he's gone swimming in about a decade!  it's nice to see him in the water again.  he's a pretty good swimmer.  batang lungos e!  while the four of us were in the pool (paul, me, michelle and daddy), my mom just watched us from her lounge chair (di marunong lumangoy, takot sa tubig).

tomorrow, it's snorkeling at hanauma bay and a drive to lanikai beach...at least that's what we planned for tomorrow.  i could just stay here at the resort and be happy pero sayang naman if we don't explore the rest of what oahu has to offer right?  


more to come!!!

kape

you know that coffee machine i blogged earlier...well, i got it as a gift to myself....well the smaller version so it doesn't take up too much counter space.   

i went to macy's to change my watch's battery which happened to be in the 'Home' section of the department store so i looked around while my watch was being serviced.  ayan tuloy, napabili ako ng wala sa oras!

but i love it!  at least now my coffee is consistently drinkable.  ako lang ang taong nagtitimpla ng instant coffee na everyday, paiba iba ang lasa ng kape.  there are days where i cannot drink my coffee.  hindi ko alam kung anong ginagawa kong mali, e instant coffee na nga yun!  with my keurig, at least i know masarap yung magiging kape ko.  i didn't know it came with a box of different kinds of coffee so i bought 1 box of the tully's kona blend coffee...si paul, who does not drink coffee, nainggit kaya bumili sya ng hot chocolate para sa kanya.  di ko naman gusto...it's too sweet for me. 

i'm not a big coffee drinker but i drink 1 cup a day to wake me up...sometimes 2 when i'm having a terrible day (puyat, hung over, etc).  there are times when i don't drink coffee...wala lang, tinatamad magtimpla hehehe.  

anywayz, hawaii tomorrow.  I CAN NOT WAIT!!!

that school girl feeling

i felt that again last night when chel, t, and i went to watch hugh jackman perform at the curran theater in san francisco.*sigh* i could not stop staring at him and telling myself over and over, 'ang guwapo naman nitong lalakeng to!' he was tall, much taller than he looked on tv or the moview...he can sing, he can dance, he kept his audience engaged and entertained the two hours that he performed (without an intermission!). 

we scored good seats even though we bought the cheapest tickets (it pays to buy early) and got a good view of him.  unfortunately we couldn't take pictures, sayang!

he said he's shooting the new wolverine movie soon...it's going to be set in japan so they're waiting for things to settle down over there before they start filming.  so while he has some free time, he decided to do the one man show he's always wanted to do.  and san francisco was just the place to do it! 

he's a very good singer but an even better actor.  kinikilig parin ako hanggang ngayon. hahaha!

i'm not the fanatic type.  the few celebrities that make me feel like this are michael jordan, hugh jackman, george clooney, and brad pitt.  san ko kaya hahuntingin si george at si brad?

panawagan

if someone out there wants to get me a birthday present....

please get me these:

 Keurig B40 Coffee Maker, Elite Single Serve

 Keurig 5060 K-Cup Carousel

(available at macy's and it's on sale!!!!)

my husband will not get this for me because his gift to me is our vacation next week.  so sa aking mga friends sa tabi tabi dyan, baga gusto nyo akong regaluhan nito, tutal, kayo rin naman ang iinom nyan.  =D

MOONSTAR / PACMAN / PIES (no creative title)

i skipped work today...


we celebrated my pastor's birthday yesterday at MOONSTAR buffet and for the 2nd time, it gave me food poisoning.  i don't know if it was the sashimi, the clams, or the oyster..whatever it was doesn't really matter any more because i don't think i'm going back.  i had food poisoning the last time i was there, more than a year ago, and now, yet again.  my best friend had food poisoning, too.  i wonder who else got it...chel asked me, 'should we call the restaurant and let them know?' i said, 'it doesn't matter.  i don't think they'd really care.' after a brief conversation, we hung up and went straight to the bathroom.  (the rest i leave to your imagination) LOL


after drinking tons of water and one too many trips to the bathroom, i am feeling slightly better.  although at times i still feel like i was punched by manny pacquiao in the gut.  speaking of pacman, we're having a pacman party here at home on saturday to watch his boxing match with mosley and to celebrate 4 birthdays during the 1st half of may - my dad's (may 3rd), my uncle cesar's (may 5th), my cousin in law charlie (may 7th), and my other cousin in law adrian (may 9th).  my aunt and i will celebrate later this month.  6 celebrations in the family in just one month.  at church, someone's celebrating a birthday it seems like every other day this month...i'm not kidding.  may is not a good month to go on a diet.  


i made pies again today...i have 2 really good pies on my menu now - buko and ube macapuno.  on saturday, with my relatives as my guinea pigs, i might try a 3rd and 4th pie for them to taste....one will be mango and the other maybe a banana and jackfruit pie (i want this one to taste like turon).  i wonder what will go well with the mango?  i want something different..i know peach-mango is  a good combination....but i want something else.  anyone got any ideas?