Lindsay and Tony in Hawaii

Mandi and Jared Visit

2011-05-11T00:17:00.002-10:00

THIS POST IS VERY VERY LATE - I have been very busy with work, so sorry :)

March 11, 2011
MANDI AND JARED ARE HERE! Hooray! So excited to see them!

On the lanai

Did you know Mandi has three arms?

Sissy Tiki

Caption contest....

What up


Pissy Pants

March 13, 2011

On Sunday, we took a drive around the East side of the island. There was a bad accident after Sandy's beach, so we couldn't get them over to Makapu'u or Waiamanalo as we had hoped. We stopped at the blowhole to look for whales, but instead saw a seal! Didn't get a very good picture though.

March 14, 2011

Beautiful day at Waikiki beach...

With my Beautiful baby sister!

After a strenuous day at the beach, we headed to lunch at Teddy's Burgers.

When Tony got home from work that afternoon, he took Mandi and Jared out for their first surfing lesson.

Waiting for Tony & Jared to get the surfboards... Looking all surfer chic.

Lesson Part 1

Mandi went first...

And She is up!! Look at her go!

What a pro!

Unfortunately after Mandi's stellar performance, the waves died leaving Jared's lesson waveless...

March 15, 2011
On Tuesday, big waves were supposed to hit the North Shore, so we packed up the car and headed to Waimea Bay to watch the big wave surfers.

Waimea Bay

Pro Surfer Keali’i Mamala

Maya Gabeira - the best Female big wave surfer

Pro Surfer Chris Owens

Chris Owens

That evening we enjoyed a HUGE dinner at Hula Grill! Mandi enjoyed her meatless stir fry and Jared fell in love with our Chili Water sauce.

March 18, 2011
I had to work on their last day here, but Tony was a great help, taking them out surfing one last time and then he drove them off to the airport. Their visit was way too short, but I did enjoy every second of it! It was nice having family here :) especially my lil sissy girl!

2011-04-24T20:11:00.000-10:00

March 24, 2011
Tony and I signed up for a Kickball team through Yelp and we had our first team meeting to discuss the rules and to get to know one another. I got nominated to design our team logo. Our team is filled with fellow Yelpers - meaning they all love to eat so they are obviously awesome.

Check out my beautiful Momma holding lil gorgeous Audrey Mae!!

Logo for our kickball team.

April 3, 2011
A bunch of friends from work decided to go on a Catamaran ride. The day was unofficially dubbed "Nate Christensen Day" (Nate used to work with us at Hula Grill, and we hadn't seen him in a while). Being the day before Tony's birthday I grew some courage and climbed aboard, scared out of my mind that I would shortly be getting sick.

April 4, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY! It had been a year since our last visit to Roy's so we decided it was time for a return. There was a party hat waiting for him at the table when we got sat. The service and food were great!

As good as dinner was, I knew that Tony's favorite meal was a good ol' Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich. I made him a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich cake... and found out the hard way why they tell you to allow a cake to cool prior to icing. It looked great for about 30 seconds until the "jelly" started melting over top of the "peanut butter." But he loved the cake just the same!

Rusty says hi!

April 8, 2011
After work a bunch of coworkers (and Tony) went out to Sansei sushi to celebrate Josh's birthday and enjoy some 50% off sushi!!

April 9, 2011
We packed up the car and headed to the North Shore for a relaxing surf day. Unfortunately for Tony & Todd there were no waves... in fact it was the flattest I had ever seen the North Shore... especially compared to last month when we enjoyed the giant waves at Waimea Bay! We got to enjoy a great beach picnic and a beautiful sunset.

After the beach we went to Banzai Sushi. It is an open air sushi restauarant on the North Shore. As you walk in there are "traditional" Japanese tables, where you sit on the floor.They also have regular tables and inside they have a few tables by the sushi bar. We ordered the Banzai Roll, Crunchy Roll, California Tempura Roll, and a Spicy Salmon Roll.

April 10, 2011
Our kickball team held a barbeque/potluck and practice at Kapiolani Park. They passed out our shirts with my logo on them :)

Tony and I finally made it to the Honolulu Zoo!! Nothing compared to the Baltimore Zoo

2011-03-23T12:08:00.000-10:00

For an early Valentine's Day gift I bought Tony the HD GoPro Surf Hero camera. They make attachments for every adventure sport Tony might think of... Surfing, snowboarding, dirt biking, etc.

We are still making adjustments to the location on the board but the camera takes amazing photos and videos!

January 26, 2011
We attended a Yelp Elite party at Pablo's - "Revenge of Senor Mustachio". Check me out... I look like Daddy now!!

January 28, 2011
Happy Birthday Rusty!!!

January 30, 2011

Tony, Todd and I went to the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. Although the players weren't trying so hard, it was still exciting to see NFL players, and the excitement that surrounds a football game!

Me, Tony & Todd

That night, Tony left for a snowboarding trip to Vancouver to meet Mike and Welton. He had a really great time hanging out with the guys, but unfortunately there was no fresh powder the entire trip. I stayed in lovely Honolulu enjoying the 80 degree weather.

Hooray!!! I got an iPhone!! Finally!!

February 12, 2011

Tony and I celebrated Valentine's Day a few days early, with reservations at the Italian restaurant, Taormina. But before dinner, we stopped in at the Wyland Gallery to meet Heather Brown!

I introduced myself to her, explaining that I was working when Tony purchased my piece of her artwork. She remembered meeting Tony and signing the back of the print!

Dinner was great - food was OK, service was good. Picture below is of Tony trying cold split pea soup. Not a fan... but the rest of his meal was great. Even though we were in the heart of Waikiki, it didn't feel like it.

Me & Heather Brown


Tony & Cold Split Pea Soup

More fun with iPhone...

Cool Rusty

February 19, 2011

Our Christmas/Hanukkah/Anniversary gift to each other was to take a trip to another island. We had originally planned to go to Maui, but I wasn't sure if I would get the days off due to Presidents Weekend, so I didn't book anything. When I got my schedule, there weren't any hotels available on Maui except for the $500/night Ritz Carlton. We decided to go to Big Island, and stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa.

We arrived in Kona early on Saturday morning, and headed into Kailua Town for breakfast. Following breakfast we went exploring - lots of little stores and art galleries, as well as a farmers market that had great looking produce and beautiful flowers. We got back in the car and headed further down Ali'i Dr towards a White Sand beach and then to some lava fields.

Next up, we headed to the batting cages!

After swinging for the fences and then some lunch, we headed towards Waikoloa and our hotel. The drive took us down a long road through fields of lava. When we arrived on the property of the Hilton, it was like entered a new island... The Hilton Waikoloa rests on over 60 acres - with numerous swimming pools, restaurants, and not to mention a tram and boat system to get you from one end of the property to the other. We were able to check in a little early, and got settled in, in the Ocean Tower. After dropping off our bags, we began to explore the property.

If you look closely, Tony caught a whale in the background of this picture. We had to go back to the same spot to double check that it wasn't a rock! My first whale spotting and I didn't even know it!

That evening we took the tram over to the Japanese restaurant on property, Imari. They offer 3 different menu options: Sushi bar, Teppanyaki and a regular table menu. We opted for the teppanyaki menu, and indulged in some sushi as well. The sushi was absolutely fantastic! We ordered the MJ Roll - Shrimp Tempura topped with Spicy Ahi. YUM! The teppanyaki was just as good! We were stuffed by the end of our meal, but figured if the sushi and entrees were that good, how could we stop without dessert. Well we should have... we ordered the molten chocolate cake, but it didn't come with ice cream, so it was a bit too sweet... but the fresh strawberries and mango sure did help. The service here was great!!

The next morning we tried out the breakfast buffet (included with our stay), and were pleasantly surprised again by the service and food quality. Following breakfast, we made our way to the many pools. We started off by swinging together in a hammock.... which took me back to good old Walnut Ave. I really do enjoy a good hammock, but Tony is a bit of a hog! Next we snagged two lounge chairs facing the ocean so I could whale watch! They are everywhere out there... every few minutes one would spout... then another and another... it was fantastic. For lunch we had pizza and sushi from the pool bar. What a great combo! We sat and watched the on property dolphins for a while, before heading to yet another pool.

We witnessed a beautiful sunset that evening...

For dinner that night we ventured off hotel property to Merriman's Market Cafe.

And then our mini vacation quickly came to an end... But it couldn't have worked out any more perfectly! Everything went extremely smoothly and we had such a great relaxing few days.

March 1, 2011

Another star sighting at work... every night at Hula Grill we have live entertainment from 7pm - 9pm. Our Tuesday entertainer, Kamuela, asked if there were any requests.... a request came in from a little girl for a song by Train. KamuelaMonahan, walked in front of him. The two finished off the song together, drawing a large crowd in the bar!

March 6, 2011

Happy Birthday to me!! Tony decorated the apartment and Rust for my birthday! It was actually decorated a few days early, because we celebrated the big 2-8 over the entire weekend, because I had to work on the actual day.

On Saturday (March 5,) Tony took me on the Star of Honolulu for a Whale Watching lunch cruise. The boat took us a little past Diamond Head, with no whale sightings... Turned around and started to head back... we were close to our starting point and thought the trip was almost over with still no sightings. They took us out past downtown and finally a whale sighting! It was a quick sighting before they dove down, but there was another sighting not too long after. Did you know, that if their weight was distributed evenly throughout their body, that humpback whales weigh approximately 1 ton per foot - and that the average female is about 45 feet! That is one big..... whale.

Next we headed to the mall for some birthday shopping. Check out one of my sweet gifts from Tony!

That night we ate a quick meal at Hula Grill before heading out to celebrate my joint birthday with Logan. Birthday Twinsies.

Nice Josh

Birthday Twins - boo hiss on getting older

Nate and Stacey enjoyed the festive birthday hats!

The next morning, on my actual birthday, Tony gave me the greatest honor of trying one of my favorite meals... pho! And even better, he didn't hate it!! Yey!

Rusty says hello, and he would like you to meet his new friend Geoffrey the giraffe.

March 10, 2011

While at work on Thursday night, we caught wind that there was a big earthquake in Japan. Though it sounds far away, we immediately started hearing reports of possible tsunami waves headed towards Hawaii. We were already in the process of closing up shop for the night, but we expedited things a bit so that everyone could get home safely. Hula Grill is in the Outrigger Waikiki, which sits a few feet from the beach. The hotel made plans to evacuate floors 1-3 at 12am, sending everyone to higher floors or higher elevation. I was concerned about the possible incoming wave, but was also worried about Mandi and Jared's flight to Hawaii getting re-routed. At 3:07, which was the projected impact time, nothing much was happening, so I tried to make myself fall asleep. Then at 5am I got a wake up phone call from my parents checking in. They were worried.... due to that fact that CNN exaggerated quite a bit. The tsunami waves did hit the state of Hawaii, mostly to Ali'i drive on Big Island that I mentioned before. Overall, there was damage to about 200+ boats whose floating docks broke loose, with a few sunken boats, and damage to some houses on the Big Island. Oahu went relatively unscathed.

Mandi and Jared's flight took off as scheduled... I tracked their status all morning long.

2011-02-23T13:14:00.000-10:00

January 5, 2010
On Wednesday, Rusty and I had a play date with Kaui at Kapiolani Park.

We had such a good time, and can't wait to play again.

That week I received a special package in the mail from my nephew Corey:

We took Flat Stanley as many places as we could in the short amount of time we had him.

Flat Stanley at SPAM

Flat Stanley cuddled in bed with Rusty

Flat Stanley at sushi at Genki Sushi

Flat Stanley changes a flat tire

Flat Stanley takes in the view from Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Tony's apartment

Flat Stanley and Flat Tony

Flat Stanley overlooking Waikiki

Flat Stanley took a picture of us

Flat Stanley took in the view

Flat Stanley made it to the top of Diamond Head

Flat Stanley sunbathed

Flat Stanley hung out with a good looking surfer

Flat Stanley took a surf lesson

Flat Stanley saw Rabbit Island

Flat Stanley had to return home on January 14th. We miss him on all of our adventures. We would love for some pictures of Stanley back in Maryland (hint hint Corey).

Our Trip to Kauai

2011-01-28T16:34:00.001-10:00

Tony's family arrived in Honolulu on Thursday, December 23, 2010. I had to work both Thursday and Friday so there aren't any pictures! On Friday, we headed to the beach in Waikiki. It was a beautiful day.

Saturday, .December 25, 2010

We started Christmas morning by opening gifts and digging through our stockings.

Christmas Day brought perfect beach weather, so we headed to Waiamanalo beach. Kerry and I relaxed on the beach by reading, while the rest of the group played in a heated match of beach football.

After the beach, we returned home to play with Rusty.

And then Rusty and Tony shared the sofa for a quick nap.

For Christmas dinner we went to Hula Grill for a lovely oceanfront meal.

December 26, 2010

Early the next morning, Tony took Rusty to Pacific Paws for his vacation, and then we headed to the airport. Check out this tiny plane that took us over the ocean to Kauai!

We landed 30 short minutes later, headed to get our rental cars, and then drove to Poipu. Tony and I took a walk to the beach for sunset, while everyone else got settled in.

That evening we took it easy and relaxed in our condos, preparing for the day ahead.

December 27, 2010

We woke up Monday morning to rain, rain and more rain! The plans for the zip line and tubing were canceled by the travel company, so we took to the road. Thanks goodness for the "Ultimate Kauai Guidebook" (Thanks Tracy)! It was a great tour guide, leading us all around the island for the week.

Our first stop was Waimea Canyon - known as "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific." The canyon is 10 miles long, 1 mile wide and over 3,600 feet deep! It was still raining, so the pictures are a little foggy.

There are wild chickens all over the islands, and the chickens up on Waimea canyon were lucky on December 27th. They were hand fed at least 2 peanut butter sandwiches!

Shannon wanted to get in on the fun, so she held out her hand to a chicken, fist full of peanut butter and jelly. All was going well until Tony came up behind her and grabbed her... ending her chicken feeding for the trip!

Some of us couldn't stop laughing!

We ate lunch at the tiny restaurant at the top of Waimea Canyon, and then made the long trek back down the windy road. Next stop was the Waimea Swinging Bridge. The original swinging bridge fell in 1992, so this version is much safer, but still very swingy!

Across from the bridge is Menehune Ditch - which was said to have been built by the menehune, to bring water from Waimea River to the taro fields.

We headed back towards Poipu, but stopped at Spouting Horn first. It is a small lava shelf, where water from waves is thrust through an opening, causing water and air to squirt out a horizontal blowhole.

For dinner that night, Jill, Shannon, Tony and I headed to Keoki's, one of the TS Restaurants' on Kauai.

Blackened Ahi, Ahi Poke & Ahi Sashimi

Slide Trio - Hamburger, Pulled Pork, Crabcake

It was really nice to see another TS Restaurant. Kauai has two TS Restaurants, Keoki's, and Duke's which we never made it to.

December 28, 2010

On Tuesday, I (sort of) conquered a fear, and jumped aboard a helicopter!

Before we took off, I was still excited...

Shannon and I playing co-pilot

Jurassic Park....

Checking out all of the emergency buttons...

I will have more pictures from the amazing helicopter tour as soon as I get Jill's photos!

After the tour we went to Wailua Falls (seen in the opening credits of Fantasy Island).

Now this is where the book failed us a little. It tempted us with "a glorious little secret place you might find enchanting." Kipu Falls is a small waterfall that pours into a pool. There was a rope swing, which enticed Jill even more. The book mentions a "very short (but sometimes slippery) trail" but this is false. It was a long, very muddy trail, through thick plants and high grass, that never ended. We finally arrived to what we thought would be the falls, but it was further down still.

I was getting bug bites up and down my legs, and no one seemed to want to get in so we headed back. Once we got back to the cars, Jill decided she didn't want to miss out on this opportunity, so her and Tony headed back to swim in the falls and jump from the swing.

December 29, 2010
On Wednesday, we decided to explore the North Shore of Kauai, and it is too bad we waited until the last full day, because everyone really enjoyed it!

We were told not to miss out on Queen's Bath... a natural pool located on a lava shelf. Again, the book failed us slightly on the distance from the road to our destination, but this was worth the hike. Jill's camera has better pictures than I do, which I will hopefully be able to add soon.

We left Princevlle and continued down the road, past Hanalei Bay (it was getting late), and into Ha'ena to see the Dry & Wet Caves. We wanted to see the Blue Room at the Waikapala'e Cave, but I didn't realize until just now that we were at the Waikanaloa Cave. There wasn't much water in the cave we were at, so luckily we convinced Tony & Jill not to go in the standing water. Going through the book now, I realized that we were at the lower cave, and the upper cave (Waikapala'e) is where the blue room is located! Whooopsie!

Before heading to the Dry Cave we stopped at Ke'e Beach.

View from the car on the drive back.

December 30, 2010
On our last day in Kauai, we went bowling and to the movies to see Little Fockers. After this, it was time for Tony and I to head to the airport. Check out the busy Kauai airport.

We had a really great time in Kauai, and it was nice being with family for the holidays. Thank you Callaways!

December 31, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!! I had to work New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. There were fireworks off of a boat right in front of Hula Grill! Front row seat!!

January 2, 2010

I had had a great start to the New Year, but Sunday made it that much better. I was at work, took a drink order for a couple, walked over to the well to prepare the drinks when a group of friends ran over and said "IS IT HIM???" Confused, I asked who? They exclaimed, "Jason Mraz." I started to think, oh wow, it does look like him. So I walked back over and asked for their IDs and sure enough, it was Jason Mraz and his fiance, Tristin Prettyman. I talked to them both for a few minutes, and asked if I could take a picture with him. He said absolutely, just asked that we don't do it at the bar. I told him I would find him later and to enjoy his drinks and meal!

After I finished my shift, I headed over to their table, just to tell him it was nice meeting him, and to enjoy his meal. He pulled out the chair next to him and insisted that I sit down! We chatted for a few minutes, and Tristin took a picture for me!

2011-01-03T15:22:00.001-10:00

Now that all of our Hanukkah and Christmas gifts have gone out, I can talk about this... My best friend Erin is very pregnant and due in January. I went into the cute kids shop downstairs from work with the intentions of buying the adorable bib I saw in the window for my future niece... But when I walked in it was hard to settle on just one thing and I could not walk away from the little bitty pink polka dot bikini!

We got a great new bed set from my parents... Even Rusty loves it.

December 3, 2010

We went to dinner at Morimoto's for one of our last nice dinners with Russell before his move off island. Morimoto is one of the famed Iron Chefs. This is the first restaurant that we have been to in Hawaii that felt like we were back in DC. It is located in the new Edition hotel. The whole place was gorgeous. We sat at a table on the lanai and not 30 seconds after being sat the Hilton's Friday night fireworks show started. We had front row seats!

December 4, 2010

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to drive to the North Shore. Tony and some friends went surfing, while Russell and I watched safely from our beach chairs.

That evening we got into the holiday spirit and attended the Yelp Elite Christmas party at The Top of Waikiki.

December 5, 2010

I had to work on Sunday, and when I returned home I was surprised by a beautiful Christmas tree, well decorated with 1 ornament.

Happy Hanukkah!

This week we also finished all of our Christmas and Hanukkah shopping, and got everything off to the post office!

December 8, 2010

The day of the Hula Grill holiday party the restaurant was closed the entire day, but we had our quarterly work meeting where I was awarded the employee of the month for December (and Stacey won November!)

Hula Grill holiday party at Ka

Happy last night of Hanukkah!

December 10, 2010
There was a gorgeous rainbow right outside our window!!

December 13, 2010

My friend and coworker, Tracy, is also moving off island, so a bunch of us got together for an apartment crawl.

First stop, KP and Julie's to meet Kaui.

They have an amazing view of all of Honolulu.

Next stop, Michelle and Scotty's. They as well have an awesome view from the mountains.

KP, Julie & Kaui

Third stop was back to my building, but to Stacey's apartment first.

Me, Stacey, Tracy, Jenny & Michelle

And last stop for me was our apartment. Rusty was ready for the party. I made my delicious crab dip! Mmmm.

December 17, 2010

Tony and I went to check out Honolulu City Lights to help get us in the Christmas spirit.

Tracy's last night of work was December 18, 2010, and after our shifts we all headed to Cabana's to celebrate her! With her moving to Seattle, it fittingly rained the entire night!


Kevin, Michelle, & Tracy

Me, Tony, Omni & Nate

HGW

Stacey & Nate

Michelle & Kevin

Check out all of our Holiday cards!!

The Callaway Family Vacation is next.

xoxo and aloha

Happy holidays!!

2010-12-23T11:34:00.000-10:00

Happy Holidays!!! The Callaway family is arriving in just a few short hours in Honolulu. Many pictures to come!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T23:59:00.002-10:00

Thanksgiving was a huge success!! All 9 of us squeezed around the table and enjoyed the feast!

The place settings

The view on Thanksgiving

Russell's parents

The turkey

My first pumpkin pie

Macaroni and Cheese; Yams, brown sugar and almonds; Glazed carrots; Cornbread stuffing; Green Bean Casserole; Cranberry Mandarin sauce; Corn; Mashed Potatoes; and Cornbread

The leftovers!

Pretty pumpkin centerpiece

Everything clean and back to normal!! Mom would be proud!

Now it is time for Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years! Hopefully we will get our tree this week and I will finish my Hanukkah shopping (only a few gifts left)! Tony's family will be here in a few short weeks!!

Fun weekend planned: We are going to dinner at the Iron Chef's restaurant on Friday and to the Yelp Honolulu Holiday party on Saturday!

Xoxo and Aloha,
Lindsay and Tony

Since our trip home....

2010-11-25T09:14:00.000-10:00

Since our return back to Hawaii we have been keeping ourselves very busy.

October 28, 2010
We went to see a Cirque du Soleil show at the Blaisdell Arena. The show was Alegria, one of Cirque's traveling shows. The show was fantastic, and for obvious reasons photos are prohibited during the show. But I snuck one when the show was over!! We had perfect seats, in the front row, center stage... Only bad part was the kid next to me thinking he was a member of Cirque, doing acrobatics on his chair and making very strange noises.

October 30, 2010
We have been wanting to try this cute little restaurant called The Cream Pot for months, but they close at 2:30 and it never seemed to work when we attempted to go! Finally on the morning of Hallow's Eve we made it. When we walked in Tony immediatley said he felt like he had stepped onto the set of Alice in Wonderland. The place is adorable with a very old cottagey feel, pots hanging from the ceiling, and tiny little doors that would only fit a Rusty sized person! Tony got the daily special, which came with a banana crepe!! I got fresh squeezed orange-strawberry juice that was fantastic!! I also ordered the salmon omelete. I cannot wait to go back and try their french toast!!

Fresh squeezed orange-strawberry juice

On the eve of Halloween we got decked out in our finest WWE wear - with Tony dressing as John Cena, and I as a WWE Diva (modeled after Kelly Kelly's outfits).

Check out the spandex!!

October 31, 2010 - Halloween
On the actual day of Halloween I had to work. Being behind the bar I had to wear something comfortable - so I dressed as a sparkly version of Ray Lewis. The whole staff dressed up! It was a lot of fun!!

Flo from Progressive (Stacey) and Snookie (Tracy)

November 6, 2010
We have been a little short staffed at work, so I have been working non-stop, and haven't made it to the beach since before the trip to Maryland! I had a Saturday off, so we made plans to go to Diamondhead beach and we took Rusty along for the ride!

Rusty dug himself a hole, and finally settled down. But we couldn't let the lil guy have his way after kicking sand on us for the past hour.

So we buried him!!!

And then he escaped!

Just in case you ever wondered why we moved to Honolulu.... This is my view from WORK!!

And if you watch the new Hawaii 5.0 you can see exactly where we live - the show often pans through Waikiki... here we are!!

Last weekend we went to a baby shower for our friend Emi. I made her a diaper cake!!

Emi is the Yelp community manager for Honolulu, so I found it only fitting to prep baby Isabel with her own custom Yelp onesie!!

On Monday night we had the pleasure of seeing Robin Williams live at the Blaisdell!! As expected he was absolutely hysterical, keeping us laughing the entire show! Pictures were prohibited :(.

Before the show started, Tony and Russell went to get coffee and waters while I waited at the seats... Minding my own business and playing on my phone, I looked up to see the one and only Beth Chapman (Dog the Bounty Hunter's wifey) and their daughter. She was in a nice holey black mini dress with something pink underneath. They sat 10 rows in front of us!!

After the show we saw Luis Guzman!! Star studded evening!!

After work tonight I went to Safeway for some last minute items for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast! We are having 7 guests join us for dinner.

Table is all ready, with 9 place settings squeezed in!!

Laying everything out to make sure there is enough room!!

We hope that everyone has a very happy and special Thanksgiving!! Eat lots of turkey and watch lots of football!!

Love and Aloha,
Lindsay, Tony & Rusty

Trip Home to Maryland Part 2

2010-11-15T13:37:00.001-10:00

I forgot to add this picture on the last post... On the first afternoon in Maryland, I was in much need of a nap after the long flight. I was just getting settled in on the sofa, when Coco climbed up on my chest and slept/snored for at least an hour... I loved every second of it, although my ribs did not. She made me miss my Rusty man even more than I already did!!

Monday, October 11, 2010

On the morning after the wedding, we woke well rested (hadn't slept that well in a long time), and headed over to the old Broadway Diner for breakfast with Tony's mom Kerry and Aunt Candy. The name of the diner had changed but nothing else had!!!

After breakfast, I headed back to Baltimore and Tony headed to College Park to hang out with his sister, Jill.

On Monday night, I had dinner with the ladies at Red Robin (Gav-o's fave) and got my first look at Erin's big preggo belly!!

We talked so long that I am pretty sure we shut the place down and then continued gabbing in the parking lot!!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Mandi came up with the genius idea of throwing us a Fakesgiving Dinner since we would be missing Thanksgiving again this year. We went to the grocery store for some last minute items, but not before stopping by my long lost favorite Chick-fil-a!!

We returned home to prepare our feast before our guests started to arrive. It was so nice to have the whole family together for dinner!! Unfortunately I was so distracted playing with my niece and nephews that I forgot to take pictures until half the party had left!!

I wanted to hug and kiss this lil' chef all night long for putting together such a great evening!

Aunt Rozzi and Uncle Alan

My 10 year old niece, Jordyn, filled me in on her newest business endeavor - Sticky Stuff - her company with her friend Matthew, where they make duct tape wallets. She was running a deal the night of Fakesgiving Dinner, if you purchased 2 wallets, you get a free bracelet as well! The wallets are a steal at only $1 each. I even got mine monogrammed. Let me know if you are interested in a custom made Sticky Stuff wallet, I have the hookup!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

On Wednesday when I finally woke up from tryptophan overload, Tony and I met his cousin Adam at Panera during his lunch break. It wasn't quite long enough and we didn't get to see Gav-o, but it was nice to catch up!

After lunch we headed toward College Park and I went directly to Chipotle!! Mmmmmm! Still don't understand why there isn't one on Hawaii!!

Before we knew it, it was time to jump aboard the metro and head to the Verizon Center to enjoy an amazing Capitals game with Gungadin and his girlfriend Jamie!! CAPS CAPS CAPS!!!

After the Caps won we headed to Clyde's for dinner and "oyster hour" which I took full advantage of, ordering (and eating) 2 dozen!! Once we had our fill of oysters, we headed back to College Park to meet up with Jill and friends!

Thank you so much for the great tickets and fun night Gunga!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The weather started to get colder and colder as the week went on, and by Thursday the rain had started with a vengeance. We made the drive from College Park to past Waldorf in some of the worst rain that I had seen in a looong time! We met Tony's DC boss and her husband for lunch at a cute little restaurant and enjoyed some yummy cream of crab soup!

Thursday night, we went to Ben's Next Door in DC, with some friends. Again, I was so busy talking I forgot to take pictures... Of the fried chicken and macaroni and cheese... Oh yea and our wonderful friends that met us there!! (Mike & Livvy, Gauzza & Rebekah, Rob, and of course Welton)

Following dinner, we went into Adam's Morgan to see some more friends at District.

We had such a great night in DC. Only things we missed were Jumbo Slice and a few other friends (eh hemm Matt Cronin).

Friday, October 15, 2010

Tony woke up early to head home to his parent's house, and my mommy came to pick me up at Jill's in College Park. We spent the afternoon shmying around Arundel Mills mall together and enjoyed each other's company over lunch at Chevy's. After shopping until we dropped we headed home.... I needed a nap and was joined this time by not only Coco but Molly too!

Doesn't she look like Rusty from that angle?? She weighs about 1/3 of what Rusty-man does!!

That night the family went to dinner at Bertucci's, followed by a late night trip to Target because my dad needed a new pen for work??? Not a problem, because I will never turn down a trip to the Tar'get! And it turned out I needed a trip to the medicine aisle, because I started getting a case of the sniffles and sore throat.

Tony and his parents spent the day at the track, and then the movies to see a movie about a horse!! It was his last night in Maryland, and he spent it in the perfect way, surrounded by family and gambling!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Mandi and I had to be up bright and early on Saturday morning to get to Jordyn and Corey's soccer game. Brady's team didn't have a game that day, and its a good thing because Mr. Popular had multiple birthday parties to attend!!

See Jordy wayyyy out there?

It was soooo cold!

After the game, Mandi and I took Jordy and Corey to lunch at Chick-fil-a (without the good stuff for a whole year, I had to go twice this week). The adventure continued at Dave and Buster's, where we easily played 90% of the games in the place! Everyone got prizes from all of our ticket winning success, including Brady who got prizes picked out by his big bro and sis!

That night I went on a date with my little Mandi for dinner and a movie. We chit-chatted all night long, and she even got a kiss goodnight :)

Sunday, October 17, 2010

On my last day in Maryland, I spent it like all good Baltimorians, watching the Ravens game.

During the game, Brady cuddled up with me and wrote me some love notes...

He is such a sweetie.

After the game the party moved outside, starting with moped rides. I have already given up on the idea of moped-ing, so I sat this one out.

Next we played some basketball with the kids.... Literally.

Brady wasn't too fond of being the ball.

When it was time for Mandi and I to leave Brian & Kim's I got quite the guilt trip from all three kids, starting with Jordyn who asked when we would be moving back. Next was Corey, who got mad at me and wouldn't give me a hug or kiss goodbye. Then Brady came in with his sad baby doll eyes. I had to make a run for it, because I didn't want to start tearing up. When we were getting ready to back out of the driveway Corey came running out to lay a fat wet kiss on me!

That evening, my parents, Mandi and I cuddled up on the sofa to watch the latest Dexter episode. It made for the perfect end, to the perfect last day of my trip.

At 4am the next morning, Mom and Mandi drove me to the airport for my flight back to Hawaii.

My plane ride was absolutely miserable, and probably worse for the people stuck near me! I took meds to try and sleep through the flight but my nose was so stuffed I am sure I snored, and so drippy, I am sure I grossed them out. I was so excited to land in Honolulu and see Tony, Rusty, and the palm trees but my body hurt so badly that I couldn't show any forms of emotion... The sickness last the rest of the week, but slowly got better day by day. Luckily I had taken 1 extra day of work off to rest!!

Thank you to everyone who made our trip to Maryland so special. We squeezed in as much as we possibly could, and loved every moment!!

Trip Home to Maryland Part 1

2010-11-12T03:22:00.002-10:00

The update you've been longing for... Our trip home to Maryland!!

October 7, 2010

Tony is a smart cookie and insisted that he HAD to work the morning of our departure from Hawaii, when he really had the secret plan of not being the one to drop Rusty off at the kennel. After some last minute packing on Thursday morning I finished loading up the car and headed over to Hawaii Kai to drop Rusty-man off at Pacific Paws.

Tony and I flew back to the east coast on Thursday afternoon and landed in Baltimore on Friday morning. When we got down to baggage claim my Mom was waiting there with a big smile on her face. As we got closer, out jumped Corey from behind the pole. It was the best surprise!! We got our luggage from baggage claim and headed outside to meet Tony's mom. Once we sent Tony and his mom off, Corey, mom and I headed to Panera for lunch, where Corey filled me in on all the latest gossip (I'm not kidding!!)

After a much needed nap, my parents, Mandi, Jared, Tony and I headed to dinner at Blue Hill Tavern in Baltimore City. Dinner was delicious...

Following dinner Tony and I headed out to Canton to meet some friends!

It had been a long time since I had driven in the city, and I managed to make a wrong turn and ended up on Pulaski Highway. Oopsy!!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The next morning we both woke up bright and early to head our separate ways - Tony to Nanjemoy to spend the day with his Dad and cousins, and I was off to Silver Spring for Cat and Monty's wedding rehearsal.

Next we headed to lunch at Benjaroong where Cat and Monty stuffed us full of food!!

I loooove my gorgeous Maid of Honor gift from Kitty Cat!!!

Next, the ladies headed to get our nails done. After this we all indulged in a Popeye's feast in my hotel room (just like old times, minus the hotel room).

Once we finished our gourmet meal we headed to the reception site to decorate for the wedding.

Tony got in at 4am after a great day with his family. They spent the evening at the track and casino, both of which he has dearly missed.

Sunday, October 10, 2010 (10.10.10)

The next morning I headed to Cat's to prepare for wedding day. Jen and I made a McDonalds and Starbucks run prior to arriving at Cat's. When we arrived Donna was already hard at work on hair and makeup. She did a fabulous job!!

We took a limo from Cat's to the Brookfield Inn where we continued to get dolled up.

Once everyone was all dressed, it was time to walk down the aisle.

I didn't think I was going to cry but when Cat started to walk down the aisle, the waterworks started too! The ceremony was very sweet - and the bees thought the flowers were sweet, swarming all around Cat's bouquet that I was holding!

My Maid of Honor speech...

"Seven years ago I got a job at a local Rockville bar called Orangeball. This job not only made me some great money, but it made me some good friends, most of which are here today. But the best part of working at OB was the friendship that I started with our gorgeous bride Cat, which fortunately for us surpassed the life of Orangeball.

Cat and I quickly became closer and closer friends with bits and pieces of our personalities rubbing off on each other... Some traits for better and some for the worse.

Last summer when I told Cat that I was moving to Hawaii, I asked her to hurry up and get engaged before I left. She passed along the message to Monty and not long after he honored my request and popped the question.

Since I left a year ago, Monty has done a great job at his role of fiance, as well as my replacement, helping Cat to not only plan this beautiful wedding, but also acting as her confidant and best friend. Monty thanks for taking care of my Kitty Cat and for being "the ONE" we have all been waiting for her to find. I have never seen Cat let her guard down and open up her heart as she has with you!

As they say in Hawaii, "aloha mai, may you always be surrounded in love." I love you both and cannot wait to see what the future holds for you both!!

To Cat and Monty!!"

Unfortunately for the guests of the wedding my hands and voice started shaking so much that they may not have understood a word that I said!!

The Orangeball crew

I missed the bouquet....

Everything came together beautifully. Cat and Monty had the perfect special day, and I am truly happy to have been a part of it!

The rest of the update coming soon!!!

2010-10-07T12:56:00.002-10:00

Last night we enjoyed an amazing dinner at Chef Mavro's - which I will tell you all about in a post I have started but need to finish - the details are worth the wait.

We are all packed up and I am headed out to drop Rusty off for his week long doggie play date. We will be in Maryland in less than 15 hours!! See you soon!!

xoxo

2010-10-05T13:04:00.005-10:00

August Recap Continued....

August 25, 2010

After exploring some more of the North Shore we returned home to Waikiki for dinner at Tanaka of Tokyo. It was, of course, delicious as always!

After dinner we all came home and fell asleep!! Tony was returning to work the next day, and we were all exhausted from driving around the island.

August 26, 2010

Joe woke up early and went surfing with Jimmy, while I enjoyed some extra sleep! When Joe returned, the two of us walked over to the Hyatt for very relaxing and amazing massages at the No'ola Spa! Worth every single penny!

After our massages we walked around Waikiki for some shopping, which was followed by a yummy dinner at Hula Grill.

Mike (Russell's Dad) and Russell

Russell and Joe

Nice Russell

August 27, 2010

The following day I drove Joe to the airport before heading in to work. Joe was a very good guest, and we had a nice little staycation with him.

September 3, 2010

Tony and I had a date night, and went to dinner at John Domini's, a restaurant right on the water. I forgot my camera, so there aren't any pictures to share - but we shared some oysters on the half shell and some lobster bisque to start. The oysters were yummy! Our entrees were good too and Tony really enjoyed that mine came with a bib! Our seats were next to the windows, so we had a front row seat to the Hilton Hawaiian Village's fireworks!

September 18, 2010

Ever since my fun camping experience with my friends, I have been wanting to go camping with Tony. Only problem is they don't allow pets on the campground and we haven't trained Rusty how to walk himself yet. So we decided to do a test run of boarding Rusty. We took him to Pacific Paws in Hawaii Kai, where he gets groomed. They have doggie day care as well as cage free boarding. We dropped him off Saturday morning, and headed on down the road to Malaekahana.

We finally arrived, got our camp site info and found our site.... All the way in the far right mauka corner... Not on the beach, but on the grass (this comes into play later). We parked the car and started setting up our tent (thanks Stacey), but a light drizzle started, so we hurried to complete the tent. The rain passed so we continued to unload the car, unrolled the air mattress, connected the extension cord to the car and plugged in the pump, when the skies opened up and down poured on us! Five minutes later the rain let up and we continued set up, and ordered wood to be delivered (a service offered by the campsite). I took Tony on a tour of the grounds and we walked along the beach. Also showed him my awesome beach campsite from last time.

Tony and I, being the rustic campers you can imagine us to be, then walked back to the main office so we could connect our iPad with the wireless internet and sign up for a 3g account with at&t. You may be thinking, "but your camping, why could you possibly need internet, or your iPad?" Simply because we forgot to make our Fantasy Football picks, duhhh. And one of the main reasons we were going camping was to test out the Star Walk app on the iPad, because on my first trip here I had never seen so many stars in my whole life.... Combined!

Starting a campfire with Tony was an adventure (as is every event with Tony which is why I love him). I was trying to sit back and let the "man" set up the fire but after i saw him throwing (yes throwing) the large logs in first i had to step in. We finally, as a team, got a great fire going, that lasted the whole night!!!!

We returned to our site and started the grill (a 400 piece grill that I single handed perfectly assembled). Started our feast with some brats and mmmm were they good, but not halfway through our brats it started to rain again. We cuddled together under our umbrella until it passed.

As it started to get dark, our feast continued with huge delicious cheeseburgers.... And then it rained again.... And again..... wait for it, and again. When it wasn't raining, we were enjoying each other's company around the warm camp fire. Later in the evening we roasted marshmallows over the fire for some yummy, gooey s'mores. Unfortunately, because of the rain, there were not any stars to see that night.

It rained all night long and when we awoke in the morning, we had some new friends sleeping in our tent with us trying to escape the rain. There were ants EVERYWHERE!!! Last time it did rain a few times, and it definitely rained thought the night, but there were no ants. This is why I will only be camping in the sand in the future. Lindsay Alperstein doesn't do ants! To top off the morning, it was still very cloudy, meaning no sun for the beach. So we packed up our stuff and started the journey back home!

Rusty was very excited to see us, but had a hard time telling us since he had lost his bark playing all night with his new friends. The folks at Pacific Paws said he did great.

When we got home everything went straight out to the lanai until it could be washed / debugged. I hopped directly into the shower!! Overall a good experience, but hopefully next time no rain plus lots of stars!

September 24, 2010
Went out to celebrate Tracy's birthday at Amuse - a self dispensing wine bar in the amazing Inspiration Furniture Store.

And this pretty much brings us up to date!

On Thursday afternoon, we are leaving to fly back to Maryland for the first time since we moved to Hawaii! We have a very busy week, but we are both hoping to see as many of our friends and family as we can, all while eating as much Chipotle and Chickfila that our bodies can handle!

Our Tentative Schedule:

Friday night we will be out doing the Baltimore scene.

Saturday, Tony will be hanging out with his family, while I help Cat prepare to be a beautiful and relaxed bride.

Sunday, we are both celebrating the wedding of Cat and Monty.

Monday night, I am planning on having dinner with my girls, while Tony goes to visit some friends in Philly.

Tuesday night I am sticking close to home and hanging out with my family.

On Wednesday we are going to the Washington Capitals game with Gungadin!!! I so totally miss sporting events (hint hint, if anyone has extra Ravens tickets for Sunday let me know)!

Thursday we plan on going out in DC, location TBD.

On Friday, Tony will be hanging out with his parents, and he will be returning home on Saturday. I will be in Baltimore, hanging out with my little sissy Mandi, until EARLY Monday morning!!

We are so excited for our trip... But now I must go get ready for my last night of work before the trip and prepare for packing!! Tomorrow is packing day, and then we are taking Russell out to dinner for his birthday (that we will be missing on Thursday).

See you all soon!!!

2010-09-25T14:30:00.000-10:00

August Recap

August 2-3, 2010

A bunch of coworkers and I went camping at Malaekahana to celebrate Michelle's birthday. This was quite the struggle for me, since I had never ever been camping before. After having my arm twisted, I agreed to a night in the wilderness. And by wilderness I mean a gorgeous beach on the North Shores of Oahu.

The tent where I cuddled with Stacey.

Michelle's Birthday cupcakes

Michelle's Rainbow Birthday cupcakes by Tracy

The view... This is my kind of camping...

Kim's Yurt - another plus to Malaekahana - the option of camping without the tent.

Our campsite...

The view behind our campsite

The campfire... hard to photograph

The girls... we had a hard time getting a good pic of us all... here are a few attempts.

We had a really great time hanging out around the campfire, barbecuing, and chasing sand crabs on the beach. In the middle of the night you can hear the wild chickens jumping on top of your coolers and the picnic tables. I think there was a family of chickens living behind our tent. Other than the chickens, it was extremely peaceful sleeping to the sounds of the ocean.

When I woke up in the morning, I couldn't believe what a sauna our tent had become in the bright sun. I, surprisingly, was the first one to wake up, the sauna was making me sick... so I got into my bathing suit, and took my chair to the beach. Surreal being on a beach pretty much all alone.

To prove I really was there...

And my artsy pics

And one more...

;

Pics of our Campsite... It really is on the beach...

August 11, 2010

I flew to South Beach, Miami, Florida for Cat's Bachelorette Party weekend. I left on Wednesday, to get there on Thursday morning. I flew into LAX - my first time on California soil - and found out that my next flight was delayed for an additional 4 hours (on top of my hour and a half layover)!! And being that my first flight landed at 9:30pm, the stores in the terminal were closing about an hour or so later! I went to Chili's to try to eat and waste some time... I ordered some food, and was falling asleep in the booth! After sitting there for an hour, I decided to walk around the terminal... only everything was already shut down!! I found myself a charging station, and plugged in my phone and my iPod and started catching up on episodes of Dexter. Five hours with nothing to do feels like 10 hours!!

When our plane finally arrived, I heard the outgoing and incoming pilots chatting, and heard them say that our flight was almost canceled, but they found another plane to use! Luckily, on all legs of my flight I had a window seat, so I could cuddle up against the wall of the plane and fall asleep. I fell asleep before the plane even took off from LAX!

August 12, 2010

I finally arrived on to Miami on Thursday morning - and was greeted at baggage by Cat and the rest of our party. We grabbed a cab over to our hotel, The Ganservoort, South Beach. The hotel was beautiful. Cat found a really great deal online, because normally the hotel costs about $350 a night! As soon as we checked in and got settled we changed to go to lunch. Miami is SO HOT & HUMID!! We all immediately began to sweat as soon as we stepped outside. We made the walk over to Lincoln St and found a cute little Italian place for lunch. After lunch, we relaxed for a bit in the room, and then headed up to Plunge, the 18th floor pool lounge. Check out the view...

Following those pictures, we all proceed to fall asleep on the pool deck until the sun set!! No one even noticed because we were all so tired!! We decided to take it easy that night, to prepare for the rest of our short trip - so after showering and resting for a bit we surprised Cat with a Naughty Bridal Shower!! I asked her to open the dresser to hand me my sweatshirt, and when she did she found gift boxes and bags galore!

Our Card to the Bride to Be

Pretty Silky Bride Robe

My Gift :)

Like I said, it was a Naughty Bridal Shower, so we will leave the rest to your imagination. For dinner we decided to veg out on nearly $80 worth of Chinese food delivery!

August 13, 2010

The next morning, the girls - minus me, all woke up early to catch some rays by the pool at Plunge. I was still recovering from the 6 hour time difference, and too many hours of travel. I did finally show my face in the early afternoon and joined them by the pool.

Our view from our lounge chairs.

The entire pool was 4 feet deep, and the perfect temperature to give you relief from the boiling hot Miami sun.

Amber & Kitty Cat

That night we got all dolled up to go out on the town....

Grace even let Cat put make up on her (she NEVER wears make up)!

Look how Purrrty!

Grace & Kitty

We took a cab from our hotel over to Wet Willie's... Unfortunately there was no AC (open air bar) so we ate shared some pupus and moved on... but not before taking some pictures...

Me & Linh

The girls

Amber & Grace

After leaving Wet Willie's we walked down the street looking for some place that peeked our interest, but everything was either too busy or too hot... So we headed back to our hotel and went to club Louis...

The Bride-To-Be

August 14, 2010

The next day we only lasted at the pool for a few short hours - our skin couldn't take much more of the Miami heat. We headed to Lincoln Street for some lunch and shopping... Linh wanted to try a Cuban sandwich, so I asked around and found us a cute little Cuban restaurant. After shopping til we dropped we headed back for some showers and some rest. We surprised Cat with some Bachelorette Party T-shirts...

We were told to try Joe's Snow Crabs, but when we called to make a reservation we found out that they were closed for the season :(. We tried to find a replacement and made a reservation at another Snow Crab place on Ocean Drive. When we walked in they didn't have our reservation, and were not very helpful, so we decided to leave and go down to a restaurant that smelled delicious the night before. Fox Cafe was located a few blocks away and we got a nice air conditioned table inside. We all were very excited for some oysters - but unfortunately this place served us warm raw oysters - which we promptly sent back. After this, everything else was wonderful. We shared Calamari and Mussels, and we all got delicious entrees.

We all had a wonderful trip to Miami - but I should have tried to stay an additional day or two - 5 days of travel for 3 nights of fun is very tiring!

August 20, 2010
Later that week, our friend Joe came to visit! On his first night, we took Joe to dinner at Doraku for some delicious sushi. We went to sleep early, so everyone could get some rest and woke up early to go explore Manoa Valley. We can see Manoa Valley from the windows of our apartment, but hadn't yet visited.

August 21, 2010
We started our drive up the mountains and stopped for a photo op. Check out this view!

The Valley

The Boys

We could even see our building!!

We kept driving up the mountain to another lookout point... and an even better view!

View to the Left

View to the Right

Tony & Jimmy

Joe taking in the view

Jimmy is a very knowledgable tour guide... He taught us so much on this trip, but he made the mistake of showing Tony & Joe an avocado tree... which quickly prompted Joe to try and get an avocado... which in turn got Tony to climb the tree for a tiny unripened avocado.... Poor Avocado.

We continued further up the mountain to Kalawahine Trail.

Look how GREEN!!

Coffee Beans

Me, Tony & Joe

Jimmy, Tony & Joe

Strawberry Guavas

Tony trying to hide and scare me... He forgot his camo...

Where's Waldo?

Ti Leaves

Me, Jimmy & Tony

After our hike, we took Joe to Zippy's for delicious loco moco. I had to work over the next few days, but Tony & Joe went to Pearl Harbor and saw the Arizona Memorial and did lots of surfing.

August 25, 2010

On Thursday, we went to take a drive over to the North Shore, unfortunately the traffic was HORRIBLE headed over to our normal beaches, plus it was raining, so we headed to the other side of the North Shore. We went to Ka'ena Point, which is the westernmost point of Oahu. Ancient Hawaiians believe this was the "jumping-off" point for souls leaving this world.

I have been working on this post all week long, but have been so busy - I will continue the end of August through now on the next post, hopefully later today!!!

xoxo & aloha

Joe is Here!!

2010-08-25T15:54:00.001-10:00

Joe arrived on Friday and is staying until this Friday. We are having such a great time that we haven't had time to update the blog! But we have lots of updates, including my trip to Miami!!!

Love and miss you all!

2010-07-30T14:03:00.001-10:00

Now to finish up the past month...

On July 11, our good friend Eva Nicole Maddox married Robert Baker. We were sad to miss the wedding, but I just know that the wedding was perfect. Check out the amazing photos!

July 14

A few days later, was Jill's Birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL!!!

July 17

We had the pleasure of attending the Summer Sizzle 2010 at the Neal Blaisdell Center - featuring All 4 One, Shai, and Color Me Badd. Yes, this was in 2010, and not 1992. All 4 One was awesome - sounded exactly like they did on their tapes from the early 90s.

Me, Tony & his Kangol Hat

Notice something missing from the picture below?

Like half of Color Me Badd?

The finale - all three groups came on stage and sang together.

Since this exciting concert, there has been a lot of working and a little fun - but not much beach time! Over the past week Tony has been pretty sick, but is finally on the road to feeling better. No adventures for us this weekend - just resting and relaxing!

2010-07-30T03:25:00.002-10:00

I have been informed by Michelle that it has been over a month since my last blog post - so here is the month long catch up!!!

June 30th

Way back to the last week in June! Jen and Robbie arrived in Waikiki, and stayed at the Beachcomber, which is right around the corner from our apartment. On Wednesday night, they came over to our apartment, and met Rusty-man. He cuddled right up next to Robbie on the sofa! We took them to dinner at Gyu Kaku, a Japanese BBQ.

Jen & Robbie

Me & Tony

Jen & Me

July 1
On Thursday afternoon, Tony picked up his Mom and Aunt Candy at the airport. I was able to get in a quick hello before heading off to work for the evening. That night, they went to dinner and got settled in at the hotel.

July 2
The following day, we headed to the North side of the island - starting out at the Dole Plantation.

Enjoying some Pineapple Ice Cream & Fresh cut Pineapple


View from outside of the Dole Plantation

Next stop was Turtle Beach on the North Shore, where we met Kuhina, the 35 year old turtle.

Next stop on our adventure was to the Waimea Valley Audobon.


This guy attacked a ladies french fries right at our table.

That afternoon, I got called into work, so I missed out on dinner and the adventures that followed... After work, Tony met Stacey and I outside to walk us home. He showed me this picture...

... of Heather Brown - one of my favorite local artists. I was so jealous that he a) got to see her, AND b) see her starting a new painting!!

When we arrived at home, Tony went over to the sofa and reached behind it, and handed this to me...

My very own Heather Brown print with re-purposed barn wood frame!

Heather wasn't starting a new painting in the first picture - she was SIGNING the print that Tony was buying for me!!!


"To Lindsay! Keep pursuing your art and have fun! Love and Aloha, Heather Brown 2010"

I am still looking for the perfect spot to hang up the print, hopefully it will be up this week! I love it!!

July 3
The following morning, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Unfortunately at the time we arrived they were in the middle of their parade/show, so none of the "villages" were open. We walked to the end of the center, where we received an ukulele lesson.

Next we took a Canoe Ride through the center of the park. When the ride ended we were now at the "trolley ride." The trolley ride took us on a tour to Bringham Young college, and the mormon temple in the city of Laie. The Polynesian Cultural Center is part of Bringham Young, and is run by the students. After watching a video about the mormons, and their start on the island, we took a trolley ride back to the PCC, and promptly walked to the car and ended our experience there.

That evening, Tony, Kerry, Candy, Russell and I went on the Oahu Walking Ghost Tour. But, we couldn't begin a ghost tour without Tony swinging from a Banyan Tree.

Mom & Tony

Me & Tony

Amazing Banyan Tree

The Ghost Tour took us around Honolulu, telling us a few of the ghost stories of Hawaii's past. It started at the Iolani Palace, where the Kalakaua family once resided. It is also where Queen Lili`uokalani was imprisoned. On the tour we were told to take LOTS of pictures and look for "orbs."
(From Wikipedia "unexpected, typically circular artifacts that occur in flash photography — sometimes with trails indicating motion — especially common with modern compact and ultra-compact digital cameras.") To the fellow skeptics out there - those circular pieces of dust and light reflections that ruin your photos - are supposedly ghosts.

Black & white photo for a scarier effect....

Tony was very excited when he found the "orb" in the upper left hand corner of this photo.

After leaving the Iolani Palace, and after Tony finding many "orbs" we headed across the street to the King Kamehameha statue. (Side Note - there is a statue of King Kamehameha in Washington, DC at the Capitol Visitors Center.)


An "orb" in a cemetery

Next we headed to the Kaka'ako Fire Station - where firemen have said to be choked by a ghost sitting on their chests. "Some people think the station, built in 1929, is haunted because it is near a graveyard where 1,000 bodies were buried during a smallpox epidemic in the mid-1850." Supposedly all of the firemen sleep with Ti leaves under their beds/pillows to ward off these attacks.

"Orb" in a cemetery

Close Up of the "orb" from the above photo

After all of the hilarity of the ghost tour - which Tony & Russell took very seriously, we met Jen & Robbie at the Cheesecake Factory for their last night in Waikiki.

Jen, Robbie, Tony, Russell

July 4th

I worked on Independence Day (hence the absence of pictures), but Tony, Kerry and Candy ventured out to Ala Moana mall for some shopping and dinner, followed by the fireworks across the street at Magic Island.

July 5th

On the last day of their trip, we treated Kerry & Candy to breakfast at Hula Grill, followed by a trip to the Nuuanu Pali lookout.

Before heading to the airport, Tony took us on a quick driving tour of Pearl Harbor.

We hope that Tony's Mom and Aunt Candy had a wonderful Hawaiian Vacation - we loved having them visit and can't wait for their return!

Another post to catch up on the rest of the month coming soon - I promise.

2010-06-26T15:14:00.000-10:00

Last Saturday evening, Tony and I went to Morton's Honolulu and enjoyed an amazing meal with a GREAT deal!! Until June 30th Morton's is running a Dinner for Two promotion for $109 - It includes two salads, two single cut filets, two seafood sides, a potato side, a vegetable side AND two desserts!! We added on Oysters on the half shell which were the best we have had in Hawaii. The entire meal was perfect - and sooo much food!! We even had leftovers that were devoured the following day! You have 4 days left to get this deal - GO NOW!

On Thursday night, after work, I went out for a Going Away party for a coworker, Brendan. He is leaving this beautiful State and wonderful Country to move to British Columbia. Booo!

Tony is out surfing right now, and we haven't made plans for the evening yet.

Busy week coming up! My friend Brandon, from High School is visiting this week and I am hoping to meet up with him and his wifey! Check out his amazing music - http://www.brandonwalkermusic.com/ - Chinese Food on Christmas is the best!!!

My college roommate, Jen, and her fiance Robbie are arriving on Monday for a wedding and I am sooo excited to see them!

Senior Night, May 2005 (From Left) Shari, Me, Kristin, Jen & Amy

And on Wednesday we have two special arrivals - Tony's Mom and Aunt Candy will be here to play with us for the 4th of July!! LOTS of pictures to come!!

xoxo & Aloha.

2010-06-20T01:37:00.000-10:00

This morning, Tony & I took our floats and went to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Lagoon. It s a pretty large lagoon, with no ocean current so you can just enjoy the sun and the cool water, without the fear of falling asleep and ending up outside the lagoon!! It was a gorgeous, perfect day.

View of Diamondhead

50th State Fair

2010-06-13T18:59:00.000-10:00

Yesterday afternoon, Tony and I went to the 50th State Fair at the Aloha Stadium.

They had Tony's favorite game, Shoot Out The Star...

And they even had Racing Pigs!

Our prizes... unfortunately, there were no goldfish prizes at the Fair!

A Little Piece of Maryland

2010-06-11T17:33:00.001-10:00

Our neighbor happens to be from Maryland, and just returned from a trip home - and look what he brought back!!! So excited!!

Thanks Kenny!

2010-06-08T01:06:00.000-10:00

SHARK!!!

On Sunday, Tony & I went to the Waikiki Aquarium to visit the fishies :) The Aquarium is quite small compared the huge Baltimore Aquarium, which takes a full day to do (plus a full day of waiting in line for tickets!) It is right down the street, in Waikiki - so we walked on over. It took us under an hour to see everything! It did make me want to go home and watch Finding Nemo and Shark Tales.

Here are a few pics...

Nemo!!

On Saturday morning we missed two monk seals resting on Waikiki Beach, but we did get to see this guy sleeping at the Aquarium.

I am off work this coming weekend, and we are planning on going to the State Fair and possibly hiking Diamondhead!! Pics to come!

Happy Birthday today

to my Big Bro Gary!!

2010-05-27T16:01:00.001-10:00

I am so so so sorry for the void in blog posts!!

Where did I leave off... All the way back to April 13th...

After our day on the East side of the island, Mike & Tony went surfing in Waikiki, but they didn't take too many pictures.

The next day I worked, but Tony & Mike went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.

On Friday, April 16th, we went to the Nuuanu Pali Lookout.

From the lookout, you can see Kaneohe Bay, Chinaman's Hat, and so much more! But even more exciting than the view, are the breathtaking winds! They literally took my breath away!

Sorry, I couldn't rotate the video, so please rotate your head!! Listen to the wind!!

After the Pali lookout we went to Diamondhead Beach Park.

That evening I had to work, but the boys went on a Shark Fishing trip.

Here fishy fishy

Reeling in the only shark of the evening!

They were disappointed with the trip - only 1 shark was seen / caught. I guess that is what you get for wanting to hunt sharks!!!

On Sunday, April 18th, Tony & Mike went on their next adventure... Skydiving! Mike paid to have a camera guy jump with him, so there are pictures of his jump, but not Tony's.

On Monday, I drove Mike to the airport for his flight home. We loved having him visit, and can't wait for his return trip!!

That following weekend, April 23 & 24, was Kokua Festival, featuring Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Taj Mahal, and more, at the Waikiki Shell!

Taj Mahal

Ziggy Marley

Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson and Paula Fuga

The next day, Russell & Tony left for a work trip to San Antonio, TX. They got to see Tony's Uncle Johnnie and family, and Russell's sister, who all live in Texas. They both made me jealous, by talking about the Chick-fil-a, Chipotle, and Texas BBQ and other mainland goodies that they got to eat.

While Tony was gone, I was notified that I won a weekly photo contest from the Honolulu Magazine - check it out! This is the photo that won...

In between now and then there has just been a lot of working...

On May 12, we went to a Yelp Elite event at Wine the Experience. It is a cute little place in Honolulu, where you can host parties - bottle your own wine and design the label for the wine. Food was brought in by their neighbor India Cafe. It was lots of fun.

On May 14th, Tony, Russell and I went to dinner at Wolfgang's Steakhouse,

Since we moved to Waikiki 9 months ago, we were on the hunt for the perfect steak, to replace our favorite Capital Grille from the mainland. We have tried BLT Steak, Ruth's Chris and Hy's, and Wolfgang's was the next on the list. And let me tell you, its at the bottom of my list now.

We started with a Caesar salad ($10.95), which they split for us two ways, and a bowl of lobster bisque ($9). Again, looking for a replacement to my favorite Lobster bisque from Capital Grille, and this didn't touch it. It was good - a much darker base, with two pieces of lobster in the center. The salad was your average Caesar salad - nothing fancy, but it was good/average.

For dinner we ordered the Steak for Three - which was two porterhouses. It came out on a sizzling hot plate and was served to us by the food runner. It was cooked to a perfect Medium Rare in the very center, but was very charred on the outside (which I am not a huge fan of). Steak was okay, again, not to crazy about it because of the char. I had to cut the outside off because it was just too crunchy and I couldn't fully enjoy the juiciness of the steak.

For sides we ordered the Onion Rings ($9.95) and Cottage Fries (9.95). They were both very big orders, so good for the price... but the Onion Rings tasted powdery - almost like floury. I ate one, and no one else at the table even tried one. The Cottage Fries were really good - they were HUGE pieces of potato... soft chips. They were good.

Our friend from College Park, Justin, was in town for his cousin's graduation - so he stopped in an said hello while we were at Wolfgang's. We got to meet up with him on Wednesday evening - it was nice to see a familiar face!! He is already planning a trip back!

This past Saturday we went to a barbecue in Hawaii Kai, for Tony's friend Jimmy's birthday. His complex has multiple pools with lots of BBQ pits! It was so nice to be in front of a grill again! First time we have barbecued since we moved here!!

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Duke's for lunch to celebrate my friend Kevin's birthday.

And now it is time for work! We are all caught up - sorry again for the month long void - but we are back! I promise!!

Aloha!

2010-05-13T15:00:00.002-10:00

We haven't forgotten about any of you or the blog!! We have been very busy and on opposite schedules with work!

I will back track this week and catch you up on the past month!

I want to wish a very happy birthday or Hau'oli lā hānau to my baby sister, Mandi!! Wish I could be there for the celebration!

Rusty and I are on a walk along the Ala Wai canal, and it is another gorgeous day in Hawaii! I have to work in a few hours, but promise to do a long blog post soon!!

xoxo & Aloha,
Lindsay, Tony and Rusty

Aloha,
Lindsay

2010-04-13T16:21:00.000-10:00

We made a few stops on this afternoons excursions - First stop Makapu'u beach. The waves were breaking a lot further out than we had ever seen before, and there was a 4 ft drop in the beach, which we had also never seen before. The lifeguard came down to warn us of the surf conditions.

We left about 30 minutes later and headed to Sandy Beach. We enjoyed some food from the Wahoo's Taco truck, before lugging all of our stuff to the beach. When we got there the lifeguard came out and warned us of high surf. Tony decided he wanted to live today, so we left here as well.

The lifeguard told us to check out Sherwood beach, which we hadn't been to before... so we made the drive to Waimanaloa Bay Park, which is where Sherwood beach is.

This place was gorgeous - long beach, with calm surf and gorgeous views!

Perfect Blue Water

Manana Island or Rabbit Island

From www.hawaiiweb.com "Manana Island is located on the Windward side of O'ahu, north of Makapu'u Point. The shape of the island actually resembles a rabbit but it was named Rabbit Island because rabbits actually live there after a rancher released the animals there. Today the island serves as a seabird sanctuary."

Mokulua Islands - North and South. These 2 islands are also used as bird sanctuaries.

From www.hawaiioirc.org "Mokulua translates as ‘two islands’ and is, indeed, made up of two volcanic islets; Moku Nui or North Mokulua and Moku Iki or South Mokulua. Together, they total 24 acres in size and reach elevations of 225 and 150 feet, respectively. They are located approximately 3/4 of a mile offshore from Lanikai. Both are remnants of the dike core of the Kailua Volcano, overlain by lava from subsequent Koolau eruptions. North Mokulua has two peaks and is the larger of the islets. It is separated from South Mokulua, which has only one peak, by a shallow channel 200 feet wide. Both islets have steep slopes, cliffs, and rocky shores. The sandy west beach of North Mokulua, however, is suitable for landing in good weather and is the destination of thousands of kayakers and other visitors coming across from Kailua each year."

Tony and I with Rabbit Island in the background

Trying to take a good picture with these two is impossible

The boys are out surfing in Waikiki. They took the waterproof camera with them, so hopefully there will be more pics to come tonight!