Beautiful Weekend Excursions

We had a great weekend enjoying beautiful Okinawa.  Noa started the weekend early with the annual "Man Day" trip with the guys.  They traveled out to Ie Island, which is up north.  Kenny's dog, Yuri, wishes them luck (isn't she a cutie?!)

Here's the mandatory* group shot of the guys on the ferry on the the way to Ie Island:

Noa and I spent Sunday exploring a new piece of the island....actually another island. We drove about an hour to Ikei Island, which is located on the eastern side of the island. The drive was beautiful and I couldn't help but take pics along the way.

First, we spotted carp kites from last week's Boy's Day/Golden Week on the way there:

I really want to purchase one of these large carp kites.  I don't know what I'd do with it, but they are so fun!  I'm sure I can tie it in to my decor somehow.

Once we got to the island, we kept going under these cement structures.  We're guessing that they are preventing falling rocks from damaging the roads.  Whatever their purpose, they were fun to drive through.

The island seemed to be primarily fields, cliffs, and beach.  It was a beautiful, scenic drive.

On the way to the beach we stumbled upon an Ikei Okinawa Circuit.  

I like this sea wall much better than the one near our place.  This one had murals and dolphins painted all over it.  It was so cheerful!

We found this *gem* in the parking lot of the beach.  You can't really tell from the picture, but it was very sparkly and said TRUST in the back window.  I guess they trust a lot of people because if you look carefully, you'll see the keys in the lock of the front door.

The beach was cute!  There was a small fee, but there was lots of space, tables, rental equipment, and food.

Here's the beach!  I'm sure we'll be back.

*I got the idea from Jess to always send a camera with the spouse.  She's fond of saying, "don't come back if you don't take a picture."  All in good fun, of course!

Menu Fun

We went out to dinner last night and ate some AMAZING Indian food (I just love curry!).  We couldn't help but laugh at the menu, however.  The Engrish was screaming at us.  

When it was time to order our drinks, we were thinking of ordering a "Haney Ken beer."  

Guess they were out of Heineken.

Well, there's always the "Karona."

Then again, we could have ordered a "Rum and Cook."

Although we always get curry when we eat Indian food, the rest of the menu intrigued us, especially the "speer rev" and the "lamb chub."

Even though the menu made us laugh, the food really was scrumptious.  But, the best part is the naan bread.  Check out how huge it is!

Just Say Awwww

I'm still not feeling 100% lately.  My week has consisted of either working, sleeping, or trying to catch up on work because I've been sleeping.  Noa surprised me with flowers at work today in hopes that I'd be feeling better soon.

Hawaii Top 10

Now that I'm feeling better (I was sick all weekend), I can finally finish this blog entry!

We recently returned from a wonderful, relaxing trip to Oahu, Hawaii.  We reunited with the Apostles for our yearly vacation together and I'm blogging without having read Jess' blog yet.  So for those of you who read both blogs, I apologize if there's overlap.

Here are my top 10 moments from the trip:

10 - The Upgrade!

We stayed at the Hawaiian Hilton Village located on Waikiki beach and due to an error on their part with our reservation, we were upgraded to a better suite.  We were stunned to find that our new room overlooked the beach and the city!  It was beautiful!  Anytime we were just hanging out inside, we always had the sliding glass doors open and listened to the waves and the people below.  

A view of downtown.

A look straight out of the lagoon and Waikiki beach.

The pool immediately down below.  We didn't actually go in the pool.  The water was too cold!

Our tower is the one on the right.

The sunsets were amazing!

9 - Pearl Harbor

Early on in the trip we visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial.  It was a sobering, amazing experience to come close to the events that happened on December 7, 1941.  

 

A view from the memorial of part of the U.S.S. Arizona.  We could still see oil in the water leaking from the sunken battleship.

We also toured the U.S.S. Missouri, where the Japanese empire surrendered and marked the end of WWII.  I had never been on a battleship before, so it was pretty interesting.  I really enjoyed seeing how the crew lived and worked on the ship.  I also found it pretty amazing that the ship was in service for the Gulf War.  It's now decommissioned from service.

 

Of course, I also found the dog (owned by one of the tour guides) to be a fun distraction.

8 - Golf, Golf, and More Golf

Noa and Mike got to work on their game at 5 different courses during the trip.  Although the weather wasn't always stellar, the views were still breathtaking.

Mike & Noa: the Golf Twins!

Noa tries to find the fairway.

Check out this view!

7 - Shop-o-rama

There was definitely no shortage of shopping opportunities on this trip.  Jess and I devoured the Ala Moana Mall, the outlets, the flea market at Aloha Stadium and other shopping avenues.

We somehow convinced this bellhop to get in our grocery shopping picture.  Let's just say we spent waaayyyy too much money there!

Ah, we did love the shopping though.  Noa was so helpful to carry our bags.

Shopping at the flea market at Aloha Stadium was probably one of my favorite shopping experiences this trip.  Not that the souveniers and goods were amazing, but we just had fun looking around, eating food, and spending time together.  Plus I found a killer necklace and some new beach towels.

6 - Karaoke!

Karaoke is always a blast if it's "Japanese-style" - with the private rooms, large speaker system and food and drinks just a phone call away.   We were fortunate to find this set-up in downtown Honolulu and had a blast!  As you can see, none of us shied away from the mic.

Noa and I ham it up on the mic!

5 - Garmin Directions

Ah, the Garmin.  Such a wonderful device when traveling.  Except for when it takes you up a mountain, on a dirt path, through a seedy neighborhood, just to get you turned around back the way you came.  Or take us to the non-existent Taco Bell.  I think we laughed the hardest on this trip when we saw the crazy u-turns or back road directions the Garmin would blindly lead us on.  

4 - Waikiki Beach

The beach was one of the reasons we go on vacations like this.  Jess and I love to sit out, read magazines, watch people, and munch on snow cones.  Unfortunately, we didn't get as much beach time as we would have liked due to some unfortunate weather.  But, when we did get to hang out on the beach, it was pure bliss.

Mmmm...snow cones!

A beach up on the North Shore

Walking to dinner on Waikiki Beach

Jess & Julie on Waikiki Beach (notice Diamondhead in the background)

Hampostles on Waikiki Beach

3 - Duke's & Hy's

Although we ate out at several places, these two were my favorite.  Duke's is located right on Waikiki Beach and we arrived just in time to hear live music and dine during the sunset.

We've started a tradition of going out to a nice dinner whenever we're together.  We chose Hy's Steak House based on a recommendation from a friend of Noa's.  We were more than impressed.  I highly recommend Hy's if you are headed to Oahu.

The Hampostles get dolled up for dinner.  I think we're a pretty good looking group.

Team Juloa

Our table at Hy's

2 - Diamondhead

Diamondhead is the peak of a crater that used to be an active volcano on Oahu.  We hiked the trail on a blustery day, but once we reached the top, we were really glad we did.  

A view of Waikiki from the top of Diamondhead with the happy hikers.

Noa and Mike showing some aloha spirit.

1 - Hampostle Time

Just being away with our friends is enough to make me giddy.  I have so much fun when we are all together.  Still, being in paradise isn't too shabby either.  I guess I got the best of both worlds.  I leave you now with some random photos that I didn't post earlier.

Here, Noa and Mike make the most out of the breakfast buffet upon our arrival.

Jess and me at the North Shore.

Hanging out in a shop at the North Shore.  Of course, Jess had to get a snow cone.  You can never have too many.

Jess and I enjoy some spa time on a rainy day.

One of the shops at the Hilton was aptly named "Noa Noa."  

Noa does his Kanye impersonation at Aloha Stadium.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us from the trip.

Our last night in Honolulu.

Hanging out after dinner.  Notice that I got right into my comfy clothes upon coming home.

Jess took this beautiful picture of us before we went out to eat.  She is such a talented photographer.  Most of these photos are actually from her.  Mahalo, Jess!