Air1

I used to listen to Air1 in Hawaii. They are KLove's harder counterpart. Yes, sometimes I am a rocker girl.

I discovered something new on YouTube today.
Air1 Live performances!!!

As much as I enjoy listening to WGTS here in the DC area (no KLove frequency), I have the same complaint Blunoz had about KLove. They play the same songs OVER and OVER again. I guess I just liked the songs on KLove better and Blunoz likes the songs on WGTS better. :-) I sure do miss hearing Jars of Clay though.

Where did these people get their Driver's Licenses?

Today was a day of crazy drivers... well maybe crazy isn't the right word... anyway... is it a full moon? ES is equally nutty!

As I have explained in the past that I drive ES to school in the morning. Quite often as I creep forward in the line inside the school parking lot, I see kids bopping around in the car that are clearly not buckled in. Well as I sat ready to turn into the school, a car turned left in front of me with a child already bopping around in the car. I think in the parking lot it is unsafe to be bucked, I know we are all going about 1 mph but that is a moment when you get a multiple car pile up. So when I saw this kid unbuckled out on the main road I had to ask myself, "What are you parents thinking?"

So there I was, sitting at a stop sign in front of a store with a woman crossing the road in front of me. I catch something in my peripheral vision and it is a car driving up on my left side (wrong side of the road) trying to go around me just as the lady steps onto the curb and it safe for me to go. To prove the stupidity of this man, I start driving forward and oh the dirty looks I got and continued to get as I pulled into a parking space. Really dude, you were the one in the wrong, I was stopped at a STOP SIGN! Not sitting there for my health. Hazards were not on, just the brake lights.

So now I am driving down the main road in my town with the windows rolled down as we approach a stop light with a right turning lane. I am in the right lane in a two lane road. The car in the left lane decides to cut the dude in front of me off under the pretense they are going to get into the turning lane and make a right turn, and um, no they did not continue to the right turn lane and make a right turn. The dude in front of me, thus missed getting through the green light. So we continue along in our three car line and come up to another turning lane. The dude in front of me signals and moves into the turning lane, I signal and move into the turning lane and then... yes the car that just cut the dude in front of me off decides he also wants to go into the shopping plaza and starts to cut the dude in front of me off again. That could have been a three car pile up, good thing some of us were attentive to what was going on around us!

Yes, one more for the day... this one is minor but it makes you wonder what people are thinking... I was sitting at a stop sign waiting to turn left onto a busy road when a car came up next to me to turn right and pulled so far forward I could not see the traffic coming from the right. So I am sitting there looking to left at the BIG EMPTY SPACE WITH NO CARS IN SIGHT... wonder why this lady is not turning and getting out of my way so I can see the other direction of traffic. She sits some more, and I finally decide I have to be brave and creep out to see beyond the nose of her car. I think she was still sitting there when I safely made my left hand turn.

I used to think Hawaii had the worst drivers but after today I have to wonder... :-) Ok, I thought about it, Hawaii still wins!

So was that spew worth the wait? I haven't blogged in weeks, and this is what I come up with? Life just strikes me sometimes!

Our Last Hawaii Visitors

For the past two weeks, my bestest dearest friend P and her family came to visit! It had been over a year since I had last seen them and probably 2+ since Blunoz had seen them. P and are truly blessed since our husbands, whom we met later in life, are also good friends. We had a very good visit. Blunoz was able take a couple of days off to do some touristy stuff and they planned their vacation over a long weekend, so he had more time off. Even though we are far from home, we are blessed that though this is Sea Duty for Blunoz, he is stuck in the shipyard doing a decom (great for the family, though I know he would rather be out serving his country more aggressively).

Here are some shots of our visit with them.

The Mac Nut Farm

P&E with the Chief and E, N and A get some fresh coconut!

The Pali Highway Overlook

YB, N and ES and YB with Windy Hair.


Paradise Cove Luau

YB shows off his Flower Bracelet

E Tries some Poi and then has something to wash it down!

Sea Life Park - It isn't Sea World, but they do a good job.

The Top of Diamond Head

Little A ... Little A, N and YB

P&E

They were so patient with us. As many of you know we are in the midst of the waiting game for the next assignment. Usually being two months out from transferring and not knowing where you are going would not be a big deal; annoying of course, but not crucial. But living in Hawaii and having the prospect of moving back CONUS (Continental United States) things take longer. On this side, you need to pack out your stuff at least a month in advance and get what is called ALOHA furniture from housing. They supply beds for everyone, a couch and a dining room table. At least we wouldn't be sitting/sleeping on the floor. If we don't pack out early enough we could be sitting/sleeping on the floor on the other end while we wait for our furniture. So I personally am STRESSED. It would be on thing if it were just Blunoz and I, but we have two small children to take into consideration as well. I am sure my stress is not helping Blunoz either. I ask him multiple times a day if he has orders... I really need to stop that! So LCDR Detailer, I apologize if Blunoz is annoying you. He is doing it for me. :-) But I digress, I was talking about P&E. They sat here through all our discussions and looked at houses on line with us. We appreciate their support so much! We are really looking forward to moving back to the East Coast. As great as Hawaii would appear to be, it isn't home. I am an east coast girl at heart. Though I am Bostonian at heart, Virginia is a nice compromise. We will no longer be a half day plane trip away from my friends and family.

We have enjoyed Hawaii, and we have sure packed in a lot. We knew we would probably only be here a year so we wanted to be sure to see as much as we could. We were blessed with a great CO and a non-sea going vessel so we were able to pull a lot off. We know it is not the norm for the Navy Life so we enjoyed it while we could! Going off to the DC, it will be back to the long work hours for Blunoz.

Blunoz tried to kill me...

Tonight was our usual Family Movie night but we opted for Diego's Taco Shop instead of our usual Boston's Pizza (and yes it tastes like good ol' Boston Pizza with a hint of NY pizza, YUMMY).

I love a good Carne Asada Burrito as long as it is done right. I was introduced to them in Monterey at Charro's (was that the name of the place we used to go to after diving). So they have always set the standard for me. One thing I cannot forget to mention is that I am a born and raised New Englander. Growing up Mexican to me was Chili's. I have since learned that Chili's is Tex Mex, NOT Mexican. Yea, whatever honey. :-)

Anyway, so Blunoz went off and brought home burritos for us and quesadillas for the boys. He was smart enough to also bring home some rolled tacos in case I did not like my burrito (do you see the foreshadowing here?).

So the burrito is actually pretty good, aside for a couple of tough pieces of meat. But then suddenly (about half way through) my mouth was on FIRE! FLAMING FIRE! I begged YB for some of his chocolate milk and he denied me! Oh man! I think Blunoz was trying to kill me... or was it a conspiracy with YB... Blunoz hit me with the fire and YB denied me the extinguisher...

On a side note, we watched the move R.V. with Robin Williams after the boys went to bed. I know it has horrible reviews but it was actually HILARIOUS. Go in with low expectations as I did, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

More Beautiful Pictures

We are eagerly waiting to find out what the Navy has in store for us next, but while we are here we are still enjoying Hawaii. Here are just some shots from the past month that I thought I would share with you all.

MAUI!

My boys at the Iao Needle

Coastline Shots

Back on Oahu

The Valley of The Temples

The Macadamia Nut Farm on Kam Highway headed towards the North Shore from the Windward Side.

Flowers at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center

A Basking Sea Turtle at Turtle Beach on the North Shore

Makapu'u Ridge

The Admiral's Barge Tour of Pearl Harbor

The USS Utah

The Mighty Mo's Anchor

Memorial Flowers at the Arizona

My handsome husband. :-)

I am Legal

I am now officially legal to make right hand turns from the left lane in the state of Hawaii.

My Virginia Driver's License was about to expire and after much procrastination I undertook the process of getting a new Hawaii Driver's License.

1. Go get the Driver's Manual from some place like Longs or Borders Books.
2. Read/Study the book
3. Go take the written exam and pay your money and get a new license.

Well, step 3 deemed more difficult than necessary. I looked online to see where I could go get a license and was lead to believe that I could go to the facility at the Pearl Ridge Mall. So I dropped YB off at school, came home, exercised, showered and got ready. I went over to the Pearl Ridge Mall, filled out my application and waited. Once it was my turn I was informed that they do not do out of state license transfers as they do not administer the written test. I could go downtown or go to a town out west. I opted for Kapolei. I had a couple of hours before I had to go get YB so I headed out there.

Well, my fancy wancy Acura MDX Navigation system does not work in Hawaii so I had to wing it, and yes I got lost. I finally found the building, went in and stood in line and by the time the guy had entered all my information into the computer it was time for me to head out to get YB. Thankfully they guy told me that I could come back within 24 hours and finish the process.

YB and I headed out this morning. When we arrived there were 4 people already taking the 30 question multiple choice test. When I finished my test and double checked it, there were 3 of the original 4 left in there taking their test. When I left with my beautiful new license those 3 were still in there taking the test. I sure hope it was a different test, but I don't think so.

My biggest complaint with this system is that they do not tell you if you got any wrong or not and if you did get something wrong, what it is so you could make sure you know the correct rule. Or maybe I just got them all right!

One thing that was confirmed for me is that you are NOT supposed to cross a solid white line, except in unusual circumstances and with great caution. I cannot tell you how many people get on the highway here and automatically cross that solid white line. I also have to say that I was a tad dismayed to see that not anywhere in the driver's manual did I find anything specifically telling me that I could NOT make a left from a right hand lane or vice versa! :-)

If anyone is interested in my copy of the Driver's Manual, let me know.

I am now off to go make lefts from the right lanes and rights from the left lane. :-)

Waimea Valley Audubon Center

I am going to beat my husband to it. He is off at a Dining In for his Squadron so I will post a few pics of what we did today. All I can say is there are moments when I love living in "Paradise".





We went out to the Waimiea Valley Audubon Center this morning/afternoon to hike up to the fall. It is by no means a hike, more of a stroll along a nicely graded paved path. And at the end is this wonderful waterfall. If the conditions are right and the lifeguards are there, you can go for a swim.ES and I had a great time swimming in the pool at the bottom of the fall. You can see us off to the left of the fall, I am wearing my pink Red Sox hat and ES is in a blue life jacket. Everyone 12 and under has to wear a life jacket and there are adult ones too if you don't feel like a strong enough swimmer to go out in the 30 feet deep water.


We sure had a great time!






Here are some sites from along the way...