Wanderlust

Fear not buttercup, we survived the tornado… in case anyone was wondering. In fact, there were two in the past week. Well, they were storms, and they were somewhat close to us. They both caused weather TV interruptions, that counts, doesn’t it? And alarming ones at that… at least to an Idahoan.

I feel as though I've gotten a bit lax and lazy on my posts lately so I'm gonna get bettah about that again. However, I’m not sure this is the one to start with – it’s a bit of a potpourri – just some random pictures and occurrences over the past few weeks. Structure? Schmucture. Oh, and my kvetch goes here too – I’ve seen diesel up to $4.69 a gallon. Just keeps getting worse and worse. Come on people, get out there and vote and speak your mind, and get naked - let’s start a revolution!

Have I mentioned lately how much I dig thrift stores? I admit it, I do. Don't get carried away and start thinking I like used underwear, but I do like used books. It's like a mini used bookstore in the far back corners of almost every thrift store I've been in. And I admit that I have only gotten a few bigger things (like a bookcase) there just because we try our damnest to be minimalist wannabes, but I think I would buy more at used stores first, given there was more I (thought I) needed. It's like a life cycle for goods, compared to the opposite theory that everything is disposable.

Anywayyyyyy… back to more substantial topics – stuff we did in the last couple weeks. Ha, substantial to me, at least. Just reiterating once again - this page serves as my memory, and without it, I couldn’t tell you what we did last week. Pathetic. Maybe I should invest in those brain vitamins or something.

Tons of upgrades at the Payne house – all within about a week of the numerous events at the Payne house… ha – maybe there IS something to be said about deadline pressure – it’s all turned out beautifully. Regretfully I didn’t get before/after pictures, I do love those, but just trust me on this one – it all looks great inside and out.

We’ve been going to the Dog Park here almost daily – it’s a wonderful invention! The first couple times, Charlie was definitely an expert at making us embarrassed dog owners, but now she loves it. No more galloping to the closest person, back biting random dogs that look like Elvis or herding little pups. Well, okay... she still herds little pups. It’s a huge field that is totally fenced, so you can just show up and unleash the beasts. They run and play and sniff – just things dogs do. The good thing about it – socialization. The great thing about it – fatigue. Elvis joined her one day out there, but mostly when these two play, they like to chill at home playing tug-o-war in air conditioned leisure.

There is a great Cajun restaurant downtown called Jazz that is complete with crawdaddies. Now, I remember growing up when the adults would go scuba diving in a special secret place called BlueHeart in Idaho for these little scrawny crustaceans. I didn’t get it then, and I don’t get it now. While I’m no longer quite as appalled at the inhumanity of it, I still don’t think it’s worth the effort. Like crab. But then again, I don’t like seafood, so I’m probably not one to declare the worthwhileness of a seafood lunch. But come on – sucking the brain cavity Rob and Amber? That’s just gross.

During Daniela’s graduation party, there was a hellacious thunderstorm that only lasted a couple minutes, but then turned the light awesome colors. I totally missed pictures of the party, but I have the buttons we all made before the party, then the literal afterglow.

Uncle Jim and Aunt Barb invited us all over for a family BBQ and we got to meet Miss Hailee.

We aren’t on a league or anything special, but who doesn’t like a good old fashioned game of bowling now and then? Not Wii bowling, but real bowling. And it wasn’t necessarily old fashioned – it had the scorekeeper. Remember the old projector with a pencil and flimsy transparent sheets you slid? Screw math - no need for it anymore! Proof of that was at a Subway last week when the girl couldn’t count back 65 cents. Cash register froze, she had to get a calculator. Aye aye aye, that’s a scary future folks, hehe. And get this - Wendy won. Beat everyone! Picking up spares while talking on the phone. Just throw the damn ball, I guess that’s how it works, I’ll have to try that next time. And that white glare in the corner of the group picture that looks like it could be the corner of the table it was sitting on? Nope, it's a ghost.

Lazy mornings = banana pancakes. You’d think we’d eat them every day then, no? No. But we should. They are good. But there is such a thing as too ripe.

We drove over to Fremont to visit family and see the new skate shop and have lunch. After two strikes, we had a great burger at choice number three. It was a great little trip - got to see Carol and Nikki's houses, the new Shop, and stop at the meat market. This place is incredible - 9 ounce strips for under $3 - and they are good cuts! Nebraska is the place to be if you are a carnivore.

I finally met my Darli! After months of only email communication, I found her to be a real live person that can talk and move as well as type. We had a great dinner at a family institution in Omaha – Caniglias. The first time I came to Omaha years (and years) ago, it was a Caniglias restaurant that got me hooked on toasted ravioli and prime rib. Which reminds me that meat of any sort tastes different here. I promise, no cliché, it really does – especially ground beef. And by different, I mean better. Anyway, dinner was good but the evening was great with Pete and Ari. It’s been almost a year since I saw Pete last in Washington, and Ari always makes me laugh via email, so it was divine happenstance to be able to see them in Omaha, Nebraska.

Not sure why, but it’s become a tradition where Daniela and I stand in the same place in the same building in the same part of the Old Market and Cujo takes our picture. Nothing changes but the lighting. And the hair. And the clothes. And the age. They also have a great Farmer’s Market we went to one Saturday. Pet friendly, lots of flowers and plants, some crafts, some food. Not quite produce season just yet, but the lettuce and asparagus was good. There have been two young girls, I would guess junior high age, a few times that we’ve gone there. They stand on a corner and play a violin, take requests, and ask for money. On the basket it says ‘College Fund’. First thing I thought was – What a great idea! – but then I wondered if it was like child labor. People seemed to enjoy it, and I think the guy on a nearby bench watching them was a dad - I hope. Creepy ewww if not.

BB King played at Harrahs – this guy is 82 years old and he is still touring and traveling – amazing. The show was in an amphitheater of sorts, with grass sloped seating. The lady that took this picture had asked us to take her backstage with us if we won the text game to meet him after the show. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I was just playing for the 2for1 buffet code you got for entering.

While we are here, Maddy turned the big 8 – woohoo! Her party was at the Botanical Gardens in Omaha. These gardens are great – they have specialized floral sections, a temporary kids exhibit, replica of Omaha, two trains, and an in-progress Mt Fuji display.

We got to catch Jim and Brian’s baseball game at the busiest park I’ve seen. While they were playing baseball, we saw and heard commercial aircraft, remote control model aircraft, skeet shooting, and Frisbee golf. Oh, and two trains on the tracks behind the field. I think that’s why the score was 20-0 at the top of the 5th. Or do I say 0-20? Tomatoes, tomatoes… Fun nonetheless.

Daniela’s last dance recital – we have never been in town for a recital until this year, and good thing – it was her last! This place was bedlam, tons of painted faced girls and even more of their families, us included. She did great, and we all enjoyed the show.

Cujo finally got to go on a ride with Uncle Danny. The nice hot sunny days without thunderstorms are somewhat sparse right now, so this was the perfect day for a ride. The guy on the left is Cujo's great grandfather, who was a Omaha motorcycle cop back in the day.

Baby season continues...

Welcome to the planet sweetheart, Great job Manda Panda!

7lbs 7oz 19.5in

Well, we are back in the Big O again… And yet again, we drove through shithole Wyoming in the snow and wind, what a surprise. Oh well, it makes getting here that much sweeter, I suppose.

We are back living in our 5th wheel for this visit, and I admit I have missed it! Even though we only got this one a year ago, I already have lots of fond memories in here. (After blocking out the bad ones, like the water heater and tires, etc. hehe) In bringing our living quarters with us, we got to pick where to stay and surprised Grandma with our arrival and neighborly move-in. Being a neighbor also means that she has a coffee partner in crime each morning – Cujo fills his cup then strolls down the street to her – and comes back home on empty.

Have you heard of our sister? She’s famous – well, she’s published – three poems to be specific. Yeah, we didn’t know that either, til she got awards for it. At the awards ceremony the night before graduation:

After the awards, we went in three different directions and two different concerts – The Police with Elvis Costello and Colbie Calliat. Our concert was the best, of course.

While we were driving about doing errands, we ran into the Cancer Survivors Park in Omaha on accident.

Daniela’s graduation was great – it was at a beautiful Art Museum in Omaha – apparently the only school so honored. She had 75 girls in her graduating class. We were all so proud of her and glad to be there to celebrate with her. Don’t pay attention to the fact that her diploma is upside down here. HA! How cute is that.

Afterwards there was a great little reception with moving toasts, champagne and Melissa’s birthday too!

Next item on the agenda – I tell ya this week was just jam packed with tons going on – was the Schuman Wedding!

Just one of the adorable party favors they had:

The rehearsal dinner:

The beautiful ceremony:

The prep, and tent crisis averted…

The reception:

Just an hour or two after these pictures were taken, mom was on a plane!

Another successful Boise Race for the Cure – I think that this is the fifth time we’ve done this race! The weather couldn’t have been better – a little crisp early then warming up perfect for walking. Along the walk – our team including laid-back Jack, the crowd, celebration and memory pages full of names, crossing the finish line, and the survivor group!

Little Cody with mom and dad joined us for lunch afterward.

We made it home from Boise in time to swing by Jennifer’s ISU graduation party for a beer – Congratulations Jen!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Ahh Hawaii – four years later… this time we stayed on Oahu and saw more of it rather than bouncing to another island. Although touristy of course, it can easily provide tons of nature experiences in addition to shopping for floral print everything and canned luaus.

Since the trip *was* due to work, I have to have a little tribute to job stuff here… The job site from a distance, although it may be more east of this, it’s either the place Cujo worked or the neighboring plant of the place Cujo worked. The hall is right downtown near Chinatown, Cujo, Jack and Charlie after our little barbeque, and some of the guys on the same job.

Shark’s Cove (despite the name) is where we did the majority of our snorkeling – it was fantastic after the really rough rocky entry. It’s not so easy to get in with your fins and the waves bashing you backwards against the rocks. There were tons of fish of all different colors and sizes and some folks there said they had followed around a turtle for a half hour.

Chinatown was a little different from others I’ve been to, in that is was mostly food – like produce and meat – raw meat, most like a grocery. Less trinkets and cheap souvenirs, although they did have quite a few which was enough. The smell was not great. Go figure, we find a CJ in Chinatown for our own CJ!

Turtle beach – this place delivered, that’s for sure. Apparently almost like clockwork, sea turtles come here daily and sunbathe. This guy swam right in like he belonged and trudged up the beach in a few minutes to nap. They had some sort of protection for them – not sure what agency, but when this one landed, a girl roped off an area around the turtle so people were aware of safe distance.

We snorkeled and boogie boarded a little at Sandy Beach but didn’t see much, so we flew a kite. Great wind for it, in fact, the kite tried to fly away and ended up broken! They celebrate Boy’s Day pretty widely in Hawaii – in fact on the news they said both ‘Happy Cinco de Mayo’ and ‘Happy Boy’s Day’, wonderful mesh of cultures. However, some Hawaiians would just as soon protect theirs – this sign was seen more than once.

Some various sights around Waikiki and the condo we stayed in – in between the canal and the ocean, couple minutes walk from the International Market.
Cujo got us some beautiful leis for our arrival which smelled fantastic, at the end of our trip we did the traditional throw onto a local statue.

They had Spam Jam in Waikiki while we were there, and got to see Kawao play live, and eat some awesome Kailua pork. Weird, maybe, but I think it definitely warranted a photograph.

They have a pretty big swap meet three days a week at the Aloha Stadium, where the NFL Pro Bowl game is played. The vendors setup all around the outside of the stadium in a huge circle and they sell trinkets, clothes, flowers, food and stuff – for cheaper than in town, and it costs $1 to get in. I swear this little banana from there looks like a thumb, no?

There is a temple that is a replica of a temple in Uji, Japan that is so beautiful – you drive through the Valley of Temples to the entrance, which is basically a big pretty cemetery. There is a huge eighteen foot Buddha with an incense offering, and a three ton bell cast in Japan. Amazing – so peaceful and serene and picturesque.

Manoa Falls hike – this is said the be the second most popular hike on Oahu (to Diamond Head) and we can totally understand why. The colors here just don’t transcend – brilliant greens of twenty different shades. The hike was still rugged and jaded along the footpath so you really felt in it, with big steps up and down in mud puddles. The 160 foot waterfall itself is at the end of maybe 20 or 30 minutes and worth it entirely.

Driving back through Manoa, we ran into another picturesque cemetery with an amazing view.

This is the poor sad result of crab and wine allergies – RED!

Diamond Head hike – well, it’s what everyone says – it’s a pretty view. The entire hike took only about 1 ½ hours and the top is windy as hell. You walk up a mostly paved walkway to a couple sets of stairs (one has 99 steps) and duck under a low hanging rock formation to reach the top. You can see old bunkers, gun emplacements and lots of cactus. There were all sorts of people doing Diamond Head - some crazy folks were running up and down, and one guy was stopped on a landing with workout gear like those stretchy bands wrapped around a stair pole doing arm reps, others were women with little babies in arms.

We had dinner at Dukes with cousin Barry and got to catch up with him, after unknowingly driving right by his house two hours earlier. Kona beer reminder – seasonal Wailua Wheat – it has a hint of papaya in it – yum yum!

The scenery driving around the island is just simply breathtaking, from driving south through the mountain, so the areas where they film the tv show Lost.

Makao beach

La’ie Point – Mother Nature did this

Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau – in order to get here, you drive up a windy road and over ten speedbumps and it’s a little creepy when you get there. This place used to be a sacrificial site back in the day and now it has a couple trails and an offering altar. Very red dirt here, which actually came home with me via my sneakers.

Dragon’s Nostril hike – this is over by Koko Crater and Koko Head and the 500 foot elevation gives you a great view of them. The area is named after some blowholes that you see from the trail. There is also a great lighthouse over here but you can’t get to it directly.

Hanauma Bay is a popular place to go snorkel, sunbathe and play in the water – but it’s one of the beaches that is a state park that costs to enter. And, upon entry, you are required to watch a video about what not to do or touch when you get down there. We didn’t see many fish there, but we did see a few.

Kahana Bay

Along the western side, there are lots of people that live along the beach in tents. Tents might be a stretch – they were more like tarps – some were nicer than others. We were the sad witnesses of one going up in flames – black, quick flames from the plastic chemicals – and a dog running away from it to safety.

Tantalus is a 10 mile stretch of road high atop (1610 feet) and winding thru the mountains that provide a 25 miles view all the way from Diamond Head to Kahala with amazing winding scenery, enviable homes, and the Pu’u Ualaka’a State Park – a great way to end our trip.