Back home

The last day in Oahu was spent cleaning the condo and driving alllll over Honolulu. I was searching for the Apple store in the Ala Moana Shopping center but told my iPhone I wanted to find the Moana lua shopping center. When I couldn't even find the wrong one, I pulled over and did another search for the Apple store to figure out where I went wrong. Maybe just attempting to drive in Honolulu traffic was the basic mistake! I finally find what I thought was the correct shopping center, found a parking place very close, sighed in relief and set off only to discover that I still was not in the right shopping center. So back to the car and map. I did finally find the right shopping center which was huge!!! By this time it was 2 pm and I was hot, sweaty and hungry for lunch. I headed for a Japanese fish market and restaurant. Guess what! They closed at 2 pm. So I meandered through menus posted at the hordes of restaurants there, rejecting them all and finally wandered by a wonderful Japanese deli. This place was huge and filled with all kinds of Japanese foods (many of which I didn't recognize) but I did find some dumplings and tempura, made my way to a table and swallowed my pride while I ate with chop sticks surrounded by Japanese faces. I was really jazzed by this experience so headed to Apple where I bought some needed equipment. Then to Macy's where I found a quilt and sheets for the new trundle bed at home. Dumb move, I guess. I ended up carrying that quilt all the way back to Juneau since it wouldn't fit into my suitcases. But I do love it am excited about the bed being delivered tomorrow so I can begin to put the guest room in order. The really frustrating part of the day was finding the rental car drop off which wasn't with the rest of the agencies' drop offs. I spent an hour driving around in circles before I found it. Do NOT rent from Alamo at the Honolulu Airport! The drive back to the airport was easy and I was happy to eat a bite at the airport while I waited for my flight home which left at 9 pm.

It's so good to be home where the air is cool but sunny. This week has been a heat spell for Juneau in upper 70s, maybe lower 80s before it is over. Just gorgeous beginning at 3:30 in the morning. It took me three days to get over the sleepless all night travel home. I think my red eye days are over. Ugh. I've planted flowers and am slowly getting unpacked and reacquainted with my home. Cats seem happy to have company, especially Molly who seems compelled to touch me with her paw even when not in my lap.

What a wonderful adventure this trip was. What's next? Someplace where I don't have to drive in big city traffic!!!

More exploring

Only three more days in Haleiwa. Yesterday was muggy and warm so I did some work, ate out, and tried to stay cool. Even the local weather people were commenting on how uncomfortably humid it was.

I got a quick start this morning and hit Shark's Cove for some snorkeling. There were people there and I stayed close to the shore since I was alone. I have to thank the comment in this blog that suggested this. I had been in the shallow part but hadn't tried the other side. Lots of colorful fish!! Saw another puffer fish but a different kind since he wasn't spotted and I don't think he had the personality of my other puffer friend. I wasn't there long but by the time I came ashore it was toe to nose snorkelers and scuba lessons so I timed it just right.

I decided to drive up the road to check out some gorgeous houses on the cliffs that Rachel and I had spotted. Wow! A whole large community of lovely homes--some estates and others weathered double wides--was hidden up there! Even saw a goat farm. As I drove, I saw a sign leading to an historic site so I wandered up the road which was heavily guarded with speed bumps which were completely superfluous since the road was a series of pot holes. But the end result of that winding road was a wonderful discovery. Of course, I hadn't thought to bring my camera with me so the iPhone had to do. This site is Oahu's largest heiau (temple) and was constructed in the 18th century. Only the stone outlines remain but view was beautiful. If I were a high priest or priestess, I'd have my people build a temple for me here! It has a great view of the coastline and the channel between Oahu and Kauai.

By that time, it was lunch time and, as luck would have it (I'm no dummy!), I was very close to Ted's bakery so I indulged in a last mahi mahi sandwich and tried the chantilly cake. Both were wonderful!! No wonder the place is so popular. It started to rain pretty convincingly so now I'm back at the condo getting ready to relax in front of the fan and read more about the area.