Michele's Wedding in Hawaii

My cousin Michele got married in Hawaii which is pretty significant since she grew up there.  It was symbolic that she start a new life in the same location as her previous life.  Since I was going on my own, representing my dad's family, I opted to live cheaply.  AirbNb - put me on a couch in a living room for 4 nights with a spectacular balcony view.

Though my cousin did far better than me, getting a roof top suite for $100 a night last minute.  You win younger cousin.

We had a rooftop party with soju and spam musubi from Musubi Cafe Iysume.

Life is so hard!

Dinner was a treat with this cheese garlic dish I've never heard of - Ninniku CheeseAge from Izakaya Tako-No-Ki.

Michele's mother passed away before she could see this day.  But her dad was there to take her down the aisle.  It was so beautiful.

And then some shrimp scampi from the Honos food truck in North Shore!  Just as good as Giovanni's!

Wash it down with shave ice from Matsumoto.  YUM!

Cousin selfie stick picture!

Reception time!  I wanted to do a speech and tell Michele that she has always been a role model and that we will always look up to her for inspiration.  But we were short on time so I added that to my gift to her in a photobook.

They got handmade soaps for everyone!  What a great parting gift!

Dinner ended with fire dancing and hula dancers of course!

Michele was so happy I caught this moment.  Family members from both sides of the family doing the Aloha wedding song dance sung by her uncle.

The day after the wedding I spent some alone time hiking diamond head with a few hundred other tourists.  The view is definitely spectacular.

Such a beautiful day too!

My Airbnb hosts were wonderful enough to take me to the Waialua plant to learn about cocoa and soap.

While we were at it, we stopped by the Dole Factory.

My hosts even took me out to Pali lookout where we discovered an abandoned highway.  It was a great hike.  They should fix it up to be open to the public, but for now it was for us to explore.  I was pretty lucky that they had time to take me out.  They even took me to the airport to catch my flight.  They are a modest couple trying to enjoy life and stay positive about everything they experience.  I loved their energy.

In the evening I caught up with my cousin on the Maita'i Catamaran.  Unlimited Maitais?  Yes please!

Despite the cost per luggage and non reclining seats, the flight was pleasant and only $421 from LAX.  Though Hawaiian Air was the same price closer to the wedding date.  Darn.

It was a nice trip.  To be with family, to experience a beautiful wedding and to spend time with myself exploring the mountains of Honolulu.  It's also good to know how close it is and how a weekend trip isn't impossible.  Next time I go, I'm going to find the places that my dad use to hang out - their old apartment and high school.

Grand Canyon Road Trip - PART 1 - Conquering Sedona

Jimmy called me on a Thursday while I was work and said, "get Friday off, let's go to the Grand Canyon."  So I did.  Come with us on our journey through desert heat to arrive one of the natural wonders of the world.

The drive there wasn't too bad.  Jimmy drove most of the time using my car which is newer and gets better mileage than Jimmy's.   We start our trip in the early morning.  Good Bye California, hello Arizona!

GETTING THERE

It was interesting to watch the landscape transform as we drove down what seemed to be endless highway.

SEDONA

We finally arrived at Sedona.  Our first stop!  Jimmy planned to see Cathedral Rock.  AMEN for this sign:

Jimmy prepares for a photoshoot.  It's sexy time.

The area was very picturesque.

We did some hiking.  There was this one point that Jimmy wanted to find, but we didn't know which way to go.  We made a quick decision.  It was getting late, but we travelled all this way so we picked a direction and pushed forward.

The sun was setting so we were getting a bit nervous.  The trail was getting dark as we found ourselves in a forrest.  Then I heard water and suggested that we follow it.  We heard people too!

The Oasis! We did it!  It felt like such an accomplishment.  This picture does not really show how beautiful the area is.  We conquered Sedona!

We rewarded ourselves by eatting at a very popular place called Elote. The wait was 45 minutes and I'm so happy we waited it out. Everything was amazing.

Good Night Everybody!

2nd Annual 4th of July in Palm Springs - in GIF Format

The winning group photo

Jimmy finally caught up with his photo editing and posted pictures from Palm Springs onto Facebook.  I snagged a good handful for my blog and realized that there were too many good moments to share.  In order to avoid a long entry I created lower quality GIFs.  lol.   This is the perfect timing as we say good bye to summer....

Andrew and Jlo really did deliver; planning an amazing weekend getaway.  Somehow we crammed 11 guys into a 3 bedroom airbNb.  Not only was the place really cute, but Andrew and Jlo made sure we were fed.  We never had to eat out because these two were constantly slaving away in the kitchen.  They were serving so much good food.

Around the table:  This is where we ate, played games and talked.

Lounging: Sometime times it was hard to relax.  Folks were staked on top of each other.  Andrew and Jlo are trying to figure out a better sleeping arrangement for next year, but everyone was flexible and in good spirits despite the communal sleeping space it seemed.  Of course there was mario kart, karaoke and charades.

Pool time:  The pool was a great size.  Next time I want to look up some more pool games since we spent a large time there that weekend.  But we had a good time just tossing each other around.

Night Swim:  We took advantage of the night heat and stayed wet in the pool

Fireworks!  We celebrated with morning glory sparklers.  Jimmy missed the announcement that we were tossing the used sparklers near the rocks and he accidentally stepped on them burning his foot.  Luckily we had a registered nurse with us who healed him quick enough to go clubbing that evening.

Poolside:  These are some random shots by the pool.  Jimmy thinks he's all cute matching in yellow.  And the hats that I brought really made the weekend fun.  Well, fun for me.

FOOOOD:  I'm not kidding about food.  Andrew and Jlo made us meals the entire time!  It was no joke.  Longanisa, spam, bacon, hamburgers, corn, hotdogs, carne asada.  Others brought curry and Tommy and Martin made French toast with croissants the last morning.  Brilliantly we used up the left over ingredients on the last day for omelets. The only that wasn't used was a giant bottle of jam.  Who eats jam?

WILD THINGS:  This speaks for itself.

Jimmy made a video!
I'm already looking forward to next summer.