Rainbow Monday

A rainbow broke out while I was waiting for the bus this afternoon. They're fairly common near campus but this one hung around for awhile. It also sprouted a shadow -- a second faint rainbow nearby.I wasn't sure what winter in Hawaii would be like. So far, it's cloudier than summer and the rain showers are more frequent. It feels cooler but the high temperature is still around 80 degrees every day. It doesn't get hot in the afternoon, as it did in the summer.

This past week, most of the island of Oahu lost power for 11 hours or so. In Kailua, our power went out around 8 pm. We went for a walk around town to see if there was any cool lightening but not much was visible. It was very quiet -- no car horns even at intersections without traffic lights. People gathered in small groups talking among themselves. Most stores closed. At least one restaurant appeared to be serving meals by candlelight. Groups of people gathered at the entrances to grocery stores. At the Foodland, they were letting one person/family in as one left. Again, people were quiet, joking with the grocery store employee managing the doorway. I hear it was more exciting in Honolulu, but on this side of the island all was calm. We just went to sleep -- by 6 am the power was back on.

It was a different experience to loose power in the winter and not be at all concerned about heat or cold. I had not yet stocked candles (have now) so we ate a cold dinner by the light of a laptop. All in all, a very minor inconvenience. It would have been different if there had been a storm and concern about flooding or high winds. We had a big storm a couple of weeks ago. The wind was very high with driving rain. I watched from the window and decided I really didn't need a picture of the storm, I would just tell you that palm trees bend really well.

New Year's Fireworks!

A quick run to the store for coffee this morning produce a surprise.Fireworks! The entire center of the grocery store is now filled with fireworks!Some looked familiar, like giant sparklersconesSomething that looks like roman candles.Some were new to me but looked like fun.
And then there were lots of spools of ribbon in different sizes. Some were sold out already.The instructions say something about putting it on a stick before lighting, and using only under adult supervision.I am clearly not the adult who should be supervising this. I have no idea how these work.The clerk said the law doesn't allow fireworks sales until December 26. So today people were in the store at 9 am with shopping carts full of fireworks.New Years should be fun!

Island Christmas, local style

Volleyball at one end of the beach was the beginning of our Christmas afternoon walk in the Ala Moana Beach Park. It is the park where most of the locals gather to celebrate holidays -- within view of Diamond Head but separated from the hotels of Waikiki by a small boat harbor.The smell of bar-b-que mixed with sea salt all along the beach.Some were in the park across the street.The enormous banyan trees give lots of shade.There's plenty of room for kids to burn off extra energy.

It was a nice warm afternoon -- light breeze, few clouds but fine for picture-taking.Our walk ended at the boat harbor.As we turned to the bus stop, one of the frequent rainbows wrapped up our wonderful afternoon.Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you.
(Bing Crosby and Jimmy Buffet both did versions.)

Kailua Christmas

Although it doesn't look like most ideas of Christmas, the islands people are very excited about the holiday. They put up all sorts of decorations in their yards just like on the mainland.
Malls decorate just after Halloween.Downtown office buildings decorate as well.Bell-ringers in many places look the same, but the Kailua Don Quijote bell-ringers have a distinctive look.Yesterday was their last day and they had a hula party to celebrate.

December in Hawaii

I have had papers due for the end of the semester, so there hasn't been time to blog.

Also, Rick and I babysat for two young children this week because their mom needed to have a medical procedure done. Their house was very near the beach, but I was too busy chasing small children to take pictures until the last morning.But now I have almost a month before school starts again. I am working, but only half time. Ahhhhhhhhh ........

Local beer

We were concerned to leave behind Boulder's great brew pubs, especially Mountain Sun, in the move to Hawaii. But we have found a brew pub in Honolulu that fills the gap.Brew Moon is in the Ward Centers near the movie theatre. The beer and food are great and the view from the deck is FABULOUS!This is today, December 4, after work.

Hamakua Marsh

There is a small wetlands area between Kailua and the mountains. Really interesting birds and ducks hang out there. But they're camouflaged so well it is hard to see them in a photo. Actually, I've been right on top of them before I notice some times.This marsh is right along Hamakua Road that I walk along from our condo to the bus stop. There is a closer bus stop, but this is a wonderful walk.Today the sun is out, the wind is mild, the temperature is the perfect 80 degrees as always, and the little wetlands animals are happy.(Someone threw bread out so they swarmed ashore.)

Thanksgiving Day sail

It was around 80 degrees (as always) on Thanksgiving and there was a good wind so we got the chance to sail.
This is Rick's boat, Tala. We went sailing on a different boat today, but we got to waive to her because they're in the same harbor.We went for a quick tour around Kaneohe Bay with the boat owner, his mother and kids and another sailor who is a captain.The tricky part about sailing in Kaneohe Bay is looking out for coral reefs. According to the captain, there are 52, along with the barrier reef.This is Rick. Sometimes the driving part is easy. When it's not, I wasn't taking pictures, I was holding on.According to the guy Rick partners with on his boat, there are two kinds of sailors: ones who have hit a reef and the ones who will.

This is where the opening scene of Gilligan's Island was filmed. We passed it at the end of our three hour tour. After the sail, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner at the captain's house ... AND we caught the next-to-last bus back home.