le chou-puant et son amour

Is it already 4 weeks into March?

February seemed to have just flown by -- I suppose the fact that it only had 28 days does not help, and this month is going by quickly as well! The latest on our house hunt is that we are closing on a place in 2 weeks! This is a little scary -- owning a home comes with many responsibilities and obviously is a huge financial investment, so there is always some apprehension going into it. More once everything is official!

Meanwhile, we spent about a week in Oahu, Hawai'i earlier this month. The primary purpose of the trip was to attend Edna & Dave's wedding, which was a beautiful affair, held at a Cultural center on the SW side of Oahu (away from the hustle of Honolulu & Waikiki). The beach front provided a lovely backdrop for the ceremony, and the sun started to set as we settled into dinner. The bride was of course, radiant. We also got to catch up with Mark and meet his fiancee on this trip (they get married in May in Singapore), which is a rare opportunity given how we live apart.

We discovered that Oahu has plenty to offer beyond the typical touristy traps around Waikiki. Downtown Honolulu and the Chinatown area is a treasure trove of historical buildings, with some interesting insights into the immigrant past of the Hawai'ian islands. Hawai'i truly is a melting pot (not salad bowl!) of so many cultures it really is a wonderful testament to how cultures can blend, adapt and come up with it's own unique personality. Of course, this is a over-simplification of things, as many of the deeds towards the native Hawai'ians and immigrant Filipinos in particular were quite terrible. So, I guess

I felt both that sense of inevitability with regards to how humans often use their position to step on others, as well as some hope towards the ability to eventually move beyond that.

Besides the usual focus on Honolulu and Waikiki however, we did venture all around the island over the course of our last 3 days there when we had a rental car. Highlights included:

Hiking at various trails, parks and gardens. The plants, birds and flowers are simply remarkable.

Taking in the surf. We didn't actually get into the water to swim while in Oahu -- sounds strange, right? But Neither Marc nor I are really beach-bum types, but we do enjoy listening to the waves and were particularly awestruck by the power of the waves and wind at the Northern side of the island around Three Tables, Sharks cove and Sunset Beach. I went on a run on a very bumpy trail that hugs the coast at the NW corner of the island (no cars are allowed on this 4-5 mile stretch and so the 2 roads from each end don't connect) to get to Ka'ena point -- something that everyone should do if they are able!

Catching rainbows! I had never seen a full rainbow until now. Often I only catch a small arc of one. A full rainbow is quite incredible! But nope, did not see any Care Bears.

Venturing to various lesser known sights (kudos to Lonely Planet) such as the Ulupo Heiau, which had a lush expense of greenery (plus lots of Taro plants) around it that was really incredible. Also, the Byodo-In Temple was quite beautiful.

Eating at some some kick-ass places . Gaku -- best sushi we've EVER had in our lives with great ambiance & service to boot... not at all snooty, Jimbo's -- large servings of homemade udon!, Ono Hawaiian -- classic Hawai'ian... too bad there were out of laulau that evening, Tidewater Grill -- great ribs!; Liliha bakery -- we fell in love with their apple malasadas... like apple pie in a donut!)