We vacationed in Honolulu for 7 days and like I told my kids, when it's time to go home, you wouldn't want to. We stayed in Waikiki at Ohana Waikiki West. The hotel would have been fine if not for the 3 elevators for such a big hotel. People literally were fighting to get on. I hated the Asian tourists. I am Asian (Filipino/American) but will not hesitate to say that my fellow Asians were just plain rude! They don't attempt to learn English and used it as an excuse to be impolite. Take for example, lines. People line up for a purpose. I've seen several Korean tourists cut in line and push ahead of others and pretend you're not there. Chinese tourists were the same. The Japanese, however, were courteous, even though most of them did not speak English. And Hawaii was full of Japanese tourists. They even had their own trolley lines that only they can ride--lol. These were views from Kuhio Beach. The kids enjoyed this beach better than Hanauma Bay. Pearl Harbor was the best tourist spot in all of Oahu. The wait to get to the USS Arizona memorial was 3 hours long. But you only get to line up 30 mins before your tour. The rest of the time you can spend visiting the museums scattered around the harbor. I spent most of that time sitting on a bench under a coconut tree, enjoying the tropical breeze. As we disembarked the ferry to the USS Arizona, about 3 or 4 Korean tourists decided to stop right on the dock and take pictures, holding up the rest of us. The US Navy men/guides told them to move along and wait to take pictures inside the memorial. The Koreans ignored this and kept on taking pictures until they've had their fill. I admire the Navy men's patience. I would have pushed them in the water, he, he. On the way back, the same group of Koreans stood up and decided they wanted to take more pictures while the ferry boat was running. The Navy men promptly stopped the boat right in the middle of the ocean, and told them off. I would have died of embarrassment but no, stupid tourists took their time before they sat down. They pretended not to understand English. Nice excuse. All in all, our vacation was fun as long as we stayed away from the nasties. A lot of Filipinos and Chinese worked in our hotel and they were very nice. Americans from the mainland were nice too and most were laid back (unlike me). I would not hesitate to go back. Surprise note: I did not bring any knitting with me. Amazing.

The grimace on Emily's face was not really a grimace. Her mouth was just too full of deep fried Oreo goodness. Waiting for her was a slab of tater twists, all bought at the Santa Cruz boardwalk--lol! We had a wonderful mini vacation at Santa Cruz. I swear, all we did was eat.

We checked in at the Best Western Suites near the Boardwalk. I honestly don't remember ever using Best Western. It's a little more expensive than Motel 6 but not as pricey as Holiday Inn. So, I signed up for a 2-queen bed room for 4 people. As we checked-in, they upgraded us for free to a two-suite room with a king-sized bed, a queen bed, a sitting room, mini kitchen, and huge bathroom. Whoa!!

Here is Emily taking over the master suite. Have I mentioned that there were 2 huge TVs as well?

Here are hubby, Emily and Matthew at the beach. The water was still cold.

Emily and Matthew (and me taking the picture) waiting for Dad. He rides with them. I have vertigo and therefore, cannot ride.

Picture taken in front of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. We had a mini vacation to Santa Cruz, and on the way back home, we stopped by WMH. I've been there in the early 80's and found this place really weird. It still is, 29 years later. The kids were fascinated by all the weirdness and the way Sarah Winchester had the house built. I'm going to include the link to the
house and you can read more and see some pictures. During the tour, we were not allowed to take ANY pictures, specially inside the house. They want you to go there and see for yourself. Outside, on the grounds, you can take limited shots but by then, I was too tired to even care. The tour of the house inside and outside took 2 and a half hours.

This is a finished shawl, designed by Stephen West, called
Daybreak. It was an easy shawl to knit. I used a cotton/wool blend yarn called Cestari. I'm not sure if they still make/sell this yarn though.

This last shawl is called the Ginger Leaves Shawl. I've seen a similar design from Evelyn Clark's Triangular shawl book where it teaches you how to design your own shawl. I enjoyed knitting this one as well.

I thought I'd share one of my own designs.

My cousins from Canada are here for a visit. We took them to the Jelly Belly factory. Inspite of the long line and 30 minute wait, I think they enjoyed it. The free candy also helped. We also bought some of our own favorites at $9.00 per pound of Jelly Bellys. They had some odd flavors which fortunately we did NOT try: Barf, Pencil Shavings, Booger, Toothpaste, Skunk Spray, Rotten Eggs, Canned Dog Food, Moldy Cheese, Centipede and Baby Wipes.