Oahu: Day 3
Day Three: Friday 4/25/14
On this day, we were up early again but sorta slept in until 6. I guess Kumquat was getting adjusting one hour per day. Once again, we had breakfast by the pool and it was looking a little cloudy. We were supposed to go to Yoon and Kurt’s BBQ today with a forecast of 40% rain. Yikes. This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.
We took a little walk by the pool and then said “hello” to Mr. Ocean again. Still scared.
Once Jes was up, we walked to McDonald’s for the Spam and Eggs Platter.
Afterward, we went back to the hotel and just hung out on the couches at Rum Fire. This had become our spot for reading, relaxing, and hanging out in the shade.
When it was time for the BBQ, we packed up our things and walked to Ala Moana Beach Park. People thought we were crazy for walking but it was only a little over a mile away from the hotel. This was the perfect opportunity for Kumquat to get in a quick snooze before the festivities. 
Once we arrived, Yoon had a full-on spread under the large tree complete with BBQ’d meat, mac salad, chili from Zippy’s, noodles, and pretty much everything else we were craving.
It did sprinkle at times but that tree was the perfect protection and it was actually kinda nice to have the rain every once in a while.
She laid out a bunch of towels and bed sheets for everyone to sit and eat. The kids all got a shovel and pail set along with blow-up animals. They had so much fun together.
The beach was a nice lagoon with gentle waters. It was perfect for Kumquat and was her first introduction to how fun the beach and water can really be.
By the end of the afternoon, she had soaked through her non-swim diaper (I didn’t think she’d actually go in) and couldn’t get enough of the wet sand.
After the BBQ, everyone headed back to the hotel to wash up. Yoon had planned Round 2 at Uncle Bo’s and had a reservation for 25 people to show up at 7:00. We were all late and some people arrived before they gave the tables away. We had a ton of food and plenty to drink.
It was so nice to have everyone together again after so many years. Lots of people arrived this afternoon and half didn’t make it to the BBQ so this was a lot of fun.
The happy couple received some “special” shots that evening and we all got a good laugh.
After dinner, a bunch of us went singing at a place Dayantha and the guys found the other night. 
Kumquat rode in the minivan taxi with everyone and also joined them in the singing room for the first half hour. What a trooper.
We were up by 5 (not too bad) and Kumquat did a decent job not waking Jes.
Most mornings we would go down to the infinity pool for breakfast. This infinity pool is so pretty. 
It looks like Kumquat could roll right into the ocean if I didn’t have the brakes locked on that stroller.
Lawson Station is the general store at the hotel and it’s awesome. They have just about everything you need to survive: milk, fruit, toiletries, souveniers, oh and did I mention Spam musubi, made-to-order udon, manapuas, and BUBBIES MOCHI ICE CREAM?!?! 
This day was designated as our pool day and after the beach, we rented a cabana (basically two cushioned lounge chairs with a shade) for the day. It was going to be our homebase from 8am-6pm today and it was awesome.
After a morning at the pool, we lucked out on having a sleepy toddler passing out in her stroller so we got a nice quiet lunch at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. I had a tasty katsu-don with an oozy egg on top. Yum. It was delicious and big enough to have some left over for Kumquat to eat later when she woke up.
The location of our cabanan turned out to be the perfect location for relaxing, hanging out near the wading area, and enjoying a few drinks.
The Lams and Kwaks also joined us and it was like our own little corner of paradise.
Before dinner, we hung out near the hammocks and Kumquat enjoyed swinging with Daddy.
We were also greeted by a rainbow that evening!
Eventually, Kumquat had fallen asleep so she missed out on another dinner. She would have loved this one too.
We went to Marukame Udon, which has a cafeteria-style service and a line out the door all day long. The noodles are handmade in the store and it’s so cheap!!
The broth is very tasty and was even better with the soft egg added to it. Andrew ate up all the egg yolk before Holly could even try some.
I also picked up a Spam musubi for Kumquat’s breakfast the next morning. Yes, this kid ate a lot of Spam (aka “bacon” to her) on this trip.
We flew on Hawaiian Airlines (our usual) on Wednesday (4/23) and stayed in the Sheraton Waikiki this time. The flight went pretty well with the exception of when we were boarding the plane with a toddler who was screaming and refusing to walk and a husband who was on a conference call and couldn’t help.
I loved that Kumquat had her own seat and I came well-equipped with food, toys, and the iPad loaded with new apps and videos for her.
1) Kumquat puked in the car on the way to the airport (gross) and 
2) I spilled half a glass of mimosa all over my lap and didn’t have a change of clothing (stupid).
The Lams joined us on the flight, which made it an even more interesting flight. I think they had it pretty rough considering they were flying with an 18-month-old who didn’t want to nap and a 3-month-old who had to be held the entire time.
Luckily, they did get a moment of respite when Keenan finally fell asleep. They were exhausted that afternoon when we arrived in Honolulu.
Instead of renting a car for the week, I made arrangements for Roberts Hawaii to pick us up. It was great, they greet you at luggage claim, take your bags, and whisk you away to your hotel lickety split. Kumquat especially enjoyed the bus ride and Jes took a nap.
When we arrived, Dayantha and Krissy were out front and we we went to have lunch at Ramen Nakamura. 
Here’s my kimchee miso ramen with a side of fried rice. The ice-cold beer from the ABC Store threw it over the top for our first meal on the island.
The rest of the day was spent at the pool. Jes took his usual monster-long after-flying-to-Hawaii nap while Kumquat and I met up with the Fernandos. It’s fun having other friends in the same hotel – especially when they’re able to be an additional set of eyes on a constantly-moving toddler in a pool. Fortunately, she liked the pool and having the 1/2-foot wading area was perfect for her. The pool at the Sheraton is definitely a +1 over Moana Surfrider.
Dinner was at Duke’s and we stayed longer for drinks. I got my first order of poke and it came with furikake rice. Nice touch, Duke’s.
Yoon came by after another social function and we were lucky to have a kid that sleeps well in a noisy restaurant.
Since Humphry Slocombe opened in the Ferry Plaza, it was the perfect opportunity for the girls to meet up with me for a Saturday morning food crawl. 
Ranee and Stephanie brought their families over from Walnut Creek and we had quite a feast.
It started out with Roli Roti. You can never go wrong with starting your day with a porchetta sandwich.
Next stop was Blue Bottle for some coffee and a piping-hot waffle straight out of the griddle.
On Sunday, I had a playdate with my friends while Kumquat had a playdate with hers. It started out with dim sum in the morning at East Ocean. Vivian played peek-a-boo with me across the table all morning and she was a riot. It’s so funny how at 9 months, she can already let me know that she’s not done playing and that she needs to be the center of attention. Any time I looked away from our peek-a-boo game, she’d squawk across the table to get my attention. As soon as I’d look over, she’d give me a cute but very sly look. She also enjoyed some of the rice porridge that we ordered.
Here’s a picture of Kumquat and Vivian together. Their expressions are so funny. This is one of those photos that will need to be reenacted later when they’re older.
Afterward, I met up with Eleen and Zoe. They were already at the shopping center so it worked out great! I even got to stop by Eleen’s shop. I hadn’t been there since they moved locations. The girls got reacquainted while I shopped.
Later I let Kumquat out of the stroller and I loved watching her run free. It’s not everyday that she gets to run around outside like this without my having to worry about her getting hit by a car or bicycle. It sounds terrible but it reminded me of the days I used to take Koa to the dog park in Irvine.
It was such a nice sunny day. I tried to get a photo of Kumquat and Zoe together but Zoe wasn’t having it that afternoon. Oh well, we’ll have to try again next time.
Teresa and I signed up for a 5K and we entered the stroller division. The race was on Sunday so I made it a mini vacation for the family. On Saturday afternoon, we drove down to Santa Cruz, which is only about an 80 minutes from SF. I booked a motel located near the beach and the race start and it was good enough for the night. After we checked in and unpacked, we walked down to the beach. I knew it was close to the beach but we were still surprised at how close it really was.
It was fortuitous that Isla’s party favor was a beach set complete with bucket and three tools. So, we put on Kumquat’s swim diaper and rash guard and headed out. I was curious to see how she would respond to the waves this time and I was so proud of how calm she was this time around! She happily walked down toward the water with me and sat down to play in the sand. She loves sand but usually once she sees or hears the ocean waves, she becomes a hot mess of tears and crying. She was even willing to walk down to the water with me until she saw the water roll in toward her. She never made it to the water but she was able to just say “no” or call out to me without crying. 
It sounds silly but I was so proud.
After playing in the sand, we walked down to the famous boardwalk and it was super cheesy. So, we walked back to the nearest bar and sat down for a couple drinks and a snack.
Ah…it was a nice little getaway moment.
For dinner, we picked up Mexican food from the taco stand on the way back to the motel and we spent the rest of the evening in the room. We watched cable tv and just hung out. Unfortunately, Kumquat was not in the mood to sleep and once she fell asleep, it didn’t last long. She woke up coughing and coughing to the point of almost throwing up. Poor thing had a hard time falling back asleep and I ended up having to put her in the stroller. At 3am, she woke up again and luckily it didn’t last as long as the first time. Unfortunately, we didn’t get much sleep and I almost overslept this morning. I thought I set my alarm but it didn’t go off and the only reason I woke up was because Kumquat started to cry again at 7am.
Well, we both got ready and let Jes sleep in. It was chilly outside but the view was so nice on the walk up!
We met up with Teresa and her family at the lighthouse and then headed up to the start. The race started out really slow because they didn’t separate the walkers from the runners.
Pushing the stroller was harder than usual because I was busy weaving, braking, speeding up, and fighting for space to run for the first 2 miles. In fact, my arms are pretty sore from all the maneuvering. T-Rex got a pretty big workout today. Kumquat did a good job behaving throughout the race and afterward.
She even warmed up to Teresa’s dad pretty quickly. Henry slept through the whole thing and he looked so content in the stroller. What a cutie.
This was such a fun event and hanging out with T is always fun.
Rawr! Yay Team Tiger!
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