Time to open all of Ogii's presents.
Many different items.
Up close on a few.
One of Connie's bracelets.
It's beautiful.
Necklace from me.
Ogii with all of her gifts.
Lots of jewelry.
A card from Sarnai.
Ogii also received some electronic birthday cards.
We walked over to Forty Niner for breakfast.
It opened in 1947 when Richard and Henry Chagami returned from WWII.
Some old pictures.
Our food.
An uncle boy waffle with fried rice, bacon, and acai.
We beat the rush.
Next stop: Hanauma Bay. We can skip the movie now.
I replaced the broken snorkel fin strap buckle.
And we're off.
The waterproof phone protectors work well, although you have to be above water to use the touch screen.
A group of fish.
Parrotfish and a few others chewing on the coral.
Chomping away.
I love these guys with the neon blue stripes.
A big school of black fish.
And another one of yellow striped fish.
They swam all around us.
There were a ton of them.
Fish between Ogii and me.
A video of us snorkeling.
Mural of a big fish.
A lot of stickers.
Virginia.
Shopping at Ala Moana Center. The Eco-Town Select there doesn't buy some luxury items on Tuesdays. Maybe that's when the person who can tell if they're authentic isn't working?
Ogii found some shoes.
Fairly inexpensive, too.
Argang Go Go Janggu drummers at the stage in the middle of the mall.
Them drumming.
There were a lot of vendors in the walkway today.
Dog outfits.
Jewelry.
Clothing.
Ogii checking some out.
At Saks Off 5th.
This one had some stains.
It's still priced at $100.
Ogii kept adding dresses for me to carry. An employee offered to get me a cart.
Good thing, because Ogii added some jeans. Another employee asked if I needed to rest on a bench for a bit from pushing around such a heavy cart.
Beautiful dress.
No bakeries around us have mochi donuts any more (except for Liliha at the International Marketplace, but they only have one variety, poi), but Brug at the Ala Moana Center does.
And they have multiple types.
Hot Tea has boba, too, for a cheaper price than a few of the other places nearby.
So many jean fit styles at Macy's.
Ogii trying some on.
We've noticed most people who part on the side streets around us don't put an money in the meter. They usually don't get ticketed, but they do every once in a while.
ALOH Health Bar & Cafe is on the ground floor, and Tapa's Waikiki, a gay bar, is on the second floor.
We went to natuRe Waikiki for Ogii's birthday dinner.
Ogii at the entrance.
Bar area.
Seating in the next room right by the kitchen.
The menu on the left has meat; the one on the right is vegetarian.
We both got the meat and shared a wine pairing.
It's fun to watch them prepare the food.
Us with our first course.
Venison and puna chicken on a coral-like serving platter.
The first wine.
A lighter one.
Cheers!
Candle with wood.
Working fast to prepare all of the courses.
On the other side.
We're excited for the beef.
Second wine.
And course: mountain view pork and local mushrooms.
Third wine.
Me tasting it.
The hot hand towels had a eucalyptus scent. I remember that from my semester in Germany; the saunas in the spa in our hotel had that same scent.
Some bread.
Third course: Molokai ama ebi (sweet shrimp) and poi.
Ogii eating it.
Me playing with it.
Some awards they've won.
Ginger.
Fourth wine.
Ogii trying it.
She likes this one.
She's putting smoke in all of them.
Serving.
Kona Abalone and farm turnip.
Fifth wine.
And course: ahi an venison.
With a sauce.
Preparing more food.
Preparing the beef.
Sitting right by the kitchen was fun.
Meat cooking on the fire.
Sixth wine.
Sixth course: Kiawe grilled Big Island beef.
Dessert.
And an extra dessert for Ogii's birthday.
We went to bed early and got up early the next morning (at 4am) to watch the Perseid meteor shower from Sandy Beach.
There were a few other people there, but it was mostly empty.
It was dark enough that we saw a shooting star every minute or so.
Halona Beach Cove.
Japanese Fishing Shrine.
Some offerings.
The Koko Crater Arch hike starting point is right there, too.
This guy's dogs are heading off without him.
Another group headed up.
The main picture for Seinfeld on Netflix is him wearing the puffy shirt.
And that's the episode we watched today.
A big rainbow.
All the way around.