beach and more beach

I have a few pictures to post, but not a lot to report from this weekend. Friday night was spent at Barnes and Noble, as the venerable US Postal Service failed pretty miserably in delivering a large portion of my book collection on time. Wait until they find out that I know Audrey Miller.

Saturday? Exploring the neighborhood more and hanging out at the beaches near my house. Attached is a picture of that beach, the park by my house (you can sort of see the Waikiki Shell in the middle. For Bostonians, it's sort of like the Hatch Shell, except a little bit bigger and most shows here charge admission). There are also community gardens (again for the MA crowd, much like the Fenway gardens on a much smaller scale (and perhaps without the surreptitious nighttime activities we've all heard about there)).

Oh, speaking of the Waikiki Shell. A note on music here. Don't get me wrong, we do get current bands to play concerts here, and it seems like there may be a pretty fantastic local music scene, but I have to say, this week I've felt like I am in a time warp and a half. I have heard nothing promoted so heavily until this week's Huey Louis and the News concert. And a close second? The following week's appearance by... Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. Now, I realize I am in no position to judge. Did I twirl baton in the 5th grade talent show to a Lisa Lisa song? Yes. Yes, I did. I can admit this freely because no matter how bad it was, it wasn't nearly as memorable as Monica's lip synch rendition of Whitney's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." Needless to say, participation in the talent show was mandatory. I think some of us still have nightmares 20 years later. Thanks, Mrs. Bariffe.

Sunday I spent the entire afternoon at Kailua Beach, which is stunning. The trades there are amazing, so I managed to read three quarters of a book while watching the windsurfers and evaluating if that's something I would want to do (I ultimately settled on yes). On the way home I stopped at the Pali Lookout, part of a state park that has a great view from the Koolau Mountains. It was so windy that it felt downright cold up there (in actuality, it was probably all of 75 degrees). All in all, a really nice day. Even with all of my newfound free time, I continue to not be bored and not be lonely. I'm pretty content, in fact. No complaints at all.

Finally, my apologies for gloating to my old DC colleagues, but on all three days of activities I described? I was also on first call. No lie.

Kapi'olani Park

community gardens

Kailua Beach

more Kailua Beach

Pali Lookout

Shirt flying up from the wind, covered in sunscreen and sand...and yet never been happier.

I was much less concerned with this sign than the one that read "Danger: bees."