Rainbow!

It's about time.  Time to blog about my very first trip to a little place called Maui in Hawaii.  After living there for two years and visiting many, many times before and after, I finally made it to Maui.

In a Facebook post from a friend we met in Australia, Marisa and I discovered that Pippy would visiting Hawaii and wanted to reunite.  Of course, as soon as I saw this post I immediately interrupted and said I was coming to this reunion as well.  After all, it had been November of 2008 that we'd seen her!  Thank heavens for Facebook and the ability to keep in touch with fantastic friends!

After many emails and several Skype dates, we made up our itinerary and got our dates set!  I flew in a week after Pippy had been there since I was taking unpaid time off from work and was there a total of a little over a week.  

The flight over to Honolulu was just incredible.  I couldn't have asked for a better seat, even though I traded to be in the middle one instead of my aisle.  I sat next to an older gentleman who, come to find out, was a kid on Ford Island during the attack of Pearl Harbor.  I also sat next a Samoan gentleman, who was the one I traded seats with so he could stretch his feet out.  The Pearl Harbor survivor told me many stories on the flight over the Pacific.  He told me how he could remember the sound and vibrations from the first strike.  He was outside playing with his brother.  His father ran outside and grabbed them, securing them in the far back bedroom with their mom.  His father threw a mattress over all of them while they waited for the bombings to stop.  After an hour, he finally came out. I wish I had taken a picture with this man.  Hearing his stories just brought tears to my eyes.

The reunion began when Marisa and Pippy picked me up from the airport.  With a full heart from the stories of the Pearl Harbor survivor, and a full belly form the sandwich the Samoan man shared with me, I hugged my friends and told them about my flight.  We dropped Pippy off at the hotel and I went back to Marisa's house to sleep and prep for our first day day back together.

We ate, we played, we gabbed.  It was so much fun!  One of my favorite days was when we went horseback riding on the beach on North Shore!  This is where I met Marisa's friends, Lindsey and Paulette, two very cool girls.  We still keep in touch, thanks again to Facebook, haha!  We rode horsies on the beach and even got to run them!  I'm not talking trotting, I'm talking full on running.  It was incredible!  So much fun!  We went back to the ranch and got to play with the baby ponies and even feed them carrots.  Afterward, we hit up my all time favorite Thai food place, Haleiwa Eats.  Lindsey and Paulette were very thankful for the introduction. :)

(Beginning of the ride, heading toward the beach.)

(Keo and I.)

(Pippy, Marisa, me and Paulette.)

(Best way to ride a horse!)

(Sweet monk seal being shy.)

 Early, early in the morning, Marisa, Pippy and I got dropped off at the airport to begin our Maui adventure.  As soon as we landed on Maui, we picked up our rental car and drove to our first dive site with Maui Divers.  On our way out, we were presented with marvelous sighting of Humpback Whales, two adults and a baby!  Not a bad way to start my first visit to Maui!  We idled for a bit so everyone could enjoy the splashes of the whales and then we were off to our first dive site, St. Anthony's wreck.  It was freezing!  Our next dive we did was Molokini Crater, which had some gorgeous shallow reefs that reminded me of Australia.  What a blast!  After our dives, Pippy relaxed at the bar while Marisa and I visited Maui Ocean Center.  Just incredible and so much fun!

(Whale!)

(Pippy and Marisa penetrating the wreck.)

(Not sure what I was laughing at.)

(St. Anthony's.)

(Marisa teasing the fish.)

(Triggerfish are of the devil.)

(Not a bad way to ride.)

(Baby Tiger Shark at Maui Ocean Center.)

(Me and the Sandbar Shark.)

(Marisa and I decided to go whale watching while Pippy dove. We didn't see one whale!)

(Gorgeous sunset on our way to meet up with friends for dinner in Kihei.)

Marisa had to fly out of Maui early to make a job interview and so Pippy and I drove around, shopping and eating.  We then went to a tattoo parlor of a man several locals had recommended so Pippy could get her tattoo.  What an amazing experience!  They bonded over their cultures and ancestors and language, it was incredible hearing it all.

(Pippy and I in front of our hotel, The Marriot.)

(Pippy sucking it up during her tattoo.)

(Every piece of the tattoo has meaning.)

(LOVE this picture. Lots of love.)

We got back to Oahu and did more eating, shopping and gabbing.  I took Pippy to Aloha Stadium so we could get our souvenirs and also took her to the Dole Plantation for some Dole Whip!  YUM!  I also took her to Pearl Harbor so she could get some American history.  We did the audio tour and when we got to the USS Arizona memorial, I decided to talk to one of the guides.  I approached him and as I began to ask him the following, I got choked up and began to cry.  I asked him if there was some one I could find out who the man was that took my grandfather's place the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.  My grandfather hadn't been feeling well and stayed home sick while another man took his place.  I want to find out the name of this man and learn about him.  I will figure it out and I will post my thanks and appreciation to him.  My heart is heavy even now as I write this.

(Audio tour, Pearl Harbor.)

(We met up at Honolulu Zoo for Marisa's twilight tour!  So much fun seeing the animals at night!)

I got to meet up with our friend, Kat, who went to Costa Rica with.  She and I immediately bonded when I met her and I just think she is one of the raddest girls I've ever met.  She now works at a yummy cafe in Kailua, so we went to dinner and met up with her there.  All I have to say is the cheese platter was AMAZING!  Haha!

(After eating at Duke's.)

(At Kat's cafe in Kailua.  Yay reunion!)

(Pippy, Lindsey, Marisa, me and Kat.)

My last night there, Pippy decided to get another hotel and party her Pippy way.  She really is great at meeting people and enjoying herself.  Sometimes I wish I had that talent. :)  Instead, Marisa and I chose a reunion of Fat Kids' night.  We went to Foodland and grabbed anything we felt like eating (including 4 Portugese sausages for me to take home, haha!) and went back to her house to watch a couple of our favorite TV shows together -- just like old times.  It was definitely the BEST way to end not only the evening, but my trip back to my second home.

(Like old times!  Fat Kids Club!)

(Hahaha, the spread.  I think we barely put a dent in it.)

Christmas with the Obamas...

Ok, I know it's New Years, but I needed to post about Christmas in Hawaii with no presents first. Yes, that's right.  I said no presents.  *GASP!*  I know, right??  Not even stockings!  It was my first Christmas without a stocking :(  *TEAR*

(Traci, Ashley and I after walking around aimlessly looking for the beach.  We never found it but stumbled on this giant Christmas tree!)

So, instead of buying presents for each other like we usually do, we decided to take that money and put together brown lunch sacks full of goodies for the homeless people in Ala Moana Park.  These packages included thins like McDonalds gift certificates ($5 per bag), shampoos and conditioners, toothpaste, mouthwash, razors, clementine oranges, candy and more.

But before the big day of Christmas, we volunteered at a women's shelter for Christmas Eve dinner.  It was fun putting on the plastic aprons, gloves and hair nets and seeing how silly we all looked in them!  It was such a great feeling though serving others in need.  My favorite was seeing this adorable little girl walking around beaming because she had a cupcake with HUGE amounts of frosting!  The people that work the facility are so humble and just amazing people.  If I still lived there, I would go and help out more... Although I'm sure there are plenty of places around here I can find!  That's on my list!

When we got back to the villa we stayed in, we assembly lined the presents for the homeless with smiles on our faces as we decorated each bag with stickers and markers.  It had been a long day!

The next morning we went on our adventure to Ala Moana Park!  We were all a little timid at first, approaching someone trying to sleep, or families gathered together, but after the first person, our hearts smiled and we continued on until all 50 bags were handed out to elderly men, single moms and families with young children.  My heart was very full as it began to rain and we walked back to our cars.  Up until then it hadn't felt like Christmas at all.  As soon as we handed out that first gift and saw the tears in their eyes, it felt like Christmas.

(My parents delivering Christmas joy at Ala Moana Park.)

It was a VERY humbling experience.

Aside from that, we had a good time being entertained by Jady Lady.  She's 10 months old now and has been nonstop smiles since she was born!  Our favorite thing to do with her is say "Yes, Ma'am" or "Yes, yes, yes" while nodding our heads up and down.  In return, she shakes her head "No."  It's very entertaining!

(Jady Lady giving me salutations by spitting.)

I also took the day after Christmas to go diving with Marisa and Gabe and to see old friends.  We woke up bright and early and dove a wreck dive, YO and a shallow reef called Nautilus.  Oh yeah, and Gabe decided to put me, the coldest girl in the world, in a shorty wetsuit!  Well, I learned my lesson because on the second dive I was so cold!  During my safety stop at the end of the dive, my hands were numb holding on to the line and Marisa was trying to rub my arms because I was shaking so bad.  That'll teach me to alway bring my own wetsuit...  But at the YO, we had a blast!  we didn't see any whales like I'd hoped for but I did see my first Brown Stingray!  That made the dive worth it :)

(Risa and I having fun at the YO)

(I thought this pix was pretty awesome of 2 eels "kissing.")

After diving, we went to Duke's for lunch to meet up with our friend Wayne.  He and Risa both work there.  It's always fun seeing old friends!  They are trying to get me to move back to the island, it's pretty funny.

(I was already tanner than Risa at this point, haha!)

Next we drove to my old work, Sea Life Park.  This was the very bittersweet part of my visit.  It's so good to see my old friends and visit, but it's also hard.  The last part of my employment there was very difficult for so many reasons.  It's hard to see them still dealing with it.  I gave out plenty of hugs and visited my old animals, whom I miss dearly.  I was very happy to see all of the younger turtles had been released or adopted out.  My sharks were all still alive and Ula was as fat as ever.  My stingrays, although their barbs had been cut, were still cruising around.

When I returned back to the villa I found out my brother in law, Seanie, had worked out with the Obamas on Kaneohe Bay Marine Base Semper Fitness.  He said Michelle Obama was a stud, all lifting weights and being buff, while Mr. President was on the elliptical machine.  Haha, I thought that was hilarious!

(Air Force One. We had to wait 20-30 minutes at the front gate of Hickam because they closed it while Obama drove off Hickam and to Kailua.)

Overall, it was a good visit and I'm glad I had the opportunity to not only get back in the water, but to help some of those in need.  It was a very different Christmas.  Very humbling indeed.

From Feb. 2008...

I thought I should add this after being "attacked" with conversation by yet, another stranger...

It was a usual day for me, hitching a ride from a coworker to Castle Hospital to wait at my normal bus stop. I sat down on the bench down a ways from a coworker of mine (what up Charles?). After we chatted a bit, a white woman who reeked of alcohol, laid down on the bench between Charles and me. I paid no attention, for I was accustomed to the abnormal beings that frequented the bus.

As Charles and I waited in silence, she suddenly walked over to the rubbish can just in front of me. I paid no attention as I listened to my ipod until she stood right in front of me, arms akimble. I looked up and she proceeded to tell me how she and this guy had gotten into an argument. Her tears began to flow. I could tell from her repeated phrases and her actions that she was not completely stable, mentally speaking. I decided I would listen to her and try to do what I could to help her overcome this terrible argument. (Plus, I had time to kill as I waited for my bus.) She continued to tell me how her boyfriend, who has been married 5 times already, woke up and started yelling at her. I sat there listening as this poor woman confided in a stranger at a bus stop in the late afternoon to console her.

As she told me her story, she lit up a cigarette and her frustrations with him continued in certain colloquialism I would not use myself. She was shaking as I told her she needs to cut this man out of her life. I let her know that she deserves better than to be treated with disrespect. I let her know it's him who has to want to change as she accused herself of being an idiot for going back to him. I let her know it was going to be painful cutting him out of her life, but she'll just has to recall this day that made her so upset.

After I seemed to sooth her some with a few encouraging comments, she thanked me again and again as the tears began to flow once more. She apologized for talking to me, a complete stranger. She then gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and let me know she was going to leave now. I wished her luck and told her to take care of herself and she walked off.

It reminded me that we are all connected to each other in this life. We are all human and want to feel loved and needed. There is so much pain and grief in this life. We try to grow and learn from our relationships and at times it gets so difficult you just want to scream. Sometimes, we just need someone to talk to -- even if that someone turns out to be a complete stranger. It's interesting to me how somehow, I'm always that stranger...

Big Things Off A Big Island With Not So Big A People...

While I was in Hawaii meeting my brand new niece Jaiden, I was fortunate enough to go on a 3 day romp (do I really want to say 'romp?') with 3 of my friends to Big Island.  This was my second time visiting this gorgeous island, but the first time I was able to make a dream come true..  Diving with the magnificent Manta Rays!

Ever since I began scuba diving, it has been my dream to dive off Big Island at night with these graceful creatures.  I have always wanted to see a Manta out in the wild and was stoked to have seen my first one while diving off The Great Barrier Reef in Australia!  They are just amazing and HUGE!

We dove with a company recommended to me by my friend, Randy, called Kona Honu Divers (who I totally recommend as they are most accommodating).  We met at the dive shop at about 2:30 or so in the afternoon to check in.  We arrived at the dock a little later and met up with a group of about 12.  This was a 2 tank dive, the first one being a twilight dive, just before sunset.  We got in the water and followed our guide to about 55 feet in depth.  We saw plenty of fish, eels and colorful corals.  Then it happened...

I saw something in the distance swimming like one of the Brown Stingrays I used to work with.  As I "stood" there staring at it, Marisa tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to a large Manta Ray swimming only a few yards from us!  I turned back towards my animal and I realized that it, too, was a Manta!  Soon we were in the midst of 9 Manta Rays during daylight!  It was amazing!  The whole time the whales were singing as well creating a wonderful atmosphere for us divers!

By the time we were finished with our first dive, we were all freezing.  Marisa and I, being the geniuses we are, forgot dry clothes as well as towels...  how many dives have we been on??  While we froze on the boat, the crew fed us sandwiches and chips and talked about the Mantas.  They tell the difference between each one by the patterns on their bellies.  I thought this was interesting as I learned more about these rays.

Our night dive was even more amazing!  Before we even got in the water, you could see, from the lights they planted on the ocean floor, that the Mantas were already feeding on the plankton.  I was the first one in and as I waited for my friends, I peered below me to see a couple of Mantas swimming just below me and all around!

We made our way to the floor, flashlights in hand, and took Terri's idea to heart.  Marisa, Jen, Terri and I kneeled next to each other and put our flashlights together.  You see, the plankton are attracted to the light and the Mantas are obviously attracted to the plankton.  Hence, the more the plankton, the more the Mantas!  Genius!  

I think this was the coldest dive I have ever been on.  We had a discussion before the dive that if we get too cold to let our guide know so we can surface.  We knew we would get cold but once we were in with the 15 Mantas, there was NO way we were surfacing!  That's right!  We had 15 Mantas come out doing their acrobatics all around us!  They even came from behind!  Marisa and I screamed the whole entire time because they got so close to us.  Let's just say we got head-butted a couple times as well as whipped by a couple tails, but WE did not do the touching like were instructed not to do...

The following is a video I compiled of the footage I caught.  It's kind of long and I kept our bubbles and screams on it for your hearing pleasure.  If you wait until the very end, you can actually see and hear me get hit in the head by one of the Mantas...  I apologize if it's not the best video, but hey, it's my first time ever editing video and posting it!  So enjoy what you can!

Beautiful New Niece...

Man, I really suck at keeping on top of these posts...  Here's to trying to keep up!  Good grief, I've been home sick for 3 days straight and I am just now, on my 3rd day of my ailment, deciding to write about my trip to Hawaii to meet my new niece...

Enough of the rant Hollie!  (I know you're all thinking this...)  So, On February 18th, the day my mom was to fly out to be with Tiffer and Seanie a week before our tiny heroin Jaiden (and yes, I mean heroin because she is addicting!) was born... Tiffer was in labor.  So, it was a good thing I had my plane tickets a week before I flew out there...  

(So I'm totally watching a movie, not feeling well and writing this blog all at the same time...  Is this even making sense?)

So I flew to Hawaii and was greeted by my younger sister (now new mommy) Tiffer and her beautiful baby, Jaiden Lily.  She was so tiny but so beautiful!  Tiffer had Jaiden in a cute little red with white polk a dotted dress on for me :)  I felt so super special that Jaiden would dress up for her favorite Auntie!  

There's just something amazing about holding such a tiny little person in your arms...  Someday, I will have one of my own...

For more info about my adorable little niece, visit Tiffer and Seanie's blog at:  http://brudiggidy.blogspot.com/