Andy's and Army Museum

Although I am grateful we are so close to the hospital (traffic can be a nightmare), there is nothing close by for shopping and food. The directory in the room has a map with several options just on the other side of the freeway...things like Papa John's Pizza and a Chinese place. It didn't take me long (just about 30 minutes of driving in circles) to figure out the map is outdated. It has all been replaced with car dealerships.

I called the front desk and asked for the nearest commissary. He said there was one right down the road at Ft. Shafter. I was so relieved...only to discover that by commissary, the clerk thought I meant gas station with shopette. While they did have a few items of produce and other groceries, I was completely traumatized when I picked up a bundle of bananas and a gecko jumped out of it and onto my hand. This place was OFF the list!

With Heidi's help, I was able to find a nice, big commissary to stock up...but with only a small microwave and fridge in the room, we did still need to buy at least one meal a day. Finding no apparent restaurants in the vicinity left me consulting the Internet for clues. The process was tedious...trying to figure out what was close enough...but then I just did a simple search for "Honolulu restaurants" and quickly came upon a site called yelp.com...filled with pages of restaurant reviews, which could be sorted by price, cuisine, neighborhood, etc. It has become my new best friend.

There is a problem with this, though...instead of looking for close and/or cheap...I couldn't help but look for what sounds the best, or is the most highly rated. Andy's is both...although close it is not. No matter...with page after page of rave reviews for their homemade bread, hand-carved turkey, to-die-for smoothies and fresh pastries...I would have driven the island over. In traffic. Luckily, I only had to go as far as Manoa Valley.


It was a little bit of a challenge to find...we drove past it the first time. There were lots of reviews filled with warnings about the lack of parking spots, but fortunately for us, Jake now comes with special VIP parking. My mouth is starting to water just looking at their sign again...



And is it any wonder? I mean...look at that sandwich! And the smoothie? Jake got strawberries and cream (which had yummy coconut milk), and mine was a tropical slice of heaven with stuff like papaya, mango, strawberry and banana. Andy's is the definition of 'hole in the wall'. To demonstrate...see the guy sitting at the table on the left? That table is up against the shelving that runs the length of the restaurant. See the person leaning on the right? He is leaning against the coolers that line the other wall. That's how big the place is. This proved unfortunate when the young couple seated at the table next to us started making out. I'm not kidding. I saw her tongue and everything. Classy. Jake looked like he wanted to rake out his own eyeballs with his bare hands. {Man, how I miss the society of zero public display of affection...where my husband and I catch sideways glances for holding hands. I wanna go home!}



And get a load of that menu...does that just scream YUM?!



Oh my goodness, I want to bite my computer screen! See those white bags up top? They hold homemade, chocolate-chip granola bars and chocolate muffins for the road. They were already out of their famous apple turnovers, so we will have to go back, for sure.

On the drive down, we saw traffic horribly backed up in the opposite direction, and heard on the radio that there was a shooting of some sort which had a major road totally blocked off. Charming. Rather than sit in that nightmare, or try to magically find an alternate route home, we decided to head down to Waikiki and check out the Army museum to kill some time. {That's probably not the best phraseology. Sorry.}



Again, plenty of VIP parking right up front.

Ahhh...pining away for "home" just like me, I'm guessing.



This was a very cool tribute to veterans of the Korean War. We found lots more to see inside...











I found this exhibit the most interesting...and touching. General Shinseki is Hawaii's homegrown hero, and there was an entire room dedicated to his life and military career.

If you can't read this, click on it to enlarge. Reading this brought tears to my eyes. Who wouldn't want those things said about her by her husband? What a special relationship they have...and he sure has a way with words.



When we got back to the hotel, we were greeted by a very special surprise from Grandpa Jim. What could it be?



Is this gorgeous or what? These ginger flowers are individually wrapped with rose petals. I wonder how long something like this takes to make?



Jake's was a manlier variety...but just as beautiful. It was so thoughtful of my dad to send us something to help us catch the "aloha" spirit...



Heaven knows we could use some of that around here. Thanks, Dad!

Surprises...Good and Bad

I got word a couple of days ago that Cliff and Co. would be coming home almost a week early. Which is always totally sweet! Yesterday, I received some phone calls with updates along his route, including a window of time and where to pick him up.

But before he landed, my excitement and anticipation turned to shock and sickness when I learned of the enormous earthquake that hit mainland Japan. Cliff was in the air at the time, and didn't hear the news until he was being transported by bus, from the base which they landed to the base at which I was supposed to pick him up. By then, we were under tsunami warning, and I was afraid that since the pickup point was at sea level, that he was going to get stuck in some kind of holding pattern.

Luckily, the pickup went almost as scheduled, just delayed a bit waiting for baggage to clear customs (but nothing can go totally smoothly with military movements. It's against the rules...so we had no complaints.)

After a quick kiss, Cliff loaded his gear into Apollo, and we headed for home. While we were driving along one of the busiest streets on the base...this is what we saw:


No, this is not a normal occurrence. Ducks do not usually walk down this street. Not ever.



They certainly don't try to cross the road. Then Cliff reminded me of accounts of animals fleeing areas where tsunamis are due to hit, which made perfect sense and totally freaked me out. Thankfully, it was a false alarm. The tsunami waves were only a few feet down here and caused no damage. We only wished this were true for all of Japan. At this point, we had no idea how bad things were. No idea at all.

Thoughtful Birthday Surprises

Going to the post office is usually a highlight in my day. Well, only when I'm expecting something. Which I am, a lot of the time, since we have to do a lot of online shopping over here. I think I've already told you about the yellow slips of cardstock they put into our mailboxes when we have a package (dubbed, 'golden tickets'). When I get one in my box, I usually know all the possible things it could be. Birthdays and Christmas can yield unexpected surprises, though.

The Lovely Lisa and I usually exchange Bday gifts. She has impeccable taste that can be difficult for me to match. I always know whatever she sends me will be a great find, and this year was no different. I can't wait to try out my new silicone baking mats...and the personalized paisley post-its and other stationary is just my style. (She is the stationary guru, I swear.)

I got another package that was totally unexpected, however. It was from another one of my awesome friends, Michelle. Here's a picture of her and her beautiful family, which I unabashedly stole from her Facebook:

I met Michelle here on Okinawa. She was my visiting teacher, and I can't even begin to tell you how lucky that made me. Let me tell you when I first fell in love with her, though. I didn't know her that well, just a bit in passing at church. Then her husband was called to be our congregation's Branch President. When she got up that first Sunday to bear her testimony, she had known about the calling for about a week, I guess (it's always kept a surprise for the rest of the congregation until it's announced). She got up, and choking back the emotion said "It's been so awesome praying for you guys all week" and went on to tell us about the love she felt for us. Emotion came over me like a warm blanket and I couldn't fight back the tears, because I could feel how much she really meant it. She had me at "we've been praying for you guys," but went on to demonstrate her love and selflessness in so many ways. I would seriously hear her name at every turn, in relation to all kinds of people from church...those her age and not, with kids her kids' ages and not...and from all different military communities (which, for better or worse, can tend stick to "their own kind").

She helped me in ways that only she even knows about. It was like she was an angel sent to me just when I needed her (even though it was obvious I wasn't the only one she was serving). It was small things like "I remembered this awesome poetry writing book for middle schoolers I used while I was teaching, I thought you might like it for Jake" to sharing good finds in "hippie food," as she calls it...which we shared a love for...to helping me process really gut-wrenching stuff that nearly consumed me (which I won't blog about, because...mostly, they're not really my stories to tell here).

So it should not have surprised me when she went out of her way to send me this little surprise:



I ripped open the box while I was in the post office parking lot. As soon as I saw this little, gold bag...I knew what it was...and the tears started to flow. Luckily, I came to my senses and grabbed the camera...



And when I saw the tell-tale, criss-cross pattern on the top, it was confirmed...



They were my favorite (favorite isn't even strong enough of a word) DARK chocolate, Key-lime truffles from Godiva. Three of them. I don't know if I can express how much I love these things. They are like the perfect flavor combination. I buy Cliff a $25 box of dark chocolate truffles for every gift-giving occasion, JUST so I can have the two of these that the box contains (secret's out now, I guess. Sorry honey).

But the sweetest thing is, Michelle remembered this little detail, just from me mentioning it one time...and went out of her way to send me such a small, but special thing....JUST like all the thoughtful things she did for me while she was here...which is really why I was crying...because it reminded me of this...and how much I miss her. You know, moving is part of military life...we just do it and accept it...look at it as collecting friends along the way...but in this case, I felt like we were robbed because their orders here got cut WAY short, and now they are back in the USA. It felt like we were just getting started...but something tells me we'll be friends forever, just the same. I've learned to never say never, because I've been proven wrong before. We just may end up in the same town again someday. Aloha 'oe...until we meet again, my friend. I want to be just like you when I grow up.

Anatomy of Valentines Day

It starts with chocolate chip scones...



Followed by the traditional Godiva truffle exchange. (Not actually planned...but do we know each other or what?)



Then Cliff broke the "don't spend too much money on flowers which are going to die" rule. But I still love him. {They are beautiful.}



I'd much rather spend a fraction of the money on beautiful shrimp, which will also just end up disappearing...because it's a much more delicious experience. {He is beautiful.}



That's what I'M talkin' about!

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

I am SO excited about this post! Remember my post about this video here?

Well, maybe I should back up and first try to explain part of what it's like being an American attached to the military on Okinawa. There is a high concentration of Americans here. We are still a small part of the population overall, but the highest concentration of American military in Japan are stationed on Okinawa...not to mention all the civilians who are here in support of the military (contractors, school teachers, etc.)

Anyway, it would be quite easy to just live your life here going from one base to another, having a totally American experience. Truthfully, that is probably the case here for most Americans...even those who live off base. We have very little dealings with the local population, other than shopping, site-seeing, dining, etc. I don't have any real friends who are Okinawan. Even the ladies I recognize from the culture group {which I participated in last year} in the halls of our church building (we share a building with a Japanese congregation but meet at different times) I don't really know that well...just a little about them. Same with my housekeepers. They are here to do a job and we have a limited ability to communicate with each other.

What I'm trying to say is, for the most part, our daily paths are very different here. We are Americans having a mostly American experience on Okinawa, and the Okinawans are...well...living their normal Okinawan lives. Anytime our cultures come together, it is an exciting thing. I know it is for us, and appears to be for them (in my experience), too.

This is what makes this video so very exciting:


I love these kids! They are so darling. Just in case you are not familiar with the Miley Cyrus video...it has nothing to do with the song, so this video is obviously a remake of the video our kids did, not her video.

We need to arrange a meeting between the two groups this summer when Josh is home. My favorite part is the outtake reel at the end of the video. Josh had actually talked about doing one at the end of his project because there were so many funny moments. I think he should still do it. Stanford can't be taking up too much of his time, can it?



And just for fun, here's a Party in the USA mash-up which includes the video, too.

So sorry if I got that song stuck in your head. Hehe.

Pineapple Pie

Just like in the USA, packaging doesn't always tell what's inside the package here. (Could you imagine if you were a foreigner in the USA, buying a can of Crisco, because there was a picture of a nice, crispy, fried chicken on the outside? That'd be quite a surprise.)



Anyway, this pretty box of beautiful pineapple pictures and the "wind of Okinawa" caught my attention. At first, I wondered if it might be dried pineapple. That might be a reasonable conclusion, right? Well, the English on the shelf tag said, "pineapple pie," which could mean anything here...but now I was really curious. Into the shopping cart they went.



After ripping off the paper and opening up the box, I found (of course) lovely, individually wrapped packages...



Which definitely looked way too small to be little pies. At this point I was guessing pineapple fruit leather?



But I had to chuckle as I opened the wrapper and this was what I found.



Thin little pastry-cookies. I think they ran out of room on the shelf label...it was short for "pineapple piecrust," which is just what these little bites taste like. I'm guessing these are all dolled-up for gift-giving (which is all about the presentation here, less about the contents) because we plowed through these in two minutes. They took more effort to unwrap than they did to eat. But, they were tasty and a fun, new experience. And now I don't have to wonder what's under the wrapping.

Introducing...Apollo

Finally! After months of sharing my car with a college kid (which some days makes for a logistical nightmare) we got a new (to us) vehicle!

I don't get how this happened...but remember cute O'Malley? MY darling green machine? Well, somehow, he ended up being the KID car! How did this happen? Well, in a nutshell, Cliff's van died shortly after he last deployed (yep, we paid $1000 + several hundred more $ in repairs to have it die in 4 months time. Awesome.) When Cliff got back and we replaced his van with Lopez, it only took him a couple of days to figure out he couldn't drive him to work. He couldn't even fit him into his parking place, which you have to make a sharp, narrow turn to get into. Lopez's handling is just too weird. So, Cliff ended up with O'Malley and I got Lopez. Did I mention the aero-kit, which makes Lopez look like a low-rider (hence, his name)? Well, just driving that on the streets every day has caused the bumper to crack in several places. It looks charming. That, and it has a racing suspension on it, which causes you to feel every bump. SO, rather than getting another little car for Troy, Cliff felt compelled to buy himself something they could take camping, and pass O'Malley down to Troy....and I'M driving the barriomobile. Seriously?! Not that I'm totally resentful or anything...I am grateful Troy is in something small and easy to maneuver...even if that's what I wanted, too. At least I'm back to having a vehicle of my own. So, without further adieu, I introduce you to:



Apollo. The 4 WD mini-van. It's a Mitsubishi Delica. Wonder why these haven't caught on in the US? We hear they are popular in Australia, though. It seats 8, with the 8th seat being a collapsible jump seat attached to the middle row, that you can't use if the middle row is facing the side or rear...but at least it gives us the 8th seat when we're in a pinch.



Perfect for Cliff, since he's such an outdoor playa.

Now don't you think I should AT LEAST get new bumpers?! Sheesh!

New Year Treats

In Japan, if you receive a gift...it's just an expectation that you give one in return, although it isn't necessary to give something equally matched, just something to show appreciation. We gave our housekeepers Christmas gifts...


And in return, for the New Year, we received special rice crackers...


And yummy, sweet treats! It was all delicious, and we had fun trying the different varieties. The packaging was beautiful and so detailed. I just had to share some pictures with you:





Even simple gifts are beautiful in Japan.

Happy New Year!

When we mentioned going to a shrine again this year, we got almost zero positive response. The kids wanted to hang out with friends. It was late by the time we relented, so Cliff and I decided to go it on our own, in search of a restaurant open late.


We ended up at our favorite Hawaiian restaurant...Tony's Honolulu. We had no intention of staying until midnight...



I just had this glorious, garlic shrimp on my mind.



But since it was New Year's Eve, the owner was offering free drinks to everyone. Lucky for us, he has a very large non-alcoholic selection, so we happily accepted his gracious offer.



At about 11:30, he brought out some electronic gadget, strung on a large cord to hook up to the TV on the wall. Something to do with satellite reception. When we saw what looked like the Tokyo version of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve...we knew we had to stay.



I loved watching all the popular Japanese performing artists, even though I didn't know any of them.



This act totally cracked me up. They were like the Fruit of the Loom guys...only sushi!



I don't know the character being interviewed here, but it seemed oddly serious.



Then, at about five minutes before midnight, it switched over to a Tokyo shrine. Talk about a contrast. Instead of watching confetti fall and people in crazy glasses kiss, this was the somber way the new year was actually rung in. Minutes before midnight, the owner tried to insist we take some shots of whiskey. We had to be very persistent, but after about 3 tries (and us motioning that we'd be happy toasting the new year with our smoothies) he relented. He wasn't the last to try to get us to take it...but it all ended up fine. We were thrilled to be part of a local party.



Even though the wind outside was fierce (it's the worst right on the water, where we were)...



We still went out to the balcony with everyone to whoop it up at the stroke of midnight...



And watch the fireworks over Araha beach.



The owner also insisted we eat toshikoshi soba to end the year right. They are eaten for long life, and you need to slurp the long noodles whole (because breaking them would mean a shorter life, right?).

What a great (although unexpected) way to celebrate the New Year. Now maybe we'll have to try something entirely different each year.