I returned from Japan at the end of December. On my way back I stopped in Hawaii, visiting with my mom's cousin Yash and his wife, Elizabeth, and my friend Jocelyn who I know from Oberlin (she is now in a masters program in Baltimore). It was quite the relaxing time, although there was no actual lounging on the beach, and I had a few pretty rough day or two getting over jet-lag!! I spent the days I was in Honolulu with Elizabeth---we went to the I'olani Palace (where the native people originally lived) and to some great restaurants, did a lot of amazing sight-seeing, went to a botanical garden (with lots of BIG trees). We also got to see endangered turtles (see below) and ate lots of good food (Yash included!).
I flew to Kauai for a day and a half to see my friend Jocelyn, who just happened to be on vacation the exact days I was there, except on a different island, of course! She was with her brother and mom in a hotel, and they were kind enough to let me stay with them. We got to lounge in the hot tub and pool of the hotel often(so nice when it wasn't cold!). My favorite part of that trip was going kayaking and hiking in the mud! It was very involved because we had to cross a stream waist-deep after kayaking to get to the hiking part. It was, in fact, SO muddy that we ended up hiking barefoot halfway in. And our guide said this was a GOOD day to be in the mud---often it is worse! We hiked to a huge waterfall which was beautiful, ate lunch, and went back the way we came.
I'm now back in Pittsburgh in grad school at Pitt. I like the program so far; I have two friends I knew before I got back in the program---my friend Dan, who I worked with 3 summers ago (?) at Hillman library at Pitt, and Kate, from Oberlin ('06).
This post makes me miss warm weather. Hopefully spring isn't too far away!
Elephant statue in the hotel garden
Some place pretty (chilly).
Water, palm trees, blue. Ahh.
Rooster! they were everywhere!!!
A Cannonball tree!
CAUTION: watch out for falling cannonballs!
Pretty flower.
With the turtles.
Chilling out.
sign around the turtles---also in Japanese underneath :-)
License plate of the van we rode to go kayaking in.
Where it all began...
My shoes after the hike to the waterfall...
The waterfall!
Yash and Elizabeth---it was *very* windy!
With Jocelyn at dinner.
Buddha in the cemetery.
Gates to the palace.
I'olani Palace
Rainbow after I got off the plane when I first arrived.The End.
