Playing Tourist At Home

Airfare, schmarefare! me and G are going to the Hilton Waikoloa Village for the Great Waikoloa Food, Wine, and Music Festival. It's a benefit for the Children's Hospital and the Pacific Marine Research Institute.

Basically all the best chefs on the island get together and make a bunch of food and you go eat it and drink copiously while listening to Ray "GhostBusters" Parker Jr, and Jeffrey Osborne, who Grant is still trying to explain to me. I keep thinking he's Billy Ocean. Grant keeps thinking he's James Ingram. Anybody remember this dude from the 80s? at any rate, I'm looking forward to the food and booze, and especially to taking a mahogany boat thru the flower-ridden waterways to our room. Apparently this place is so big (or its guests so lazy) that you have to get around its 62 acres by tram or by boat.



And they have a dolphin show, for god's sake. Maybe you can check us out on the live webcam.

I'm a little princess. :) Pix to follow! Next week is a much different excursion: the 18-mile r/t hike to Waimanu Valley via the Muliwai Trail.

oink oink

so yesterday i decided to hit the Garden Snack Club. I haven't had a restaurant meal in a while, and I wanted green papaya salad. But I was so hungry that I also ordered the sticky rice with mango, even though it only comes as a "Family Size" order -- you know, the *big* square takeout container. Well. That was less than 24 hours ago and it's almost all gone. Good thing papaya salad has, like, zero calories.

i'm a little piggy.

but i went up to Hakalau this week so I earned it, I think. We got to our field cabin on Tuesday, and learned from the nene intern, Ryan, that there was a total lunar eclipse that night. And there I was, halfway up the biggest mountain in the world, to watch! I have some pictures but, as always, they fail to convey the Awesomeness Of The Event.

Friday night I got to go to my boss's wife's dodgeball tournament. It was so much fun! A little scrawny team of barefoot math geeks went up against a team of buff, solid hawaiian guys -- and while Team Math did not win in the end, they played an amazing game. it was the dodgeball equivalent of the napolean dynamite dance.

so now i'm off to the beach. it's a little hazy today but if i see any good photo ops i'll takem. i'm coming up on my 1st anniversary, and i thought i was going to need to move to save money, but my landlord has graciously reduced my rent so that i'll stay. that makes me happy, cause i hate moving, and i do love this little apartment. i've started a garden now that i know i'll be around for a while, and who knows, i may even get some furniture!

happy sunday, everybody!