Balmy Winter

We returned from Hawaii to find little snow in Anchorage and no snow in Homer.  People here wait all year to ski.  They roller ski in the off season to prepare.  I have even seen people Nordic skiing the hard packed sand at low tide.  When there is no snow, and the East Coast is whining about how much they have, people don't know what to do with themselves.
In late January, the ship departed for a five week trip to the Seattle area for training.  I stopped waiting for snow and just embraced the 40+ degree weather.  For several weeks at least, we were consistently 30 degrees warmer than my family in Michigan. Realizing they had the coldest, snowiest, longest winter on record in forever, I felt lucky to be here even if we couldn't ski.  You wouldn't believe the stuff we did in January!

James fine tuning his hula hooping skills at the coffee shop

Kate picnicking with friends

We also started going back to the beach for regular walks in January and February.

 The following sequence is pretty cool.  The kids are just running around, but the eagle, he no like.

They made it to the rock and are really proud of themselves.  Note: Mr. Eagle is now on a smaller rock behind them.

Most of the Nordic ski clubs around the state hold a Ski for Women on Superbowl Sunday.  There is usually some theme and costumes are involved. Since the ship was out and fantasy football was over, and obviously the Lions weren't playing, I didn't care about the game.  Kate and I signed up for the ski event which turned out to be a running event due to lack of snow.  It was held at the high school track and there were a few other silly events as well.

Kate leading the girls team in the 2x4x4 walk

In early February Homer holds its Winter Carnival.  We missed this while in California last year.  Kate was supposed to march with the Girl Scouts, but at the last minute the group kind of fell apart.  Since everyone works last minutes and it's a small town, Kate had a few other options.  She joined some friends helping to support a non-profit family services organization called Sprout.  James decided to ride in the Junior Nordic float.  Since there wasn't any snow, the Junior Nordic was cancelled and the coaches opted to build floasts instead.  Some of the coaches skied alongside the float as the street was a bit icy.

James wearing his Batman mask on the Junior Nordic float

Kate and buddies on the Sprout wagon

I'm thinking next year we need to get a team together for the outhouse races.

I think the moose population is down a bit this year, but there is still a mama and junevenile that we see pretty often on our street.

Moose on his elbows (?) eating grass

Taking photos of moose from the car waiting for them to cross the road.

C'mon snow, we're waiting for you....

Hawaii

We left Anchorage with thoughts of surf and sun.  By the time we arrived in Honolulu, got a car, and checked in to the hotel, it was 10pm and Birdman was fast asleep in the car.  Kate and I ran to the ocean for a quick dip.  James woke up at 6am and ran all the way through the hotel and out to the beach.  

We hit Dukes for the kalua pork nachos and dreamy atmosphere.  Brian's parents joined us later in the afternoon and we checked into our Waikiki condo.

 Despite the lack of surf in Waikiki, we had fun spotting honu (sea turtles) in the water, swimming, paddling,

swinging from banyan trees,

watching fireworks, visiting our old watering holes, and stuffing our faces with foods we can't get in Homer, namely sushi.

Genki Sushi with touch screen ordering and speedy conveyor belt delivery was by far our favorite new dining establishment.

James's hotdog nigiri was hysterical.

We visited our old neighborhood and found that it was the only place to catch a wave this time of year.  Now I remember why we lived there!

Brian and I rented a couple of boards and surfed until our arms were too tired to paddle (not as long as you might think).  Kate caught some belly rides, but didn't want to stand...still can't figure out why?  James, not interested.

Kate belly riding

Bird doing some form of body surfing

We met up with quite a few old friends, including Warren from Long Beach, CA, now flying helicopters in Hawaii. The kids loved the air station tour and the Hideaway Club is always good times.

We saw quite a few rainbows, but this was by far the best as we drove home from Ewa Beach.

We hit the north shore for the Kua 'Aina fish sandwich, Dole whip, and Matsumoto's Shave Ice with azuki beans inside.  Everyone agreed no azuki beans next time. The waves were too big and blown up for us to surf, but we did find a protected cove where Kate could snorkel for the first time.

I'm not going to lie to you, it was a bit cold this day and I found myself putting on a long sleeve t-shirt a few times.  I was afraid we would all roast coming from Alaska, but in 10 days I was never too hot or tired of the sun.

Kate's mind was completely blown when we made it to Hanauma Bay for Oahu's best snorkeling a few days later.  She is the perfect age for cruising the coral reef with mask and snorkel.  James practiced using the snorkel in the pool before we left, so he enjoyed just standing and sticking his face in the water.

We drove up the east side and saw whales breach, took the kids to what we used to call Secret Beach,
and stopped for roadside coconut drinks and lilikoi.

On a quest for surf, we met up with our friend Jake from our Ewa Beach surf days.  We went to Pokai Bay on the west side and it was great to be away from the crowds and let our families hang out.

The kids having lunch with beach buddy Rell

I think our best day was spent at Bellow Beach.  It's the prettiest beach on the island.  In the morning, Kate, Brian, Pat, and I kayaked to the Mokulua Islands.  I've done it once, but never explored past the small beach.  We paddled past large sea turtles on the way and then walked around the rocky island to a small, but deep swimming hole.  We didn't take cameras on the kayak, so you'll have to just trust that it was super cool.

BK with Mokulua Islands behind

After kayaking, we joined Chick and James playing on the beach for the rest of the day.  We rented a stand-up paddle board and body board for more good times.

By this point in the week, James was master of doing "torpedoes" in the water.  He shed the life jacket and just played in the waves, often going under for what seemed like a really long time to me, but he absolutely loved it.

Mimi and Pop Pop even got to sit and read a little at Bellows Beach.  Well deserved, as we had them working pretty hard all week.

On our last night we stayed with our friends, Oahu's best hosts, Matt and Aja.  Getting to their amazing house was an adventure in itself.  It's about a 30 minute drive up a winding, mountainous road with hair pin turns to the middle of the island.  We arrived to a fabulous spread of food, great company, and a beautiful sunset.

We had spent all week taking the kids to all our favorite spots, so it was very cool to get off the perimeter of the island and see something new.

Coffee and morning view from Matt & Aja's lawn.

Kate figured out how to crack the macadamia nuts for roasting later

The next day we hiked the Pu'u Ohi'a Trail.  The kids loved the bamboo forest, and Kate was banging bamboo and making music the whole way.

View from the top of Mt Tantalus

We hit the beach for one last dip, had another fabulous dinner with our friends, and then headed to the airport.  The kids had trouble staying awake to catch the 10 pm red-eye flight to Anchorage. 

Farewell Hawaii, until we meet again...