Wild Times with the Family!

Phil and Danette came to visit and we had a wonderfully wild time exploring Oahu together!

Life is a Beach!

Turkey Day

They fit right into our Turkey Day celebration at the dock.

The gang loved having them around - especially Phil's homemade Bloody Mary's.

Top of Diamond Head

Next day - hiking up the Diamond Head crater.

A great way to work off those extra holiday calories!

Lighthouse

Of course, that means a trip to the Kona Brewing Company and some R&R time at Bellows Beach.

The Sanitarium

We splurged and spent 2 nights in Waikiki at the Hawaii Prince.

Some shopping, some eating, some visiting, and lots of bar hopping.

Wolfgang's Steakhouse is still our favorite upscale eatery, but we loved Snappers for their Mai Tai Happy Hour. 

Enjoying Queen Emma's Palace

Part of our tour was checking out the Shrimp trucks.

Our favorite - Macky's Shrimp Truck in Haleiwa - right next to the 7-11.

Their garlic shrimp was amazing.  Get extra sauce for the rice!

Arizona Memorial and Might Mo

Of course, we had to tour Pearl Harbor. Seeing all of the photos and reading all of the stories about our hero's. So moving...

More beach time

We loved having Phil and Danette visit.  The time went way too fast, but we got to spend lots of time together - just talking and laughing and making new memories.

Miss them already, but will see them in Texas in 2 weeks. 

The family Christmas yearly get together. Yahoo!

Tsunami Watch!

Hawaii was informed last night about 7pm that there was a 7.7 earthquake off of the coast of British Columbia.

The Sheriff and Medusa

The effect - we were under a Tsunami Watch that was expected to hit Hawaii around 10:30pm.

Right in the middle of our Halloween party!

Fortunately, the Tsunami turned out to be a non-event - Yeah!

Lots of boats sailed out to sea - no one was allowed to stay on their boats.

Just starting the Party

So, we headed to high ground - the golf course up the hill.

We spent the rest of the evening celebrating life by partying and listening to the events on the local radio station.

Trick or Treaters

About 1:30am, the news reporters had given up - so did we - and headed back to the Marina.

The good news - the cruising community is amazing.

Doug on Tsunami watch

Everyone rallied together to make sure that boats were secured and people had a safe place to hold up.

Plus, cruisers volunteering to sail with people they just met - just to make sure that everyone was safe.

Proud to be a cruiser!

Celebrating a Birthday!

Doug's Birthday, that is. And what a wonderful place to celebrate - Waikiki!

Happy Birthday, Doug!

We splurged and spent 2 nights at the Marriott.

We miss those big beds and a bathtub. What a treat!

Kaki holding her own

We were lucky and got tickets for the sold out Oktoberfest at the Hale Koa.




So glad we did.

Kaki and Brad (dock buddies) were there too - trouble for sure!

Survived Oktoberfest!

Lots of Chicken Dancing, great food, drinking contests, and lots of laughter.

Not quite the same as Germany, but we had a great time!

Hawaii Army Museum

There's a great Army Museum in Waikiki and it is free.

The museum is housed in historic Battery Randolph on the grounds of Ft. DeRussy.

We learned lots about life on the islands before the Pearl Harbor attack and the people of the islands.

Surf Museum

A different kind of museum... The Surf Museum at Jimmy Buffets.

Cool boards and a great happy hour - can't beat that!

Shaolin Warriors

The Shaolin Warriors were playing at the beautiful old Hawaii Theater.

22 Buddhist monks from China put on an amazing show - high-flying martial arts and acrobatics.

Beautiful purple hisbiscus

We enjoyed the show, but Cirque Du Soleil is our favorite.

A great Birthday weekend for sure.  Wish you could have joined us - next time!

Love a parade!

I just happen to be in downtown Honolulu (goofing off) and had a wonderful surprise...

Winning Float

Aloha Festivals Floral Parade was just getting started.



Of course, I had to stay and watch. So glad that I did.

Queen

Each island was represented by a beautiful Queen and her Princesses riding their horses.

All lavishly gowned and adorned with lei's and wreaths - so colorful.

My pictures don't do it justice.

Pooper Scoopers

Beautiful Hula

My favorite -

Every island had their own Pooper Scoopers following the Queen's procession!

All original and decorated - and functional.

The young kids had a great time entertaining the crowds.

Gotta have a marching band

And lots of marching bands, hula dancers, cheerleaders, old cars, and so much more.

Can you smell those flowers?

Seems like there is always something happening downtown.  

Good thing I was goofing off - what a treat!

Back to reality...

And  back to boat projects!

Who needs life lines?

Well, we have been goofing off (a lot), but we have got a few boat projects in the works.

Of course, we have found a few more!

To prevent leaks and to guarantee support, Doug is re-bedding the stanchions.

At the same time - replacing our life lines with Spectra.

It is new technology - supposed to be stronger than steel.  We shall see...

Broken Gooseneck - not good

In the process of removing our sails (5-year checkup), Doug found some problems with our Gooseneck.

The gooseneck weld was busted, plus connection to the boom was bent.

Replacement parts - a Boat Buck!

At least it is a good time to replace them.

Plus, new technology seems to have improved the design.

We shall see.

Hopefully Doug can resuscitate

 Our dinghy engine died the day before we left French Polynesia.

So far, Doug has tried replacing all the important parts, but no luck fixing it.

Hopefully, it is fixable. If not, that's 2 more Boat Bucks!

Messing up the place

If you don't live on a boat, you will have problems comprehending the absolute mess that can happen when you are working on projects

It is amazing, but at least it all goes back together quickly!

Time to relax and enjoy the view!

But, at the end of the day, we still have a wonderful group of friends to commiserate with and enjoy our surroundings. Love it.

Thanks to Kathy and Debbie for sharing their beautiful picture of the Ko Olina lagoons - amazing!

And something to celebrate...

After almost 19 years, Debbie and Kathy decided to make it official and get married - finally!

Congratulations, Debbie and Kathy!

We were so happy that they decided to have the ceremony here in Hawaii, so that we could be there.

The Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was at Kailua beach park and performed by Minister Margie.

It was very special - just like Kathy and Debbie.

Time to Celebrate

After the beautiful ceremony, we wandered over to Buzz's Steakhouse.

And the celebration continued with great food, drink, and lots of laughter.

Plus some ping pong back at the Commune - why not?

Written in the sand in Kailua

So many wonderful memories we have shared over the last 20+ years.

We just have to keep making more!

Dock Buddies throw a party!

Back at the marina, our amazing Dock Buddies organized a wonderful wedding reception.



Lots of great food, a wedding cheese cake, and of course - - - - champagne!

Karen and her beautiful music

Plus, Karen brought out her beautiful harp, Fiona.

A very special occasion and Karen playing Fiona - magic.

And the Wedding Cake

What a wonderful group of friends gathered to celebrate the big occasion!

Congratulations, Debbie and Kathy.

May you always find love and happiness together - and come see us often!

PS:  Doug trying to give a toast and is speechless - that has to be a first - priceless.

Crazy times with Kathy and Deb - Part II

More fun and more exploring - 

A couple of cute Pineapples

The island of Oahu isn't very big, but there is a lot to do here.

And, I think we did it all!

The North Shore - rugged and beautiful

We decided to check out the North Shore.

Plus, spend a couple of nights in Kailua - one of our favorite places on Oahu.

The Commune

Doug found a very "interesting" place to stay - The Commune - well that's what I called it.

We had a wonderful time hanging with the other guests and playing ping pong (Doug and I were big winners!).

Where The Obama's vacation.

What a beautiful (secluded) beach and in walking distance.

No wonder the Presidential family stays here every Christmas.

Bowling with coconuts!

Loved the beach games, the water, and all that wonderful sand.

The best part - hanging with our Besties!

Canoeing up the canal

The Commune was on the Kailua canal and we got to play with the water toys too.

Lots of turtles floating along with us - how cool is that?

Loving the beach time

We highly recommend visiting Kailua - very few tourists and the Best Beaches!

Hope you get a chance to check it out for yourselves.

Kukaniloko Birth Stones

On the way back to the boat, we made a couple of stops.

The Kukaniloko Birth Stones are a sacred Hawaiian place.

For 7 centuries, these rounded stones became the hallowed grounds for the birth of the ali'i (chief) of O'ahu.  Hard to imagine...

Lost in the maze

And of course, the Dole Plantation - we had to check out the Maze - all 2 1/2 miles of it.  Around and around we went!

 It was fun, but we didn't set any records. Should have brought our GPS.

Enjoying Sunday Funday!

Who knew there were so many varieties of pineapples.

We learned some stuff and cooled off with some wonderful pineapple ice cream - yum!

Karen and her harp - Fiona

We got back to the boat just in time for Dock Party - who knew?

Plus, got to hear Karen play her beautiful harp - what a wonderful treat!

Ready for the show at Germaine's

And, if you are in Hawaii, you have to go to a Luau!

We chose Germaine's, which is a short drive away.

How do I get one of these?

The show was a little like being in Las Vegas, but we had a great time and really enjoyed the dancing and costumes.

Reminded us of being back in French Polynesia...

Plus, the Kalua pig right out of the imu (underground oven) was tasty!

Hula Hula

As you can tell, we had a wonderful time with Kathy and Deb - 2 weeks went way too fast.

We made lots of new memories, plus loved catching up - we have missed you!

Okole Maluna (Bottoms Up)

Please come back and see us again - maybe Fiji?   We would love that.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures!

Leaving our mark...

Battle to the death!

At the beach again

Catching the free trolley

What a view!

Oh yeah, having some fun

Paddle boat - low maintenance