Day 438-439: Memorials & More

Tuesday 6/28
Breakfast: McDonalds, yeah I know a lame choice for vacation food fare. But McD's here has spam, Portuguese sausage, rice & other island favorites on their menu. Spam, I don't get their attraction to canned people-grade dog food but they love it here. Hence why we had McD's on our list of places to eat. I had eggs, spam & rice; gross!

We were treated to a show at McD's too. The guy sitting next to us had a handful of spare change on the table, well my guess is it was all the money he had in life. He sat the rubbing two coins together vigorously, as if polishing his coins. It was a sad show really as it is a safe guess this guy is not only homeless but likely addicted to who knows what which he cannot afford.

Time to pay our respects to those who sacrificed so we could enjoy this day. Our visit to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl was an amazing brush with history & a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are. The memorial here honors the sacrifices and achievement of American Armed Forces in the Pacific during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

Pali lookout was our next stop. This scenic spot is worth the drive to take in fabulous panoramic views of Oahu's windward side from the  Koolau mountains.

Beach time, we stopped at the famous Waikiki beach for this venture into the ocean. Um, what up with the old dudes in thongs? Seen too many of them sunning every inch of their bodies sans what hung down. Oh well we tried hard to suppress laughter and went about our ocean swim.

Lunch; Salad bar, chicken wings, apple cobbler. We ate at Sizzler. Yeah I know another lame choice for vacation food fare. Long story short my wife loves their Malibu Chicken. Since Sizzler no longer exists in the Chicagoland area whenever we travel if a Sizzler is there so are we. The kids found the best part of the meal to be the buttered rolls they brought to the table. They liked them so much the wrapped all that were left in napkins & stuffed the in our daughters purse to take with us. Kids, funny animals they are.

Cathy' parents & our niece arrived mid-afternoon. We caught up with them after they had dinner. All of us hung out at the pool for a bit while the kids swam.

Snack: we ordered a bunch of appetizers for all to munch on pool side. I nibbled on some tuna sashimi.

After while Cathy & I ditched everyone and headed out to walk about Waikiki ourselves. We hit the Wyland gallery to dream of some new art work, and dream is all we did. The most expensive piece there was $685k, the salesman said that price was not firm, to make him an offer; I laughed.

We stopped at Duke's, a beach side bar where Cathy enjoyed time years ago. The idea was to grab a drink there, but it was so crowded that didn't happen. We capped of the night grabbing mochi for the kids and frozen lemonade for the walk back to the hotel.

~|~

Wednesday 6/29
Breakfast: same as Monday at the Shore Bird buffet. Needed a simple & sustaining feeding for the mornings activity.

As soon as we were done eating we headed out to Pearl Harbor. We knew to get there early to minimize wait time. Still our wait from time of ticket purchase to launch to the memorial was 3-1/2 hours.

We used most of that time to go to the U.S.S. Missouri, which is now a museum ship docked at Ford Island. An excellent walk through history walking the decks of that massive ship. I would love to be on deck when those 16" guns went off, but they are forever silent.

Likewise the U.S.S. Arizona visit was excellent. A mix of pride of nation and reverence for those who had to rise up to defend us that Sunday nearly 70 years past.

Lunch: Cathy had a brilliant idea when she steered us to Hanks Haute Dogs. A simple hot dog joint made semi-famous when Guy Fieri hit this place on his show. I had the Fat-Boy, a dog wrapped in bacon, deep fried served with mayo, tomato and lettuce, so amazingly good which is a huge compliment from me as I am not a hot dog lover. Their fries were a hit too, they fry them in duck fat. I kept my fry intake to a minimum as hard as it was to not just dive in.

We brought the dogs back to the hotel and ate with G'ma & G'pa. Our bellies happy we chilled for the afternoon. The kids his the beach while the adults sat in the commons chatting & sipping drinks. I snuck away for 15 minutes to hit the shops. Bought the kids a frisbee & beach ball, walked over to the beach, tossed those at the kids and left. Bought my wife some jewelry as an I-love-u / thank-u for doing a great job making this trip happen; what you thought I had anything to do with it?

Dinner: The Old Spaghetti Factory, not sure why we went here for dinner but the gals had this place pegged for us to dine at while here.  I had Chicken Parm with salad & bread. Eating healthy on vacation takes serious discipline, I've been so-so at best with today being the least so-so so far.

We took the trolley to dinner. A neat way to quickly & cheaply see what-is-where in Waikiki. These trolleys are used heavily by the Japanese tourists. If you have a JCB credit card all you need to do is flash that & you ride free.

A quick stop for Mochi for the kids before we got back to the hotel around 10 pm and shut down for the night.

responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 437 - Sea Horse Down

Monday 6/27
Cathy & I started our Monday w/ a pre-dawn walk on the beach. Very pleasant, good way to start the day. On our way back to the hotel we encountered another couple getting their "beach-head" on. They weren't very cautious about being seen either, a Hawaii thing?

When we got back to the room we took a nap & let the kids keep on sleeping. As they slept I humored myself throwing a cracker off the balcony and watched the birds fight over it. The simplest things are sometimes the most entertaining.

Breakfast: Buffet @ the Shore Bird, one of the restaurants adjacent our hotel. For myself just one trip with a conservative plate of Mahi Mahi, Portuguese sausage, rice, yogurt, and pineapple cole slaw.

We piled into the mini van & headed off to Hilo Hatties, the place to go for Hawaiian shirts & clothing of all sorts. On the wall there is a world record shirt, a 400XL. That shirt is as tall as two people and as wide as a truck.

With our new Hawaiian shirts in hand we began our memory lane tour, a drive around Oahu where Cathy & the kids lived for 3'ish years in the mid-90s. Ryan & Cameron were born here 16 & 17 years ago respectively. We couldn't get onto the Army bases to see some of the places they frequented since none of us carries valid military I.D. anymore. Still a good time and a gorgeous drive.

We ended our tour at the Dole Pineapple Plantation which was next door to where they used to live. Your typical tourist hot spot complete with activities to occupy your time & shops to capture your wallets. 

Snack: Pineapple of course and I bought a can of Spam flavored Macadamia Nuts, ate one & no more- yuck!

Our drive to the north shore & then around the east shores back to Waikiki was scenic & surprising. Food trucks, many many of them along the way to serve your cravings for huli-huli chicken, shrimp, whatever. We didn't eat at any but we will at some point.

Back at the hotel we hit the beach & then pool for a couple of hours of play in the water time. Everything is for rent on the beach, beach chairs & umbrellas go fast. We were cool just flopping our towels on the sand as if we were at Oak Street beach back home. Ryan brought a soccer ball, yeah I don't know why either, so we used that to throw around in the ocean. The dead sea horse that happened by definitely caught their attention but didn't freak anyone out. 

Dinner: Kimchi Ramen at the Ala Moana mall food court. Hot enough to melt most metals.

We walked over to the mall in the evening for dinner and to just walk around the city. I think the only thing we bought was chap-stick for Cameron. When done at the mall we took the trolley back to the hotel. We were the only americans on board, everyone else was most definitely Japanese.

Great day, ready for Tuesday when Cathy's parents and our niece arrive to join us for the rest of the week.

Day 435-436: Sunday Travel Day

Sunday 6/26
Breakfast: Chicken Noodle soup (we bought no groceries for the house the week prior, my choices were soup or sour cream).

At O'Hare Cathy was selected for hand test for explosive residue, or maybe it was a courtesy palm reading; either way she passed! Andrew was selected for full body scan & carry on search since he tried to bring a bottle of water through screening; rebel!

Snack: Protein Bar, beef snack stick while waiting to board plane in Chicago. Decent low-carb selection. A woman sitting at the gate near us went another direction & chose to snack on a sweet-potato she brought with her. At least I assume she brought it with her as I didn't see sweet-potato on the menus of the O'Hare food shops.

Flight to San Francisco: plane was late getting to Chicago to pick us up, we departed 38 minutes late. Quiet flight on which I listened to my audiobook, Then Everything Changed by Jeff Greenfield; collection of alternative history shorts. They showed the movie Rango which I peeked at periodically but did not plug in to listen to. All who did said it was lame so good call by me.

Lunch: Protein bar, beef snack stick  & mixed nuts on flight to SF.

Snack: Protein Bar, beef snack stick (detecting a theme?) while waiting to board plane in San Fran.

Flight to Honolulu: plane was late getting to San Fran to pick us up, we departed 26 minutes late. On the way watched Adam Sandler & Jen Aniston in Just Go With It, hilarious! Almost as hilarious is Me seeing a guy reading a magazine, American Tugboat Review; yes a periodical dedicated to tugboats; who knew. Some 11'ish hours after we left Chicago we landed, got our luggage & picked up rental mini-van (I hate mini-vans) without any issues.

Snack: Protein bar  & mixed nuts on flight to Hawaii.

Arrive at hotel, Outrigger (seems everything here is outrigger this or that), and got checked into our rooms; wife & I in one and the four teens in the adjoining. 

Dinner: Pork chop, spuds, pineapple chutney, side salad.

We had dinner at one of the three restaurants attached too the hotel, too tired to venture elsewhere. After dinner we promptly found just how comfy our beds were; very!

All in all a great travel day. I ate too much during my idle travel hours & an feeling it today. But such as it is as they say, wife & I are off for a pre- dawn beach walk to start our Monday in Hawaii!



Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 417-434: Summer Scramble & Escape

Thanks for the notes folks inquiring about my absence, very much appreciated!

All is well, quite well actually. Simply I have taken a mental break from the plugged in world while I've become ultra-busy at work over the past few weeks. As I quickly began having trouble finding time to blog/tweet I just decided to unplug myself for a bit.

Sunday the family I have packed up and are heading out for our summer vacation which will run through the 4th of July, so I'll remain unplugged through then. For those who tweet I just may toss up a few tweets from Hawaii, maybe :-)

Hope all is well with all of you, hope you are enjoying your summer and that the upcoming holiday is nothing short of spectacular!

 
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 416 - What, Need A Kick Of Inspiration?

Having trouble sticking to your plan?

Having trouble seeing what success looks like when you finally get there?

Having doubts you can actually do what needs to be done for the long haul to succeed?

If you said Yes, I know the feeling; I said Yes too.

It is hard to come up with a mission and actually commit to it.

It is hard to face the difficulties of our mission each and every day and stay on plan.

It is hard to recognize set backs and lift ourselves up and get back on plan again.

Yes, it is hard, plain and simple, so accept that fact and step up to the challenge. 

Success will happen when we are harder on the mission than the mission is on us.

Since seeing is believing, see for yourself...

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 412-415: Monday is Back

Monday is a great day, although most people disregard it as be even good. It has to be a great day. If it weren't, why were so many songs written about Monday?

There is Manic Monday via the Bangles. Are you wishing it were still Sunday, your funday? I had a great Sunday. Family party at the house for the graduates. Good times, good food (too much of it), definitely a funday. Sure, I can see wanting to wish it were Sunday again.

There is Jimmy Buffet's Come Monday. Monday gets some love from Jimmy, he tells us that come Monday it'll be all right. He also goes on to say he will hold us tight; I can do without that literally, but certainly I get it that some emerge from a weekend less than sure about the week ahead and could use a hug to get going.

There is Monday, Monday by the Mommas & Papas. Whew, they hated Monday, flat out said can't trust that day. But they also said it's here to stay.

Monday, yes it comes right after what are usually the two funnest days of the week.
Monday, yes no matter what you did this weekend you may regret; e.g. ate too much, went streaking while waving a Nascar flag, told your neighbor his wife needs to shave... I regret one of those today. No matter what it was you may regret today, Monday, don't blame it on Monday.
Monday, most definitely is here to stay. When we stop having Monday come around every seven days, probably means one of the previous seven days went terminally bad for us.

Be happy that Monday is back. Today, you get to enjoy the memories of a great weekend while getting busy on creating new memories. Monday is the perfect day to grab any regrets you have by the collar and make them right. And Monday, while it gets no respect even though it is here to stay, you deserve to embrace your self-respect this Monday and get after what it is you want.

What is it that you want this Monday?

Responsibility 199, Gotta Do It!!

Day 411 - Information Is Insightful

Had a conversation yesterday that included some seldom used, unusual words. Basically this person was using 25-cent words to try and impress others, it didn't work. Does it ever?

That said, it can be fun to see some of these words, and wonder, huh? To convey that, you came up with 'that' as a word for it? Some of my favorites...

Tachyphagia, to eat very fast... I am definitely guilty of Tachyphagia, I know, it is tacky to eat fast.

Pyknic, to be short and fat... I am fat, not short, is there a word for that?

Farctate, to have overeaten & feel stuffed... been there, done that. I also tend to farctate when stuffed & blame it on the cats.

Callypygean, to have well shaped buttocks. Me not so much. You?

Tetrapyloctomy, the act of splitting a hair four ways. Really? Who does this?? I could see if it were a hare, but an hair?

So, fun & insightful?

Or fun & not so much?

I wasn't sure what image to use for this post, when in doubt, I figured it safe to bring out PBR man to save the day.


Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 410 - Have I Bored U Yet?

Welcome to Wednesday, Welcome to June; yes it is June already!

I'll resume the 14 part series on Leadership Traits soon. I never intended to present it 14 days in a row but to break it up over several weeks. Remember I have BADD, Bloggers Attention Deficit Disorder ADD, so I tend to jump topics from day to day without much rhyme or reason at times.

Actually I am way short on time this morning. We are moving within the office here. We do this every 12-18 months, shift everyone around to a different location within the corporate campus. Today is that day, today I am moving 14 columns to the north and 7 rows to the east. Our buildings are laid out like spreadsheets and cubical locations addressed similar to how a cell in a spreadsheet is addressed. Have I bored you yet? Have I scared you away from wanting to work here?

Anyhow, as I am short on time, let me share some recent photos of my days...
Up to there, my son's t-shirt he wore to the YMCA last week; hilarious.

And here Andrew is at the gym getting his curl on...

Ashley waiting for her cheesecake to arrive; we were at the Cheesecake Factory, what else would one wait for there?...

Cameron cleaning his rifle, notice the cat on the chair next to him? No animals,or cats, were hurt in publishing this post...

The family photo for Ashley's graduation; nice to see the boys dressed up for the occasion...

Me at the YMCA last week, taking a breather between sets I think...

My wife and Squishy after graduation; she has not let her go since...

Ribs going into the smoker on Memorial Day; they were my best yet!

Enjoy Your Wednesday!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!