Ah, the weekend. I don't remember what time we woke up but there were leftover donuts from the evening's festivities that would serve well for breakfast. We're about to dive in when...
Bugs.
Everywhere.
Everywhere in the sense that they were all over the donuts and donut box. Tiny things. Loads of 'em. A trail from the wall partition along the counter to the donuts. I guess they thought donuts would be good for breakfast as well.
We didn't notice them when we checked in and were putting things away in the kitchen but they must have been there all along. The trade off for living in tropical climates, I suppose.
So, the breakfast idea was short lived. I unleashed a massacre upon the unsuspecting scavengers. Oriah was totally grossed out.
The big morning plan was to make it down to Aloha Stadium for the Flea Market and pick up some things for friends/family. Got down to the old, stomping grounds and as we drive by the stadium...nothing. Not a soul. No flea market. How could it be closed? It's Saturday. It's New Years. Everybody and their dog should be out this morning? So much for that idea...
Plan B: Drive Oriah around to some of the less traveled parts of the island. We head up the West coast to Waianae. I was always warned to be careful on this part of the island in that the locals don't care for the Haoles (white folk.) While my experience never reinforced the expectation during the few trips I made to the area I've always kept that in the back of my mind. It was a nice drive. A long drive. We passed a tent city that I never noticed before which was strange but I guess the homeless people and squatters need somewhere to go. We finally made it up to the western tip of the island to a beach and took some pictures.
Next, I drove us to the north and west coast side of the island along Farrington Hwy and past Dillingham Airfield (where I went skydiving!) to the place where I unknowingly stumbled upon the filming of the first episode of "Lost." That's right! I was just out for a drive to see what I could see and I noticed a big, jet engine on the beach. I remember thinking to myself: "Self, you haven't heard any news on the radio or on the ship about a plane crashing in the area." Turns out it was all for the TV show. So, Oriah got to see "Lost" beach as I now call it.
After that we headed for the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa and then mulled around the shops in Haleiwa. We stopped at a fresh fruit stand along the side of the road and picked up some guava and papaya, I think, and snacked at a beach park. Then we hit up another fruit stand which was much better than the first (both in variety and cleanliness.) We got some real coconut at this place and headed back for our place.
We made our way to the bay to catch the sunset and we bring the coconut with us. Oriah has the camera and she's snapping away. The sunset is hidden by an outcrop of land but it's still pretty. And we start to eat the coconut.
I've been deceived! Real coconut isn't sweet!!! It has a rather plain flavor, actually. All these years, I had no idea. The food companies have been pumping me full of artificial sweetness thinking that coconut was something other than it really was. Sounds like the great deceiver himself at work. There were a lot of lessons playing out for me at various levels during this experience. Anyway, now I know what real coconut tastes like.
We then headed to McDonald's in Laie for dinner. Man, that place is dumpy. I called the customer service number to complain about the conditions of the dining area. Turns out the place is scheduled to be demolished this year. Makes sense that they're not sinking money into the place for repairs and upkeep.
I'm excited that tomorrow is Sunday and that I'll get to see all the Ohana at the family ward and my former Branch President at the Singles Branch and of course introduce them all to Oriah!
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