Hawaiian Christmas Tree

The trees for Christmas are different then they are for home- they are called Norfolk Pines, and they are more like a feather tree....there is lots of space between the branches and they hold the ornaments pretty well....I love having a theme tree- so I have fish, sea turtles, surf boards, mermaids , seahorses and all sorts of sea-beach related ornaments on the tree- I even have a dried up little pineapple..

Last day on Oahu for KP2

Tonight is the last night KP2 will be at the Aquarium- he leaves for California tomorrow very early...he certainly has made a very strong impact for one little seal...

We will miss him, and hope he can come back to Oahu in the future...

The Zoo

Why is the Zoo so entertaining....?? We were there on Saturday, and spent hours walking around and watching animals be animals...we were truly entertained...!!

Looking for Someone

It is un-nerving to hear planes and helicopters searching outside your door- over the ocean- they have been flying over the water outside our door, in the dark, flashing spot lights over the water...what are they looking for ....? I am not sure I want to know..


NOTE: It turns out they are looking for a lost fisherman- who was fishing in his kayak, and it over turned. He was never found.

Teaching Nutrition at the Elementary School

Hawaii has to be one of the few schools in the United States where the classroom setting is so casual that even the teacher does not have her shoes on all the time...

My friend and I teach at nutrition class to 6th graders at our local elementary school..It always amazes me when we are there and the kids have their shoes off- ( slippas) and sometimes even the teacher does. She runs the classroom like she is the mother of the class- it is casual, fun and relaxed, and the looks on the kids faces reflect it.

Surf Season

Surfing season has arrived on the North Shore- the waves are big, and wild, and as the surfer ventures out into the water...the shore line is lined up with spectators that can not quite believe their eyes....as they watch these waves and these people who are brave enough to go out into them...

Turtle on the Beach

One of the joys of living on the North Shore on Oahu is getting to see the Sea Turtles cruise along the shore, and often come up on the shore for rest....It never stops amazing me, no matter how many I see.....

Random Shots of Hawaii and the North Shore

Big Waves

The big waves have arrived....Dave and I went for a north shore drive yesterday and we were again amazed at the size or the big waves....they are so large and massive...

Many people must have felt the same way as we do, as the coast line was lined up with people just sitting and watching...many with cameras in hand. It is amazing to me when we see people( surfers) actually out in this large pool of waves.

More Seal work

I had the luck and privilege of being able to help care for an Hawaiian Monk seal recently at the Aquarium- he is a local celebrity seal, that has been humanized because he was cared for by people when he was little, and now they have realized he can not stay in the wild, as he is very attached to people and seeks them out, and try's to play with them in the water- they have also found out that he has a sight problem, therefore could be attacked more easily by sharks, so he will be spending his life in a sea life park or aquarium, after having some surgery on his eyes.

I got up at 5 am and left to go to the aquarium with my firend Jen. While there, she had to drain the pool, clean the pool, fill the pool and then we had to feed KP2- the seal- He has now progressed to eating dead fish- previously we had to only feed him live fish, which he tried to catche and then kill.. the dead fish is an improvement, as while he is in captivity the trainers will be feeding him dead fish- so we were glad to see him swtich over. It was fun to spend 6 hours with a seal, he is so engaging. At one point we had to give him a little board to play with and he loved it.