When life gives you lemons....

You make lemon cupcakes. But you don't substitute Greek yogurt to make them a little healthier. Because then you don't have lemon cupcakes, you have a lemon muffin. And if you are making lemon muffins, just go ahead and throw in some poppy seeds, they are far more delicious that way!

And when you are given lemons in Hawaii, you use them in everything you have- cupcakes, muffins, lemonade- because, like every fruit here, they are local and the most delicious lemon you have ever had garnish your sweet tea. I'm really not going to complain about life here. 




That's the way life is here- fresh, local, different from anywhere I've ever lived before, but we are having so much fun. Our "swanky" little condo is a block from the beach next to some actual swanky resorts. The paintings that adorn our walls are....local. Our roommates- the cockroaches- are also local. Karyn is a master cockroach catcher, though when she's not around, I have learned to handle them. If you saw the size of them you would not want to squish it either! 

 


















Being so close to the tourist resorts means that there are always people out and about, aka completely safe area. It also means that our favorite ice cream shop is a 3 minute walk away, there are 3 coffee shops on my walk to the beach, and there are plenty of restaurants within walking distance for us to try. 

Friday night fireworks across the street!

 

 


















Our first two weeks we attempted to master The Bus. We didn't do too badly! We only tried to ride the bus on to the air force base once before we realized that is definitely not allowed and we were the eager beavers that showed up at work 20 minutes early because that's when the bus ran. We are now the proud renters of a 2-door Chevy Cobalt island beater. And we no longer show up for work so early. 

My mom and sister visited during that time too! We got lots of exploring done while they were here. The first Saturday we learned that when a local says "oh it's not a bad hike" then we should pack lots of water and sunscreen and be prepared for a workout. But we all made it to the top of Diamond Head (after hiding our cooler full of farmer's market purchases behind a rock part way up the trail) and were rewarded with outstanding views. 

Other tourist highlights:

Visiting Pearl Harbor, meeting a Navy veteran who was coming off his graveyard shift when the attack happened and spent the day dragging bodies and survivors in from the water, and touring the Battleship Missouri

Taking a ride on the Dole Pineapple Express and tasting Pineapple Whip at the plantation

Seeing the sea turtles come up to the beach for some sun

 

Snorkeling in the tide pools at Shark's Cove

A real Hawaiian Luau and dinner

It was a packed visit but we loved every minute! Well except the minutes that I had to go to work. Severe FOMO. That's probably not even cool to say anymore. 

Since then, Karyn and I have been settling in to our work routine. The babies here. So cute. Ridiculously cute. Makes nights at work a little easier :) Trying to find a work/life balance, while not wanting to miss out on any "Hawaii days" is proving to be more difficult. I'm not even the biggest beach fan and I find myself wanting to be outside all. the. time. One of the perks of our place is that one wall of windows opens up almost completely. So even when I'm supposed to be reading or napping on the couch before work, we can let a little of the trade winds in! 

Speaking of the trade winds. They were gone for our first few weeks here. So it was still and HOT. I'm not sure where they came back from, but they are making life so much more bearable. And I will never again complain about my hat being blown off at the pool. Long live the trade winds. 

We had a few days off together the week of my birthday and headed over to explore the island of Kauai. The scenery and feel of the island is completely different than that of Oahu, where we live. Think relaxing beachfront resorts surrounded by palm trees. It's definitely more difficult to get around without a rental car though. 

 

 

 

We visited Waimea National Park and "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific," stopping at every overlook to get out and take pictures. 

 
The road around Kauai is a horseshoe shape, so one side of the island is completely inaccessible by any way but boat. So we did a Napali coast sunset sail and it was beautiful. Cliffs thousands of feet high (think opening scenes of Jurassic Park) rising straight up out of the water. Water falls and gorgeous beaches. Incredible sunset. It was also my first time sailing. I decided that I'm a fan, at least a fan of being a passenger.  

We also toured Kauai Coffee Estate and learned a little about the art of growing and roasting coffee. Did you know that a medium roast has more caffeine than a dark roast? The longer it's roasted, more caffeine is roasted out. Now you know. Of course that tour ended with some samples and a delicious iced coffee. 

After we dashed across the Hanapepe Swinging Bridge

The three days were packed with adventures. Including visits to two lighthouses. My favorite. It was the first time we have actually gotten to go up into the lantern room a bit to see the Fresnel lens. 

 

 

We also avoided our first hurricane. Really it was no strategy of our own, just Mother Nature changing her course. Or maybe the weather men just needed something to talk about and get people excited about. Either way, we did not stock up on our spam, so who knows how we would have survived. Probably on peanut butter and graham crackers.  

That's a quick (or not so quick) recap of our first month out here- hopefully I will blog- or at least post pictures!- before 4 months go by :/ We've learned to grill, so 85% of our meals are just thrown on the grill- not much to blog about. There is a farmer's market every day except Mondays, so that keeps me occupied and our kitchen full of fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm trying to show some restraint in fully stocking the kitchen... 

PS. Karyn did a two-part update of much of our time in Denver here