Waikiki canoe races and Hula Grill

July 15, 2012

`Olu`olu komo mai (Please come in). Today was a really great day. I fell asleep pretty early last night (a party animal I am not). I woke at 7 then proceeded to go back to sleep till 9. Emily was coming to get me at 10 so I got ready and grabbed a bit of cheese, a slice of the purple wheat cranberry bread and a piece of jerky. Breakfast of champions :) Emily picked me up and we went to Waikiki to the beach to watch her boyfriend Hiro compete in an outrigger canoe race. It is regatta season, which are lots of short sprint races. To get to the beach access we walked through the Sheraton Waikiki outside pool. They have a bar/club called Rum Fire. Rum Fire has a very active alternate lifestyle following and has many special events through the month. Click on Rum Fire above to see the link to their FaceBook page to see some of the events. This is one of the outside lamps that are lit at night. It looked super cool so I took a picture.  And what it looks like at night: This was a few pictures taken off the sidewalk that led to the beach. That is a catamaran.  This is hard to see, but there were hundreds of little tiny minnow type fishes around this section of coral. Look at the little black specks in the center of the picture above the coral.  Looking to the left towards Diamond Head.  Hiro is with Lokahi Canoe Club. I was introduced to several paddlers and they were all very nice. Today was a day of many races. Hiro was in a 1 mile race and I can't imagine how physically demanding this sport must be. Just sitting on the beach watching the races and playing in the water for a while exhausted me.  Some pictures from where Emily and I put our stuff on the beach. This shows the side of another canoe club's outrigger canoe. You can see a line of canoes lined up to race in the water. A picture from the website, so you can see what a race looks like. A video so you can watch a race if you are interested. I thought some of you rowers might like to see the differences and enjoy a bit of water sport culture from here. I don't see how they manage to not whack each other in the back with the canoe paddles. A beautiful day for the beach. It was a gorgeous view.  After the race. This is Hiro with his paddle by his club tents and sign. Lucky Emily!! Hiro is very nice and they are a wonderful couple :)  After leaving the beach we were walking to where we were having lunch and saw some of the sculptures from the same person that made the cat sculpture I saw and posted Friday. The bronze pieces are Nano Lopez and his work is fabulous! Not just because he does cats, he does a lot of other animals too, but just because the work is so amazingly detailed and beautiful. There are also some lovely sculptures by others in the gallery. I got a few photos but we were wet and covered in sand so we didn't go through the whole gallery. Not to mention I can't even imagine having enough money to be able to buy anything in here. Brunch at Hula Grill. Emily and I both had crab and spinach omelets. Mine is on top with breakfast potatoes and sourdough toast. Hers is below with salad and no toast.  Hiro came to join us after we'd been there a bit chatting. He ordered and ate. He helped me eat the dessert I wanted to try. Pineapple Coconut Creme Brulee in a pineapple bowl. Freaking AWESOME.  I returned home and spent the rest of the evening doing laundry and cooking. I made some pasta salad: tomato, spinach and plain pasta shells boiled in water and lemon juice. Drain, chill. Add a bag of organic mixed veggies, some ranch dressing, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Easy. I also made rice int he rice cooker with fresh lemon juice and some cilantro. The final thing was a tappenade type thing from maui onion, roma tomatoes, a bunch of fresh basil, cilantro, lemon juice, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Cooked low and slow for hours till reduced. Romi and I ate some on the rest of the parmesan baguette slices. We added some garlic and herb cheese and it was fantastic! I should have plenty for lunches and dinners this week :) Laundry is put away and it is almost 10pm. Time to get settled in and get to bed. Work tomorrow after all! Should be a good week. A lot to get done. Deliverable to type and send. The Big Island next weekend!!! E pili mau na pomaika`i ia `oe, (may blessings ever be with you) ~Melissa