RANDOMNESS

If something is dubbed "the most beautiful... in the world" and you have a chance to go see whatever it is, of course you're going to check it out, right?

My husband and I were invited to a fun charitable event at Lanikuhonua, a gorgeous beachfront property in Kapolei.

Another spot that's off UH's marked walking path is East-West Center's impressive and well-manicured Japanese Garden.

About twice a week I head to Kapi'olani Park for some exercise. I usually stay clear of the park's bandstand and pond area because that's where park-goers (mainly parents with their toddler children) sometimes feed flocks of pigeons. Birds don't normally bother me except when they go all kamikaze (like when a little kid is chasing after them!) I don't want to have a head-on collision with one or worse yet, get pooped on.

Hanauma Bay is a popular rest spot for Hawaiian monk seals. As this sleeping seal took a nap on the shore, another Haw'n monk seal swam up to the water's edge and started "barking" at it. The noise woke up the resting seal, which ended up in more "barking" between the two and a quick chase out to the ocean. It was exciting to watch the provoked exchange, but also scary. You don't want to be around Hawaiian monk seals when they're aggressive.

I was on a night reefwalk with the Waikiki Aquarium when a staff member spotted this beautiful night octopus gliding along the shallow reef, elongating its slender tentacles into crevices in the sandy bottom, looking for prey.

I saw the coolest animal at Hanauma Bay this morning! A clumpy nudibranch! It was huge, about the size of the palm of my hand. I've never seen a nudibranch that big before, normally the ones I find are about an inch long and very colorful. This one had yellow bumps on its body with a pinkish margin.

I'll be heading back to Hilo again soon, so my family and I spent another day snorkeling together at Hanauma Bay.

Although it was an overcast and gloomy day, I'm glad we still went to Baby Makapu'u to go reefwalking. For one, there was a really low tide. Perfect for looking at tide pool marine life.

I spent the President's Day weekend at Camp Erdman, on the North Shore of Oahu. I was there chaperoning my daughter's school's annual Band Camp.

Today is the 100th anniversary celebration of King Kamehameha.

Took a beach cruise to check out the high surf at Sandy's and spotted a Hawaiian monk seal resting on the beach. Cute!

Remember I mentioned that we drove to Holy's Bakery on the northern tip of the Big Island during spring break?

Every Christmas we visit Honolulu Hale to view the Christmas tree exhibits created by the different City & County of Honolulu employees. My faves this year were the tree made out of recycled water bottles and the floral wreath made out of colored pencils.

A friend just gave me a bag of green mangoes, so I did what my mom used to do for my siblings and I when we were kids.

My parents used to take my siblings and I to bon dances all the time in Hilo. I looked forward to it every summer. My mom and dad would buy musubi from one of the vendors, eating it while standing off to the side, watching us kids dance around the yagura stage. We didn't know any of the moves, we'd just copy the older Japanese ladies in happi coats who were dancing in the innermost circle. I have such great memories of those times.

We flew to Hilo to attend a special mass in remembrance of my dear grandma. It's been a year since she passed and I miss talking to her, laughing with her, singing with her, praying with her. We put flowers on her grave, as well as my parents and other grandparents. It was nice to spend the morning with my kids casually driving to the different cemeteries, visiting and cleaning each grave. That's something I grew up doing in Hilo with my parents on the weekends, but don't do with my own family here on Oahu.

Sometimes, when Manoa Valley isn't raining, I'll skip Kapi'olani Park and instead head to the University of Hawaii at Manoa for some exercise. To promote wellness within the community they marked a 1-mile walking path which loops through their beautiful campus. They encourage students, faculty, and visitors as well to use it.

My husband got home a few hours early from work today so we went to Hanauma Bay to cool off with a quick dip in the ocean. As soon as we started snorkeling we saw this whitemouth moray eel peeking its head out from a rock. Its mouth was wide open which made it easy to identify, the inner part was entirely bright white. Its body and head was a brown color with white dots and the tip of its tail was also white. Another way to distinguish it from other similar looking eels.

Today I decided to snorkel in a different area of the reef at Hanauma Bay, and I'm glad I did! I got to see a school of yellowfin surgeonfish grazing on algae! These surgeonfish are the biggest of their family, so to see an entire school of about 9 of them was very impressive.

Each time I go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay I feel like I'm transported to another world. Just look at this day octopus I spotted today. It belongs on the sci-fi channel!

For Father's Day my husband wanted to head to the beach, so off we went to our favorite hangout, Hanauma Bay.

Spent another morning at the beach, this time at Baby Makapu'u to go reefwalking during low tide.

I can't believe I saw another moray eel while snorkeling again at Hanauma Bay! This time a zebra moray. I was fumbling with my underwater camera as it swam into a hole, so I got a photo of its tail end only.

Tonight I had another evening event at the Waikiki Aquarium, and I couldn't resist taking photos of the nocturnal marine life.

Looks like a big, runny egg yolk...

Sunrise at Kailua Beach.

My auntie is so thoughtful! Before I left Hilo she hooked me up with 2 frozen double-crusted Fuji Apple Pies from Big Island Candies. We baked one today and I have to tell you - this is the best apple pie I've ever eaten. Ever. And I've eaten A LOT of apple pies!

Since my kids have only two days left of summer vacation, my husband took off from work and we headed to Sandy Beach. He even taught our daughter how to body surf!

I was driving over Diamond Head, heading home from an afternoon event in Waikiki, when I saw the almost full moon glowing in the sky.

I think mornings are the best time to stroll along the Queen's Beach esplanade.

Here's another public work of art you'll find near Kapi'olani Park. It's a 12-foot cast bronze sculpture by Robert Pashby called "Surfer on a Wave." I like how the patina on the waves give this piece dimension and movement, and you really feel the surfing vibes from it since it's located steps away from the beach.

There was a negative low tide this morning, so my son and I headed to Baby Makapu'u to check out the tide pools. We saw many animals but the best was this box crab. Do you see it in the picture?

I was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay today and saw a pair of butterflyfish that I've never seen before. After doing some research, I learned that these are called lined butterflyfish, because of the dark vertical lines on their white bodies.

OMG, there was a resting male Hawaiian monk seal at Hanauma Bay this morning! We've never seen a male this close in the wild before. Found out from an observing NOAA volunteer that the seal's name is Kekoa. It was neat to watch him undulate to higher ground when the tide came in and to hear him "belch" from time to time.

Yup, I'm back at Hanauma Bay with my family after being in Hilo for about 3 weeks. I miss them while I'm away, so whenever I return we always like to spend some family time at the beach.

I'm back on Oahu after spending two weeks in Hilo. Wanted some down time with my family so we spent the morning snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.

Ever since my mom passed away, May is a hard month for me to get through. My mom's birthday fell in May and so does Mother's Day.

A Hawaii vacation isn't complete without spending a day at the beach, so that's where we took my niece this morning.

It was such a nice day today that we took a drive up to Pu'u 'Ualaka'a State Park to see the magnificent views of Diamond Head, Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, and Manoa Valley. It was breathtaking!

It's my niece's last day of summer in Hawaii, so while my kids are at their first day of school, my brother and I took her snorkeling near the Makai Research Pier.

Ugh. For the last few days we've had Kona winds in the islands. That means the vog (volcanic smog) from the Big Island blows a thick haze all over Oahu.

Spent the morning walking around the KCC Farmer's Market and somehow ended up in Waikiki at Walls (a.k.a Kapahulu Groin).