Well, okay, stopping in Hawaii on the way home was really nice. The jetlag was quite manageable, actually. Oahu's weather is about 80 degrees and breezy all the time. That doesn't make for good swimming weather, though. It was freezing getting out of the pool. Of course, the kids wanted to go swimming all the time.
We stayed on the North Shore of Oahu, which is as far away from Waikiki as you can get, in terms of distance and feel. It was so great being up there. That being said, I saw how poor many Hawaiians are. :( The tourists are the ones with money.
We did some cool things in our few days there. We went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation:
We went to Pearl Harbor. I had a really interesting chat with one of the park rangers while we were there. I told him I had been to Hiroshima and saw the Peace Memorial there. I am a well rounded WWII site visitor!
The kids did some pony rides and became a cowgirl and cowboy:
We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I actually remember going there with my parents back in 1980. Boy, I feel old. In this picture, we're showing off our tattoos.
We also ate from one of the many "shrimp trucks" on the north shore. One of our neighbors in Tokyo assured us that these shrimp trucks (even though they look shady) are quite good.
Finally, here is a picture of Gracie that is too cute not to share. She often puts her lovey, Miss Pinky, on top of her head while we are driving.
One cool thing is that we met this really great family while we were at our hotel. I just struck up a conversation with the mom, and it turns out our families have a lot in common. Loretta's dad is from the south side of Chicago (like my parents). She used to work for the Mint (and I worked for the Fed). Brad is a graduate of West Point. Loretta and Brad met in grad school (just like Christian and me). Anyway, really nice and fun family. They are stationed in Hawaii; he is still in the army. We are exchanging Christmas cards!
After a few days in Hawaii, we headed back to the cold Midwest. Fortunately, our first few days were spent with Christian's family for Thanksgiving. Then reality hit. Christian had to go to work for a little bit, and I had no routine for the kids. Worse yet, the kids were used to being outside A LOT. The weather was so mild in Tokyo that they played outside every day. The Walters family has some serious cabin fever. I need a job.
Oh, and I'm missing Tokyo more than I thought I would. Japan, quite simply, grew on me. I miss the people. I miss the cleanliness. I miss the excellent customer service. I miss not worrying that my things will get stolen if I leave them outside. I miss the food. I have a craving for seafood. Strange, huh? Yeah, I miss fish, big time.
I ordered a pizza from Papa John's one night, and it was 70 (that's SEVENTY) minutes late. That would never happen in Tokyo. I kid you not.
More updates coming.
