My nephew Kazu Hernandez reserved Kilauea Military Camp for 7 of us: Claudine & Chloe, Cliff & I and Kazu’s 2 younger daughters, Ailah & Aulia for Veteran’s Day weekend.
We left on the morning flight to Hilo and headed directly to Ken’s Pancake House for breakfast. We did some shopping in Hilo at 2 Ladies Kitchen for mochi and Sig Zane for some designer clothing. We shopped for our provisions at KTA and met cousin Elvis Kimura, who works there. We drove to Pahoa town and I was amazed at all the changes there. We drove to Volcano National Park and checked in at KMC. We found out that our 4-bedroom cottage had no kitchen, so we couldn’t cook spaghetti, ramen and other planned meals. We ate dinner at the bowling alley.
That evening we drove a short way to a parking lot at Devastation Trail and walked a mile on a paved road and a short way on a dirt path to the lookout area. We had an amazing view of the eruption from the lookout point. The moon and stars were shining and the red/orange lava was spewing. We got there around 9:30 pm and there were several people at the lookout, but we had no trouble getting a good view and taking photos there. Cliff was especially enjoying photographing his first in-person view of an eruption.
The next day was Friday and we decided to drive around the south point of the island to Kona. Our first stop was at Punaluu beach where we saw one sea turtle in the shallows. We stopped at the famous Punaluu Bakery and bought all kinds of goodies there to snack on. Onward to Captain Cook, Kona where we had lunch at the Manago Hotel, famous for their pork chops. Right next door we shopped at Kona Chips. We visited my cousins Brian and Winifred Kimura at H Kimura fabric shop in Kainaliu. Also visited cousin Rene at the Y Kimura lauhala shop in Holualoa. I have tons of Kimura cousins in Kona, which is where my Dad was born and raised. We drove to Hapuna beach to enjoy the Kona sunset, and we weren’t disappointed! We drove to Kamuela for dinner and found delicious Chinese food at Jade Palace. We drove back to KMC via the Saddle Road or Daniel K Inouye highway. That night we all went to sleep except for Cliff, who went by himself at midnight for another photo shoot of the eruption.
Saturday was a rainy day, so everyone stayed in to rest while Cliff and I drove to Hilo to purchase mochi from 2 Ladies Kitchen (Closed on Sundays) to take home on Sunday. I stood in a long line and waited a total of an hour before I got my orders of mochi. While we were gone, Kazu found a grill to make burgers for lunch. That evening, he made steaks on the grill. After dinner, we played games like charades and jun ken po.
Sunday we packed up, checked out and filled gas. Then we drove to Kalapana to visit my friends David Jones and Robert LaMont who have a lovely vacation home there. We drove to Hilo, shopped at Big Island Candies and returned our rental car and flew back to Honolulu. We had a most enjoyable and fun time together on the Big Island!
Cliff wanted to see an exhibit by Yayoi Kusama in NY Botanical Garden. It was on for several months and ended in October. But circumstances with his rental units, prevented him from traveling in September and October. He encouraged me to go by myself, so I could visit my daughter in NYC. I decided to visit Marcus Dowty and Linda Burgher in Kansas City on my way home from New York. It was my first time traveling alone on standby. Cliff chose flights for me that had ample open seats, so I didn’t have any problems getting on the flights. My first flight was a 10-hr non-stop to Newark. Luckily, I had a whole row to myself near the back of the plane, so I could sleep. On Friday evening, Erik and Yvette left for a romantic weekend getaway in the Catskills. I took the 2 kids on an East Village Crawl. We ate small bites at 4 different restaurants, including Moroccan & Japanese. On Saturday, I taught them how to sew by hand with a needle and thread. They sewed their journals to bind them and wrote in their journals. After lunch Noakai had to leave for a track meet and Marlowe and I had the whole afternoon to ourselves. She showed me how to make bracelets with colorful rubber bands. We got dressed and took a Lyft car to the theater to see Lion King. That evening after Noakai returned from his track meet, we ordered take-out for dinner and watched Avatar for movie night. The family Sunday morning routine is to take the PATH train to NJ across the Hudson River and have a wonderful Indian brunch at Sapthagiri. That afternoon, Noakai had to study and I took Marlowe to a Halloween party sponsored by their building. Later, Erik and Yvette came home & we had pizza rolls for dinner. Monday, Erik went to work & both kids went to school. Yvette and I had time to pamper ourselves by going to Chinatown for massages followed by lunch. My last day in NY, Yvette & I met her friends Anisha & Tara for tea next door at the Winter Garden. Wednesday morning I took the PATH to Newark and a Lyft to the airport to catch my flight to Kansas City to visit my friends, Marcus & Linda. It was rainy in Kansas City. The next day, they took me to the Johnson County Museum. That evening Linda and I had dinner with my other KC friends, Anna & Lynn. Friday was still rainy, so we went to 2 art museums. I loved both the Kemper & the Nelson Atkins museums. I learned the history of the N-A: Mary Atkins donated money to build an art museum and William Nelson donated money to purchase art from all over the world. The result is that N-A Museum has one of the most extensive Asian art in the country. That evening, after we enjoyed famous KC BBQ dinner at home, Marcus & Linda took me to the lovely KC Concert Hall for an amazing Symphony Concert featuring a gifted young violinist. The sun finally came out on my last day there and we drove to some lovely parks in the neighborhood: Parkville, Kaw Point & Wyandotte Co Lake. We hunted fall colors & found a few trees here and there, but they said in a week, everything will be in full color, so I missed the full glory of fall colors by a week. I am so fortunate to travel on standby thanks to Cliff’s generosity.
Cliff and I went on our first trip together on standby. He worked for United Airlines for 43 years starting part-time during college and retired in 2015. His last job was in Operations. Before we fly, he checks which flights have many open seats for us to have a better chance of getting on. All his adult life, he has flown standby and before covid, he traveled about 17 times a year, sometimes going to Japan twice a month. This was my first time flying standby, so I learned not to expect anything but to make it on the flights we chose.
Due to the pandemic, my daughter Yvette and her family, who live in NYC, had not traveled for almost 2 years. They decided to visit her hubby Erik’s parents in Manhattan Beach in LA for a few weeks in August. I asked Cliff if we could visit her while they were in LA. He agreed and we made plans to go. We rented a car from Turo and found a motel in Manhattan Beach. We also made plans to fly from LA to Denver to visit my sister Christine in Boulder.
We took a red-eye flight to LA and our friend, Elbert picked us up with his fancy Tesla and took us to breakfast in El Segundo. He dropped us off at the Aronesty’s home in Manhattan Beach and we got to see Yvette, Erik, Noakai & Marlowe along with Joe & Diane Aronesty, Erik’s parents. That night our whole gang went to FishBar for dinner.
The next day, Cliff drove me around LA to show me his old stomping grounds of when he lived in LA from the mid-seventies to mid-eighties. We drove to his friend Beverly McAllister’s home for Mexican lunch in her back yard. She is a wonderful gardener and a baker of cookies. She sent some cookies home with us. We had pizza & kale salad for take-out dinner at the Aronesty’s. The next day we all went to breakfast at Two Guns, where we sat outside to eat. We took the kids to Seaside Lagoon at Redondo Beach where they swam. We walked to the Manhattan Beach pier and checked out the small aquarium at the end of the pier. For dinner, Cliff and I took Noakai to Sushi Bei, which was Cliff’s hangout when he lived in LA.
Erik took us to the airport & we flew to Denver and took a bus from DIA to Boulder and Chris picked us up at the bus terminal. Chris cooked dinner for us and Desmonne, Brian & Coen joined us.
Chris drove us to Westminster Denver to take Shirley Stokoe for lunch at Cava where we enjoyed Mediterranean bowls. Back in Boulder, we shopped at Trader Joe’s. We met Tom & Tyke Wortman, who drove in from Ft Collins for dinner at Chez Thuy. After dinner, Chris drove us up to Flagstaff for the view of Boulder from the mountain.
The next day, Chris drove us to Red Rock. We hung out at the amphitheater and had lunch at Golden Diner. Back at home, we walked down to Boulder Creek from their house and watched all the picnickers and swimmers floating downriver. That evening, Chris cooked a delicious dinner and Desmonne, Brian & Coen joined us before we left the next morning.
On our non-stop flight back home to Honolulu, we were lucky to be upgraded to Polaris first class seats! Yay! It was a wonderful trip and I was glad that Cliff got to meet my mainland families and they all got to meet him.
Who knew? That we would be stuck at home for months? We are living in unprecedented times and will never go back to the old “normal”. Hopefully, the “new normal” will be much better. I love how Mother Earth has been rejuvenated since we all stayed home… we need to keep caring for Her with less abuse. Traffic has been so easy. We have many blessings during this pandemic.
Who knew? That I would cancel 4 trips: to Australia with Madi in March during spring break, to Myanmar to visit friends in April, to Fukuoka with 3 girlfriends in May and to Switzerland with 3 Pohakea teacher friends in June. Side benefit: saving money!
Who knew? That I would find a new romance in this pandemic? Cliff Kimura and I met on Match in September and are in a happy and loving relationship. We both enjoy travel, wine, jazz, photography and more. In fact, he is an avid photographer with a big camera and belongs to 3 photo clubs. We go on photo expeditions to Kewalos, Sandy Beach, Diamond Head, Pipeline and more for surfing & sunset photos. He gets some nice sunset photos from my lanai. Because we are not traveling, we are spending most of our days and nights together, meeting each other’s families/friends and watching Netflix and Prime Video. His son Jordan has a daughter Easton and his daughter Dayna is married to Cayce.
Who knew? That my new boyfriend would cook for me? And because Cliff retired from United Airlines, that he would share his flying privileges with me? We can’t wait to travel together! We walk to Kaimana beach from his home in Kapahulu, so we get our exercise and enjoy the ocean getting some vitamin sea. I invited 7 grandkids to sleep over for 5 days for Grandma Lari’s Spring camp during spring break in March. The “Bigs” are 3 high school girls, the 3 “Littles” are girls in elementary school and 1 boy in middle school. We had many fun activities: daily play in my condo pool, playing in Makiki District park across the street, board games & movie nights in the evenings. I taught them to sew their own pillowcases on my sewing machine. They wrote in their journals each evening.
In July, I had them over again for Grandma Lari’s Summer Camp for 5 days in July. More fun activities and this time, they each sewed their own masks. They loved it so much, they requested a Winter Camp in December. End of July, Kazu & Claudine invited me to a camping trip at Malaekahana for the weekend. The 7 kids spent all day in the ocean, we ate delicious food cooked by Kazu and Claudine, crab hunts at night and slept in tents.
I miss my daughter Yvette’s family in New York/New Jersey. They are fine and doing well there. Noakai is a Junior in NY and Marlowe is a 1st grader.
Both Cliff’s family and my family are safe and healthy. We are thankful for our many blessings. Here’s wishing you a wonderful holiday season filled with love! Love and aloha,
Lari
Slide show has many photos including many friends, families, visitors and activities during the past year.
In 1992, our Kimura family had a reunion in Mt Hood for Christmas. The cousins remembered how much they enjoyed being together there and wanted their children to have that bonding experience, so we planned a family reunion for Christmas in Colorado. I found a huge house called Homestead House in Dillon-Keystone area that sleeps all 24 of us (13 adults & 11 kids) with 8 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. We planned this trip well in advance. We set up a Christmas Eve sleigh ride, set menus for shopping and cooking, prepared for skiing, planned for events before and after the Christmas week, and more. Then unexpectedly, Kara’s mom died the day after Thanksgiving, so Ryan’s whole family had to cancel their plans to attend. Now instead of 24, our group was down to 19 people. We had to carry on without them.
Claudine and Yvette’s families and Lari stayed in Boulder before and after Homestead House. Kazu’s family and Bruce came just for the Christmas week at Homestead. Those of us who were in Boulder went to the Denver Zoo lights and the Planetarium show at CU campus. On Monday, Dec. 23, everyone drove up to Homestead after some of us did grocery shopping at Costco and Trader Joes. We settled in and bought pizza for dinner.
The house had foosball, pool table and all kinds of games, a fireplace and a kitchen with 2 dishwashers, 2 sinks, an island, and tons of dishes, pots and pans. They had parking for 6 cars and a hot tub outside as well as sleds for the kids to play in the snow.
Phil just got a hip replacement, and he couldn’t ski so he worked on his puzzle.
On Tuesday, Christmas Eve, the skiers went to Keystone while us non-skiers did more shopping. Since our Christmas Eve sleigh ride included dinner, we didn’t have to cook. All 19 of us rode in a sleigh pulled by 2 mules. During dinner they provided entertainment for our listening pleasure. We sang Christmas carols on our sleigh ride back. It was a fun experience for all.
Kazu and his girls along with Brian, Coen and Desmonne waiting for the sleigh ride
7 kids at sleigh ride dinner
On Wednesday, the skiers drove to Vail while the rest of us prepared Christmas dinner. We had shrimp scampi, prime rib and all kinds of sides. After dinner, the 8 kids were divided into 2 teams for a Gingerbread House competition. Both houses were fabulous, so the judges declared a tie.
Prime Rib for dinner!
Claudine always cleaned up!
On Thursday, the skiers were tired, so we decided to go to Keystone Lake for ice skating. The kids had a blast! For dinner on Thursday, we had Mexican with all the fixings for make your own tacos.
Friday was the last day for skiing… we prepared curry stew for dinner. Kazu’s cousins (on his Dad’s side) who live in Denver joined us with their kids. The 13 kids got to play games like scavenger hunt, card games and fun minute-to-win-it games.
While the kids were running around the house playing scavenger hunt, these adults played their own game.
Saturday, we cleaned up, and left the house to go tubing on Copper Mountain. We had a blast! Some of them made a train of 10 tubes sliding down the hill. Then off to the airport for Kazu and to Boulder for the rest of us.
Our last day at Homestead house.
8 kids
Whole group before leaving Homestead House… only Phil & Bruce are missing.
3-person train at Copper Mountain tubing
Back in Boulder, 3 families did some activities: Yoshiki, Aronesty & Bennett families tried going to the Wild Animal Sanctuary, but it was closed due to high winds. So for plan B we went to Urban Air Adventure, where the kids from 3 to 15 could enjoy indoor rock climbing, zip lining, trampoline, and much more. That evening we went to a Denver Nuggets NBA game at Pepsi Center. The next day, we did a tour of University of Colorado Campus, Yvette’s alma mater. It was very impressive. On New Year’s eve, we had dinner at Christine’s house and on New Year’s Day, the Aronesty’s and Yoshiki’s went home. Lari stayed a few more days and visited friends in Fort Collins and Denver.
Greetings to all from this “Townie” It has been a wonderful and exciting year for me, adjusting to life in Honolulu after living in Pearl City for over 50 years. Although I miss my Pearl City friends and neighbors, my life is so exciting with so many opportunities for fun right here in town. I am close to my doctors, my hair salon, my karaoke gang, theater shows, concerts, seminars, foodie events, birthday parties and much more.
As for my travels, this year, I did seven domestic trips and two trips to Japan. In January, I flew into Long Beach airport, a new venue for Hawaiian Air, to visit friends and family in LA and Orange County. In March to Seattle to visit friends and family. In April, Shari Tamashiro and I met in New York and did fun things there-mostly eating! and I also spent time with Yvette and her family and took a bus to MD to visit Shiomichi family to meet 2 new babies and Sharmaine and her family. May was a short trip to Kona with Roger’s ’58 Waipahu HS classmates, hosted by Buddy Barcelo at his home in Kona Palisades.
In June, I flew to Denver to visit my sister Christine and we both took a trip to Omaha to visit Kaitlin and her family. In July, Valerie Wabinga, Linda Burgher and Marcus Dowty went on a trip with me to Hokkaido. September was a Pahoa HS reunion in Vegas with my brother, Bruce. In October, I did a spiritual journey with 6 friends to Osaka, Koyasan, Kumano and Tenkawa. I learned about the Shingon Buddhist sect headquartered in Koyasan, a very spiritual place. After the week-long spiritual tour, Gloria Uyehara and I spent a week in small onsen villages, Kyoto and Kobe. We were lucky not to be affected by Typhoon Hagibis, which devastated other areas north of us.
For more in-depth information/photos of trips taken, please keep scrolling down to past trips for this year and many more previous trips.
This year, we are looking forward to having a white Christmas in Dillon Keystone area of Colorado. 24 family members (5 cousins with 11 grandchildren ranging in ages from 18 to 3 years old) will be housed in a huge lodge with 8 bedrooms, 5 baths, jacuzzi, pool table, and more. We will go on a sleigh ride on Christmas Eve, and skiing, snowboarding, and tubing.
I am so blessed with good friends and family whom I love, and they love me. My mission in life is to nurture those relationships as much as I can by spending quality time with the people in my life who mean so much to me. My life is full, and I am very thankful for my wonderful life and good health to enjoy it.
Love and aloha,
Lari
Opening day of Hawaii State Legislature with Wanda & Roy Takumi on the House floor
Shari Tamashiro is Uchinanchu of the Year for our Itoman Club
Wearing my traditional Korean dress at Halekulani banquet
Chinese New Year’s party
With Kathy & Derrick at Growlers USA
Ryan puts flowers for his grandparents
Oscars party sponsored by HIFF-Hawaii International Film Festival
Part of Guy Sibilla’s book club: David Jones, Marie Milks, and Judy Segawa w/Guy at my condo
We joined Kim Click at the Intrepid Museum in NYC
Shari gave me an edible birthday bouquet!l
Kiera gave me an edible bouquet for my birthday too!
Traveling & Making Connections
Over the past six months, I have been traveling domestically to visit friends and relatives. By staying with them or sharing a meal, I re-connect with loved ones near and far. Before I leave, I make arrangements to visit with different friends and relatives, asking if I could stay with them for a night or two. Then I rent a car and drive from house to house, just spending quality time with them. I don’t want them to go out of their way to entertain me or take me site-seeing in their area. I tell them that I just want to hang out with them in their daily life: chores, errands, soccer games or whatever they are doing, I would just go along with them.
Last October, 2018 I flew to the Bay area, because Hawaiian Airlines had a sale. I visited with Paul and Sigi in Point Richmond and went to a Halloween party with them. Then to Vacaville to stay with the Golden family, who were renovating their house. On to Lafayette to stay with Lovelle, my taiko friend and lastly to Monterrey to stay with my Pahoa HS classmate, Daniel and his wife Toki. (Sad note: I am so glad I spent time with them, because Daniel just died recently.)
Sigi and me at Halloween party
Sigi and Paul in Richmond Point party
Diane & Bronce in their unfinished kitchen in Vacaville
Chad and Cody at home
Lorin, Phil and Lovelle in Lafayette. Lorin and Lovelle are taiko friends.
Toki and Daniel in Monterrey. Daniel just died in May 2019.
In November 2018, I made a last-minute trip to LA, when I learned that Yvette and family would be in Manhattan Beach visiting Joe and Diane Aronesty for Thanksgiving. So I booked a flight and stayed with the Aronesty’s. We got to have dinner with Norway trip friends, Patti and Shunji, who live in Torrance. We also spent a day with Erik’s relatives from San Diego and New Mexico, going bowling and having fun with them. Mostly, we just went to the beach every day.
Diane, Yvette and Marlowe in Manhattan Beach
Thai dinner with Shunji and Patti and the Aronesty family
In January 2019 I flew to Long Beach airport, a new route for Hawaiian Airlines. Patti & Shunji picked me up and took me home to Torrance, where I stayed for 2 days. Then they kindly and generously loan me their car and I drove to Culver City to visit my cousin Ann and her family there! It was my first visit with Annie and her family and I had a blast getting to know her and her kids and grandkids! Then I drove to northern LA, near Glendale, where my childhood friends, Bev and Ethel Jane (AKA Ettie) live. I then drove to Fountain Valley to visit my former student, Richard & Debbi Ross and then to Nancy Bauer’s home in Fullerton. (I forgot to take a photo of the two of us.) She had just lost her husband, Jim, and we shared experiences. I ended up back in Torrance staying with Roger’s high school classmates, Reto and Nani. The next day they dropped me off at Long Beach airport.
Shunji, Patti, me, Sharon and Wenshing having dinner. We met on a tour of Norway in August 2019.
Cousin Annie and hubby Trace in Culver City
Downtown LA with Annie
Bev Nii in LA
Ettie Nii in LA
Debbi and Richard in Fountain Valley
Nancy w/Jim before he passed.
Nani & Reto in Torrance
In March, I flew to Seattle and first stayed with Phil & Jane in Renton. They are Pearl City HS classmates of Yvette. Then on to my cousin’s daughter, Elda in Bellevue. Then I drove to Federal Way to stay with 2 young doctors, Eve and Jenn, who took me to a friend’s birthday party in Bremerton, and to get a Korean massage the next day. I had lunch with Brett Hudner and his girlfriend Lauren. The next day, I met Wendy & Bridgett for lunch in downtown Seattle. Lastly, I stayed with TJ and Pam Bauer who live in a lovely home on Lake Tapps.
Phil & Jane Pearl City HS class of ’84 now live in Renton
Elda in Bellevue
Jennifer me and Eve on ferry to Bremerton
Lauren and Brett at Korean lunch
Wendy & Bridgett used to work for Symetra, now at Strategic Planning Partners in downtown Seattle
Pam and me in their living room. Zander is photo bombing behind me
TJ & me before he left on a business trip.
In April, I flew to NYC to visit with YENM (Yvette, Erik, Noakai, Marlowe). We celebrated Marlowe’s 5th birthday at a bowling alley party. I took a bus trip to Laurel, MD to visit cousin Gary & Sally. Every visit they have their kids and grandkids come for dinner. Then to Severn, MD to visit Sharmaine, David, Colin and Addison. (I forgot to take a photo of the Hornsby family!) Sharmaine is my cousin Brian Kimura’s daughter. I returned to NY and spent another weekend with YENM, going to another birthday party, this time at a Karaoke room in Korea town. Then I stayed with Shari Tamashiro in a nearby hotel. We spent 4 days eating our way around the city, going to art museums, getting massages and seeing 4 broadway shows.
Date with Marlowe to see broadway show.
Marlowe’s bowling birthday party
Matt & Audrey w/Layla, Grandma Sally, w/Quinn sleeping in front, Billy and Kat w/Lily and Grandpa Gary on far right. In Laurel, MD.
Hornsby’s new home in Severn
Sharmaine waiting for bulbs to bloom in spring
East Village crawl: we went to 3 restaurants! Noakai, Marlowe and Grandma Lari
Shari and I enjoying omakase dinner at Tori Shin.
Shari and I at Whitney Museum
We loved the flower show at Macy’s
In June, I flew to Denver to visit my sister Christine and her family in Boulder. The first night, I stayed in Fort Collins with the Wortmans. They always invite their kids to come to dinner whenever I visit and I have watched their grandkids, Marshall and Audrey, grow up through the years. Chris and I flew to Omaha for a 3-day visit with Kaitlin, Shaun, Kaia(3) and Liam(1). Kaitlin is cousin Brian’s youngest daughter, sister of Sharmaine in MD. It was my first time to Omaha, and Kaitlin with her 2 kids, took us to Old Market with cobblestone streets, to the fabulous zoo, to Lauritzen Garden, to Bob Bridge, and more. Back in Boulder, we visited Brian and Desmonne and played with Coen(2), went to the Farmer’s Market, visited Shirley Stokoe in Denver, had dinner at Riffs with Leslie-taiko friend from Denver(no photo), and I helped Chris cook Father’s Day dinner.
Tom and Tyke Wortman, Fort Collins
Audrey, Marshall, Brian and Lori-daughter of Tom and Tyke
Kaia, Kaitlin and Liam at the museum in Omaha
Chris and I on the Bob Bridge over the Missouri River on the state line.
Playing with Coen in his ball pit.
Grandma Chris with Coen
Fathers Day: Phil, Des w/Coen, me, Chris and Brian
This was a year of big change for me. In April, moved from my Pearl City house to a 2-bedroom condo in Honolulu. It was a huge job downsizing from my 5-bedroom, 3-bath, 10-closet house where we lived for almost 50 years. My new address: 1325 Wilder Ave #9 in Honolulu, HI 96822.Email: lariyasui@gmail.com
Willy & Sue Okimoto invited me over for a farewell dinner with my neighbors, Flora Nohara and Lisa & Wayne Shibata. Chef Willy cooked a delicious dinner for us! I miss my wonderful Pearl City neighbors. Houdini misses me and I miss him since moving to town.
Houdini & me
But now I save on time, gas and mileage on my car because everything is so close and convenient being in town. I leased my first luxury car, a Q5 Audi SUV. I am still learning how to use all the high-tech computer features on 2 screens.
John Ohtani from Audi delivered my new Q5
In January, I went to Tuscany with Leanda Santos, and since it was her first time in New York, we toured a few sites in NY city before and after going to Italy, staying with Yvette and family in Battery Park City.
Leanda & I enjoyed Cinque Terre in Italy
Then in early April, I took Yvette, Erik, Noakai and Marlowe to Osaka, Nara and Kyoto.
Riding rickshaws in Arashiyama bamboo forest
When I returned home from Japan, Garrett Mozolic and his brothers of Mo Movers moved me into the condo. I didn’t finish settling into my condo and flew off to meet Mary Ann Kadooka in Barcelona. After Spain, with help from a few friends, I got my apartment all arranged and organized with paintings hung, and cabinets and closets filled.
In May, (I’m a Taurus) friends and family celebrated my 75th birthday with 4 parties!
Party #2 at Sunrise
Most of the summer, I stayed home. Yvette and Marlowe came to stay with me (in my condo for the first time) in July. Noakai and Erik couldn’t make it to Hawaii this year.In August, I flew to New York and took Noakai on a 12-day tour of Norway which included a cruise up the coast to the Arctic Circle.
My son Ryan, Kara, Jensen, Madi and Allysen moved from Mililani to Salt Lake to live with Kara’s mom, Kathy Iwao. Jensen is finishing his senior year at Mililani HS, Madi started 9th grade at Moanalua HS and Ally is at Salt Lake Elementary. Ryan is especially happy to have a short drive to Pearl Harbor Shipyard. In September, we celebrated Ryan’s 50th birthday and Ally’s 9th birthday at Hilton Hawaiian Village for the weekend.
In October my sister Christine and brother Bruce met me in Tokyo, and we flew to Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu to visit my mother’s Hokada relatives. My cousin Fred and family and my nephew Kazu with 2 daughters joined us there. We all had a wonderful time meeting and getting to know our Hokada cousins’ families, who entertained us royally. We scattered some of Sue and Kongo’s ashes at the Hokada gravesite. Fred’s wife Fumiko (from Nagoya) translated for us so we could communicate with our Kumamoto relatives.
Hokada relatives in Kumamoto made a fabulous dinner for us in their beautiful home.
Then Fred left and cousin Elvis Kimura came to meet us and Kazu drove 7 of us in a van to Kurokawa onsen village and Yufuin onsen town along the way and finally to Oshima Island in Yamaguchi Prefecture. We visited Okabatake family (our Kimura relatives) and visited the Kimura grave, where we scattered more of Sue and Kongo’s ashes. They hired a translator to help us communicate. Okabatakes have a large orange grove and let us pick tangerines, which we took with us for the remainder of our trip back to Tokyo.
It was Bruce’s first time to Japan, and Christine’s second time. We did some site seeing in Tokyo before returning home.
At Halloween, I visited different friends, house-hopping in the Bay Area. For Thanksgiving, I stayed at Aronesty’s home in Manhattan Beach, LA with Yvette, Erik, Noakai and Marlowe who flew in from New York.
My “townie” life in Honolulu is very busy with all kinds of activities! Theater, luncheons, dinners, festivals, movies, Apple Store classes, Red-Light therapy, facials, massages, pedicures, karaoke bars, farmer’s markets, and more.
I am on the Wilder Tower condo Board and attend meetings concerning our condo. I am an “Okinawan at Heart” member of the Itoman Club and help plan their activities. I still work part time for Chinen&Arinaga Financial Group.
In October, I attended the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival for 5 days at various venues around town. It was exciting to meet many celebrity chefs at their booths.I am a member of Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) and in November, I was at Dole Regal theaters for 10 days and saw 36 movies using my festival pass. On Veterans’ Day, I loved the fantastic Bruno Mars concert at Aloha Stadium with 30,000 of my closest friends.
To all my friends and families, may you have a wonderful and blessed holiday season! For more details about my trips, please read my travel blog by scrolling down on this page or clicking the archives on the left side.
My sister Christine is a new grandma, so I had to visit them in Boulder to see this golden child. Brian and Desmonne Bennett named their son Coen who was born in Dec 2016. So he wasn’t a year old when I first saw him. I took the bus from Denver Airport to Boulder, where Desmonne picked me up. It was very cheap and an easy one-hour ride. I stayed with Desmonne and Brian because Christine and Phil had not returned from their trip to Italy. First things first: I had to eat at Riff’s. The next day, I drove to Westminster to visit Shirley at home. We had a lovely visit before I drove back to Boulder. Christine’s 2 besties, Debra and Leslyn came over for dinner. We had a great time chatting. And of course, Coen was the center of attention!
Grandma Lari meets Coen for the first time!
The Bennetts at their Pearl Street front door.
Debra, Brian and Leslyn: 2 Aunties visit!
On Thursday, I drove to Fort Collins to visit Lynda at her friend’s home and we had breakfast and caught up with each other. Then I drove to Wortman’s and stayed with Tom and Tyke. Their daughter, Lori and her family all came for dinner. We had Tom’s famous meat loaf and Tyke made baked butternut squash –yummers!
Brian and Tom in back. Lori, Tyke and Lari in the middle Audrey and Marshall in front
I visited Robbie Stokoe at his bioengineering lab.
After breakfast on Friday, Tyke and I took their dog Kennadie to the Vet hospital to be checked. Then I drove over to visit Robby Stokoe at his bioengineering lab at CSU. Shirley’s grandson is a grad student there! I knew him since he was a baby! Then I drove back to Boulder.
Coen in Roger’s silk kimono
The whole gang at the Boulder Farmer’s Market on Saturday: Lari, Brian, Desmonne w/Coen, Christine and Phil.
On Saturday, Chris and Phil picked me up and we went to the Boulder Farmer’s Market. Desmonne, Brian walked over with Coen in his stroller. We relaxed in the afternoon. The next day, we had lunch at Riffs then we went shopping.
Monday morning, I caught the bus to Denver Airport to go home.
lariyasui 