Cliff and I planned to fly to New York City to attend my grandson, Noakai Aronesty’s graduation from Stuyvesant High School. It was scheduled for Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens. Cliff found a flight for us on Sunday June 19, which happened to be on Father’s Day. We got up very early to catch a morning flight to San Francisco, connecting to Newark, NJ. We arrived in New York on Monday morning. My daughter Yvette with husband Erik and 2 kids live in Battery Park City, across the West highway from the 9-11 Memorial and next to the Hudson River. They have a lovely view of New Jersey across the Hudson.
The first day, I was exhausted with jet lag and while Cliff went for a walk around the neighborhood, Yvette and I got a spa treatment near home and I took a nap after that. Noakai was at camp so we stayed in his bedroom. That evening, we took a leisurely walk along the Hudson south to the Wall Street area where we met Erik for wonderful taco and margarita dinner at Tacombi. On our walk back home, we enjoyed the sunset on the Hudson river.
The second day, Yvette, Cliff and I took a bus to Chinatown, where we walked around & bought some fresh fruit from the street vendors. We went for foot massage and Yvette and I got body massages. Yvette went home while Cliff and I had a dim sum lunch. When we got home, Noakai had returned from camp for his graduation the next day. Cliff took photos of Noakai and friends in front of his Stuyvesant building. Everyone left, and Cliff and I stopped for dinner at Seamore on the walk home. We moved over to a hotel for 2 nights while Noakai is home for his graduation.
On graduation day, we took a cab back to their house and Yvette had delicious smoked salmon breakfast all prepared. We packed up all the leis, some snacks and drinks and hired a car to take us to Queens for the Commencement. When we got there, my shoes broke apart, we threw them in the trash and I walked barefoot to the stadium. We met up with Erik’s Philadelphia family. We all went into the stadium and found our seats next to the family of Tomas, Noakai’s best friend. Tomas’s mom, Michelle, had a spare pair of shoes to lend me. Wah-la! what a miracle! The speeches and the recognizing of each of the 800 graduates took 4 hours long. We met at the fountain out front and Cliff took photos of everyone. I had leis for Noakai, Tomas, Michelle, Yvette and Marlowe. It was a festive and happy time together. Then we hired a car to take us to family dinner at House of Joy in Chinatown. Our group of 15 people had so much fun and ate a lot of delicious Chinese food. I gave massages all around. We took a cab back to our hotel.
The next morning the family met for breakfast at Hudson Eats, a food court next to their apartment. But Cliff and I overslept and missed saying goodbye to Noakai, who went back to camp in NH where he is a camp counselor. We walked to Hudson Yards and went up 100 stories to The Edge, where they built a triangular viewing spot over the city. You have a bird’s eye view of Manhattan from Central Park down to Battery Park and views of the East River and the Hudson River. Then we went down to experience The Vessel. We checked out of our hotel and returned to Yvette’s apartment where we stayed in Noakai’s room. That evening we took 8yo on an East Village crawl. First to Veselka, a Ukrainian restaurant famous for pierogis. Then to Cafe Mogador, for middle eastern fare. She entertained us with games and she gave her thumbs up for each dinner item we tried. She was our official food critic! We had a lovely time with her. We didn’t have time for a 3rd place… we took her home because she had school the next day.
The next morning we got up in the wee hours to take the PATH back to Newark for our early morning flight to SFO. We connected to our flight home. We had a short but wonderful trip to enjoy family time in NYC.
Cliff & I have friends in Arizona and we had planned to visit them in Feb, but changed our plans and went to Tasmania instead. This time we actually did go to AZ. First to Prescott to visit my friends, Derrill & Sandy Fulkerson and then to Phoenix to visit Cliff’s friends Steve Hood & Alise. In all we were gone for a week.
Fulkerson’s live out in the countryside of Prescott, where the lots are large and neighbors are far apart. An ideal location with no light pollution, for Cliff to take evening photos of the milky way, which he did every night, just stepping out the front door. They had dinners reserved for every night at really great places with great food. First day, we went to downtown Prescott where we walked on Whiskey Row that has many historical saloons. The most famous is the Palace Saloon, where we sat at the bar and enjoyed a beer and crispy french fries. That evening they took us to a wonderful restaurant called Essence where they serve all kinds of fish.
The next day, we drove to Sedona and saw many views of the red rocks. We went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross on a hill surrounded with great views of red rocks. That evening we enjoyed a tapas dinner at El Gato Azul. On our last day in Prescott, Derrill took us around their neighborhood to visit friends with fancy cars, like Bentleys and Rolls. That evening we enjoyed Thai dinner with their son John, grandson Tyler and daughter Cindy.
They drove us to Phoenix where we met Steve & Alise at Mountauk restaurant in Scottsdale. We switched our luggage to Steve’s car and they drove us to Desert Botanical Garden to see Chihuly in the Desert. We loved the Chihuly sculptures all through the gardens and had dinner at Gertrudes with delicious offerings. We saw more Chihuly sculptures in a building and at dark we revisited the outdoor sculptures which were lit up and glorious to see. The next day we went to Tempe Marketplace mall to see Ken Koshio’s taiko group perform. We had a Japanese lunch and went to shop at Trader Joes before heading home to relax in the pool. Steve made huge margaritas along with guacamole & chips. The third day, we had a leisurely breakfast and drove out to Queen Olive Mill. We looked at all the various olive oils and flavored balsamic vinegars. We had lunch there and shopped.
We are so grateful for wonderful friends who hosted us and drove us around their areas. Cliff and I flew home via San Francisco and were lucky to participate in the United 75th Anniversary of flying to Hawaii. There were festivities at the SFO gate, on the plane and at the HNL gate. There was Hawaiian music and hulas, gifts for us, free beer to toast on the plane and much more!
LAX sunrise
Fulkerson’s home
Derrill showing Palace Saloon
Sitting at Palace Saloon bar
Delicious dinner here!
Prescott sunset
Sedona red rocks
Sedona red rocks
Sedona red rocks
Sedona red rocks
Stan’s antique Ford
Chihuly in the Desert
Dinner & drinks in the Garden’s restaurant, Gertrudes
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.
Every other year, TCA (Taiko Community Alliance) holds a North American Taiko Conference. I went to UNLV in 2015, to UCSD in 2017 and this year to Portland State University in downtown Portland. The workshops and performances are amazing. Mary and I were roommates at a nearby hotel and we just walked over to the workshops at PSU. We’d walk by food trucks with amazing food and had deliciousness at the Saturday Farmer’s Market right next to the campus during our break. We took a trip to The famous International Rose Test Garden, where we enjoyed thousands of varieties of lovely scented roses!
Mary at the International Rose Test Garden
We loved the fresh, juicy peaches and delicious lunch here!
Taiko legend from Sado Island, Chieko Kojima.
Our Odaiko sensei, Isamu Kageyama doing a demo on the Odaiko (large standing drum)
Before the conference, I went a couple days early and spent time with old friends from Hawaii now living in Beaverton, Pam Ferreira and her sister Debby Higa. They took me to Willamette Falls and to lunch.
After the conference, I drove over the state line to Vancouver, WA, to stay with cousins, Jonathan & Heather Steinmann. Actually Jon is the son of my Kimura cousin, Kathy Steinmann, who also lives nearby with her other daughter, Tiffany. I got to meet 3 of cousin Kathy’s children and their families. One son live in Michigan. One night we went to dinner at Kathy’s daughter, Sarah Sherland’s lovely home, with a river and pond in their yard, that Sarah’s hubby, Will designed. I had so much fun meeting all my relatives in the southern WA area.
Jon & Heather have a menagerie at home!
Heather has 4 chickens and a trained cat.
Family dinner at Sarah & Wills home.
Yummy lunch with Kathy & Ron
Faith slept over with me at Heather’s and her sisters visited one day. They are Tiffany’s kids.
We visited the Columbia River, separating WA from OR.
I taught Kathy & Jon Hanafuda
Osso Buco for lunch at Swiss Hibiscus with Kathy and Tiffany.
Martin Wyss was in the kitchen helping Jennie at her Swiss Hibiscus restaurant.
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
Mary and I decided to attend the Semi Annual Taiko Conference, this year located at University of San Diego campus. On my flight over to SD, I sat next to Christine Noble and we chatted almost the entire flight and became friends! We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites in La Jolla and rented a car. Since we got there a day before registration, we drove to Alpine to visit my friend Carmen Shagham. She showed us around her estate and all the work she has done in her yard. Then we went to lunch at Montana Grill Café.
Carmen and I are in her back yard.
After a lovely visit with Carmen, we drove to the UCSD campus to register for the Taiko Conference. Elsie was waiting for us, then Lorin and Lovelle came to join us for the Welcome Reception.
Elsie, Mary, Lorin, myself and Lovelle at Taiko Welcome reception.
Taiko Kanikapila-people just jump in and play!
On Friday we had opening session and breakout workshops all day and in the evening we enjoyed a Taiko Concert. We repeated the same thing on Saturday.
I was honored to meet Kristy Oshiro, awesome drummer!
Sunday morning was the closing session. After the closing, I drove down to Coronado Island to meet Mel and Karen Tanaka for lunch and to visit their lovely home on the island. Then I drove to Temecula to stay with Ali Nash. Her hubby is a firefighter in Long Beach so he was gone. We had a nice dinner downtown at Public House.
Mel grew up in Ewa Beach: his family owned Tanaka Store. He and Karin live on Coronado Island.
I stayed in Temecula with Ali Nash. Her sister Heather Bown played volleyball at UH and the US Olympic team.
The next morning, Ali had made me a bracelet with the beach glass that I gave her. Then I drove off to Anza to visit cousin Paola, her hubby Phil and daughter Beca, who was working at a campground on a lake. We hung out by the lake enjoying the sun before heading to the village for Italian dinner at Ferro.
Phil, myself, Paola and their daughter Rebecca at the lake where Beca works for the summer.
On Tuesday, I drove to Los Angeles to stay w/Tom and Margie Hernandez, Kazu’s Dad and Mom. Margie made Nopales-cactus. She cooked chicken, beef, beans, salad and Tom’s sister Rosemarie brought 2 peach pies. We had a feast! The kids all came for dinner and Tom’s brother Angel brought Grandma Hortense. Renae brought her baby, Quetzal, so it was a wonderful family reunion!
I stayed with Tom and Margie Hernandez in Los Angeles. Tom is Kazu’s dad!
Wednesday morning I had to say goodbye and drove to LAX to catch my flight home.
I found a good deal on Gate1 for air and hotel to London. So I asked Debi if she wanted to go with me, and she said yes, because she’d never been to London. I have been there twice before, but never went to the museums, and so I planned to go to some London Museums. I flew non-stop on Hawaiian Airlines and stayed with Yvette for a few days. I visited Marlowe’s pre-school and spent time with Yvette and Marlowe during the weekdays. On weekends, we hung out with the whole family. I usually try to give Yvette and Erik a date night, and stay home with the kids while they do their own thing. So this time, I took Marlowe to the movie theater to see My Little Pony and then dinner at Hudson Eats while Noey was with his friends. On Sunday, I went with the 2 kids on PATH to NJ for brunch at Sapthagiri, their favorite Indian $10 brunch buffet. I like to stop at the threading shop to have my eyebrows threaded for only $6. We met Miko and Donna for late lunch with Donna’s parents. I had a date night with Noey, and we had tons of food and fun doing the “East Village Crawl”-we ate at 3 different restaurants to try different kinds of food!
Sunday brunch at our favorite Indian buffet in Jersey.
We had a late lunch with Miko and Donna and her parents.
East Village Crawl with Noakai.
Monday, Marlowe, Yvette and I took a car up to 6th Ave Michael’s store, shopping at Trader Joes and Old Navy, then lunch at NY Burger. That evening, I went with Erik and Marlowe to watch Noey’s soccer game then home for dinner. The next day, I read a story to Marlowe’s pre-school class and sang a song.
Marlowe has 3 teachers: Miss Janet, Miss Gyro and Miss Mildred.
On Wednesday, Yvette and Marlowe flew to Germany to visit Tara and I relaxed, packed and took the subway to JFK and met Debi at our gate for our red-eye flight to London. We arrived at Heathrow on Thursday, Oct 19 and took a city transfer to our hotel. They gave us a room right away so we could shower and rest then we walked around to eat Fish n Chips for our dinner at Hobsons. On Friday, we at breakfast in the hotel and caught the tube (London’s subway) to Leicester Square to buy discount tickets at the TKTS booth for The Mousetrap, a long-running mystery by Agatha Christie. We walked to the British Museum and had lunch there. Then we spent the afternoon riding on the HOHO (hop-on, hop-off) bus. We sat upstairs and enjoyed a relaxing tour of London. Then we went to see The Mousetrap play, after having some difficulty finding the theater. Afterwards, we saw Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant, so we had dinner there and took the tube back to our hotel.
At the British Museum
Victoria & Albert Museum
On Saturday, we went back to Leicester Square to buy discount tickets to see An American in Paris at 2 pm and tickets for Lion King at 7:30 pm. After getting our show tickets, we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where we spent 2 hours enjoying the exhibits. Then to our matinee by the tube, a light supper, then to our evening show at Lyceum Theater for Lion King.
We loved Lion King!
On Sunday, we got up early and took the tube to the Coach Station for our bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. Our guide was Lucy and she was very charming and our bus driver was Ricardo. First stop was Windsor Castle, where we saw the Queen Mary Doll House and the State Apartments. Then a bus ride to Stonehenge then to Lacock village for lunch at The George Inn, oldest Pub in Lacock. Then a bus ride to Bath-by then we were tired so we just shopped.
Windsor Castle
Stonehenge
After breakfast on Wednesday, we checked out, stored our luggage and went to Camden Market and then to lunch at Taste of India. We caught a cab to Heathrow, flew back to NY, arriving close to midnight, and said goodbye there. Debi stayed overnight near JFK and I took a cab to a hotel in Chelsea.
Tuesday morning, I caught the GoBus to Vienna, VA for only $18. It was a large and new bus that arrived at 2 pm at the Metro stop in Vienna and Janne Hudner picked me up. We cooked dinner and watched Dancing with the Stars. The next day, Janne and I went to the movie Marshall after breakfast, and it was wonderful! After lunch, I borrowed Hudner’s car and drove to Laurel to cousin Gary and Sally’s home. We chatted and relaxed until dinner of Salmon, peas and rice noodles. Their Siamese cat, Tubs had passed away, and I played with the other Siamese, Crocket before bedtime. Thursday after breakfast we relaxed and drove to Ellicott City. We walked down Main St, checking out the many shops and had lunch at Trolley Stop. Then we shopped at Trader Joes and Savage Mill closer to home. We prepared dinner and Kat, Billy and Lily came and Matt and Audrey followed soon after. We all enjoyed the baked chicken dinner and of course, 14-month-old, Lily was the center of attention.
When I was there, they had just recovered from a huge flood, and now this June 2018, there was another flood in Ellicott City.
Kat, Billy and Lily-the golden child!
Front: Matt, Audrey and me Back: Sally, Gary w/Lily and Kat
On Friday, we relaxed all morning until we went to Mission BBQ for Navy Day lunch with some friends. Back home we rested and worked on organizing old photos from Aunty Carol, Gary’s mom who passed away. After lunch, I drove to Severn to stay with Sharmaine, David, Collin and Addison. After dinner, we went to watch Addie play soccer and she is dynamite! Even the ref came over afterwards to say she was his favorite player of the game! The next day, Collin left for a boy scout camping trip. We had quiche for breakfast. I helped them clean closets and went to help sell Girl Scout cookies. We went to Casa Dela Nonna for Italian dinner.
David, Addison and Sharmaine live in Severn, MD
On Sunday, we had breakfast burritos and went to help sell GS cookies, but it was too rainy so we closed up shop after half an hour and Addie’s soccer game was cancelled. After cleaning Addie’s room, we had lunch and I left Severn to drive back to Vienna, VA to return Hudner’s car. We had cannelloni for dinner with Dennis’ Mom, who comes every Sunday for dinner.
Monday morning, I had to leave for the airport, so Dennis dropped me off and I got home after a layover in San Francisco.
2017 November San Jose
I fly to San Jose whenever Hawaiian Airlines has a sale. I rent a car and drive from one house to another to visit friends/relatives in the vicinity. This time, I stayed with Paul and Sigi in Point Richmond overnight, then to Santa Rosa to stay with Scott and Taylor. Tay showed me the devastation from recent fires in the newer and upscale hills area that all got burned. After a little shopping, we hung out and Tay cooked salmon for dinner.
2 of Sigi and Paul’s 4 doggies!
Taylor in their back yard! Scott is MIA-came home late from work.
The next morning, I drove east to Alamo to stay with cousin Carolyn. Her daughter, Jessica and family were there from LA for Thanksgiving week. On Wednesday, we celebrated Jose’s birthday with dungeness crab for lunch and crab pasta for dinner. On Thanksgiving day, I helped with dinner preparations and neighbors joined us.
In Alamo for Thanksgiving, my cousin Carolyn, Justin, Jordan, Jessica and Jose.
Friday after Thanksgiving, we shopped and had left-overs for lunch! After lunch, I drove to Lafayette to stay with Lovelle, my taiko friend. Lorin and Lovelle live near each other, and I met them 2 years ago at Taiko conference in Las Vegas. Three of us went to a Peruvian restaurant, Barranco for a delicious dinner. The next day, we spent the morning at Sausalito, walking and window-shopping. We had a delicious lunch at Scomas. Then to the city to shop at Muji and home to attend Taiko class.
Peruvian dinner at Barranco with Lovelle and Lorin.
On Sunday, I drove to the city to stay with Susan, Yvette’s high school classmate. We went to SFMoMa for lunch and enjoyed the art in the museum. My favorites were the spider sculptures by Louise Bourgeois and Walker Evans, prolific photographer of signs, faces, people on the street, and more, from all over the US. We went to tapas dinner at Contigo and had a very nice dinner with a bottle of red wine for me n Tom.
On Monday, Susan and Tom went to work, so I was on my own. I drove to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park then walked to the Japanese Garden. I drove to Ocean Beach, past Cliff House to Lands End for a walk in the woods and along the coast. What amazing scenery! After Susan and Tom came home from work, we went to B-Star, a Burmese restaurant-Yumm!
Art!
Giant spiders by Louise Bourgeois
Japanese Garden in Golden Gate Park
Forest at Lands End
Next morning I left at 5:30 am to drive to San Jose for my morning flight home.
lariyasui 