Aloha Oe

It's hard to believe, but Allison has gone off to BYU. It seems like only yesterday that she was our cute little princess, our "royalty spoilty", who was constantly doted over by her brothers and sisters. Then they all left and she has basically been an only child at home for the last eight years. Bonnie and I are now empty nesters, and Allison is off to new adventures. She has looked forward to this for a long time. We pray that all will go well.

Allison and her friend, Alayna Lesuma, just before we left for the airport.

Allison's new Hawaiian quilt, a labor of love from Bonnie, with a little help from Dad and Allison.

Hike to Laie Summit

Friday was a state holiday in Hawaii, so we went on a hike to Laie Summit. We have lived in Laie for ten years, but Bonnie and Allison have never hiked to the summit, and I had only hiked there once. I thought it would be a great most-of-the-day, discover something new, feeling of accomplishment type of hike. Besides, as you can see from these pictures, it was a gorgeous day in Hawaii. In this first picture, Bonnie and Allison are picking strawberry guavas.

This is the "Hills Are Alive" part of the Laie Falls hike. There is always a breeze and a great view of both the mountains, the ocean and Laie. Somehow it reminds us of the scene in the Sound of Music where Julie Andrews bursts out into "The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Music"

A brief rest at the pine forest.





Trail through the jungle.



Bonnie in the lush rainforest.

Big mushroom under a mossy log.

The trail was a little muddy. Bonnie enjoying a rest at the summit.

View toward Kaena Point, the farthest point north and west on Oahu.

On the trail just below the summit.

St Allison's stuck in the mud.

Panoramic view of Laie

Beautiful mountain flowers

We took a little detour to Laie Falls on the way down.

Aaaah, this feels good!!!!

It was a great hike. When we finished, we went home, took a shower, then went to Turtle Bay Resort, where we watched a presentation by a chef, relaxed in hammocks, then ate a wonderful dinner at Ola while listening to Hawaiian music and watching the sunset. Hawaii can be tough, but somebody has to live here.

Hau'ula Loop Trail Hike

Last Wednesday, Allison and I hiked the Hau'ula Loop Trail, one of our family's favorite short hikes. Here are some pictures from the hike. This first picture is in the middle of the deep, dark forest part of the trail.


Beautiful trees in the deep, dark forest.

This is one of the few places on the Hau'ula Loop trail that opens up and gives a view. Most of the trail is in the woods, with a somewhat mysterious feel.

Tree roots like these are typical on Hawaii mountain trails.

Thickets of trees are common on the way down the trail. When they are in season, this would be a great place to pick orange lilikoi (passion fruit). Unfortunately, we didn't see any on this day.

Lennie near the beginning of the hike by a grove of Norfolk Pines.

Allison at the entrance of the hike.

Drive Down Highway 1

Some colorful characters at Santa Barbara's waterfront.
Santa Barbara's Mission Cathedral
Beautiful scene on the Big Sur

Hearst's Castle
Elephant Seal. This was perhaps the nicest surprise of the day. This beach was full of elephant seals who entertained us for about an hour.

Two lovebirds on the Big Sur.
Two younger lovebirds on the Big Sur.


These pictures are pretty much in reverse order. After going to Cat and Boo's church, we spent a sunny Sunday driving down Highway 1: the Pacific Coast Highway, one of the most famous and beautiful drives in the country. Highlights were the Big Sur country, the elephant seals, a quick glimpse of Hearst's Castle and Santa Barbara. I'll see if I can upload a video of the elephant seals. They are really interesting animals. Apparently, they only migrate to this particular beach, at least in California.

Scenes from Monterey

` Here are scenes from our two-day visit to Monterey to see our niece, Catherine (Cat), her husband, Boo, and their daughter, Hajin.
One of the highlights of our trip to Monterey was riding our bikes on the 17-mile road around the Monterey Peninsula, something we did on our honeymoon 34 years ago. Here are scenes from Pebble Beach Golf Club, one of the meccas of golf.


The above picture, plus the next three, are from Point Lobos State Reserve, south of Carmel: a breathtaking area that Cat introduced us to.



Has Cat sprouted a new head? Oh, I think that's Hajin.
Sea Lions hanging around the Fisherman's Wharf area in Monterey.

First Two Days in Los Angeles

Checking out the merchandise in L.A.'s fashion district. This area of L.A. feels like Mexico, the Philippines or most any country in Asia, Latin America, etc. Bonnie and Heather were especially on the lookout for fabric, much to Lennie's delight.

We attended the Los Angeles Temple. Doug and Heather's apartment was so close to the temple that you could see the Angel Moroni from their front yard.

The first night we were there, we watched Smokey Robinson perform at the Hollywood Bowl. For a 70-year old, he is still fun to watch.

Heather and Doug's love nest.

Bonnie and Heather at the Santa Monica Pier.

These are highlights from our first two days in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, we have no pictures for perhaps our most memorable highlight. Bonnie and I stayed in a bed and breakfast about one block from the south part of Beverly Hills. On our first morning, we got up and went for a walk, with the idea of walking to the area where the celebrities' houses are in Beverly Hills. On our way, a man and his dog were blocking the sidewalk. The man was reading the newspaper on one side, the dog was sniffing around on the other side and the leash was suspended across the sidewalk. Bonnie walked up to the man and said, with a bit of an attitude, "Excuuuuuse me!!!" The man looked up from his paper and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry", just as I approached him. His voice sounded very familiar. When I took a closer look, he looked a lot like Neil Diamond. I went up to Bonnie and said, "Do you realize that the guy you were just rude to is Neil Diamond?" She looked back and said, "No, he's too old and too skinny!" We walked up to the corner then turned right. We soon decided we were going in the wrong direction, so we turned back to the corner. By that time, "Neil Diamond" and his dog were at the corner. I told Bonnie that she should ask him if he is Neil Diamond. If he says yes, tell him, "Do you realize that you helped me deliver my third baby?" (That's a long story). She said that she didn't want to bother him, so we just walked on. We later told our Neil Diamond story to Heather, Doug, Cat and Boo who really didn't believe that he could be Neil Diamond. I don't think Bonnie fully believed it either, so I suggested that we Google "Neil Diamond" to get a recent picture of him. Bonnie looked at some pictures and thought it could have been Neil Diamond, but still wasn't 100% sure, so I suggested that we Google "Neil Diamond's Dog". Sure enough, there was a picture of Neil Diamond's dog and there was no question that it was the very dog that we saw on the sidewalk. That was our rather intimate, accidental encounter with a celebrity.

Scenes from Kenai Peninsula

Bonnie, Adam and Sophie at one of the world's most beautiful highway rest stops. Who's going to win?

Overlooking Homer and the Homer Spit.

At the boat harbor on Homer Spit.

The world-famous Driftwood Inn. Lennie got in big trouble for reserving this place. It ranked as the #2 most popular hotel in Homer by Trip Advisor. There must be a lot of people even cheaper than us who stay in Homer. It was like staying in an old ship.

Aren't they adorable?

Allison and Lennie with their big catch!!

This picture was taken near the beach behind the Driftwood Inn. Bonnie, Allison and I took an invigorating morning walk there.

The seaweed comes big in Alaska.

The Russian Orthodox Church in a town where Bonnie and I ate at a funky little Russian restaurant.

Digging for razor clams at Clam Gulch.

Mount Redoubt, the volcano that erupted just months ago, as seen from the backyard of the Clam Gulch Lodge.

We hijacked a row boat on the Lower Russian Lake.

Russian River Falls.

Watching a bear fish below the Russian River Falls.


Here are pictures from our last three days in Alaska: all on the Kenai Peninsula. Bonnie and I had some time to ourselves for about 3 1/2 days, and were then joined by everyone else for the last two. The Kenai Peninsula has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, yet it is only 2-4 hours away from Anchorage.