shave ice & gelato

I took these pictures a couple of years ago one evening at sunset while down at the Ala Wai boat harbor, which is considered to be the beginning of Waikiki. I hope you like them.

I took this photo yesterday evening at Ala Moana from the balcony of the restaurant, Mariposa, in Neiman Marcus. We stopped to use the bathroom in the store before heading out to our cars. When I saw the view from the restaurant, I decided to take a couple of quick photos (since many were staring at me as I was not a customer eating dinner there). The photo is not one of my best - just a view from the mall.

I thought more about Nordstrom last night and have come to the conclusion that the store in Hawaii must not be a complete Nordstrom store. Each department was very limited in their selection. Even the underwear/bra department had only 1/3 of the selection that Macy's has. I think the owners decided to only sell the more expensive items in each department, which I believe is a major mistake. The store was not that much busier than Neiman Marcus (which is always empty) and this was during spring break, a very busy time of year when teachers flock to the mall to shop.

After waking up early this morning with another massive migraine, I slept most of the day. I don't have the energy to hunt for a scary photo and so I have decided to skip PhotoHunt this week. Instead, I have decided to post the following...
(I will be back next week for another PhotoHunt entry.)

After a stressful day at work many months ago, I spontaneously drove up to the North Shore (with an older digital camera). I hung out on the beach for a while. I packed up and started heading home when the the sun was about to set because I don't like driving home in the dark from the North Shore. I didn't get far though. After driving only a few minutes, I could not resist stopping at Haleiwa Beach Park to take a few photos of this beautiful view. I ended up driving home in the dark after all, but it was worth it. Although a little blurry, this is one of my favorite photos.

Views from my lanai this morning:

*will continue with Bologna tomorrow...

There was a murder at the shopping center near my house yesterday afternoon. I left work early after feeling sick all day and stopped at the shopping center to pick up a prescription right when the ambulance arrived. Police were everywhere. A woman was stabbed while sitting on a bench eating saimin after getting her hair cut. She later died at the hospital. She was a teacher, a wife, and a mother of two young children. The man who killed her was found sitting on the grass smoking a cigarette across the street from the shopping center. As of right now, most think it was a random murder. The woman was murdered about 15 minutes before I arrived at the shopping center. The man bought the knife in the store I was in probably a few minutes before she was stabbed. I often walk to this shopping center, and walk right by the bench where she was sitting. I still feel very safe where I live and I will continue to walk to this shopping center but I won't forget about this horrible and senseless murder for a long time.

I am thankful so many things, my family and friends, a job, a roof over my head,
my health, my travels, but mostly today I am thankful for my life, my life in this beautiful place.