Sunday, December 4, 2016

joshua tree national park

This past Veteran's Day weekend, we took a quick trip up to Joshua Tree National Park. For some reason, I thought it was just a small plot of land with a bunch of Joshua trees... which I guess is kind of like how I used to think Arches National Park only had one arch (yeah, I know, it's called "arch-ES").  So, I was quite pleased that there was more to the park than just a lot of funky looking trees. Definitely enjoyed the multiple bouldering opportunities; much better than hiking!

And beware the cholla cactus.












Left: bouldering champion. Right: I got too ambitious and needed assistance. 



Baby cholla. So cute. So dangerous. 










Tuesday, September 27, 2016

maui, hi

Maui! The land of crazy fried salty foods and turtles. I drove the road to Hana and didn't get too sick :D By the last day, though, we couldn't eat anymore... 

Deep fried spam musubi and korean chicken.






Eskimo Candy. It's so shiny.








Black sands.

Pools of Ohe'o.





 We made a few visits to Costco out of curiosity. And although their watermelon is insanely expensive, they did have rambutan, mango cheesecake, pork buns, lau lau, and other delicious fattening pastries that you can't get in San Diego. Or anywhere else probably. Hooray for that Asian plurality.
 


Ululani's shave ice. And no, it's not "shaved" ice. And yes, it's soft as snow. We had this four times. The workers recognized us :D......



More fattening foods: kalua pork loco moco on fried rice, pancakes with macadamia vanilla sauce, and this ridiculous ice cream hula pie (served with a spork). 

 We also decided to go to fancy Sunday brunch at the grand Wailea. Quite the experience!
One of many plates. This was the most Hawaiian: pineapples, longan, and malasada.
 Lastly, we took a snorkel tour to the crater Molokini to snorkel with the turtles. Sadly C ended up puking over the boat and scared an elderly French couple sitting next to us. At least they had good sandwiches.



 
Last meal! Loco moco with teriyaki chicken, beef teriyaki, and fish tempura. It came in a bucket and we couldn't finish it.