Viloria retains world title

Maybe you haven't heard...on Saturday night, Waipahu's own Brian Viloria retained his IBF championship belt at an event held at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. Truth be told, I wouldn't have known either except he's a local boy and he gets a lot of press here. My father-in-law didn't go to the fight, but met with him the next day at a party hosted by the Philippine Consulate. Here he is posing with the local celeb.

50th Anniversary Statehood Stamp

As mentioned last week, the Postal Service might have held the only official celebration of Hawaii's Statehood anniversary. Here's the stamp that was released. Regardless of the circumstances around the release, it's a very cool stamp. It was created by an artist from the Big Island, Herb Kane, who also did Hawaii's 25th anniversary stamp.

KanDoo!...Kan't

I spoke too soon in my blasting of the KanDoo! Island moored off Waikiki Beach. In yesterday's paper there was a quick update indicating the island has not been in the water since August 17th due to "insurance issues." They hope to get problem resolved soon (and reading between the lines, I think that means they hope to get insurance back soon), but in the meantime have laid off ALL of their employees. Should have known something was up - and sure glad I didn't trek down to Waikiki to try to get a glimpse of it - when the link to "How Kan I Get There" was broken on their website Monday. Maybe the obvious attempt to be "kute" by replacing the letter "c" with "k" every chance they could was bad karma.

Good times for Lego fans on Oahu

A new Lego store opened at the Ala Moana Center this month. They had special activities and freebies with purchase, but we didn't manage to get there. But we did make it to McDonald's, where the Happy Meal toy is a Lego car. Pretty nifty - each car is made up of three sections which are interchangeable with the other cars in the Happy Meal set. Don't care for the actual food in a Happy Meal? No worries. You can buy toys separately for $1.69 each. We bought a Happy Meal for Robbie and just a car for Cub during a recent mall visit to ride the monorail. Statehood Day treat. ;)

KanDoo! anchored off Waikiki Beach. Seriously?

Soon after we arrived home from our vacation, I read this in the Travel section of the Advertiser:

KanDoo! Island, a floating playground 200 yards off Waikiki, has officially launched. The "island" is a steel catamaran that includes a water slide, water trampoline, sun deck, four bars, and food service among other activities...

KanDoo! Island operates 9 am to 9 pm daily with food and beverages served all day. After sunset, Kandoo! becomes a romantic evening getaway spot/nightclub. ... A four-hour admission to the island is $20 for adults, $10 for children, plus the cost of activities. [note: I'm sure food is pricey, too.] www.gokandoo.com

I was horrified, sick to my stomach, and shocked all at the same time. I haven't been able to get into Waikiki and view it for myself, but I will soon. I'm at a complete loss as to how this monstrosity was allowed, yet folks are STILL fighting (and will for a while) about how an elevated track for rapid transit will ruin Chinatown. Four words for you people: Chinatown is already ugly. But mooring this "catamaran" off the beach in still-prized waters could have been avoided. I guess it could be worse. It's not there 24/7. If you want to have a nice stroll along the beach without this on the horizon, you have a very brief window in the morning.

Happy 50th Hawaii

Today marks 50 years of Hawaii statehood. Surprisingly, the only celebration scheduled is from the Post Office. There's a new stamp issue today and not one, but two, first-day issue stamp cancellation events around Honolulu. No Waikiki parade? Shocking!

Not only are there no celebrations, there were protests. Here's a shot from the Advertiser of a group of Native Hawaiians rallying downtown on Friday. Note the Hawaiian flags flown upside down.

Backyard Bird Watch - Redux

We went shopping yesterday to get Cub a new bike. Taking a stroll through the craft aisle on the way to the sporting equipment, Robbie spotted small, unpainted bird houses. He asked for one so we could feed the birds in the backyard. It was only a couple of dollars, so I was happy to buy it for him (along with red craft paint - the color he wanted after I asked him if he wanted to paint it). Once home we painted it and set it up with bird seed, but no birds yet. A "real" bird house we had a few years ago didn't end well (for the bird house) so we'll see how long this lasts. We might have to figure out a way to hang it so it attracts birds. So far this spot low to the ground isn't working. I'm getting just as sad as Robbie that no birds are showing up!

Day trip to Old Faithful

Grand Teton National Park is separated from Yellowstone National Park's South Gate by an 82 mile stretch of road called the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Highway. We decided to drive the road one day and spend some time around Old Faithful. We were caught off-guard a bit with a lot of road construction (stimulus dollars in action!) and got stuck in more traffic than we cared to, but really had fun once we reached our destination. First stop was lunch. While we were there the geyser went off. This sad (because he's looking at the phone and not the national landmark!), over-exposed shot above is my attempt to get Cub watching cartoons on the iPhone while Old Faithful erupts outside. We had a great view while we finished eating. Don't worry, we stuck around and got a little closer to more eruptions later in the day. And I think at least Robbie appreciated his surroundings.

Now entering the "black" period

Our preschooler started school immediately upon our return home from vacation. He was not happy about it. Loved summer and repeatedly said he did not want to go back to class. But trooper that he is, he gets up without a word every morning and has gotten on the bus with no problems. Then the first artwork of the year came home in his backpack and it was a little disturbing. Maybe this is his rebellion? I'm wondering if he picked this color, or if it was simply one of a few choices.

We now bring you...Grand Teton National Park

For reasons I don't even remember now, I've always wanted to visit Grand Teton National Park. Noel was interested in a photo class in Jackson, and I jumped at the chance to tag along. My first thoughts of the park were that it was very accessible and family-friendly. You can see the Teton Mountain Range easily from many points along numerous scenic drives. And the activities! Rafting, biking, hiking, kayaking, wildlife viewing (although we struck out here for the most part)...lots if fun. Unfortunately most activities are lost on the under two set, and even at four+, Robbie was too young for rafting. So we'll go back someday and plan a longer stay, for sure. I'm a little burned out on flying right now, so I see more inter-island trips in our immediate future, but we will return!

Wyoming recycles!

More from the camera roll. I'd forgotten I snapped this one morning at the Jackson post office while buying postcard stamps. It reminded me of our apartment in Maryland and how I wished we had a similar bin near our mailboxes. A nearby trash can always filled up quickly with junk mail. I should have bugged the management to set up something like this. And this wasn't the only recycling bin here. Each row of mailboxes had their own bin, so they easily had five or six in the building. Makes me sad that I live in a state that doesn't have a comprehensive recycling program. I think we're going ahead with the plan to pay to have our excess trash shipped to a Washington state landfill.

...and recycles...

Not just at the Post Office! Here are a sampling of recycling options near the parking lot of the National Elk Refuge in Jackson. Nice!

... and recycles.

I was pretty impressed with the array of bins at the Elk Refuge and then I turned the corner and saw a few more. I love it. Someone who walks the walk with regards to the environment.

Elk Antler Arches, Jackson Town Square

Here's a famous landmark in the city of Jackson: the Town Square park. Each of the four corners sports an Elk Antler Arch. After flying in with the boys from Seattle, the first thing I wanted to do was eat, and then I requested a walk around town. Noel brought us here. It was fun! Boys got to run around and we got to enjoy the late summer evening. It's a small lot. Guide books I read indicated otherwise, but the antler arches did not disappoint. Elk shed their antlers each Spring, so these were obtained without hurting any animals, in case you are concerned. :) If you would like to create your own elk antler art, each year the local boy scouts collect the antlers from the National Elk Refuge and the antlers are auctioned off in this square.

Elk Antler Arches close-up

Here I go spouting off about the iPhone again, but even using the camera with no bells and whistles produced results I like. Here's a zoom in on the arches. I have to say I like this composition!

Yes, we got that close

On the last drive back to our hotel room on Thursday, we took an alternate road to Jackson. We'd had poor luck with wildlife spotting in both parks (Yellowstone and Grand Teton) so we tried Antelope Flats Road. Well, we got bison. Lots of bison! Noel was shooting with his camera as we all sat in the car. The windows were down and Cub started getting fussy and crying, so I started thinking we might upset this guy and drove away.