HULA: Hawaii Ultimate League Association

Realizing that updating a blog requires effort. Hm.

Thursday: Downtown Honolulu-- Chinatown, courthouse, Iolani palace, cathedrals, etc. Went out for a pre-dinner walk that ended up lasting almost 3 hours. We went around Diamond head, really nice area with a great view/access to the ocean, lots of local surfers and stoners, and gorgeous luxury homes. By the time we got back it was happy hour at Kincaid's and we couldn't resist going back to celebrate Alex's new job.

Food should be real. I commend. Ate a Snickerdoodle cupcake.

Mock trial skillz put to use: Apathetic defendant.

King Kamehameha I and I, governing Hawai'i.

Iolani Palace, where the last queen watched her monarchy fail.

There's a bird on baby Jesus.
Not baby cheeses, for Modfam watchers.

Beautiful, uniquely engineered stained glass
window. Too bad the art content is terrifying.

My future home, NBD. Actually, BFD.

Friday: Hung out by Waikiki (super touristey area where all the hotels/shops/obscenely expensive restaurants are) for the morning, then headed north to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It's Hawaii's version of Disneyland, with a historical/cultural basis. Very cool setup. Six Polynesian states are represented, and the people at each 'village' are actually from those countries, and a lot of them are full-time students at the neighboring BYU-Hawaii, working to pay for school while preserving and educating people about their culture. Stopped at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck featuring the famous Kahuku white shrimp. Commentary below, with picture. Then went out with Alex and one of his friends, visiting from the big island. And I made new friends of my own!

New place of employment-- CONGRATS! It's majestic.

This sketchy ass truck is actually famous.

Hot and spicey shrimp. It burned. Most of you know about my
high spice tolerance... These shrimp made my mouth numb.
Apparently they're boiled in hot sauce... My mouth wanted to
kill me. Unbelievable pain. But it was soo tasty!

I should have known-- 'no refunds' means REALLY REALLY SPICY.
It's refreshing for 'hot and spicey' to live up to its title though.
Also, I LOVE the 3-item menu. Simplicity, In-n-Out style.

They were selling ice cream from this canoe.
I might have interrupted. Background shows
people sitting, waiting for the 'canoe pageant'
where each island has a canoe with native dancers.
Similar to the parades down Main Street, USA.

He thought it would be fun to make me push the canoe.
I did. People clapped. I asked for ice cream. Got it.

Trying to blend in.

Post-nightlife Zippy's run. Chili cheese fries are the best.

Saturday: Kapi'olani Farmer's Market again! No pics though, I was too busy looking/eating. Then went horseback riding, just on a little trail ride around the Koko crater area. Pretty nice place, calm horses, great people. One girl who was working there was wearing a Spin Ultimate hat so I commented and naturally we talked about ultimate the whole time. This post is titled HULA because on the unexpectedly long walk Thursday night we passed an open field. And I saw discs in the air, only to then discover that it was a regular weeknight pickup game. Better yet, the guy I talked to mentioned his school and I mentioned someone that I met in Atlanta summer league 2 years ago who went there too, and sure enough they knew each other. Ultimate community win. Also, the girl at the stable was talking about knowing contacts to find games in Australia, and passing my info to another friend who was moving to LA. Have I mentioned that I love ultimate? Definitely seeking out souvenir discs now. And offering Hellions ones for exchange!
So then we came back, Alex had other arrangements, and I ended up back at Waikiki on yet another extensive stroll, this time with a new friend, and going for a night swim. So liberating.

Koko head hike, which I will destroy.

Horse ears are adorable.

On my high horse! Hiapatha. Not sure what her name means.

With my horse! Sans unnecessary helmet.

With Alex's horse, Apache.

She couldn't resist stopping and eating the grass/plants.
We understood each other very well.

Merp I'm tired! And there's still so much I want to do. Starting to prep logistics for the next destination-- Sydney. So excited to be staying in a hostel there. But until then, I will savor the last 2 full days I have here on Oahu. Summer has been amazing, and this is just the beginning.