Obama Tour

I took Mom to the dentist this morning. Dad was supposed to go also but the appointment was too early for him (9 am) so he opted to stay in bed. Mom needs additional work so I scheduled her next appointment along with Dad's cleaning for 11 am in a couple of weeks. As we were leaving Mom insisted on giving the receptionist $20 to go to lunch. She refused 3 times, then finally took it and whispered to me that they would credit it to Mom and Dad's account as they have in the past when Mom gets like this. But as she wrote out the receipts for me she slipped it between the 2 receipts and handed it back to me; I put it with the grocery money that Mom gave me.

While there I started the paperwork to have my dental records sent to their office so I can get my dental work done here. The receptionist said that if Washington Dental is part of Delta Dental then I could have work covered by my current COBRA coverage since Hawaii Dental is part of Delta Dental. She is checking from her end and I will check with the Conexis folks who administer the COBRA program.

After I dropped Mom off I spent the rest of the day with Misty and Ava. They wanted to see the beach that President Obama goes to. We started with lunch at Rainbow Drive-In, one of the destinations on their Hawai'i bucket list and also a favorite of the Prez. Ava had a chicken burger, Misty tried the loco moco, and I had the shoyu chicken, which I shared with Misty and Ava so they could sample more local cuisine.

Top to bottom: chicken burger (in bag), loco moco (with a piece of shoyu chicken on the side), and shoyu chicken

To head to the Windward side there are several options. I decided to go via the Pali Highway so I could take them to the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout. This is where King Kamehameha defeated the chief of O'ahu and united the Hawai'ian Islands under one ruler. Unfortunately I have no photos at the lookout, though I did take a few for Misty. There was a light drizzle and mist blowing up the face of the pali.

We then headed for the beach at Lanikai, another presidential favorite. Misty and Ava waded out in the water for a while. It started to drizzle as we headed back to the car; once we got in it began to pour! We headed to Kailua Beach Park, further down the road where the beach was wider. It was drizzling there, too.

Ava and Misty wading in the water at Lanikai; background, L to R: Moku Nui and Moku Iwi (collectively known as Na Mokulua)

As we were leaving the area we passed by Island Snow, the shave ice shop that the Obama family goes to when they are in town. Ava had cotton candy, I can't remember what Misty tried, I had mango and li hing mui which actually tasted like mango and li hing mui!


On the way back we stopped at Waimanalo Beach Park, Halona (Blow Hole) view point, and took a drive up Wilhelmina Rise. We ordered a pizza which we picked up on the way home and had dinner with Mom and Dad. As she was leaving, Mom gave Ava some money to buy a memento of her trip to Hawai'i. The one thing I forgot to do was take them by Leonard's Bakery to get for malasadas for dessert! Oh well, they'll just have to come back for another visit!

One thing I have noticed is that Mom is really in to giving people money these days. And then she frets about whether she has given them enough money. Or even if she has given them anything at all. After I returned she kept asking me if she remembered to give Ava some money. I do know she is always concerned about not owing anyone any money but I am not sure what this is about.