Monthly Archives: August 2015

Ten Fabulous Days in Honolulu!

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There’s not much more to be said about Hawaii that I haven’t already said, but I’m going to talk about it anyway. This trip was the first time the entire summer that all four of us were in the same geographical location. We stayed at the Halekulani and a wondrous time was had by all!

In addition to 10 days in paradise, we also were fortunate enough to have Yinan and her mother join us for a few days. It was great to see Yinan again and meet her mother. We really have missed her!

view from the Halekulani

view from the Halekulani

Other highlights of the trip include:

  • Surfing lessons for the kids
  • Segway tour up to Diamondhead (the boy, in particular, thought the Segway was amazing)
Amelia Earhart lookout

Amelia Earhart lookout

  • Helicopter tour of Oahu
view of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor (oil is still leaking from the ship)

view of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor (you can see the oil still leaking from the ship)

Oahu

Oahu

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  • Dinners at Chef Mavro, Nobu, Town, and Alan Wong’s
  • Shave ice at Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha
the best (!) shave ice

the best (!) shave ice

We jammed a lot of other things in as well, but these were the high points. The only sad thing about our trip is that we had to come back!

Book review: Outlaw by Angus Donald

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Outlaw (The Outlaw Chronicles, #1)Outlaw by Angus Donald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good friend recommended this book to me, since I am also a huge fan of Sharon Kay Penman’s and Bernard Cornwell’s books. I won’t admit this to my friend, but he was spot on with his recommendation. 🙂 “Outlaw” is the story of Robin Hood told from the viewpoint of Alan a Dale. The story is told very much in the Cornwell style–gritty, violent, and occasionally very gory. But Angus Donald’s writing is more well-rounded than Cornwell’s. The characters are better fleshed out, and the pacing is even stronger. Robin is a flawed but heroic character, with strengths and weaknesses that are well developed. The historical setting is full of accurate period details and are effortlessly incorporated into the story. You never feel like you’re in the middle of a history lecture. The violence is realistic but never gratuitous or sensationally gory.
The biggest weakness of the book is the character development of the secondary figures–a skill that I think male writers of historical fiction often lack. But the story is so compelling and the details so vivid that I happily forgive the author for this one fault and eagerly look forward to the next volume of Robin Hood’s adventures!

View all my reviews

Tokyo and the US-Japan Leadership Program

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We traveled to Tokyo in late July to participate in the US-Japan Leadership Program alumni weekend but arrived a few days early so that we could do the important things in Tokyo—Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland. 🙂

(Our son came with us on the trip, but our daughter was doing her community service project and wasn’t able to make it.)

We had never been to DisneySea, and it was a really fabulous experience to visit a Disney park where everything was new. Our favorite rides there were Journey to the Center of the Earth and the Indiana Jones ride (which is based on the horrible Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull movie). There is a Stormrider ride that is somewhat similar to the Star Tours simulator ride that is also very well done.

Tokyo DisneySea

Tokyo DisneySea

We had only been to Tokyo Disneyland once before. Once again, the Winnie-the-Pooh ride was our favorite (and it’s the best version of the ride in all of the Disney parks, hands down). We also loved the Buzz Lightyear and Monsters, Inc. rides there. And we are continually fascinated by the different flavors of popcorn available in the Tokyo Disneyland park—honey, chocolate, curry, teriyaki, and regular. Curry popcorn was the Ms’ favorite flavor, but Jim was NOT a fan.

Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland

It was also fun to compare the design and rides with all of the other Disney parks. Yes, I know we are hopeless Disney addicts!

We ate at a one Michelin star teppanyaki restaurant called Ukai-tei. It was an interesting combination of classically trained teppanyaki and classically trained French chefs in one restaurant (and chef). The food was fabulous, and it was a great experience.

The USJLP alumni weekend was a tremendous amount of fun. There were over 70 Fellows who attended, and many more Americans than typical. The nice thing about having a critical mass of Fellows is that you don’t feel as much like you’re intruding on the delegates’ fun and bonding. It was really lovely to see all the Fellows, catch up on their news, and meet the delegates (some of whom I already knew from DC gatherings). There was even a bonding amongst what we hope to be the future generation of USJLP-ers!

future USJLPLers

future USJLPLers

Oh, and I can’t forget that only in Japan can you find square watermelons!

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