The weirdest place I've ever seen.

Recently, I went back home to Miami, and although I've pretty much grown up there, there's still a lot about it I don't know.  Case in point:  Jimbo's.  

From their website: Jimbo's is not a bar, but you can buy ice cold beer there.  It's not a restaurant or a convenience store, but you can buy the best smoked fish you ever tasted there. It's not a marina, but you can pull your boat up to this natural, eco-friendly location anytime and just hang out.

There are run-down, uninhabitable cottages, old sofas, signs and license plates, mannequins, tires, turned-over boats, stuffed animals up in the trees, cats, dogs, a bus...

...all in the most tranquil, lush setting.

And for the record, I wasn't brave enough to  taste the smoked fish.  Or buy the cold beer.

ALOHA!

Herbs and Veggies.

I have a few (very few) things growing in my back patio.  I'm so proud of myself because this is the longest I've ever gone without killing everything!  


This is my scallion plant - I just took the roots of scallions from the supermarket and planted them in a pot.  Who knew they'd grow so tall and multiply? 

This is my kale.  The leaves aren't that big yet, but it should be a few more weeks until I can eat it!  My friend gave me this plant - she started it from seeds.  I haven't really done that, just yet.  Baby steps.

These two are my Italian parsley.  I think I bought this one, and it's been flourishing for a few months.  My mom used fresh parsley in almost everything she made (and she made dinner from scratch every.single.night), and there's nothing like the texture and taste of it, to me. 

And finally, my pride and joy, my little tomato plant!  I got it from a friend, in a very young state.  This little plant truly makes me happy.  Every time I look at it , I see a new flower or a  new little tomato coming in, and I jump for joy! I point them out to Sebastian (in the hope that one day he'll eat a vegetable or fruit) and he gets excited too! "'Mate bebe," he says (baby tomato). 

It's the little things that make me smile.  I'm going to try my hand at bell peppers next, from seeds.  We'll see how that goes...


ALOHA!

Triple Crown of Surfing.

That's Joel Centeio (blue shirt), a local Hawaiian pro,  with Joel Parkinson on the bottom right.

Last winter, we were big surfing competition watchers.  We still are, but the season is over for now and we just watch repeats on the Surfing Channel.  The Triple Crown competition is the biggest one, and we predicted the winner, Joel Parkinson from Australia.  Unfortunately, we only made it to the Haleiwa Pro competition (there were 2 others, but rain and low wave delays made it hard for us to go on the weekdays.)   We did make it to the North Shore on some non-competition days, though, and enjoyed days of surfing, laying on the sand, and playing in the water.

ALOHA!

Weekend.

We're getting back to normal after our big trip... We made it out to the beach, and even watched a polo match this weekend.  Although realistically, I didn't end up seeing much of the game because two year-olds have the attention span, of well...two year-olds.   He got a hold of my camera again - I took his play camera along, but he's not dumb.  He wanted mami's fancy camera with all the buttons. And again, he took some pictures.  In fact, he took about 55.  I'll just show you the ones I took, for now...

The polo field is in Waialua, in the country, in between mountains and the ocean. 

We also managed to get some work done in the yard!

ALOHA!

A budding photographer.

Little S got a hold of my camera the other day and took these pictures.  Artistic!

ALOHA!

March 2011.

It's already May, and I noticed that I haven't posted anything in a while.  So much for keeping track of life in Hawai'i!  But in my defense, I was gone on vacation. For a month.  To Miami.  I KNOW!!  It's a tough life...but someone's gotta live it!! :)

Let's see...there was a Baby Shower, a Farewell Party, and a birthday! None of them in my honor...

...a Super Moon, a hike, the beach, and a few turtles too!

Not too shabby!

p.s. - If anyone knows how to fix my banner (and by fix it, I mean center it) please let me know! :)

ALOHA!

Haleiwa Farmer's Market (Sunday).

Haleiwa is one of my favorite places on the island.  I think we've been there more than any other place, whether to eat at the shrimp trucks, to watch surfing competitions, or just to "get away" for an afternoon.    Located on the North Shore, it's a charming little surfing town, known for its  laid-back, beachy atmosphere and world-class surfing. 

Today I finally made it to the weekly farmer's market.  I didn't take too many pictures, because I was busy looking at the fresh produce, tasting various juices and chocolates, and taking it all in.  Plus, it didn't help that it was hot and little S was getting a bit cranky (I did get us lost on the way there, which made for an hour-long car ride, so I kinda understand).  I'll be going back more frequently, if only for my fix of the avocado eggroll and the Madre Chocolates, so I'll take more pictures next time.

This dino-lizard and his message was part of the Defend Oahu Coalition's table. 
Click here if you want to learn more about this movement.