Labor Day Weekend

A little late, but better late than never. Right?

We decided to use Labor Day weekend to explore the island and have some family fun. On Friday, we had our first official beach day.

Waimea Bay Beach

We went to a small, cozy beach on the North Shore called Waimea Bay Beach. It's a small cove with the highway on one side (seen above) and cliffs on the other. There was even a large rock the went out far enough into the ocean that you could jump off of it. The water was beautiful and clear, but there was a strong tide. Apparently, in the winter months this is where all the big waves will be. We set up our new SPF-50 baby tent and gave Evie her first taste of playing in the sand.

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She and Jay went into the water and she loved it! She really loved sitting in the shallow areas and having the waves rush up over her feet. We saw turtles swimming near shore but I wasn't able to get a good shot of them. After a bit of play, she got hungry. So like a true island Princess, she took her bottle in the tent with the sea breeze blowing and the waves crashing in front of her. She lasted about 2 hours at the beach before getting sleepy, so that's when we left. We stopped at Giovanni's shrimp truck on the way home and had some garlic shrimp for lunch. Delicious, but stinky! I think we smelled like garlic for at least two days.

We didn't do much Saturday; I think it was too rainy. I was up early to watch ESPN Game Day (I refuse to DVR it). Jay worked on pictures for our damage claim from moving. After everything was submitted, we had $4,500 worth of items damaged! Not sure how much we'll actually get to fix/replace things, but it's still annoying to have to deal with.

Sunday we had pool day. There's a pool less than a five-minute walk away so it's easy to go there without having to lug a bunch of stuff. They have lanes for swimming laps, a high dive, and a kiddie pool. We took a float and put Evie in the kiddie pool, where she was just tall enough to touch. She bounced all around the pool and had a great time. Unfortunately, we were able to stay only ten minutes or so before it started to rain. 

On Monday, we headed to Waimea Falls to go hiking. Located on the North Shore of Oahu, there's a beautiful waterfall and rainforest park as well as a restaurant. Lots of movies have been shot there, including the second Hunger Games.

Lily pads

Waimea Falls

We hiked up to the falls with Evie strapped to Jay's back in the baby harness. She seemed to enjoy herself, although she got fidgety after a while because she wanted to get out and move around. It was a beautiful hike and we saw a lot of tropical plants. At the falls, a tour guide offered to take our picture and was very friendly with the baby.

After we returned to the entrance to the park, we had a quick lunch at the park's restaurant, The Proud Peacock. The food was decent and just what we needed after spending the morning in the sun. There were peacocks walking all around the outside deck, but they didn't bother you if you didn't bother them. Jay and I split a snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich for dessert, which was made of all local ingredients and definitely worth the calories!

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to more adventures this fall.

Honeymoon Beach for Daddy's work picnic

Settling In

Not much new has been going on here. We finally received our household goods last week, but that'll be a separate post. We survived a hurricane, which turned out to be a little rain and a six-hour power outage. We're still waiting on Jay's car to arrive, which limits Evie and I to walking everywhere. Luckily we live close to a lot of things and I've been too preoccupied with unpacking to think about going out anywhere.

The weekend before our household goods came we took a drive to the North Shore, which will probably be the beaches we go to as they are closer to us than Honolulu or the other beaches. We passed fields of sugar and the Dole Plantation, and once we crested a hill we saw the beautiful ocean in the distance. Unfortunately, we didn't plan ahead and got so frustrated with tourist traffic that we ended up turning around and coming home.

We had our first experience with letting the neighborhood kids do yard work for us. Ten bucks and our backyard was mowed/weeded. They were so cute and did a really good job, although I was a little nervous watching the little one use the weedwacker...

Evie figured out how to climb the steps one night. I turned my eyes for ten seconds and when I looked back, she was no longer sitting at the base of the stairs, but was sitting on the first step, going for the second! The baby gates went up quickly after.

The commissary has a lot of neat foods that I've never seen before, especially Asian foods. I love cooking with ginger but hate buying ginger root; it's a pain in the butt peeling/grating it yourself and I always end up throwing out most of it. Imagine my delight when I found minced ginger in a jar! It's been great for cooking fish, which there are all kinds of here at great prices (thick ahi steaks are $4.99). Our only surprise so far has been buying sweet potatoes. Apparently, they're white here, not orange like we're used to buying back home. We've messed up twice now, buying and cooking the white ones. They don't cook like the kind we eat back home, but instead turn out dry and mealy. I've recently cooked ahi belly, swordfish, and opah (aka moonfish, starfish). All were very tasty and I look forward to really learning how to cook them while we're here.

Last weekend we had Tropical Storm Iselle come through. It hit the big island and Maui harder than us, and some people on the big island are still without power. We had a little wind and rain, but nothing big. We had worse thunderstorms in MD than this tropical storm! We lost power for about six hours, but with all the unpacking we had to do we kept very busy. We had plenty of water and canned foods stocked just in case, and we ended up eating Vienna sausages and fruit for lunch. The sausages gave me a stomach ache and I'm glad I won't have to eat them again for a while. At about hour four without power, we scrambled to get our fridge foods in a cooler, and luckily everything was just fine.

A hurricane-style lunch

We're still getting settled in the house, but we have a daily routine and have almost found a place for all of our stuff. Now, if we can just get Jay's car here, Evie and I can start exploring!

Helping to un-organize the hangers

Our New Home

We have a house!

The process of finding a home, signing a lease, and moving in was actually one of the easiest we have done ever. We moved into a home on-post, which is something we initially thought we wouldn't want. Usually, living on-post means bad housing (the Army is known for it's crappy accommodations), significant distance from the outside world and activities, and an overall pain-in-the-butt lifestyle. Finding housing off-post was becoming difficult so we decided to cover all of our bases and see the on-post housing. 

View from front porch

I'm so glad we did! We got to see two different homes, one that was new construction and one that was historic. While the historic housing was beautiful, it is further away from things and we kept getting bit by bugs while looking at the outside of the home (we took that as a sign). So we chose a new-construction home near the middle of post. We figured out that living on-post only added about five minutes to our travel time to go places and actually put us closer to the North Shore, which is where we'd go to the beach. Plus, on-post housing was available right away and living in that hotel room was getting old.

This home is two-story, which is a bit of an adjustment as well as a great leg workout! It's in a neighborhood with other majors and colonels. Outside our front door is a huge lawn for kids to play on as well as a playground, and less than two blocks away is a huge park and the community center. We can walk to the Commissary and PX as well as one of the five pools available to us on Schofield.

Future eating area and back yard

We have a detached 2-car garage, a decent-sized back yard, and a back porch. The kitchen has an eating area off one end and a potential family room on the other. The oven/microwave unit has a delay start function which I'm looking forward to trying out (it's the little things). As a side note: the house looks cluttered and disorganized now. We haven't gotten our household goods yet with no delivery date in sight, so we're living bare-bones with plastic covered furniture.

One of my favorite features of this home is the screened front door. It gets warm here but not really hot, so we can have the front door open with a nice breeze coming through and we listen to the kids playing outside.

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The upstairs has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a linen closet, and a huge storage room. I'll spare you pictures of our clothes laying everywhere (no hangers!) and suitcases piled in one room. It will be nice to have our household goods delivered so we can finally settle in. 

So far, we are really happy with our home. The neighborhood is quiet and the renter's association is very responsive to work orders/concerns. It'll also be nice to have a second car here so Evie and I aren't housebound all the time. We've taken walks to Starbucks, the Commissary, and the park. Multiple times. We're ready to see some things in the town next to post. But for now, we're happy to be in a home, with cable that gets Bravo (I was starting to go a little stir crazy from missing my housewives).

This is an historic home on Pearl Harbor that we drove by yesterday. It's part of a neighborhood that was built in 1914. We couldn't get much closer than this to the houses but they were all so beautiful and really well-preserved.

Time Out

We took time last weekend to remember why Hawaii is so beautiful and to escape our small hotel room for a few hours.

Radar that sits on a steel frame on water

First, we headed to Pearl Harbor. We just drove around and didn't get out of the car to see any of the museums, but it was a beautiful base! The first thing you notice is a huge, white balloon which I learned is a large radar. The housing on Pearl Harbor was very tropical and the flora is amazing. I tried to get lots of pics but snapping photos behind a car window always turns out bad.

Wonton Ramen

While at Pearl Harbor, we went to the NEX (Navy Exchange, AKA Walmart for the military). This place was huge! All clothing downstairs (good stuff, too) and upstairs was like a Bed, Bath,, and Beyond. We grabbed some things we needed and headed next door to the commissary, which was also huge and had lots of selection. Much better than the one on Schofield, unfortunately, as it is 20 minutes from Schofield.We drove around some more but nothing else was very interesting.

The next day we headed to Kaneohe Bay, which is on the opposite side of the island. There's a military base there and the views during the drive were amazing! You have to go through tunnels in the mountains, which rise up almost out of no where. We saw the Marine base there and then had lunch at a Ramen restaurant. Turns out, Ramen is more than just cheap noodles and salt in a packet! I got Wonton Ramen, which came with a delicious beef broth and Japenese veggies. It was great!

On the way back we got some pictures at an overlook with Kaneohe Bay in the background.

After this stop, Bug fell asleep so we continued our site seeing and went to Diamond Head, a dormant volcano crater next to Honolulu. You can hike to the top of the crater but it was very hot and crowded, so we'll wait until another time for that. We were able to stop at a few scenic overlooks along the way and get some pics.

View of Koko Head, another volcano

It was great to get out and see the area while waiting for things with housing to come together. I forgot to include this pic last time, but here's Evie getting a bath the only way we were able to until our express shipment came:

Murphy's Law

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And boy, did it.

Evie had finally fallen asleep by the time we got to the hotel, so while Jay waited in line I kept pushing her around in the stroller. I really think it took 30 minutes to check-in; everything runs more slowly here. We finally get to our room which is on the top floor on the corner facing the sun. They left the curtains open so despite the fact that the A/C was cranking, the living room was SO HOT. Hot enough to wake Evie up, sweating and screaming. We were lucky to get a suite with two rooms, which has been so helpful with putting Evie to bed. The hotel is very dated but clean. The first night we didn't have a crib so the hotel let us rent their crib (i.e. a Pack and Play) for the reasonable fee of $25 a night.

Living room

We quickly found out that we have about 20 channels, 2 of which are in Korean and Japanese and another 1-2 that focus solely on Hawaiian travel. And tragically, Bravo is not one of these channels!! But Nickelodeon is, so we've been getting caught up on our Full House reruns at night.

Another problem we soon encountered was we had no internet. It clearly states that we get free internet with our stay, but the manager who gives the authorization codes was not in, so we had to purchase internet for the low rate of $7 a day until he was working again. Once we spoke with him, we got free internet access but you have to have a code for each device. Only a few of the codes actually work and they erase themselves at random times, so you could be in the middle of doing something and if the internet decides you need to re-enter the code, you have to exit your browser and start all over. We don't even bother with connecting our phones anymore.

Kitchen and entry

Bathroom with tiny, dark shower

In our kitchen we had a small number of dishes/silverware and some basic cookware. The shower (pictured above) is very tiny and dark, but the water pressure is great. There are also two separate bedrooms and a closet area. We have three separate balconies (two off living room, one off our bedroom) and although we're in the middle of a bunch of high rises, it's still nice to sit out there at night with a drink and feel the ocean breeze.

Sunset on our balcony

The next morning, we woke up to a very sick baby. At 3:30am. She was so congested and of course, the one thing I didn't pack was the bulb syringe. We were all up for the day, a day in which we anticipated getting our car and our express shipment. A few minutes and curses later, we found out that our car was here in Honolulu but would not be off-loaded from the cargo ship until the following week. Same for our express shipment. So "cha-ching, cha-ching" we had to go rent a car and buy lots of supplies that were supposed to be in our express shipment.

Morning coffee

We woke up the next morning (3:30am again) and all three of us are sick! I managed to not get sick for seven years, but have been sick twice in the last two months, WTH? Feeling like crap, we went to the beach to get out of the room and remember why people love coming to Hawaii. The beach was beautiful and the fresh air helped us all breath better. We did more shopping that day for things we should have had already and came home, just to watch Evie start crawling for the first time. Little stinker.



We had a few other incidents, like losing the computer power cord only to find it right in front of our face hours later after we assured ourselves we forgot it in MD and were going to have to pay over $100 to have a cord shipped here. Or finding out our old landlord does not want to return rent money we are owed (an ongoing issue, more on that later).

The next day we headed onto Schofield Barracks to find out what our housing options were. We had never lived on post and didn't really care to now, but we thought it didn't hurt to see what was available. I'm so glad we looked because the houses are beautiful here and have totally changed our minds about living on post! We put a hold on a house in a lovely neighborhood and are set to move into it tomorrow.

So after a bunch of small stresses that made the transition here even more difficult it seems we are getting back on track.I'll miss being in the heart of Honolulu and within walking distance to many cool shops/restaurants, but I won't miss the loud police sirens and construction noise at all hours. No idea when our big household shipment will come, but I'm looking forward to being in a house for good and getting settled in.

The Journey

Before we began our trip, I knew that traveling with a 10-month old would not be easy. I had prepared as best I could, packing a diaper bag and book bag full of bottles, formula, finger foods, toys, and clean-up supplies. I put on a brave face and headed to the airport.

Everything went really well at BWI. They allowed us to use the express line at security, bypassing the need to take off our shoes and remove our laptops which made all the difference when traveling with an infant. The flight was on time, we were able to change our seats so we all sat together, and Evie was in a fairly good mood.

Then we landed in Atlanta.

We were worried we wouldn't make our connection as we only had 45 minutes to change concourses. Luckily (or so we thought at the time), our flight to Seattle was delayed about an hour. By this point, Evie had had it with sitting in her car seat and wanted to move. I found the cleanest area I could, corralled her in with our carry-ons, and let her play. We eventually remembered a blanket we had and spread that out. We boarded our flight, found our seats, and settled in. By this point, Evie had been awake for 4-5 hours and was very sleepy. We pushed off from the gate, only to sit on the runway for an hour due to bad weather. I think Evie's screaming matched everyone else's mood on the plane. Finally, we took off and Evie slept.

Makeshift baby cabana

Thirty minutes later she was awake and would not sleep again on this flight. She was clearly tired and was easily bored/irritated by everything we tried, and cried/screamed for about 3 hours. It was misery. We were lucky to be seated near kind people who tried to entertain her (and of course, she loved that).

Evie awake at 5am

We landed in Seattle, late, where we sat on the tarmac for another 20 minutes waiting for other flights to come down a "corridor" that leads in and out of the gates. After almost leaving the stroller on the plane, we made our way to baggage claim where we required two carts to carry our 7 checked bags. We made our way across the terminal, over a bridge, and back down an elevator to the hotel bus area.

Check-in at the hotel was great and we quickly got Evie a bath and into bed. Surprisingly, all went well there. We ordered Chinese food for dinner which wasn't very good so I didn't eat much. We were up early due to the time change but that gave us plenty of time to let Evie play and for us to get ready for day two. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and they had a great breakfast! A pancake maker made pancakes fresh and in minutes. They had eggs, bacon, sausage, Chobani yogurt, juices, all kinds of things! Too bad Evie wanted no part of sitting in a high chair which meant I barely tasted my breakfast. Instead I wrestled to get some food in her which ended up as prunes all over her clothes. So upstairs we went to dig in a suitcase for a new outfit.

Let me say this: the Seattle-Tacoma airport is so poorly designed. The security line was ridiculously long and the staff seemed to have no clue how to prioritize people or manage the number of people coming through. Instead of being waved through assisted security (where we have always gone with the baby and stroller) we were in the general line which was huge. When we finally got to the scanners with about an hour until our flight, the stroller tested positive for explosive materials (mind you, this has never happened before and I always get my hands tested since I'm carrying the baby and I tested negative). So all of our bags had to be pulled to the side and I had to have a pat down in front of everyone. Who pulls aside the Major traveling on orders with his family that includes an infant and a wife who already tested negative for explosive materials? *sigh*

Poor thing

Our flight was once again delayed due to weather, so Evie played on the floor in the waiting area and made some friends. Lucky for us, this flight contained a lot of families (and as it turns out, many of them were families also PCSing to Hawaii). Once we boarded the plane, Evie proceeded to puke all over Jay's shirt. Once that was cleaned up, she proceeded to wail while our take off was delayed, but she slept once we were in the air, this time for almost 2 hours!!

 The flight from Seattle to Honolulu was a much better experience. Although they had only one hot meal (which I was starved for by this time) and they ran out of it, I was happy to get a snack and finally be on our last leg of the journey. We were near the back of the plane in the "family" section (there were at least two families near us with small children), so noise and crying were no big deal. Evie puked again mid-flight which required another change of outfit. We passed the rest of the flight by playing with her while she sat in her car seat.

Bouncing on her knees

Playing ghost baby with daddy

Once we arrived, we were greeted by Jay's co-workers who gave us all leis. They took our luggage in a van to our hotel while we went to take the hotel shuttle. The shuttle service informs us that the shuttle won't be arriving for another 45 minutes, after which it'll take at least an hour to get to Honolulu. We'd already been waiting over an hour after our flight to complete our airport check-in procedures, so we decided to take a taxi. A very expensive taxi who decided to take the longest way possible to the hotel. Then he refused our credit card even though the signs at the taxi stand assured us we could use a credit card. We finally made it to our hotel at about 3:30pm (9:30pm EST) and were relieved to be done traveling.

That trip was one of the most difficult things I have ever done, but if I can get through that I feel like I can get through so many other things. Now, don't think that things were ok once we were in Hawaii. Oh noooo, the fun was only just beginning! Stay tuned...

Getting started

This is just a basic post to let you know I'll be writing a blog to keep in touch with family and friends while we are in Hawaii. I'm going to do my best to post often about what we're doing and experiencing, including pics and videos (if I can figure all this out).

As the title implies, the Miller's have moved to Hawaii where I'll need to buy stock in sunscreen. Emily, your job is to think of a better blog name. We're still in the process of getting settled in our hotel and finding our way around the island, but I'll post as often as I'm able.

Thanks for all of your support in our move to Hawaii and we can't wait for everyone to visit!