Fish Again.....

Yes - I had a slab of Atlantic Salmon in the fridge and had to cook it. Baked with butter, dill and seasoning.

All that Matters is I didn't get Skunked -

I hadn't been fishing in a while - so I tried my luck in an afternoon high tide. No papio, kaku, weke - just a lone lizardfish. But a fish is a fish and it isn't a skunk!

Repeat Lunch

I had bought an extra block of ahi so we had sashimi for a second time. I showed Marlon how to form the rice patties and how to cut the ahi. They came out pretty good!!! I'd say the kids thought so too!

I've been reading some books...

And paying attention to the sushi chefs when we've hit the sushi bars. Here's my latest attempt.

Lunch Break and Seeking Out the Assassin

La and the kiddoroosters were in town and free during lunchtime, so they picked me up and we went out to lunch!!! I took them to a spot I have been wanting to try out, but haven't had the time to get to - Ahi Assassins. Note the business hours - these guys go out on their off days and catch the fish they serve on the on days. Delicious food - well worth every penny Smart people work here and make wonderful food for savvy customers - and they get to go fishing as part of their job!!! Go check them out - near UH where Berentania St starts.

Walking Around Kailua and What Do I See???

More succulents that's what!!! I totally have succulents on the brain. My previous obsessions still perk my interest but succulents are literally everywhere you look. It is so much fun as they are way more prevalent than coral colonies, saltwater fish and energy transfer devices ever were - although all of those do have a sizable presence here in Hawaii, they are all still habitat or store driven. With succulents, just walk outside and BAM - there they are in your face. Then you can take mental notes on species, health, environmental conditions, and whether there are baby plants hanging around... You can even just take a step back and enjoy their unpretentious presence.

Other Stops Along the Way

One of the art galleries in the North SHore Marketplace was closing down and they had a sale going on. We didn't purchase anything, but they did have a bunch of really cool fish art. In honor of it being La's Birthday, and to pay homage to the fish sculptures that were on sale and we didn't buy, I was inspired to walk around the rest of the day with their expression. La was seriously impressed ;)

Other Acquisitions

For the record, Euphorbias are not Cacti. That said, I found an awesome Euphorbia lactae at Koolau Farmers. So as much as it looks like it - the E. lactea is not a cacti (convergent evolution). Our stop at Once Again Succulents was fun also. The kids picked up their own Portulaca molokinensis and I found a Monadenium ritchiei We're so glad to be able to 'plant roots' and work with plants - moving so frequently has given us experiences we will never forget, but for now we finally get to enjoy exercising our green thumbs.

Lyon Arboretum Plant Sale

On Saturday we hit the Lyon Arboretum Plant Show. This is usually held twice a year - and this is the April show (with another in November). La's phone probably has tons of pictures of the myriad helaconias, gingers, orchids and other tropical plants available. My pictures focused on the succulents and other odd (unconventional) plants tucked in around the mainstream tropicals. I think I scored a few gems - some really cool bonsai-style Euphorbias!!! Again - La's phone has other pictures that I'll try to post later. The day didn't end there - we continued on to visit Once Again Succulents and Koolau Farmers - but that's for the next post.

La's Birthday Fun

I took off work for La's Birthday and we had a blast!!! First part was spent up on the North Shore having breakfast (La's favorite meal of the day) at one of her favorite breakfast spots - Cafe Haleiwa. After that we were going to go snorkeling at Shark's Cove, but there was a swell in and the water was a bit too rough - so we visited the turtle basking spot at Laniakea Beach. The second part of the day was spent over in the Kailua area running an errand and grabbing some real malasadas Right across from the Portuguese Bakery was a knitting-crochet-Christmas store. And they had a cool coconut pirate. This place was pretty cool (and not just because they had coconut pirates). The Birthday itself may have ended shortly after this, but the Birthday Weekend continues in the next posts!!!