To the North Shore and beyond!

Well, finally, friends that love me enough to come visit! She's lived here before, he's never been and me, well, I'm just along for the ride... literally! It all makes for a wonderful, what, romance novel? tv series? movie of the week? I don't know. Anyways, it was terrific to see some familiar faces with whom I could see some new places. Friday night, we had some drinks by the ocean with the sun reflecting off the water as it goes down over the horizon...it was truly beautiful.

Saturday involved a scenic drive along the windward side of O'ahu while a crazy GPS voice guided us away from the coast and yelled at us if we tried to enter coordinates as we were driving. I think it was possessed! We drove by Hanauma Bay where the water was a beautiful blue color with waves that invited you into their cool depths; Halona Blowhole, where water shoots up through a hole in the rock coast eroded away by the ocean; past Chinaman's Hat, a rock formation in the water just off the coast which really does look like its name, all the way up to Turtle Bay Resort where we stopped for lunch. We were hoping to get a little suntanning session but the clouds wouldn't cooperate and we got lightly rained on.

Further up, we stopped at Sunset Beach, which is near the Banzai Pipeline and Gas Chambers surfing areas, where, I'm told, some of the best waves reside. Now I'm not a surfer, nor a surfing fan, but, at least, I've heard of the North Shore, where only the tried and true surfers go as it can be rough on beginners. The waves were crashing pretty hard. We were able to get some sun before the showers started again.

It was an amazing drive, where the waters turned different shades of blue/green and the waves went from small surf, to calm as can be, to a surfer's delight. The terrain was as varied, with mountains and rolling hills to beaches where the grains were like eroded tiny, tiny pieces of shell, not grains of sand. I could actually see the different colors, shapes, patterns that were smooth. The other amazing thing was that the North Shore area was overcast with showers whereas Honolulu was sunny, blue sky with a slight sprinkle. We saw the most amazing rainbow, where the colors were so vivid and clear and huge. There was also a second barely visible rainbow above it. My friend took a picture so I'll post it when I get it, however, it won't do it justice.

I also succumbed this weekend to the tech craze. I posted a myspace profile...not sure how to put all the bells and whistles on it to make it look all funky but I'll figure it out or maybe someone can help me? I can see how it helps people to stay in touch but I can also see myself getting very frustrated with it, not knowing how to put it all together.

This past week, I also went out for a couple of friends' birthday night at the martini place. I was good, I only had 3; 2 I bought, 1 was an extra that was given to me. Since we started early, I stopped early and was home fairly early and sober. I think I'm becoming sophisticated, being a martini gal! Some people that hadn't come out with us before came out this time so that was cool.

Now I've just started my 8th week in Hawaii, only 6 more to go. I have to start thinking about where I want to go next so I can apply for my OT license. I would really like to go to Alaska but that's not looking too good. Still keeping my fingers crossed and prayers going (hope you'll do the same for me!). I'll have to consider other states, preferably more along the west coast, mountains and southwest so I don't have to drive too much. Since I'm taking 2 weeks to spend with family plus a week in CA, I don't want to have to drive too far to my next assignment. We'll see what happens over the next few weeks...will keep you all posted!