Aloha!

We had a blast in Hawaii! Starting with Oahu, we stayed at the Pink Palace. Would you believe this was the hotel assigned to us for the convention we were there for? I mean, hello? Pink towels, pink bathrobes, pink sheets. I was in pink heaven.

But on to the good stuff..........we were oceanfront and totally took advantage of the beach. In the mornings, the tide is out and until the afternoon you can walk on the sand bar quite far. It was really wild! There were surfers galore and the catamarans just come right in to the beach. Very fun.

As a whole, Waikiki is pretty jumping. Not the place to go if you want quietude. But for the beginning of the trip, it was great. We shopped at the marketplace and got a pink ukulele and a more funky one made from a coconut. We sipped coconut juice straight outta the coconut and hiked in a rainforest where we had a major lesson in the foliage and fauna from our guides.

In the water, dolphins, turtles and lots o' fish. Awesome doesn't even come close to describing the feeling.

Isle Knit
I did get an email from fellow fiber addict, Meexie who told me I simply had to visit Isle Knit the LYS on Oahu.

I called the shop to make sure they were open and was glad I did because she told me they were on the 14th floor. A short cab ride later, I was here.....

You can imagine my shock when I looked up:

I found the elevator and took the ride up to find the door. It was hard to believe that this door would lead to a yarn shop!!!!

But once inside, I was welcomed by Sue (who was camera shy) and she helped me pick out some nice yarns for a scarf project. The store is crammed into an office style space and the more you look, the more yarn you find. While I was there, she patiently gave a couple of yarn lessons to folks who were stuck. Here is the view looking out what window space is left in her shop:

Due to the climate, there was not a ton of wool yarns (why would you need them?) but there was still a lot to pick from and her prices were very competitive.

I searched for something to give you the feeling of Hawaii in a yarn shop and I thought this was pretty neat...these are crocheted leis.

Airplane Knitting
Note to self and any future knitters at 35,000 feet. Considering the cramped seating of most airplanes today, I strongly advise knitting with either circulars or using 10" needles or shorter. I was hard put to not jab my neighbor or hubby (who nicely said he didn't mind) and I just couldn't deal with the stress and uncomfortable position so from now on.........either circs or short needles!!!!

Bringing Hawaii Home
Bam went to Trader Joe's today and said he almost started laughing cuz right when he walked in the theme to Hawaii Five-O started playing. In Aloha spirit, he bought a bag of Fiddle Greens (the tops of fern leaves) and came home to make us a gourmet feast of sauteed Fiddle Greens with shredded carrot in a sauce of white wine and Hawaiian Red Salt. Served with a tomato, fresh mozzarella, garlic, sauteed mushroom and cucumber salad. A side of baguette slices sauteed in olive oil and fresh rosemary from our garden. Yes. I'm a lucky girl, I know. I also very happy right now as I go to pour our Kauai coffee with Vanilla Rice Milk. Yum.

Can you tell I am filled with the Aloha spirit?

Mahalo.
xx

Comments

[rock chick]

A LYS tucked away on the 14th floor? That owner deserves some sort of chutzpah award for keeping it going!

[k (meexie)]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! Isle Knit is all the more amazing because it's been in business for several years now. Small businesses in Hawai'i have it rough, but Sue is surviving. I suspect that rabid client loyalty has a lot to do with it.