Chicago!
Coming back to Chicago for the first time in almost a year was exciting and strange. It felt so familiar, as if we never left, but at the same time I was very aware it was no longer my home, and that was difficult to grasp. Hanging out with all our friends again was wonderful and when we landed back on Maui we definitely had to relive some of the same homesick feelings we experienced when we first moved here. If we could just convince everyone to move to Maui!
Cleveland!
I have always cherished my sweet Cleveland time. Our Vegas, Cleveland, Chicago, Glen Ellyn and Seattle trip in a little over a week was definitely a whirlwind. This visit was our first time out of the middle of the Pacific Ocean since we stepped foot on Maui back in August of last year. We spent about two days in each city, give or take a half of a day. Because of all of the running around, it was very important for me to take those little moments and try my hardest to make them turn into a lasting memory.
We walk in the door and my mom hands me twenty pounds of pork butt. Why not? Even though it took some convincing, we decided that just ten pounds of kalua pig would be enough for the family. My dad has a meat smoker, and he is great at using it. What do you call someone that is good at smoking meats? A smoker? That doesn’t sound right. Anyways, he is a pro smoker and in this case we gave the meat a good few hours of smoking before we put it in the crock pots to cook overnight. Wait, let me backtrack. My story isn’t quite fair. We didn’t exactly walk in the door and get meat handed to us. We picked up my favorite pizza of all time first and enjoyed it before I was given the task of hacking up the meat. Romito’s in Independence. Google it. Plan a trip to Independence, OH just for the pizza. It’s worth it! Thanks, mom for knowing how much I love it and making sure we had it on my first night back.
We served our kalula pig with jasmine rice and some traditional mac salad. As you can see, we were going for the Hawaiian “plate lunch” at our impromptu family get together. After hours of video games, time with family, Hawaii-inspired mixed drinks on the patio, and reviewing Jennie’s beautiful wedding pictures, we turned in for Cleveland Day Two.
Time to walk the dogs! It was a great little Metroparks hike with streams, waterfalls, and rocks to trip over. The temperature was perfect, and we felt so lucky to get a perfect Midwest summer day after all of the heatwaves we have been hearing so much about. We took the kids to lunch and I made Josh drive me to get some ice cream. He’s going to be great at driving! He’s so much better than I was when I started driving. I can’t believe he’s already 16. I feel so old. I changed this kid’s diapers. And…wait, and Adam is 10 now? I was there when he came into this world! Has it really been ten years? My brothers are growing up. I just have to accept it. It’s difficult, but that’s life. I love those kids.
Kent and I took Josh and Adam to a drive-in movie. There’s a great old school place not too far from my parent’s house, and we had the perfect spot, perfect snacks, and perfect company. It was the perfect summer night!
We decided to partake in some old family favorites before our trip to Chicago: The Art Museum, Mongolian BBQ, and Big Fun. It was a great few hours before being forced to wave our handkerchiefs in the warm Cleveland summer air.
Such a short time in Cleveland but I am happy we all had a lot of quality time together. I feel like we made lasting memories. As Kent and I enjoyed the sunset through the printed windows of the Megabus I was already planning my next trip back.
To say the sign above is an understatement is in itself an understatement. Wait, did that make sense? Let’s just say that the drive around the West Maui Mountains has some treacherous areas. The road remains a single lane with hairpin turns twisting around seemingly bottomless shear drop-offs for a good 10 miles. If a car approaches from the opposite direction you have to do your best to pull about 5 inches from the edge so they can just squeak by. There were several miles where two cars simply can not pass, so you may find yourself driving in reverse until you can find a tiny slice of land to occupy. We witnessed many hilarious terrified reactions from passengers in passing cars.
Danger aside, it was one of the most spectacular drives we have ever been on. In fact, even the dangerous drive added to the adventure. Most tourists will opt for the “road to Hana” so the drive around the West Maui Mountains remains somewhat under the radar and we saw very few people along the way. At times the landscape looks like the northern coast of California and then the next thing you know it looks like the Southwest. Most of the land is owned by cattle ranches but a few isolated houses occasionally dot the hills.
The coast has very few beaches and is mostly green hills overlooking tall cliffs that get pounded by big blue north shore waves. The endless view of the ocean was beautiful and the air was perfectly fresh, except for the occasional cattle ranch smell. The entire drive took about 5 hours and it was amazing the entire way.
We took too many photos but here’s my attempt at editing them down. I’m going to start working on editing the video next.
New videos (sort of)
I was really unhappy with the quality of my previous Youtube videos, so I broke down and finally paid for a real Vimeo account. Now I can embed nice and fancy HD videos without ads. So here’s everything again, in the new, more awesome Vimeo format (even though only I care about this).
Special bonus video! SKATE JAM!!!
Omaha to Cheyenne in 40 seconds
Maui Sunset
Twin Falls
Swimming with a sea turtle
We scored two Matson keychains. You are only supposed to get one, but we were fortunate enough to have TWO Matson “Thanks for doing business with Matson” keychains. How you ask? Well, on the way out of the wood paneled trailer confirming that our newly waxed and shop-vacced car from Chicago in fact had a reservation for a fabulous three week cruise to Kahului, I picked up a Matson keychain out of the wicker basket on the counter.
Gary, the kind Matson representative showed us where to park the car: “behind the Toyota whatever” and “put the wheel on the white painted line.” We parked behind the Toyota or whatever, Kent got out and a second Matson keychain was placed on our keys. Gary said, “You only get one!” Of course, I blurted out, “But I already stole one from the counter!” Apparently, Gary’s wife similarly blurted out unnecessary information when coming back from Italy, blurting out that she had a plant in her luggage when she wasn’t even asked. We all laughed at my and Gary’s wife’s stupidity. Then he told me that it was illegal to take photos while at a port. I put my camera away, happy I was able to take a second keychain and photos of the port with me. Our car was on its way.
Gary was really helpful and personable. He even knew a trusted cabbie so he called us a cab and we waited, now homeless and carless, for our paid ride to the hotel.
Awesome cabbie took us the long way so he was able to show us the “foodie” part of town. We passed an In-and-Out-Burger (“why would you want to go to the In-and-Out-Burger?”) Carrow’s, Hagenburgers (“best burger in town”) and Francesco’s (“too expensive.”)
Expensive Francesco’s it is! We knew that when we passed the place we had to go there. It has not changed since 1960-something. Most of the staff has been there for 30 or more years. The menu is the same. The decor is the same. Everything is the same. The food was gray, both in flavor and in color. Normally I would say if the food is disgusting I wouldn’t recommend it to others, but if you ever find yourself in Oakland, California near the Oakland Airport, find Francesco’s and park yourself there for the night. Chat it up with your waiter. Get the Spumoni.
Oh, and Axl Rose and Brad Pitt have been there. They were completely unrecognized by the aging staff at first, which I find to be extra charming.
California Part Two
I don’t know the last time I had a mimosa, but it couldn’t have tasted better than on a patio on a beautiful summer Sunday morning. And could the kids have been better behaved? Phil and Kristine’s children are such good kids and they are so fin to be around. Bud’s was a great place to spend the morning. A perfect California morning? Should we just stay here?
Our other tasks for this last full day in Linden included washing (and later waxing) the car, giving all of our CDs, sunglasses, and other miscellaneous pieces of garbage to Phil, and making zucchini bread.
Kent spent a lot of time washing, vacuuming, cleaning and waxing the car in the hot California sun. I was pretty much inside for that portion, so all I can tell you is that it looks great now. I think it is perfectly prepared for its three week cruise to Hawaii.
Cooking with their little girl couldn’t be any cuter. Although she does exactly as instructed, she manages to multitask the entire time. While she is measuring and counting cups of flour and half-teaspoons of baking soda, she is constantly dipping her finger in the “dry” bowl. As we worked, she went from dipping just her finger into the sugar to putting her entire hand in. We made two loaves of zucchini bread, from the zucchini plucked fresh from the garden.
Dinner was great thanks to Kristine. Every meal was great thanks to Kristine. She always uses the freshest ingredients from the local market or from her garden. I was so jealous of California tomatoes. They are red, inside and out and so unbelievably flavorful. Wait, SHOULD we just stay here?
Leaving was really bittersweet. We knew that shortly we’d be in the place we have been working so hard to get to, but it was also the last “home” we were leaving. We sort of felt like we were part of the family. Now, we were off, on our own again. Oakland here we come.
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