There goes the gingerbread man

Took a bite out of a gingerbread man at work.

Rear view

Ojizo

On a drive around the east side and Makapuu, stopped to take a photo of the rocks and ocean. If I hadn't done a story on Kaya Fishing Supply, I wouldn't have known what the Ojizo monument was. As a diety offering protection to fishermen and other ocean-goers, it is intended as a warning, but has also become a memorial to those lost.

Christmas is coming, via motorcycle

At the Manoa Marketplace, we parked next to these motorcycles, dressed for the holidays. We later spotted their similarly attired riders.

At TCM-Spalding House

After lunch in The Contemporary Cafe, Chris and I strolled the grounds and spent some time in Lynne Yamamoto's tin-roofed "House for Listening to Rain"—alas it drizzled only after we left—and revisited David Hockney's "L'enfant et les Sortilèges" installation in the Milton Cades Pavilion. It was a trip from lightness to darkness.

Photo booth

While cleaning house found these old photo booth stickers of Chris and I. The booth had a mirror so I was able to position myself to look more hapa than my usual round-faced self!

Electrified!

Checked out the Surf Line Hawaii Ocean-Lifestyle store and couldn't resist getting into the golf cart turned street-legal electric car with Surf Line's Pua Rochlen.

Eye-catching curry

Thai green seafood curry was an eye-catching selection at The Kahala Resort's International Curry Bazaar.

Matson moving containers

At dinner at the Aloha Tower waterfront, saw a huge Matson container ship leaving the docks.

Garden of delight

A fashion shoot at Foster Botanical Garden yielded other shots as well.

A rainbow

Saw a huge rainbow over Nuuanu while driving home from work.

Firepit

The firepit at the newly open Aulani, A Resort by Disney, at Ko Olina.

Field trip to Aulani

Considering it was a work day, it was all pretty leisurely heading out to Ko Olina for a first look at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa. Of course I just wanted to jump in the water!

Pigeon foot

Nice footwear, reverse Louboutin!

Recording

Recording with Gary Shimabukuro of Sen Studios. I'm sure pros get more than three takes, though the last time I recorded with The Birdbrains, we blasted through eight songs in one take each.

Taiwanese shave ice

Great for a hot summer day, had Taiwanese shave ice, noted for its brown sugar syrup, at City Cafe on Makaloa Street.

Leeward traffic

Haven't driven through pau hana Leeward traffic in about 20 years, but had to do it to pick up my birds from my mom's.

On the table

Had dinner with friends at SHOR Grill, which had some of my favorite dishes in New York, steamed mussels and a lobster roll.

The cheesecake arrived

I wasn't going to lug two omiyage cheesecakes home, so I had Junior's ship them. They arrived in a day!

Eating like a bird

Ringneck parakeets, cardinals and java finches were making pigs of themselves at feeders on the fence at Oahu Cemetery. A couple of people take turns filling the cups with seed everyday, so the birds know where their next meal is coming from.

Back to work

Left New York at 7 a.m. and at 7 p.m. I was back at work, documenting the revelry at the American Heart Association's annual "Black Tie and Blue Jeans" fundraiser at The Waikiki EDITION. This was one group of friends posing for a 7-second video that would be converted into a flip book during the event, with a social media theme.

Part II: New York treat

On my last day in the city, I introduced my sister Natalie, who lives in Queens, to The Chocolate Room in Park Slope, where we shared a chocolate brownie sundae with fresh mint ice cream and had the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I also had a root beer float. Then two hours later met designer Ivy Higa and Joey Caldarone for dinner at Cafeteria.

Part I: New York treat

I read about the pop-up restaurant What Happens When in the May 23 issue of The New Yorker and it was the one restaurant I wanted to visit. Alas, it closed the week I arrived due to liquor license issues. Happily, the chef John Fraser is also the proprietor of Dovetail restaurant on the Upper West Side and I enjoyed his wonderful tasting menu there. Some of the dishes included lobster prepared two ways, and a salt-baked onion brought to the table before it is taken out of its encasement and prepared with mushrooms, truffle sauce and frisee. Yum!

Lobster roll!

After seeing a brief write-up for a lobster roll in a travel mag, I got a craving for lobster roll. Never had a good one. I went to Chelsea Market with my friend Lynne where The Lobster Place offered boiled lobsters and other seafood, and a crab that wanted to attack my camera. Lynne said I should try Pearl's Oyster Bar. After studying candidates for best in the city, I settled on Luke's Lobster and at the one on Upper West Side I wasn't disappointed. All claw meat, butter and a bit of Old Bay. Yum! After finishing, I wanted another!

Super recycler

In SoHo, spotted this guy picking up empty bottles and cans from vendors. Later, saw a woman with five such bags pushing a cart in traffic. It looked like she couldn't see where she was going so she was walking into traffic and drivers were honking.

Park Slope visit

Visit to Park Slope started with a trek through Prospect Park, one place to get a tan on a week day. A squirrel looked like a mix of red and gray species. Afterward, there were any number of small cafes for lunch. We ate at Alchemy, then stopped for housemade ice cream sandwiches at The Chocolate Room. The window at Moutarde showed what eclairs are supposed to look like. Then, returning to the city, spotted what I believe is a peregrine falcon above Washington Square Park.

Shake Shack

Chris wanted to go to Shake Shack so after shopping at Century 21, we headed to the one at Madison Square Park. There was a slow-moving line of about 100 people when we got there, but chocolate malt shakes, burgers and sweet corn frozen custard were worthwhile. Chris rested while I waited in line. Afterward, saw fireflies (identifiable by the neon green light squiggly line in photo) lighting up the grass—they're smaller than the ones we saw in Connecticut—and admired Jaume Plensa's 44-foot "Echo" statue. On the walk back to our hotel, spotted the strange ornamental lighting outside the Gershwin Hotel.