Thursday, September 20, 2007

Day 1 in Hawaii (J&C) - 9/19

Aloha everyone!
I finally made it to Hawaii after a decent 8 hr flight (thank you Continental Airlines). I will have you all know that mid-way thru the flight someone thought it might be fun to tamper with the smoke detector in the bathroom, so a PSA went over the sound system 'reminding' people that it is a Federal Offense to tamper with them...neat. By the way, for any flight, especially 8 hour ones, remember to wear socks and not flip-flops on the airplane. I think I have frostbitten tootsies.

Yesterday I was greeted at the airport with balmy weather and a cool breeze. Yay Hawaii! Charlie pulled up in his swanky red mustang convertible and swept me off my feet for a tour of the base here. It's pretty neat. They have pirate ships and everything! I love the U.S. Navy!

Most notably was our encounter with the baby squirrel-monkey-ferret on the street. Yes, "squirrel-monkey-ferret" is the scientific name. While driving on base, I noticed a very peculiar looking, but ADORABLE little animal, with a larger version nearby! "Stop!" I shouted, and we pulled over to the side of the road. Nestled near the curb is a sweet little animal with a fun tail, about the size of my whole hand. It was wandering aimlessly in the middle of the street, so we wanted to make sure it made it safely to the other side. He was very accustomed to people or just didn't know any better, so the little tike walked right up to us (with mom watching from across the street) and didn't even care. Well, after a few mins (and a few pix), he was still precariously roaming the street, so Charlie took action. He grabbed the little guy by his adorable fluffy tail and escorted him to the nearby bushes where Mom was. He was my favorite part of my Hawaiian experience so far. I love it here.

Mostly, since I was still on Houston time, we unpacked my stuff in the hotel room (very nice) and then went to eat at Don Ho's in Honolulu. Apparently someone was having an elaborate birthday party there (Happy Birthday Uncle Lory!) so we got to enjoy those festivities as well, including the "Young at Heart" dance troupe consisting of 3 older family couples shakin' it on the Don Ho stage.

Charlie's squeaky flip flops were hurting his feet, so he walked the dirty Honolulu streets like a bum after dinner until we could get to the car. Bold, but gross. Anyway, we made it back home and went to sleep, ready for another day in O'ahu tomorrow.
ps: It turns out our furry friend (baby squirrel-monkey-ferret) was a Mongoose. Who knew?

1 comment:

Mrs. T said...

I swear you two have all the luck when it comes to critters. Very cute mongoose. At least the mom didn't try and attack Chuck!