Today, we spent the day with Dan’s parents and brother, driving over to Tomales Bay Oyster Company to enjoy a BBQ lunch (with no shortage of delicious oysters!), exploring the downtown area nearby, and ending the day with some fun on the beach at Point Reyes.
I’d been craving oysters since the last time we went out there and got oysters from Drakes Bay, so I was elated that we got the chance to get another oyster fix in before we leave. I think I may have eaten one too many, though, because I feel like they are swimming in my stomach now. I wonder if there are similar places by the Chesapeake where we can buy and grill oysters in Virginia…?
It’s been almost a week since we returned from our family vacation in Maui, and I’m finally getting around to uploading pictures and videos! We got to do a lot of things while we were there and there are so many photos we want to share, so I’m going to split the trip up by days, like I did with our previous vacation in Hawaii. Two years ago, Dan and I got to experience Hawaii for the first time when we traveled to Oahu and Kauai for our belated honeymoon, and we fell in love with the islands! We’d since been dying to go to Maui, as a lot of our friends (including friends who were originally from Hawaii) had told us that Maui was the most beautiful island in Hawaii — some even told us it was the most beautiful island in all of the Pacific Ocean! After spending a week and a half there, we could understand why. Maui has such a rich variety of different landscapes and gorgeous views! Last time we were in Hawaii, we felt like we experienced two opposite ends of a spectrum, with Oahu being uber-touristy and Kauai being much more rugged and rural; I enjoyed both, but a lot of friends had told us that Maui was a great balance between the two, and they were right. There are definitely resort-like offerings there, but very rugged and undeveloped terrains as well, and I really appreciated that multifaceted experience.
Our trip to Maui was also markedly different from our honeymoon trip two years ago, as we invited along my three siblings from Virginia, and because we had a toddler in tow. It was definitely a very different experience — it changed the type of lodging we stayed in (we opted for private cottages with kitchen and washer/dryer, instead of hotels), how often we ate out, what kind of vehicle we needed to rent (a minivan for our party of six), and what sort of activities we planned. Last time, we really packed each of our days full of activities, but this time, we focused on only one or two major activities/locations per day, and didn’t adhere to a strict schedule. It ended up being a really memorable and relaxing family vacation, and while we definitely faced certain unforeseen challenges of vacationing with a young child, we’re so glad that we went!
On the first day, we took an early morning flight out of Oakland airport and arrived at Maui’s Kahului Airport in the early afternoon. My siblings’ flight wasn’t coming in until the evening, so we had several hours to kill while we waited and didn’t have anything planned, so we mostly wandered around and took Mio to the local park and beach, and went shopping at Costco and other stores to gather groceries and supplies.
Our first order of business upon arrival was lunch! We couldn’t wait to grab some poke from one of the local markets…
Shoyu-marinated ahi poke… amazing!
Dan also got some wasabi ahi poke.
Mussel poke flavored with kimchee. This was also delicious!
Dan showing Mio our first look at the ocean upon arriving in Maui.
Walking on the beach in Kihei.
Mio seemed sort of stunned and overwhelmed. She just stood there, taking it all in.
Wading in the water and getting all wet!
Picking up seashells with Mio.
After some beach time, we took Mio over to the nearby playground.
As usual, she loved the swing!
Already trying to climb trees…
“How did you get up there?”
A gorgeous afternoon in Maui.
Look at this chubster’s smile! She went down the slides over and over.
Mio made friends with one of the local kids!
It was nice for all of us to stretch our legs after the 5-hour flight!
Walking around more of the beach.
After spending the afternoon running around the beach and playground, we treated ourselves to some shave ice!
wSurfing Monkey Snack Shack in Kihei
Dan can’t wait to dig in!
Mio got a taste, too!
Later in the evening, we went back to the airport to pick up my siblings (who were understandably exhausted after over twelve hours on the plane) and drove over to our lodging in Lahaina, where we’d stay for the next three days. Stay tuned for our adventures in West Maui! π
Breaking news! We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you an exciting but bittersweet announcement: our little family will be making the move across the country to the DC metropolitan area next month.
Dan just accepted an offer for an awesome job out there, so we’ll be making the big move back East in September. As biased as I am towards the East Coast and how much I’ve always said that I’d like to move back someday, I have to admit that over the past five years, I’ve definitely fallen in love with the beautiful places, delicious food, and especially our wonderful friends here in the Bay Area. There’s a part of me that is genuinely sad about leaving the area and I know that I will miss the life that we’ve created out here. But we trust that this new chapter in our lives will be just as grand, and while the cross-country move and all the changes are daunting, we think that it’s a step in the right direction in our continuing journey as a family. We look forward to being closer to my family in Northern Virginia (in fact, we’ll be living with them for a while as we get settled into the area and save up for a more permanent home), catching up with friends, and enjoying (and perhaps at times, resenting) all four seasons that are so palpably felt in the region.
To our Bay Area friends and family, you have been nothing but kind, generous, and amazing to us, and leaving you behind will be without question the toughest part of this move. We will of course be back to visit from time to time, but we hope that we can see as many of you as possible in the coming weeks so that we can properly say our goodbyes and heartfelt thank you’s to you before we leave. We’ll miss each and every one of you so much!
We just got back from our vacation in Maui on Saturday night, and have been getting adjusted to life back home. We have lots of photos and adventures to share from our trip, which we’ll post in the coming days. Mio just turned sixteen months old last Thursday, so I wanted to jot down what she’s been up to before I forget. π
The Rundown at Sixteen Months…
Stats: You now weigh 23.4 lbs, and it’s been getting harder for us to hold you for extended periods of time because you’ve gotten so heavy! In the past couple weeks, your canines have started growing in, which means that you now have what looks like all of your baby teeth in.
Things You’re Doing Now: You’re not learning as many new signs lately, but are instead trying to vocalize what you are trying to communicate. Your favorite words are “ball,” “bubble,” “wan wan” (for “dog” – more accurately, it’s the Japanese word for a dog’s barking sound), “min-mi” (for “milk”) and “nen-ne” (Japanese baby word for “sleep”). You say “kko” when you see a cat and touch your cheek to illustrate a whisker on the face (the Japanese word is “neko” but you can’t quite say the first part yet). You’re starting to take an interest on parts of the face, and point to your eye and our eyes and say “meh” (“eye”), and point to your head when I ask you where your “atama” (“head”) is, and your ears when I ask you where your “mimi” (“ear”) is. And of course, you always say “hi” and “bye” to friends and strangers alike. You like to come over to us and say, “Dai~” as you wrap your arms around our neck, hugging us. (You can’t quite say, “Daisuki,” which is Japanese for “I love you.”) It makes our hearts melt every time! You seem to be more emotional and sensitive these days, as well as stubborn and independent. You are imitating a lot of the things we do lately, especially the things that involve taking care of you. You like to try to feed us your food, brush my hair with a hair brush, scrub my arm with a sponge in the bathtub, and try to brush our teeth for us. You also like handing us things, whether it be something practical (like the remote control) or something useless (like the gravel in the front yard) – you love to share. It’s really endearing and heartwarming to watch, because it shows that you are learning to think of others and are developing a heart of giving.
On Saturday afternoon, we drove down to go to the Mountain View Obon Festival. We’d always heard about it and had wanted to check it out, but it’s about an hour drive away for us so we hadn’t gone until this year. We originally wanted to attend on Sunday because that’s the day they have the bon-odori, but Dan had an obligation that day, so Saturday was the only time we could go together. We had a wonderful time experiencing Obon together as a family!
Arriving at Mountain View Obon
Dan enjoying a beer
Mio was dressed up in her matsuri attire – thank you Yuko & family for the jinbei!
I dressed in yukata for the festival. It’s been a while since I wore one!
It was really hot down in Mountain View… especially in the yukata!
There were various food stands serving shaved ice, sushi, manju, ohagi, chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, corn, corn dogs, french fries, spam musubi, beer, sake, and other refreshments.
Kingyo-sukui (Goldfish Scooping Game) – an Obon classic!
Love all the colors!
Mio and I watching the Goldfish Game
Mio loved walking around and taking in everything.
Thankfully, she’s been getting better about holding my hand while navigating crowds.
Taking a break to eat some ohagi and sip on Italian soda.
Mio has been doing this funny thing where she pretends to sip water, and then afterwards lets out a big burst of breath, like it was really refreshing. I’m not sure where she learned it from… I have a feeling it’s from this beer commercial, which comes on a lot when I’m watching Japanese TV shows. Here it is on video.
Silly girl.
Love her!
We ran into our friends Ali and Tim, who recently just moved back to the area after living in DC for a couple years.
Mio loved them!
A family picture (courtesy of Ali)
Our first time at Mountain View Obon!
Around 6pm, we headed over to the stage area where Jun Daiko was going to have a taiko performance.
This adorable little boy was walking around the taiko set.
Meanwhile, Mio was getting restless and flashing people with very unladylike poses. Please don’t do this when you are 16…
…so we moved her to Dan’s lap.
Jun Daiko performing – they were great! I love watching taiko.
Mio’s first time seeing taiko – she was fascinated, too.
A lion came out during the performance.
Mio was transfixed on the lion.
The lion went around to different members of the audience, and he eventually made his way over to Mio. She was definitely a bit intimidated and shrank bank a little, but she didn’t turn away. Even after it left, she kept her eyes on him and pointed in his direction.
Here’s the last half of Jun Daiko’s finale performance of “Inazuma.”
“Inazuma” performance by Jun Daiko
Towards the end, Mio was yelling along with the taiko performers… lol.
Afterwards, we headed over to downtown Mountain View for a ramen dinner and frozen yogurt for dessert!
Our messy ramen eater
A froyo lover, just like Daddy!
I’m really glad that we made the drive down to go to the festival this year! It was memorable, and I think it’s great to give Mio exposure to Japanese culture and traditions so that she can develop an appreciation for her ethnic heritage.
