Blooming by the Bay – Page 80 – The Endless Stories of Dan & Misono & Their Beloved Mio

Maui 2012: Day 2

August 13, 2012 By Misono in Foodie Love, Videos, Wanderlust Tags: Banyan Tree Park, beach, dan, family, Hawaii, Kaanapali, Kosei, Lahaina, Launiupoko, Maui, Mio, misono, Miwa, pool, shave ice, swim, Ted, Ululani's, Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice, vacation

With the rest of the family having arrived the night before, we could finally get our vacation off to a start with everyone on our second day in Maui. We fixed breakfast together, took a dip in the pool at our lodging, and then set out to hit the beaches!

A sleepy Mio with her morning pick-me-up. lol

Preparing breakfast in the kitchen of the 2 bedroom condo we rented during our first three days in Lahaina.

Taking a break — Mio had a great time in the pool with everyone!

Dan teaching my brother Kosei how to snorkel.

Mio and Mama at Kaanapali — Kaanapali is one of the resort areas of Maui, and it was really gorgeous with its clear blue waters, smooth sand, and well-manicured grounds.

Feet in the water. — Dipping our feet in the water… Mio does not look very excited, probably because she’d just woken up.

A video of Mio giggling while playing on the beach with Uncle Ted:

After a couple hours at Kaanapali Beach, we moved a little further south in West Maui to Launiupoko Beach, which had a rocky cove, and had sand that was a lot darker, almost like a black sand beach. It was different from Kaanapali but still very beautiful!

Sisters at Launiupoko — My sister Miwa and I at Launiupoko Beach.

Miwa and I at Launiupoko — My sister and I trying not to crack up while posing for our “candid” photo.

It was so relaxing! — It was so relaxing to just sit on the beach!

Sand creations in the gray (black?) sand.

Playing frisbee on the beach — My brothers and sister playing frisbee in the water.

Miwa playing with the sand — Meanwhile, Dan, Mio, and I played in the sand.

Mio at Launiupoko Beach — Mio was a little apprehensive of the waters, but she felt safe with her aunt and uncles.

Later in the afternoon, we drove over to downtown Lahaina area to visit the Banyan Tree Park.

The Yokoyamas by the Banyan Tree — The Yokoyama siblings

Yokoyamas in Maui! — Our first time in Maui!

Dan and I by one of the branches of the Banyan Tree — The Banyan tree forms multiple trunks from roots that drop down from its branches. Here’s Dan and I by one of the clusters of its several trunks.

At the huge central trunk. — The huge central trunk of the Banyan Tree.

Dan, Mio and I at the Banyan Tree — Mio’s face in this picture cracks me up…

We then walked around downtown Lahaina and did some souvenir shopping, and enjoyed an afternoon snack at Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice stand.

We had heard from our friend that Ululani’s had the best shave ice in all of the Hawaiian islands, and we were at first skeptical. Our favorite shave ice during our last trip to Hawaii was Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu, which we’d found out about from our friends who had lived in Oahu who told us it was so much better than the more famous Matsumoto’s Shave Ice (and sure enough, Waiola was 10 times better than Matsumoto’s)! Dan and I have been having cravings for Waiola since our trip two years ago, so it was hard to imagine any shave ice could be better than Waiola — but we were pleasantly surprised to find that Ululani’s ice was really similar to Waiola, but even better! The ice was really fine and soft, the flavor variety expansive with their locally made syrup, combined with lots of great topping choices (like sweet cream, azuki beans, mochi pieces, and the option of adding ice cream at the bottom), and they poke holes throughout the shaved ice before pouring the syrup on so that it gets evenly saturated. It was truly shave ice perfection — so amazing! Ululani’s has since dethroned Waiola in our minds, and it’s now the new shave ice we dream of tasting again. (Thank you Komy for recommending it to us!)

Watermelon, mango, and lychee with mochi pieces. — I had watermelon, mango, and lychee flavored shave ice with mochi pieces.

Obligatory pictures of every one with their shave ice…

Kosei with his large shave ice... upset that they didn't have azuki beans. — Kosei in mid-complaint about Ululani’s being out of azuki beans.

Happy Mio — Mio got to try a couple bites, too!

After a fun-filled day, we headed back to the condo to wash up, cook and eat dinner, and play board games at night (our favorite thing to do when we’re reunited with my siblings). I’ll post about Day Three next, in which we explore more of West Maui! 😀

(Special thanks to my brother Ted for taking some of the amazing photos that were used in this post.)

Oysters & Point Reyes

August 11, 2012 By Misono in Family and Friends, Local Gems Tags: oyster company, oyster farm, oysters, Point Reyes, Tomales Bay Oyster Company

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…?

Maui 2012: Day 1

August 10, 2012 By Misono in Foodie Love, Wanderlust Tags: ahi, beach, dan, Hawaii, Kihei, Maui, Mio, misono, mussel, ocean, Pacific Ocean, park, playground, poke, shave ice, slide, Surfing Monkey Snack Shack, swing, tuna, vacation

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…

ahi poke! — Shoyu-marinated ahi poke… amazing!

Dan digging into his wasabi poke — Dan also got some wasabi ahi poke.

mussel poke — Mussel poke flavored with kimchee. This was also delicious!

Mio and Daddy — Dan showing Mio our first look at the ocean upon arriving in Maui.

So gorgeous! — Mio seemed sort of stunned and overwhelmed. She just stood there, taking it all in.

Getting all wet! — Wading in the water and getting all wet!

Picking up seashells for Mio — Picking up seashells with Mio.

After some beach time, we took Mio over to the nearby playground.

Swinging in Hawaii — As usual, she loved the swing!

Mio in the tree — Already trying to climb trees…

"How did you get up there?" — “How did you get up there?”

Together in the tree. — A gorgeous afternoon in Maui.

She loved the slide! — Look at this chubster’s smile! She went down the slides over and over.

Mio made a friend on the playground! — Mio made friends with one of the local kids!

Mio and Mama in the window — It was nice for all of us to stretch our legs after the 5-hour flight!

A kiss from Daddy — Walking around more of the beach.

After spending the afternoon running around the beach and playground, we treated ourselves to some shave ice!

Dan can't wait to dig in! — Dan can’t wait to dig in!

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! 😀

We’re Moving to DC!

August 8, 2012 By Misono in News and Updates Tags: move, moving, San Francisco, SF, Washington DC

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!

16 Months Old

August 7, 2012 By Misono in Mio Tags: 16 months, 16 months old, Mio, sixteen months, sixteen months old

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. 🙂

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.

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