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Happy Vacation Day

Took a vacation day today (for no special reason.) Decided to hike it around Diamond Head. Parked my truck at Kapiolani Park and slipped on my Nikes (shoelaces untied as usual.)

I started walking along the bike path at Kapiolani Park and then continued up Diamond Head Road.

I passed by a couple of nice beach parks and a few amazing beachfront properties.

Passed by the lighthouse and walked down a steep, paved path to the beach.

Popular surf spot. Walking back up was the toughest part of the entire hike.

The views from the lookouts were pretty spectacular. Someone is also growing a garden up there.

I circled Diamond Head and passed Triangle Park and KCC. I came down Monsarrat Avenue.

I stopped for lunch at South Shore Grill. I had the mix plate with a fish taco, BBQ chicken, and kal-bi ribs. Hit the spot.

Walked around Queen Kapiolani Garden and then back to my truck.

Went home to shower & relax, and then walked over to REAL a Gastropub in the afternoon. Had the duck confit and a nice ale.

It was a great way to spend the day….

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San Diego Trip

Very blessed to have attended the ISTE Education Technology Conference with my Kamehameha Schools EdTech team. Here are my posts from the conference.

We arrived late Saturday night and checked into Hotel Solamar. It’s a great boutique hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. They played Ed Sheeran music poolside.

The Gaslamp Quarter is all about restaurants & pubs and is right across from the convention center.

I spent my free day visiting Balboa Park. It’s an awesome place filled with gardens and museums. And it’s free. The concierge told me where to catch the bus. Unfortunately, on Sundays you have to walk up to the college trolley station. When I checked my iPhone map I was halfway there, so I ended up just walking the entire two miles uphill. It was definitely worth it!

We had cool places to eat right around the hotel. We were three blocks away from the convention center and two blocks from the baseball stadium. On 5th Avenue, you could find everything from a good steak, to gelato, to an ice cold glass of Stone IPA.

A highlight for me was when our group took the trolley into Old Town.

Old Town is really…. old town. It’s filled with shops (souvenirs, taffy, candles, cigars, tile, beef jerky, etc.) We sampled the beer tasting & wine tasting in a saloon on our way to the Casa Guadalajara for dinner.

It was great having authentic Mexican food. Had a nice time in SD….

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You’re Invited to MiniChurch

A big part of what we do at Hope Chapel is to grow our small groups. We call it MiniChurch. “Our MiniChurch exists for the purpose of spiritual growth, prayer & support, fellowship, exercising of spiritual gifts, and direct pastoral care.” It’s just a group of friends getting together midweek to reflect on the sermon, share prayer requests, and enjoy one another’s company.

I am blessed to be one of the shepherds. Our MiniChurch is really small, but it’s good. We like to think of it as the “Pound for Pound” MiniChurch.

We meet on Wednesdays from 6-7:30pm at the Ward Theater Starbucks. Please join us for good fellowship and good coffee, as we grow in our walk with the Lord. Contact information.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

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Honolulu Academy of Arts

Walked over to the Honolulu Academy of Arts after church today. Admission is free on the third Sunday of each month. It was my first time there since I was a little kid. They recently changed their name to the Honolulu Museum of Art to attract more visitors. There’s a gift shop, café, garden, exhibitions, and special evening events.

Since it was a Family Sunday, there were craft activities and entertainment. There were a number of dance performances and beatbox artist Jason Tom.

I have to say that I was extremely impressed (shocked) with the art collection. I had no idea. When I saw works by Picasso and Gauguin, I thought “no way.” I expected to see a strong Pacific collection, but not art from Egypt, China, and the Italian Renaissance.

I will definitely go back again.

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Hawai’i State Art Museum

After cleaning house this morning, I decided to take a walk to the Hawai’i State Art Museum (HiSAM.) Not too many people even know this place exists. I only found out about it on Yelp. It’s a nice, small museum in town across from the ‘Iolani Palace. And it’s free.

One of the two wings features contemporary local artists. I’ve always liked that painting on the left by Jean Charlot.

There are metal pieces, wooden bowls, textiles, and even a children’s learning center in the back.

There’s a sculpture garden outside on the museum grounds. I ran into a fellow KS employee who volunteers there. I learned that this museum hosts events such as First Fridays, weddings, proms, and concerts.

But I was so bummed that the café was closed today. It was pretty much the main reason why I went in the first place.

So I stopped by Pho Nam on the way home for my pho-fix. I had a bowl of rare beef & beef tendon pho. Really hit the spot….