Laniakea Beach: Take 2

Hey Everybody,

So I had a long day today. I went with my friends, Alex, Tami, and Lauren to Laniakea Beach again. This time hoping to see a turtle out of the water and we not only saw one but we saw four out of the water.

Since we were going to get there a little bit earlier than when the turtles normally come out of the water we decided to go past the beach and go into Haleiwa to Matsumoto's for some good shave ice. This time I got a small Hawaiian (coconut, banana, and pineapple) shave ice with condensed milk on top. It was pretty good but I don't think I would get it with condensed milk again because it covers up the taste of the syrup. After waiting for what seemed like forever we finally got back on the Bus to go back to the beach.

When we arrived there was one turtle chillin' out on the rocks eating some algae. We hung out by him for quite some time before deciding that we were hot and needed to take a swim. Once we put our stuff done by the other part of the beach and were about to get in the water two more sea turtles were coming out of the water so I had to get some pictures. Then Tami and I swam for a while to cool off and during that time a third turtle came out of the water which I got pictures of after we were done swimming. Here's some pictures of the turtles.

This was the first turtle we saw on the beach that day. It was just sitting on the rocks eating the green algae and letting the waves wash over him.
This is me infront of the first turtle we saw.
These two turtles began to come out of the water as we were about to get in the water. So we delayed our swim to get some pictures. It was so cool to see them come out of the water.While Tami and I swam a third turtle came out of the water. Below is a whiteboard that the volunteers put the names of the different turtles up on the beach.After enjoying the turtles we made our way back along the North Shore to stop for dinner at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck. It's a place that the locals rave about. We got 3 plates of shrimp and rice to share between the 4 of us. Here's some pics from dinner. The first picture is of the truck that they serve from. People that eat there can sign the truck but we didn't have a marker with us. Next time we eat there we won't be forgetting that. The next picture is of one of the plates we got. It was delicious. The last picture is of Tami, Lauren, and Alex at the table after finishing our dinner.

Laniakea Beach was definitely more of a success this time around. I'll be going back to that beach. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :) (Here's a pic of the sunset we watched at Giovanni's)

My Room in Kukui Hall

The last pictures I put up were before any of my other roommates had moved in I decided to take some new pictures after I decorated for Halloween. Below is a picture of our bathroom. We had to get a new shower curtain because the one that we had originally was really gross. I put some of my cardboard cut-outs on the door of the bathroom.

Since we don't have normal windows in our rooms I had to figure out somewhere else to put up my window clings. I put them on the mirrors in the bathroom, the big mirror behind the door, and on the fridge. I got a new air freshner to put in the bathroom because when it gets humid the bathroom starts to smell bad and it's even worse if the door is left shut which my roommate likes to do. So now the bathroom smells really good.
This is the big mirror that is behind the door that we don't use so I put some window clings on it.
This is our closet area. My side is the one with more stuff. I took the leis from my party and made garland to hang up around my room. I have it over my closet and on my bed.
This is the picture of the desk area and our three windows. Again my side is the one with more stuff on it.
This picture shows the three beds in my room. Since we don't have a third roommate right now I just put the claening supplies on the third desk.

I moved the little TV onto the nightstand that we have instead of having it on the big desk. The two fans were also left here by Stacy but I don't use them because my little fan blows more air than both of the big fans do. This is underneath the lofted bed.

This is my bed with my cards on the wall and beanies on the headboard.

I went to Walmart last night with Tami and Lauren and we looked at the Halloween decorations. I found the door decoration there and I just had to get it because it's so cute. The cats and witches on the frame of the door I got the first year I went to Lakeland. The white pieces of paper say "Jessica and Julie's Room" that I traced and colored to put on the door.
I hope you all enjoy the pictures of my room. I'm going to try to put new pictures up from everytime I redecorate my room. Tomorrow I'm going to Laniakea Beach again with Alex, Tami, and Lauren. Hopefully this time we'll get to see one up on the beach. We're also going to eat at a shrimp truck which are famous on the North Shore. I will write again soon. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Love Jessica:)

Double Rainbows

I got a job in the Registrar's Office this week. My first day of work was on Tuesday. It's pretty easy because it's mostly filing and alphabetising. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I work 1:30-5:00 pm and on Tuesday and Thursday I work 2:00-5:00 pm. That office is only only Mon-Fri, 8:00-5:00 so I get nights and weekends off. Yesterday when I was coming back to the windward campus it was raining over the mountains and there were two rainbows that ended on the road. It was so cool. I also got to see another double rainbow today on my way back from work. It was definitely cool. Tonight Travis, my R.A., had a program called Kukui Paints. We painted abstract self-portraits. It was pretty fun. That's all for right now. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)

Dinner & A Game

As part of the events put on by Residence Life I went to Dinner & A Game this past Thursday. They host a Dinner & A Game once a month. They pay for dinner at a restaurant downtown and tranportation to and from a game that HPU is playing. We went to Bubba Gump's at the Ala Moana shopping center. My friend, Tami, and I both had the fried shrimp. They did Forrest Gump movie trivia and handed out prizes. I didn't win anything because it was kind of hard to hear the questions and once we had figured out the questions someone already had the answer. Below is a picture of Tami and I at Bubba Gump's.

After dinner we headed to the Women's Volleyball game against Chaminade University which is also here on the island. One of the sponsors was Geico so they made sweat bands with the HPU logo on them for us to have. They also had someone dressed up as the Geico Gecko there. Some of the people in our crowd were a little bit crazy. That night was "Fill the Tank" night at the Blaisdell so there were a lot of people. Here are some pictures of the dance team, cheer team, and the crazy crowd.

Between the sets they had a Hula Pie Eating Contest. Hula Pie is basically an ice cream pie. Below is a picture of the contest. It was a really fun night eventhough we lost. The next Dinner & A Game is going to be the 2nd week of October. Tami and I both said that we're difinitely going to it. That's all for this blog. I'll write again soon. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Love Jessica:)

Pearl Harbor

Today I went to Pearl Harbor. Now this was my second time visiting the USS Arizona Memorial but my first time visiting the USS Bowfin Submarine, the USS Missouri Battleship, and the Pacific Aviation Museum. I went with my friends, Tammy and Lauren, and their friend, Darcy. Darcy's mom was transferred here as a visiting nurse so she took us there and picked us up. First we went to the USS Arizona Memorial which was the busiest but it wasn't as busy as when I went the first time. It was really nice but I have to agree that it doesn't have exactly the same meaning after the first time. It was still a moving experience. Below are some pics at the memorial.

After the USS Arizona Memorial we headed over to the USS Bowfin Submarine. We had lunch at the outdoor cafe there. We used our power as students to get a discount on the admission to the USS Bowfin, the USS Missouri, and the Pacific Aviation Museum. We went through the museum and ventured onto the submarine. You can walk all the way through the sub and experience was it's like to live in a submarine. It's definitely not a place for someone who's claustrophobic. They take sourvenir pictures in front of the sub and they printed it off as the front page of the Honolulu Gazette on the day after the attack of Pearl Harbor. It has some of the articles that were in that actual paper. Below are the pics of and in the USS Bowfin.After going through the USS Bowfin and getting our souvenir front pages of the Honolulu Gazette we headed over to take the shuttle to Ford Island. We first toured the USS Missouri Battleship. The self guided tour is 1.5 miles long. It was a very cool tour. We were there for quite some time. They have a cafe below deck so you can get some food in the middle of your tour. The Japanese officially surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri. Here are some pics of the Arizona Memorial from the deck, the USS Missouri, the exact spot where the Japanese surrendered, and myself standing behind the wheel in front of the USS Missouri.

We then left the battleship Missouri and made our way to the Pacific Aviation Museum. On the shuttle you're not allowed to take any pictures, video, or even play video games due to increased security by the miltary. The only people that are allowed on Ford Island are those with miltary ID's unless you're taking the shuttle to the sites there. We watched a short video prior to going through the museum. The museum is in an old airplane hanger. Here are some pictures of the museum.
I have to say after going through all the things that are in Pearl Harbor I enjoyed the Battleship Missouri the best. It was really cool to be able to walk all around the ship. Pearl Harbor is a place that I think everyone should visit if they come to Hawaii. That was my fun-filled day at Pearl Harbor. I'm staying at the dorms to do homework tomorrow. That's all for this blog. I'll write again soon. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)

Laniakea Beach

Today I went to Laniakea Beach aka Turtle Beach with my friend, Alex. We took the Bus there and it took about an hour and a half. Before we even put our stuff down we had already seen the turtles popping their heads out of the water. I took lots of pictures there. Unfortunately none of the turtles came out of the water to bask in the sun but it was still cool to sea them swimming in the water. The water there was a lot colder than the water along the south shore of Oahu. Here's my pics of the Green Sea Turtles or Honu.

This is Laniakea Beach.

Here's the best picture I got of a Green Sea Turtle. They're called Green beacuse they're meat is green in color.

They have signs like this all along the beach.

There's a turtle sitting on top of the rock in the middle.

This is a picture of the green algae that the turtles eat.

This is the memorial that was set up on the beach in memory of Honey Girl, a sea turtle that was found dead on the beach this July.

After spending a couple hours on the beach waiting for the turtles to come up, which they never did. We decided to go to Haleiwa which is a little town along the North Shore. Its the first town you come upon heading from Honolulu that is considered part of the North Shore. We went to what the locals say is the best shave ice in the islands. We went to Matsumoto Shave Ice. They have tons of flavors to put on your shave ice. This time I had raspberry and coconut. Below are pics of the sign at Matsumotos and me with my large raspberry and coconut flavored shave ice with a holder. And it was only $2.25.

That's all for this blog. I'll write again soon. Alex and I would like to go to Waimea Falls Park next weekend which is also along the North Shore. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. I only had 2 classes today. I had Intro. to Literature and Naked Economics. I decided to wear my new American Eagle shoes. It was a bad idea because I ended up getting blisters on both of my heels before I even got to my first class. My second roommate moved in on Sunday. Her name is Julie and she's from China. Tonight will be the first time since I've been here that all 3 of us will be staying in the room. Stacy's mom came out here with her so she had been staying with her mom. I went to the Windward shopping mall with Alex, Addison, and this guy, Jonathan, whom I just met. That was the first time I went on The Bus and I survived. (It was pretty easy. I just didn't want to go by myself the first time.) There is a movie theatre in the mall so we decided to go to the movie The House Bunny which was very funny. After we came back we decided to rent out one of the games in the student center to play. Addison taught us how to play Rummikub. This weekend we want to go to Turtle Beach so we can hopefully see the Green Sea Turtle when they come up to sit in the sun.. Addison and I might go to Waikiki Beach this Friday after classes because she's never been there. We have our first hall meeting tonight which should be fun. That's all for now I'll probably write again after we go to Turtle Beach. Sending you warm wishes and aloha kisses. Jessica :)