El Malpais National Monument and Wildlife Preserve

Last Monday I decided to get out and see some of the gems of New Mexico. I did not realize till then that I live very close to three places found in my "Passport to our National Parks." El Malpais is about 20 min or less away from my home and pictured are views from the Sand Stone Bluffs. The dark patches on the plains are old lava flows. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas from Denver!

Waiting for Grandpa and Grandma!

Christmas in Denver with four Monkeys!

And a good time was had by all...

Thanks mom and dad for letting me tag along on your retirement/anniversary trip. I really needed it and now I need to move back STAT. Love Oahu and all my peeps there!!!

The Shorebird

Our last weekend on Oahu was spent in Waikiki at the military hotel. That Saturday a couple of my friends and I went to dinner at The Shorebird. I did not realize until we got there that this place required you to cook your own food. I tried to catch a picture of Jill throwing our fish on the grill but she said it was so freaking hot and I could not catch her. I later tried my hand at it and she wasn't kidding. I still don't have any hair on my right arm! But the company of Jill, Bernice, her two super cute kids, and the sunset made it all worth it!

L&L's BBQ

I lived in Hawaii for 1.5 years and never tried the Saimin noodles from L&L's until now (Nov 8). I really missed out! So freaking good!!!

Last Day at Bellows: Nov 9

I really love this place!

Dole Pineapple Plantation

After a whole lotta shave ice we decided we still had room for pineapple ice cream. Yum!

Quest for the BEST shave ice!

Next door to each other in Haleiwa, HI stand two shave ice stores. A friend from Laie took me to Aoki's years ago. The line at Motsumoto's was very long and she said it was just as good. I really enjoyed it and from then on never made the effort to go to Motsumoto's . Well, yesterday we decided to do both and we compared the mango flavor with ice cream on the bottom. I like both and really can only conclude if you like super sweet shave ice: go to Motsumoto's. If you are not a fan of going into a diabetic coma: go to Aoki's. Either way, both are worth a drive to the North Shore!