Memorial Day Weekend 2013

What a great way to start off the summer this year.  We had the toys, the trucks, the good people to accompany us, great weather, and most importantly, the time off.  Let's not forget about the men and women who sacrificed their lives in the US Armed Forces.

This year we decided to go to Sutton, Alaska off Jonesville Road.  This is the ATV playground with many trails and mud puddles to ride through.  There are no regulations, fee, or rules here.  I have never seen this place so full of campers, atvs, and trailers.  Our large group consisted of around 20 people and 7 dogs  This is the largest group I have ever camped with.  We all had tents and camped away from the trailers in our own private area.  I called it Tent City.  I am very thankful for the wonderful weather we had.

Nobody in the group had ATVs, but we were awesome enough to let our friends borrow our 3 quads.  We had the wheelers parked at our camp and we would come and go as we pleased with approval from Cory or I, of course.  One of our friends even purchased more gas for the toys, how generous.  We definitely talked a good number of our friends to purchase one for the next time we go camping.  Now when I camp, it has brought my perspective on camping to a different level.  I can't go camping without our ATV anymore.  It is so fun to ride these!

All in all, I am glad everyone had fun and was safe.  I got to knock back a few brews, had some sun, got to relax and read, venture around on the atv, and best of all, make great memories.  It was a great group of people and I can't wait to go camping again!

Hawaii-Oahu Trip

We finally treated ourselves to a real vacation this winter and I am so happy we did!  We even invited another couple, who are our close friends, Banan & Crystal.  I am just going to talk about the places we ate and what activities we did as if someone that has never been to Oahu is reading.  I recommend you get a car so you aren't stuck in Waikiki with all the tourist.

The weather in January was pretty unpredictable.  It was mostly sunny, but there was random rain fall for a few minutes and it was a little windy.  Must of been because we came during the "winter".  The wind felt good though since it was "hot" to us Alaskans.  Regardless, every day I packed beach towels and wore a bikini under my tank top and shorts, because there was always opportunity for the beach.  It is a good idea to pack a very light coat cause at night it can get a little "chilly", but you can still rock the shorts.

Hotel:  Seaside Hotel - Waikiki

View from the rooftop

This hotel was the "most affordable" for our budget.  It was smack dab in the middle of Waikiki.  The walk to the beach was like 3 minutes.  An ABC store was just down the street for any necessities. There are ABC Stores at every block.  On the roof there was a small pool. It was nice to go up there and be away from the busy Waikiki Beach.  If you decide to hit up the beach, the front desk has beach towels and mats you can borrow.  The main shopping strip is on the road, Kalakaua, and that is only a 2 min walk where you can access all the popular shopping and dining.

The staff was really nice and one of them,  Alex, was the one we went to for questions.  He is a local and totally a friendly giant.  He told us places he recommended for eating and what beaches to check out.  He was on point for everything.  If you want to find him, he works in the valet area and you can't miss him, he is the biggest Hawaiian you will ever see.  And he is always smiling.

The hotel room was pretty small and we had a full size bed.  You could upgrade to a king size for way more money.  Also, the bathroom had NO fan!  There was air conditioning, so that was nice. But, no microwave or refrigerator.  We bought two styrofoam coolers from a store you need to get to by car for our beverages and what not.  Otherwise, you could fill your sink with ice for a fridge.  But alas, the hotel was only a place to sleep.  The house keeping staff did a great job vacuuming all the sand we brought back from the beach, always made our bed, and gave us new towels every day.

Me in our hotel pool

The valet was always full so we had to park at a public parking lot across the street.  It was $24 a day to park in either lot. So expensive I know!  There is  no on street parking, so the parking garages are the only places to keep your car safe.

In the lobby there is coffee and water 24/7.  Through the lobby of our hotel, there is a Mexican restaurant called Cha Cha Cha's, where you can have drinks at happy hour.  Food-wise, I only tried their chips and salsa and I did like their guacamole dip.  This little place was pretty popular though.

Overall, I would give this hotel a 2.5/5.  I couldn't give it 3 because there was no fridge, no continental breakfast, and the valet parking is ridiculously expensive.  Plus the wireless internet was a little slow and sometimes would shut off for a few minutes.  But, the location is pretty decent considering how close you are to everything and it a good place to pass out every night.


Beaches
In general, the beaches are amazing and clean.  No alcohol is allowed.  Each beach has their own signs of potential dangers like caution for jelly fish, strong currents, etc.  Every beach had their own flavor of uniqueness.  Although, I was very surprised not to see any sand volleyball courts set up on any of the beaches we went to.  I was totally down to play.

Waikiki

Waikiki:  This beach is always packed full of people and children, again, this is the beach where all the tourists hit up since it is just off the main strip.  There are signs warning of jelly fish, but regardless the ocean was full of people playing.  People were able to boogie board, surf, and paddle board.  You could also rent equipment from the beach.  There were many hotels just off this beach where you can rent large umbrellas and lawn chairs.  Its not a bad place at all to lounge or swim if you don't mind all the people.

Hanauma Bay:  This beach is about 30 minutes east of Waikiki.  There is a $1 parking fee and a $7.50 entrance fee since it is a nature preserve park.  Before you enter, you are required to watch a 9 minute video that gives you history of the park and learn some do and don'ts.  You can rent snorkel gear here for $12, but we decided to rent from Aqua Zone in Waikiki for better equipment and to bypass long lines.  This beach is very popular for the snorkeling and I totally recommend you do it!  Cory and I tried this out for our first time and I can't wait to do it again if we go back.  We saw so many different fish!  I recommend you go to this park either early in the morning or later around 2pm because the parking lot gets full.  If the parking lot is full, they close the lot for no entree until the parking lot frees up again.  Also, this park is closed on Tuesdays so plan around that.  Otherwise, I loved this bay!

Cory boogie boarding in Waimanalo

Waimanalo:  This beach is about 30 minutes east of Waikiki and is very quiet.  There was pretty much nobody here when we went except for some locals.  Again, signs for jelly fish, which we saw two on shore.  They were about 2 inches and you have to be careful not to step on them cause they can still sting you.  This is a great place to boogie board if you are a beginner, which we all were.  There were other boogie boarders out in the ocean and they seemed to know what they were doing.  Our friend that came with us had a jelly fish brush his calf a few times and left a red rash on him, but he was fine through out the day.  Otherwise, this beach was really peaceful with the light waves.

Lanikai:  If you drive 20 minutes after Waimanalo, you will reach Lanikai Beach, which is a residential beach.  The entrance to the beach is in a neighborhood.  This beach is also quiet and nice.  Again, no tourist or fuss.

Kailua:  Kailua was only a hop and skip east of Lanikai.  This park was nice and also less crowded.  This was a big beach so there was tons of space to relax and play in the ocean.

North Shore:  These beaches are known for their surfing because of the awesome waves.  There are about a handful of beaches to check out up on the north shore, such as Sunset Beach, Waimea Beach, and Turtle Bay, to name the ones we hit up.  Sunset Beach was a great beach for surfers, which we watched from shore.  Waimea is another chill beach that you can relax on.  Turtle Bay is in a resort that is easy to access and another great spot to snorkel.  We decided to do North Shore in one day because the drive from Waikiki took about 1.5 hours to get up there.  There are tons of cool crab shacks to eat lunch at, which are amazing.

Ala Moana Beach

Ala Moana:  This beach is about 10 minutes west of Waikiki.  I really liked this beach because it was so close to Waikiki and didn't have too much people.  The water is very calm, which made it easy to swim around and float.  There were more sun bathers here than any beach I saw.  Not much for surfing since the waves were pretty much nonexistent.  I saw paddle boarders out on the ocean, which was neat.  There are no equipment rentals here, but like I said, it is a lounge beach.  I also noticed a handful of couples get married on this beach.  Not bad for a job to take photos and wed couples all day :)

Activities

Waimea Falls

Waimea Falls Hike:  This is on the North Shore and costs $10 each for the entree fee.  Prepare to bring your swim suit because at the bottom of the waterfall, you are able to swim around.  The pool is deep and tourists will be watching all the crazy people going in.  The hike is so easy; it is a paved walk to the waterfall.  You walk through the botanical gardens and it only takes about 30 minutes to the end.  Definitely can do this in just flip flops, which I did.  The waterfall is only 45 feet tall, so its not very big.   It was a very nice walk though :)

Manoa Falls

Manoa Falls Hike:  The trailhead is only about 20 minutes away from Waikiki and there is a $5 parking fee.  Definitely bring your hiking shoes and expect to get them muddy.  My poor friend was hiking in flip flops and eventually hiked the trail barefoot.  This hike was really cool because you were in the rain forest.  Some parts were rocky and others were muddy as you got in the gut of the hike.  The falls took about 45 minutes to hike.  Just be careful where the large rocks are at the end.  The falls has a 150 foot drop into a tiny pool.  We were so full of endorphins, we got in the small rocky pool with our swim suits on.  It started pouring rain on us while we were at the falls and on the way back down.  It was awesome!  It felt so good considering the heat. Manoa is also where they filmed the TV show Lost and the Jurassic Park movies.  When you return there are hoses to wash off the mud.  I liked this hike a lot, since it was so rugged.  There is also a little snack shop in the parking lot for any necessities.

The view on top of Diamond Head

Diamond Head Crater Park:  This is just outside of Waikiki and you definitely need a car to get there.  Parking was $5 and the hike was about 40 minutes to the top where you can over look Waikiki. If its a clear day you can see some of the other islands next to Oahu.  I recommend wearing hiking shoes for sure.  There are stairs at the end that are killer!  So worth the view though.  There was also a food truck in the parking lot for smoothies, burgers, and hot dogs.

Sea Life Park:  This is east of Waikiki, about 20 minutes away.  It is $29.99 to get in, but if you are military you save $10.  There are expensive programs you can add if you wanted to swim with the dolphins or sharks.  We passed on the programs.  But there are shows you can watch that come with the admission fee, such as the sea lion and dolphin show, which are separate.  They run at certain times of the day, so it is a good idea to check their website for times.  From the Sea Life Park you can see the ocean where Rabbit Island sits.  There is also a food court and I also found Dip and Dots.  I got my fix of kalua pork as well, so yum!  This place was really cool and I recommend it for a chill, entertaining day.  The dolphin show was my favorite.  There was a Wolphin, which is a mix of Orca and Dolphin.

FOOD

Here are my top 3 must eat places that we hit up that I recommend in no particular order.  Other places I liked were the Cheesecake Factory, Eggs N Things (long line to get in), and  Zippy's.  We pretty much ate out for lunch and dinner every day considering we had no fridge or microwave.  I loved how we could find spam masubi pretty much anywhere. So yummy and a quick snack :)

Loco Moco

Dukes:  Dukes is in Waikiki in the Outrigger Hotel.  You can eat inside or outside right on the beach.  The food was amazing.  I had the ribs and Cory had the Mahi Mahi Burger.  The drinks were good and there was a solo acoustic guitarist singing popular songs for great live music.

Rainbow Drive In:  This place is pretty cheap.  You order your food at a window and then eat outside at one of their few tables.  Place was delicious with their authentic Hawaiian plates.  I had the Loco Moco, which is rice stacked with a burger patttie, an egg, and gravy.  So yum!

Giovanni's:  This is on the North Shore and is a food truck that serves amazing shrimp plates.  Each plate was $13, where you get a dozen shrimp and rice.  You could also order half a plate for half the price.  I had the Shrimp Scampi, which was delicious. Their garlic hot dog was to die for and only $3.50.  This place is so worth driving to for lunch. We wanted to drive back to north shore again just for this place, but we never made a second round.

Garlic Hot Dog and Shrimp Scampi

Well I hope this was helpful for anyone heading to Oahu their first time.  It was our first time to Hawaii ever.  I had friends that told us to hit up many places.  I enjoyed my trip a lot and would love to go back to check out the other islands.


Mahalo!

Graduate

I finally earned my Bachelor's in Science degree in Mathematics.  I endured such a challenging journey.  So thankful Cory supported me when I made the decision to stop working and go back to school.  I will never forget the moments leading up to graduation.  The night before I could not sleep, because I was so anxious and excited.  My last final was a big presentation the next morning. In bed, I was rehearsing over and over in my head.  I visioned everything how I wanted it with exactly what I would wear (my blue blazer, leggings, and boots) and that I would be the first to go that morning.  Everyone in my class but 3 of us had already gone and presented days before the final day.  My topic was on the constant, pi, which we have all seen in equations such as the area of a circle or volume of a sphere.  I showed the proof to the area of pi formula and showed two different ways the value of pi was derived from Archimedes and Newton.  It took me 25 minutes to present, which was perfect.  

I kid you not, while I was up in front of my class, something took over me and I felt like I was teaching more than I was just presenting.  I wasn't even nervous and I felt like I was in my natural state of mind.  It was awesome!  I used a power point for organization, and used the white board and projection machine to show proofs or equations.  I felt like I was flowing and it felt great.  In the end, I got two compliments from my professor that I never expected which were, "You proved that better than I did." and, "Gly, I really enjoyed your presentation."  I finished strong and I was actually proud of myself for once.  

The next day, I felt so free and humbled.  Before Cory left for work, all dressed in uniform, he came down to the bedroom bathroom where I was about ready to shower.  He came in with a card and graduation money inside for me, which I never expected.  He looked me straight in the eyes and told me that he was proud of me.  I hugged, kissed, thanked him with such emotion.  Funny, I told him to please go to work before I start crying with happy tears.  He had to go before he would be late.  I jumped in the shower and cried so happily.  The feeling of graduating college finally hit me and it was great.  

I had a little graduation ceremony that was held by the Multicultural Department and was invite only.  I am so happy there was a ceremony for the fall graduates. There were about 20 of us and one of my other girlfriends also took part in this.  It was a very intimate ceremony with a lunch reception after.  This ceremony had no caps and gowns, but instead we were given a purple rose and we were to speak on stage dedicating that flower to someone and also telling our story or whatever we wanted.  I gave shout outs to my family.  I almost cried when I thanked my parents, but I held it in and stayed strong.  It was all given away when my voice changed.  This event was so emotional and some people were crying.

I dedicated my rose to Cory and I loved seeing him in the back with the camera taking it all in.  Without him, I don't know if this would of been my path and I am grateful he was right by my side no matter what I decided to pursue.  Master's in Teaching, here I come!  Three more semesters to go and I am well on my way to become a teacher in secondary education.

Volleyball Season 3

Breast Cancer Awareness Night

Coaching volleyball has ended.  I bumped up this year and coached C1.  I was blessed with a very talented group of young ladies.  I had a variety of personalities, which included 4 sophomores and 8 freshman.  I also had a team manager, Austin, who was one of the players' friends.  He was a really nice boy and was down for anything I needed him to do.  He even practiced with the girls in many drills, which was a good challenge for the girls.  I am proud of my squad and I liked how they bonded well together.  We had some great memories and a few not so great, but those don't matter.

I taught my team to be aggressive on the courts. I was happy to hear from other coaches that my team doesn't give anything easy to opponents.  On top of teaching them game tactics and skill, my main goal is to teach them how to be a humble person and that team means together.  At our end of the year tournament, I was so happy to be showered with some gifts like a bouquet of flowers, chocolate covered macadamias, written cards of thanks, and gift cards from some of my players.  Made me feel appreciated.  My big confidence booster is when the parents gave me encouragement and thanks for coaching their daughter.

We ended with a 12-2 record in our conference and best of all we beat South, our main rivalry, twice.  I will never forget this group and I hope each of them do great things.  I wish them luck in the rest of their high school career of volleyball.

My C1 Team, so proud.

The JV coach, Rachel, had her baby towards the end of season and I stepped up to coach her team for a week.  It was my JV coaching debut and I am very happy to put those two wins in my pocket.  Only 4 of the girls on JV were girls I had coached from the past.  I mean really, the girls filter our from C team and up to varsity.  These girls were a very spunky and energetic group, sometimes I didn't know how Rachel handled all of their energy.

My coaching JV debut with former Coach Stan Afoa

The way the coaching hierarchy works is that the varsity coach has 3 assistant coaches, which are the JV and two C team coaches.  JV and C team have an end of the year tournament that closes season, but varsity continues two more weeks for Regionals and State Tournaments. This year, the format for these tournaments changed to a double elimination bracket and had an "if necessary" match to to 30 points.  Long story short, Dimond won Regions in an epic match against South and had to play the if necessary match.  Top three teams advance to State where the top teams of the other regions come together.

After 3 years of coaching, I finally helped out and chaperoned varsity out in Wasilla, where state was held.  Rachel usually helps chaperone, but she was out due to baby and only came when she could.  I was happy to do it because it was kind of a "mini-vacation" from my busy life.  We stayed at the Best Western out there and I had a blast.  We were there from Wednesday night to Saturday night.  Cory came out for the Championship match, which was great to finally see him.  Let's just say, Dimond did it again, just like in regions, took the state championship being number 1!  The if necessary match was so intense and sitting on the bench with the other coaches was just too much.  Dimond tied with South probably 12 times and then finally finished with a 30-27 final score, winning state.

I am so happy to be apart of all of this.  On Saturday, thankfully we made it that far but I had no doubts, I decided to write a letter for them for some high spirits.  I read my letter to them before the first match and I am glad I did it.  I just felt like I needed to put my 2 cents in before the we started playing on the most important day of their life.  Championship day.  Glad the girls pulled it through and totally dominated with their fire.  GO DIMOND!

The night Varsity won state :)

Slacking on the blog, but not on life

I know, it has been so long!!  I am sorry blog, but don't worry I have been rereading my blessed life through your written memories.  I promise, during Thanksgiving break I plan on writing in here and adding awesome pictures.  I will give highlights from August to now, which is a large spread, but it definitely contains great memories.  In short, life is good :)

Hello August

August started off with me getting back into coaching at Dimond High School.  This marks my 3rd season with this amazing program.  I am now the C1 coach, which is a bump up from the C2 position.  One day, I will coach JV.  I have been blessed with talented girls again.  We are now 3 - 1.  The loss was against a non-conference team, Palmer.  Since they only had one C-Team, they brought down half their JV to play our C1 team.  Although, just recently, we played South High, which is our #1 competitor.  My girls played so amazing with great dynamic on the court.  I was absolutely proud of them.   Below is a photo proof of our team picture from Fitzgerald Photography.  I am awaiting my print copy :)

Cory was in Utah for the first week of August for more training.  He was able to load live bombs, which was exciting for him.  I am so happy he is home!  Here is a photo of him he sent to me while he was flying in a C-17.  He just so darn handsome!

I had 2 weddings to photograph in the first weekend of August.  The first couple (Tasha & Brandyn), I did not know, but come to find out they were our old neighbors when we lived at the Alpine Apartments.  The second couple (Roberta & Colton), I did know the bride.  Roberta and I have known each other since 8th grade.  We were best friends then.  It was such an honor photographing her wedding.  I had a blast at both events.  I also squeezed in a couples photo shoot (Kelsey & Randy) and a toddler shoot (Izabella).  Here are some of the photos I took.

When Cory returned, we celebrated our 3rd year anniversary by going on a day cruise out of Whittier.  It was really relaxing.  We saw some wildlife, like sea lions, otters and seals.  Wish we saw a whale though!  That would of been ultimate.  I can't believe it has been 4 years all together.  I hope our marriage continues to grow strong.  He is a great husband and his loyalty is far beyond any other.  

I also got myself some new ink.  I finally got the tattoo I have been thinking about since last fall, thanks to Cory's motivation.  I am very happy I did it.  It is the sun from the Philippines flag.  Simply marked my heritage.  I have received compliments on how unique it is.  Tattoo done by Lui Talo at lilusotattoo.com

I also started my final semester as an undergraduate.  I can't believe it.  I am very close to finishing my Mathematics degree!  After I graduate, I plan on enrolling in the spring or summer admission for the Masters in Teaching program.  That program will take 3 more semesters and then I will finally be certified to teach.  Next weekend, I plan on getting my application in for the MAT program.  Wish me luck!

We ended the month going camping in Sutton with friends.  We took our 4 wheeler out and saw a beautiful waterfall in the deep part of the valley.  It was a muddy 12 mile ride.  Unfortunately, I think we overrode our 4 wheeler and it is currently in the shop.  It died down on us on the way back to camp and our friends had to tow us all the way back.  Thank goodness we had 5 rides total.  Never go 4-wheeling alone.  There was also one part where it was really steep and Cory and I tipped over.  It was so scary, I was afraid the 4 wheeler was going to tip and roll back the hill.  We jumped off in time and I am glad neither of us got hurt.  We were able to tip the 4 wheeler back on its wheels and continue our journey.  We really need to invest in some helmets too.  But alas, it was a fun time!  Exhausting, but worth it.  

J-J-July

Yes we did, we bought a 4 wheeler and took it out with friends to Hatchers Pass.  We went through rivers, deep mud, and prowled on rocks.  I am so proud of this machine.  Money well spent.  Cory found this beast on craigslist and got a great deal on it. He has been wanting to get a 4 wheeler for awhile. Now that we have a garage to store one in, then we are set!  We plan to get another one probably next year.  It sure is great transportation to get us to beautiful places where no one has been.

We went clam digging for our first time in Ninilchik, which is 3.5 hours south of Anchorage.  The first night Cory and I thought we knew what we were doing, but were totally clueless. We only caught 3 and the limit is 60 per day.  We knew what to look for in the sand, it was just that we were not digging with the right technique.  Well if we had done it right, we probably would of caught a lot more.  We tried again the second day after camp and among the 4 of us we got 40.  Yum Yum!  It was a blast camping.  I love camping and I wish we could do it more often.  We took our 4 wheeler out again to get us to hot spots on the beach far away from camp.  Here we are with our friends, Cory and Amelie Cummings.  My friend, Crystal also came down and brought her new puppy, Sol.  I wish I could go again when the tides are super low in August, but I will have weddings to photograph.  It is just so fun digging for them.  It is like a treasure hunt!

My colleague, Deanna, invited me to go hike Flat Top with her.  I was absolutely glad to.  I am proud of her for taking on this mountain.  It was a fun time and it was my first time hiking my favorite mountain this year.  I'd hike this mountain once a week if I had more time.  It is a great work out and quite beautiful. 

Julie, my cousin, graduated with her Medical Assisting certificate from the Alaska Career College.  We are all so proud of her.  She did this as a mother and working.  She stayed up late studying constantly and on top of that finished with a high GPA.  She is now applying for jobs as an MA and I wish her luck.  Cory came to her graduation and had us all yell "GO JULIE" when she went up.  Julie was chosen to speak for her class and her speech was heart warming and to the point.  She even made her mom cry.  Too bad Cory had to go back to work, but we were glad he came during his lunch break.  Julie, you rock and keep it up.  Keep inspiring our family.

Well this Saturday Cory leaves to Witchita, TX for training. He will be gone until the 28th, which is two weeks.  Since we were dating, we have been so lucky not getting shipped away.  This will be the first time apart.  When he gets back from Texas, he will have 6 days at home and then he is off to Utah for a week for more training.  Pretty bummed he will be gone for a third of the summer now.  I plan on keeping busy while I am at home and I hope to catch a lot of salmon too!