My favorite sunrise shot at Lanikai 

One of my favorite sunrise shots... 

The bright sun starts to peek up behind the islands. Enjoy these pictures of the sunrise at Lanikai. 

The clouds hang over the mountains mysteriously in the early morning. 

In the far distance, just beneath the orange sky, you can see the faint outlines of other neighboring islands, Maui and Lana'i. 

At about 6:30 am, Mike and I hiked up towards the Pill Boxes on the ridge in Kailua, overlooking Lanikai Beach to check out the sunrise.  

The ridge behind us 

A closeup of the islands 

Even a sunrise through the weeds can be beautiful! 

Mike's dog checks out the view along the ridge as we take countless pictures of the sunrise this morning. 

Just breaking through the clouds 

The Moks...Twin islands in Lanikai that you can kayak to. 

View of Lanikai at Sunrise (about 7:30 am) 

Here comes the sun! 

A Happy 30th

Tuesday, 29 November 2005

Friends in Seattle left messages on my cell phone during the day (Thanks for the singing telegram Christina!), and in the evening the phone rang off the hook while at dinner with the family. But, the best greeting that made my day was at 3:30 pm when I was shopping with my friend Kai at The Gap. All of a sudden, my phone rang, and the caller ID said "Maryland"....I usually don't answer calls I don't know, but answered anyway, and immediately heard what sounded like a recording...Kids singing "Happy Birthday"...I put the phone to Kai's ear and was baffled as I didn't know who it was. She asked, "Is it your kids?", and I said no...I figured it was some sort of strange hoax, but then as I brought the phone back to my ear, I heard "Happy Birthday, Ms, Mau!"...and then, it clicked! Kids?! Omigosh, they're calling from THAILAND!

Christy, my former roommate and teaching partner in Thailand, made the call from her cell phone and had the kids sing to me. It was so awesome! I got to talk to most of them, and even the new students in the class, even though it was difficult to hear over the laughter and chatter in the background and their broken English. I got to talk to Matt, our Thai teacher, about her boyfriend and Christy about how I'd be celebrating my 30th. All asked when I was coming back to Thailand and if I was going to eat som tum (my favorite green papaya salad, which just isn't the same, even at the most Thai restaurant here). What a pleasant surprise indeed!...They managed to surprise me last year for my birthday in Thailand, and now this year, they did it again (they even had to wait a day to get the time change right!). It was good to hear the kids' voices again and hear what animals they were writing about for their animal reports. The 30 minute conversation brought me back to Thailand, if even for a brief moment, and made me really happy. Thanks Christy and Bamrung Wittaya English Program 2 kids...You made my day!!

On Tuesday, my real 30th birthday, I celebrated at Chiang Mai Restaurant (Thai food of course!) with the family. 

I told you I'd wear a funky hat that I made myself...At Shokudo Restaurant on Saturday, while still 29...Do I look any different?! 

We hung out at Bar 35, on Hotel Street (a somewhat seedy section of town), but this outside bar was a cool setting for a party. 

Tanya and Wendy 

My artsy, by accident, bar shot of the table 

Tanya and Toni striking a pose 

The outside deck of Bar 35 

At Bar 35 

Odessa, Tanya, and Linh 

Jason and Tanya, outside the trendy Shokudo Japanese Restaurant, where I celebrated my 30th birthday with friends. 

Nina, Tanya, and Suzette