Celebrate Kaimuki

Saturday, 1 November 2008

Growing up in Kaimuki was nice. It's always been a neighborhood full of mom n pop shops and the main thoroughfare for buses. Now, the mom n pop shops are disappearing. More trendy shops and restaurants are appearing, with my yoga studio and a few others in the vicinity. I don't really spend too much time walking around the neighborhood. But, this afternoon, we walked down the hill (about ten minutes to get down and about 20 minutes to get up). It was my idea. I must have had a spurt of energy from yoga class this morning. But Chris ended up pushing Chase in the stroller each way! (and now our shins are paying for it) HA! The main street was closed for a fair/block party. Stores had set up camp on the street. Restaurants were selling food outside. I enjoyed dim sum from Happy Days Restaurant, strawberry tapioca from Cafe Laufer, and Korean food bento from Kim Chee 2. There was live entertainment. Chris found his favorite G.I. Joe toy (I'm assuming it will be a collectible) at Toys & Joys. We checked out the craft fair at Kaimuki Park, where Chris' mom was selling her ceramic coasters. It was nice to park the stroller and Chase at their booth so that we could stay out of the sun when we wanted (while spraying a few coasters for customers of course). We window shopped. Actually, I got to shop for a necklace since the vendor wanted to trade for some coasters (and Audrey didn't want anything). We spent the whole afternoon there. Chase was super active, running all over the place, playing on the playground, and he loved the water fountain. Auntie Stevi and Lauren came down. They ended up buying Chase a couple of cute local t-shirts. My favorite: "My name is Kolohe." (Kolohe means "rascal" in Hawaiian) . Rented a movie tonight..."The Bank Job". An interesting movie full of surprises.