St. Patrick's Day

Yesterday they played Irish music in the supermarket and there was green cabbage on display, never seen that before, haha.

Home Sweet Home..

After arriving  back home we have been super busy sorting the car out. There was hardly any damage to ours, but it had to be brought to the garage, we got a rental for 3 weeks covered by the insurance. Luckily! United managed to break the pram so we have finally ordered a new one. Since the car eat for E has been in an accident it needs to be replaced so that is something which needs to be taken care of too. It never stops...grr. Can we rewind this Monday and start all over? Only nice thing about it is that weather is SUPERB again. Blue sky and WARM, yaaay. Perhaps summer is within reach.

Maui, HI, Part III: Road to Hana

I wouldn't recommend driving this road if you get car sick easily. Unfortunately Emily got sick on the way back, even though max speed is between 10 and 25 mph. Not great. If you like nature, this road is a must, though I think arriving in Hana was a bit of an anticlimax. The journay was better than the destination so to say.

This is what the road looked like most of the time

Black Sand Beach 

 

Plenty of waterfalls which also offered Swimming opportunities

Plenty of fresh fruit on the way to Hana

Maui, HI, Part II: Mama's Fish House

One of the big tourist attractions on Maui is the road to Hana. We were on and off about doing the trip, but thought, hey, we have a rental car for two days so let's drive there and see what the fuss is about. The road to Hana is famous for its water falls, great nature and narrow roads and bridges. It took us about 4 hours to drive there, a little shorter on the way back. One of the gems we discovered on the way there was a restaurant Emily's pediatrician had recommended: Mama's fish house. A fish restaurant by the beach. Over priced but such a lovely view.

Suberb Fish Curry

 

Lunch with a View

 Mahi Mahi with Lobster Stuffed with Crab

Mama's Fish House

Their menu mainly consist of fish, some of which we had never heard of but it was one of the few places actually offering traditional Hawaiian dishes. Food was delicious even if proces were a little steep, $40 dollars plus per dish. Kids menu was $20!!! Still, it comes with one of the best views I have ever experienced and great service (generally, I thought the service was not so great on Maui).

Maui, HI: Part I

Not sure what I expected from Hawaii, perhaps hula girls everywhere, but I have come to realise, it is Mallorca (at least Maui is) for the Americans. I think just about everyone I know here in OC goes there on vacation. Such a melting pot, Germans, Swedes and of course, we met Americans from all over the US.  Weatherwise, it was just perfect, In the 80s, nice and warm, perfect water.

Most of the big hotels on Maui are located on the west coast, ours was at the end of Kaanapali, just 15 minutes north of a small little town Lahaina and its harbour, and about 15 minutes (on foot) south of Whalers village. It is actually not a real village, more a shopping complex with some restaurants.

    Sunset sitting at the Hula grill. Whalers Village

 

Hula girls, Whalers Village.

View from the hotel room

Down the beach, Hyatt

 

Hubby admiring the view

 

The biggest tourist trap ever but a must-do: Drums of the pacific Luau. A luau is

is a traditional Hawaiian party or feast that is usually accompanied by entertainment. We booked the one Hyatt offered and there was traditional dancing, buffet. Pricey and not so great. But tourist traps rarely are:)

Anaheim Ducks

We went to see the Ducks play the other night. Last year we put a bid in for the tickets at a fundraising event for the Swedish school and we won, unfortunately the lock out came inbetween but now we finally made it. Great tickets, first row, preferred parking right outside the building. You know when you normally go to a game of any sport at a big stadium, loong queues and a apin to get both in and out. This time, nada. The Honda stadium in Anaheim was quite impressive. Felt new and modern. Don´t think hubby was impressed though when he had to fork out 10 bucks for a beer.
I think the last game of ice hockey we watched was Brynäs in Gävle a good few years ago. Eventhough ice hockey is great to watch in Sweden, the Americans are a little superior when it comes to being loud and entertain. Last NHL game was Pens in Pittsburgh, their fans are just a little more passionate than the ducks´.

Skimpy dressed girls cleaning the ice. Doubt this would work in Sweden, hihi

 

Ducks ended up winning 3-2 agains Columbus, it was a good, close game. First thing I always do when watching a NHL game is to look up how many Swedes they have. Ducks have two, the goal keeper (first is Swiss, second Swedish) and another player.

Shootings

Just happened to turn the TV on this afternoon and I see this....

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/oc-shootings-college-student-attacked-randomly-police-say.html

Not far from where we live, a college student shot 3 people, randomly, before killing himself.  We were at the Swedish school but parts of it took place about 5 minutes from where we live. Luckily it happened early this morning and hubby slept in a bit because he would have taken that route to work.

Makes you wonder where he got his gun from and where we live. Until now I never lock the car, nor the door, that how safe this area is but evidently, you aren't safe anywhere.