Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Bon Bini Aruba: Welcome (back) to Aruba!


With everyone’s busy schedules and living so far apart, the one thing we truly treasure are our annual Horiuchi family summer vacations.  This summer (end of Aug. 2013), we decided to go back to Aruba, but mixing it up and trying a new resort this time.

We selected the all-inclusive Aruba Divi Resort where we had adjoining rooms which allows us to spend all our time together.  I particularly enjoyed Kai reading to me every night. It was actually quite nostalgic as the book he read was Encyclopedia Brown, a boy detective who uses his keen observation skills to solve crimes, a book series I loved to read when I was his age.

Our rooms at the Aruba Divi All-Inclusive Resort:


Here are the sophisticated sand castles that Kai and Tyler built.  Check out the tunnels, the bridges, the moats and barriers to protect the waves from crashing in and destroying the castles.





Papa relaxing in the hammock outside our hotel room.



Our resort at sunset.



As Kai’s been taking swimming lessons for many years now and has grown to become a strong swimmer, we thought he might enjoy learning to snorkel.  We practiced in the pool and then near our hotel.  When we went to “Palm Island” where they have a snorkeling area with lots of fish, Kai snorkeled and saw quite a lot of different fish.

Here's video from Kai's first snorkeling experience:


Here's what Kai saw snorkeling:


I was thrilled he had such a positive experience as I’m hoping that when he turns 12 (the youngest age to start scuba diving) he’ll get certified and become my scuba diving buddy!

While Aruba Divi Resort has a great pool and easy access to a beautiful white-sandy beach, for some variety we went twice to Palm Island which is not only where Kai snorkeled, but also where both Kai and Tyler played in the water park.   It’s not a huge water park, as it had only 6 slides, so I was amazed that Kai and Tyler didn’t get the least bored. They went up and down the slides, crying out “red slide” or “dark blue slide” to indicate which slide they were next going down on, so many times! 


Mom and I at the water park on Palm Island.



In between snorkeling and water slides, Kai and Tyler got tattoos! Kai selected the fish and Tyler chose the dolphin. Very, very cool! 




Tomu and Masa on a Banana Boat ride at Palm Island:




Our last evening we had a special dinner (I miss a decent California Zinfandel) and Papa played his shakuhachi for us. 






Everyone enjoyed a safe vacation, with the minor exception of Kai "Mr. Monkey" jumping on the hotel bed and hurting himself (see injury below).  It's worth mentioning that his parents told him not to jump on the bed and that this is not Kai's first "run in" with a hotel bed.  (Note: This is where I take advantage of my license as his Auntie to share an "I remember when" story) This reminds me of when we were on vacation in Houston, Texas before Tyler was born and Kai hurt himself from falling between two beds he was jumping between in the hotel room.  He still has the scar, it's near the outside of his (left?) eye. 



As the main purpose of the vacation was to spend time with family, I just did a two-tank dive one morning.   


At the end of the second dive, we saw a 2 meter shark resting under the rocks.  Otherwise, not a lot of action.



Photo collage from the dives:


Congratulations Kai: Basketball Coach’s Choice Award


This summer Kai went to basketball camp and I was fortunate to be able to watch him practice drills, play 3-on-3 basketball and play an actual game.   On the last day (Aug. 23), awards were presented and in addition to winning a team award, Kai was also recognized with the Coach’s Choice Award for his excellence in teamwork, attitude and what I’m particularly please about - hustle - which means he put 100% effort in everything the coaches asked whether it was drills or listening to instructions and moving quickly to follow them.


For this recognition, Kai was presented with a basketball signed by one of the Brooklyn NY Nets Basketball team members. I don’t remember which player, so Kai will need to comment to this blog and remind his Auntie.  Kai's going to see his first professional basketball game sometime in the next few months and I can't wait to hear about it J

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Bird’s Eye View of Sydney


While I’ve climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge twice, doing a fly-by in a small plane is an altogether different and phenomenal experience!  On August 4, Miin and I were thrilled to go up in this Pilot Archer plane.  I sat in the back of the two-seater and enjoyed the great views across the horizon and 360 degrees all-around. 

We travelled from the Olympic Park area, to Palm Beach, circled a few times around Freshwater and Manly before heading to the CBD by way of North Sydney. 

We wore headphones, so were able to hear all of the communications between our pilot and the control tower.  I didn’t realize how orchestrated the process of getting a plane in position for takeoff was.  Everything from securing permission to enter the runway area to what runway to transit on to get into position for takeoff was communicated and confirmed before executed.

The landing was exhilarating! It was absolutely incredible to see the runway up ahead, the plane lined up and then upon being given permission to land to slowly, slowly see the landing strip come up right in front of us until we were back on the ground in a very smooth landing!









Great Close-up Video of Weedy Sea Dragon


We departed with Pro Dive from Rose Bay at 8:15 a.m. on a clear sunny Saturday (July 27). It’s technically still Winter, but it was pretty warm out!  And while visibility was good, the water was 17 C, so cold!  I was thrilled to be diving with my dive buddy Jackie again too!

The first dive was at Magic Point (Dive #179) and the second dive was at The Gap where I saw THREE weedy sea dragons!  And when you see the video you’ll see that they have this cartoonish look with small polka dots and a bright blue color along its belly.   I’m still fascinated with these whimsical weedy sea dragons that drift along in the water like seaweed and have these clown-like polka dots on their belly.





A shark in the distance, can you spot it?