Ohana

Ohana in Hawaiian means family and there’s no better way to describe the relationship we have with our friends the Lundborgs. Rosa and I have been colleagues and friends since the early days of UW Bothell so when the idea of traveling to Hawaii with her family came up, we jumped at the opportunity. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Rosa’s husband Mark lived in Hawaii for several years when he was growing up and their two boys—Garrett (15) and Brandon (11)—are no strangers to the islands as they have visited many times with their folks. Rosa’s parents also lived on Oahu when they retired so it was fitting to visit the beach they called home.

Following a brunch prepared by Chef Rosa, we headed over to the windward side of Oahu to visit the beach where Rosa and her dad used to sit and talk. On the way, we stopped at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout; the high ledge where Kamehameha the Great conquered the island in 1795 by running Oahu’s forces over a high cliff.

Though Mark tangled a bit with a jellyfish (his arm stings a little but he’s okay), we all had a wonderful time at this memorable beach.

And it wouldn’t have been a true local experience without some shave ice for the entire ohana prior to the trip home. Garrett watched the kids and the adults had a great dinner at Honolulu’s Hard Rock Café. We topped it off with dessert at the local Cheesecake Factory.

Though our time on Oahu is coming to an end, we are all excited to visit the big island of Hawaii on the next leg of our journey.