Star For A Day - Hollywood!

Kelly in front of Holllywood Blvd & Roosevelt Hotel (Where Marilyn Manroe passed away)

Ron and I ventured into Hollywood this past weekend. It was everything I pictured it would be. We took in a movie at Mann's Theater . Went into Disney's Soda and Fountain shop...We didn't have anything since we ate at Sprinkles, but next time we will. We saw Laura Croft, Supergirl and Wonderwomen taking a break from saving the world. Oh yea, we also walked around the street and checked out the stars on the sidewalk. To end a great a day, we ate at Hooters!! Overall, it was a cool place to visit. We will go back since Disney has a movie theater there, El Captain. Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D...I am so there!!

Ron at Mann Theater

Beverly Hills - 90210

Kelly in Beverly Hills

Went to Beverly Hills this past weekend. We crusined down Rodeo drive and then parked and walked around Beverly Hills for a while. It reminds me of Waikiki with all the BIG name stores. Went to the Whilshire Beverly Hotel ( I think that is right) seems much bigger on TV.

I like many millions of Americans TiVO Oprah everyday. One of her shows said if you are ever in LA, go this Sprinkles Cupcake Shop. Ofcourse, Ron and I had to go and try these great cupcakes. OMG...The cake was great, but the frosting is pure sugar....if you enjoy sweets, you will enjoy this place. If you don't...well, grab a flavored milk!! Ron had Black and White and I had Red Velvet. I have to say, if you are a baker...this might be the business for you. This place was PACKED and at $3.25 a cupcake, living can't be to bad!!

(Red Velvet on top, Black & White on bottom)

Fort Worth, Texas

This past weekend was my grandparents 40th Wedding Anniversary. My mom thought it would be a great idea to surprise them with me...(smiling). I arrived on Friday night and we stopped by Saturday morning to see them. I wish I had a picture of my grandmothers face...She forgot my name because she was so surprised...hehe.

Santa Barbara

Stearns Wharf

Santa Barbara Mission

Santa Barbara Mission

Ron has been gone a little over a week now and I decided it was time for me to venture out on my own and check things out. I headed to Santa Barbara for the day. I was not to impressed with Santa Barbara. The Stearns Wharf was nice, the harbor was nice, but I found everything to be really crowed.

The highlight of the trip was the Santa Barbara Mission. Est. in 1786, this hilltop structure is called the Queen of the Missions for its twin bell towers. It was a beautiful place to visit.

Our Guest the Possum

Possum arriving

Possum just chillin

Possum when he finally left

Yesterday, we had a visitor in our backyard - a possum. Izzy was the one that found our little friend and welcomed him/her on over. Thank goodness Kehau was asleep in the house (or else our little friend might be dead..LOL) After several hours, he/she finally left.

Hot Summer

Izzy in front of fan.

Kehau in hole she has dug.

This week, LA and surrounding areas are under a heat advisory and man it has been HOT. I wanted to take a picture of the girls to show you exactly how they are dealing with the HOT Cali weather.

Beach

Today I went to the beach for the first time...OH MY GOSH!!! The water was ice cold. I put my feet in and it was like stepping into a bucket of ice water. Needless to say, I just spent my time on the beach and enjoyed the view. Here is where I was at today...Nice beach and great view.

Settling In

We are finally settling into our new place. We moved in on Friday, July 14 after living in the Marriott for three weeks. On that same day, our household goods arrived from Hawaii. Things didn't go to good with that...LOL. Here is just a short list of things they managed to break:

-Sofa
-Stereo
-Master Bedroom Set (Headboard, Footboard, Dressor and Night Stands)
-TV (No..Not the BIG one, the spare bedroom one)
-Microwave
-Grill
-PS2
-and many, many more items.

It was so bad that the moving company wanted Ron to go and get his camera so he can take some pictures of the items inside the crates.

We have successfully unpacked everything and got the house all together. I was really impressed that we got it all done within a week. It finally looks like a home. The house is SO MUCH bigger than our house in Hawaii. We went from a 2 bedroom, 900 sq. foot townhome to a 3 bedroom, 1800 sq foot house (not including the yard). That brings me to the yard. We actually have a yard the dogs can run around in. We also have a gopher in the yard, but housing said they would take care of that next week.

The yard continues on the other side of the house where the grill is at.

Little of Hawaii in California

We have found a little of Hawaii right here near us in Ventura....L&L .

Santa Monica Pier

I have always seen the Santa Monica Pier on TV and since we didn't have anything to do on Thursday, we decided to check it out. It was cool...A boardwalk pier that has games, rides, shops and restaurants. There was a nice Mexican restaurant at the end of the pier, but we decided to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Kids would have a blast at this pier!!!

Malibu

After two weeks, we finally started to venture out into the area and check things out. We headed up Coastal Highway 1 to check out Malibu....OH MY GOSH!!! Malibu is only about 10 minutes from the house we are going to moving into next week. The area is beautiful. ALL of the houses are HUGE.

Since Ron and I are such HUGE fans of the TV show Two and a Half Men...It was cool to drive into Malibu and see the area. We have no real idea where the introduction shoots are taken, but we stopped along the highway and took so photos. I can see myself enjoying this beach A LOT when we finally get settled.

California

Things are good here in Southern California. We are starting to learn our way around this place. It is day 6 of living in the Marriott and it might be a couple more weeks before we move into a house.



Here is a picture of our little place at the Marriott. We are living on the second floor and right outside is a HUGE golf course. When we arrived here we noticed that there was a football field on the property. My mother had informed us a while back the the Dallas Cowboys do their training in Oxnard, CA. So, natually I thought..Well, this must be where they stay. Ron thought I was crazy. After doing some research on the web, I was right...The Dallas Cowboys do stay in this hotel and train. They will be arriving here on July 28. (Hopefully I will be gone from here by then.)

The weather here has turned GREAT. We did find out that the dogs are allowed to go on the beaches here, so I am sure the girls will be excited.

One BIG THING...I was able to go to the store and buy a 12 pack of BIG RED. How cool is that?? After 6 long years of having my poor mother mail me Big Red, I am able to finally get my own.

Few Updates:

1. Housing: We are on the waitlist of Navy Housing. Will talk with the guy Monday to see how long before we hear anything. We are looking out in town just to be on the safe side, however, with the dogs it is HARD. Either the price is REALLY high or it is in the ghetto.

2. Job: I am searching for a job. Have sent my resume to a few places and I am looking forward to hearing from them. Hopefully I will find something within the next month or so and get back to a normal life. Ron starts work on July 15.

3. Stuff: Our Jeep arrived here last week and we got a call on Friday that our Honda arrived one week early. Ron was not excited about this at all...We have to drive back into LA to get it. It is over a 100 miles to pick up the POV's in Long Beach. Our household goods are still on their way...Hopefully it will not be long before they arrive.

4. Girls: They are doing well. Living in close quarters with each other is okay. The only down side of living in a hotel is that we can't just put them in the back yard to "take care of business". We actually have to walk them several times a day. Ms. Izzy is getting spoiled in the fact that everytime I put my shoes on she thinks she is going for a walk. Other than that...They are great. I think they want to move as much as we do...hehe.

5. Difference: This is mainly for all of my Hawaii Friends. The price difference here is CRAZY. We went to the commissary and I can't get over the price difference for things. Example; Eggs - $1.98 (HI) verse $0.88 (CA), Milk $4.99 (HI) verse $1.98 (CA), etc...The gas appears to be the same, but all other items appear to be totally different. Ron and I both must look like kids in a candy store at the commissary.

Arriving in California

We arrived in California at 5:30AM on Tuesday, June 27. The weather was nasty; foggy, humid, COLD (61 degrees) and cloudy. It was so weird to see people walking around with jackets and sweatshirt in the middle of June. I have to admit this morning, I was already missing Hawaii.

Only had 2 hours sleep in the last 48 hours. I am tried, cranky and just plan not in a good mood. However, I am trying to keep an open mind and think positive of our new adventure.

We are living in the Residence Marriott...It is like an apartment here. Pretty cool and the girls seem to like it also. We are all able to be in one living space together, so that is nice. We don't have a backyard, so we are having to take the girls out walking A LOT and they seem to really enjoy it. I don't think they slept good on the plane...They have been asleep all afternoon.

Waikiki

[Kelly floating at Waikiki Beach]

[Ron's Lunch from McDonald's that came with Pineapple]

Ron and I spent most of today [Saturday, June 24] lounging around Waikiki Beach. It was so relaxing to float around the ocean. However, after living here for 6 years I would say there are better areas to enjoy the beach than Waikiki; Bellows Beach, Lagoons at KoOlina, North Shore and White Plains. Since we hardly spent time in Waikiki we decided to hang out here and enjoy the atmosphere. Ron ran to McDonald's to grab a bit to eat...The meals at this McDonald's came with Pineapple...I have NEVER seen that the entire time I have lived here.

Homeless in Hawaii

Aloha,

We are finally homeless in Hawaii. After one long week of cleaning, mailing 10 packages to our new PO Box, packing, dropping the girls off, etc...we passed final inspection and moved out on Friday, June 23.

Just a few updates:

1. We are currently living at the Waikiki Marriott Beach Resort and Spa. We will be here until Monday, June 26. The bed here is GREAT...However, this is coming from someone who has been sleeping on an air mattress for the last month.

2. Girls (Dogs and Cat) are in the MWR Kennel. I had some separation issues since this is the first time they are living in a kennel. [Ever time we have went on vacation, my wonderful neighbor Mike has taken care of them. ] Victoria was scared....she went back into her kennel. Izzy and Kehau seemed to not mind at all.

3. We will be leaving Hawaii Monday, June 26 at 9:30PM [Hawaii Time] and arriving in Califonia on Tuesday, June 27 at 5:30AM [Pacific Time]. We will be once again living at the Marriott there. I am really excited b/c this Marriott is a "Pet Friendly" hotel....Girls get to live with us. Oh yea, looks like the girls will be allowed to fly with us on our American Airlines flight Monday.

Until next time...

Manoa Falls Hike

Today, I went on the Manoa Falls hike with my neighbors; Jen, Louis and kids. It was a very muddy hike, but a wonderful hike. This hike is only minutes away from Waikiki and can be enjoyed by the entire family since it is not a hard hike to do. I was very suprised that this hidden jewel was so easy to access.

Free at Last!!

I am officially unemployed and LOVING IT!!! Yesterday was my last day of work and they sent me out with a very nice luncheon. I really enjoyed working at TAMC with everyone. I also left my little office and good friend Charisse at the HNL Airport last Thursday. However, it is time to move on to bigger and better things in Cali.

Ron's last day was last week and they are having a farewell dinner this Friday for him. Since he is not officially unemployed, he is taking a month off and is LOVING that.

Here is what is going on:

-Girls (Dogs and Cat) had their last Vet appointment today. Everything went well and they are okay to fly back to the mainland.
-House is about 55% ready for turnover. Just have to clean a few more things and we are good to go!!
-Check out of the house on Friday and move into the Marriott Waikiki Resort and Spa!! I have my float and I am ready to just relax in the ocean!!

Move to come in the following days.

Hawaii Beach to Ventura Beach

Leaving Paradise has made everyone make one statement, "You are going to miss the beaches in Hawaii." Well...Actually, look at this:

Beach located at Ventura, California

Beach located at North Shore, Hawaii

Not that much of a difference. The military lifestyle can be so rough....They move us to the most isolated and unattractive areas...Yea Right!!

Kelly's Adventure Night Snorkling

So...I had this great idea to go night snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. They offer this twice a month and since we are without all of our household items, what better time. I had been on numerous snorkeling trips before, however, they all took place during daylight hours. I figured this would be an interesting way to see the ocean life after the sun goes down.

Night snorkling is a much different feeling than day snorkling because you can't see anything except where your light shines. It was a scary feeling not knowing what or who was swimming beside you. The waves where pretty bad the night we went out and I got beat up by the coral, so after about an hour and a half, I decided I had seen enough and headed back to shore.

Memorial Day Weekend and Shipping the Animals

Memorial weekend was not very interesting at the Williams house. The Navy decided that would be the weekend our household goods would be packed up and shipped out. It takes about 45 days for our household goods to arrive in California from Hawaii, so we have been living in an empty house for the past two weeks. I can't wait to see my bed again.

Shipping the animals is going to be FUN!!! Went and got all of them their "SkyKennel" a few weeks ago. Victoria (cat) ran for upstairs and we never saw her for the rest of the day. She doesn't want to have anything to do with that kennel. (I think it is bad memories of the 90 plus days she spent in quarantine when we moved to Hawaii..hehe) However, the funniest thing has happened....She loves Kehau's (Husky) kennel.

Deep Sea Fishing

On my parents last trip out here, Ron wanted to go deep sea fishing. A few friends, Ron and my dad headed out for an 6 hour fishing trip. They catch Mahi Mahi and it was great!!

Moving

It is official now...The Williams Ohana is relocating to sunny Southern California. Although we have enjoyed living in Paradise for the last six years, it is very exciting to finally know we are moving back to the mainland. It is the small things you miss while living here; Weekend get-a-ways, Chick-Fil-A, Big Red and oh yea...Family!!

We will be updating when we can!!

Graduation

FINALLY....I am done with my MBA!!!

Delta Mu Delta

Induction into National Honor Society, Delta Mu Delta