Naomi in a Nutshell

Hi! I'm Naomi :) This is my online journal to help me remember all the big and small moments (Dory-like memory is a very real thing). I'm an overthinker, a cautious risk taker, an avid traveller, and a Christ follower. You’ll probably see evidence of all of that here 😊

[nfornaomi]

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

Our son Caleb entered this side of the world on Tuesday, March 25, and we are in absolute awe ❤️. I still cannot believe that this little human was curled up inside of me less than a week ago (and it still baffles me that he fit in my stomach!). We are so in love with him and excited for this new phase of life.

[nfornaomi]

Had my last office day yesterday and my last virtual day today - it feels surreal that I won't be 'working' for the next ~1.5 years after having been a consistent workaholic for the last 11.5 🤯.

There were so many items I wanted to close out and it took me until TODAY to finally come to terms that it just wasn't going to happen, haha. But I did get inbox emails down from 1000+ to 5 so I'll count that as success. I feel so fortunate to have been surrounded by so many colleagues who have been so supportive and excited for us in anticipation of this new adventure.

Now I'm looking forward to some relaxation + vacation time before baby makes his arrival!

[nfornaomi]

Summing up the last month or so - family gatherings, a growing belly, many board games, an afternoon in the mountains, homemade ice cream adventures, and Rob becoming a true Canadian by eating a blizzard in -20 weather 😂.

[nfornaomi]

A collection of food we enjoyed in Hawaii 😋. Notable highlights:

- Açai bowls and ahi tuna burgers at Barefoot Beach Cafe

- Cajun mahi mahi and seafood pasta at Paia Fish Market

- Udon at Marugame Udon

- Ice cream crepes with peanut brittle at Mosa

- Malasadas at Leonard's Bakery

- Best guacamole ever at Heavenly Hawaii Kai

- French toast and pesto pasta at Goofy Cafe

- Avocado and pineapple burgers at Kua Aina Sandwich Shop

- Chocolate haupia pie at Ted's Bakery

[nfornaomi]

We didn't have a plan for our last day in Oahu, and it turned out to be the perfect day ☀️.

We ended up taking an uber to Mt. Olomana, better known as the Three Peaks. The first peak is the popular one, the second and third less so since it can be quite dangerous and you need some technical climbing/bouldering skills. The trail is beautiful and just like the last one, mostly shaded. I ended up only getting to the view in the second last picture as I didn't want to risk the last part which would've required some straight-up climbing with a rope (didn't want to squish / stress out baby ☺️). The last picture (with the incredible view of the second and third peaks) is from Rob. Probably good I didn't try to get up because he said the ridge up top is quite narrow as well and my centre of gravity has certainly been shifting these last few weeks!

We grabbed a bite to eat at Ala Moana Center afterwards and then slowly made our way back to our hotel, catching the end of the sunset and partaking in one last gelato before heading to the airport. Overall, such a great trip with the perfect mix of sun, sand, ocean, mountains, and relaxation 😄.

[nfornaomi]

Today was the long-awaited Dole Plantation outing, which Rob would rate a solid 5/10 😂 (-3/10 if not for the delicious Dole whip ice cream). He thought the Pineapple Express train tour was a total scam and could've been so much more informative than it was - we learned more reading the free signs around the grounds than on the tour, haha. We did enjoy the maze though, and it was nice to see a few small pineapples popping up here and there.

We spent some time in the afternoon back at Sunset Beach. The weather was warm with a nice wind, sand was soft and deep, but the waves too strong for swimming. Rob stood by the shoreline and enjoyed getting hit by the breaking waves and getting lots of sand everywhere 😄.

[nfornaomi]

Excellent hike on the Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail today with incredible views, a nice cool breeze, and varying terrain. My watch registered 8.91km total, 668m elevation gain, and 2:50min active hiking. Most of the hike was actually shaded, which was super helpful keeping my heart rate low. We were also lucky as the clouds rolled in just as we entered the last section which was exposed, so it was still fairly 'cool' (as cool as Hawaii can be!). We loved the views and had a great time 😎.

Capped off the rest of the day driving along the eastern part of the island and pulled off on various turn offs for views like the two below!

[nfornaomi]

Yesterday was a pretty relaxing day (first 3 pictures). Rob went on a sea turtle snorkeling tour in the morning while I walked around the harbour, read my book on the beach, and took shelter under a big banyan tree when a short rainstorm hit. After lunch we spent more time at the beach dipping in and out of the water to cool off.

Today most of the day was spent at Hanauma Bay, or should I say, getting to and from the nature preserve 🤣. Things have really changed from 10 years ago - now you have to line up / wait at the parking lot for other groups to progress through the various requirements to get to the bay, line up / wait to pay the entry fee of $25 per person, line up / wait to get into a room to watch a 10min 'orientation' video, line up / wait for the other groups ahead to start heading down, and then either wait for a tram or walk 5min. down to the bay. Of course we decided to walk 😂. Although it was super windy today and the waves were pretty strong, we saw plenty of colourful fish close up, nibbling on the coral and swimming gracefully by. I also didn't feel seasick which was a plus (although I felt claustrophobic in the 'luxury van' that took us to there and back...

In the afternoon we took a bus to Iolani Palace where we'd hoped to see some old historical buildings. Unfortunately bus 13 turned out to be bus 8 and we ended up having to walk half an hour 😅. Our excuse: the front of the bus showed a funny looking 3 and the stop we got on didn't have a bus 3 so we thought the sign was half broken and the 1 in the 13 wasn't working. Belatedly when we realized the bus wasn't heading any closer to where we wanted to go, we hopped off and realized the back of the bus showed '8' - so indeed the sign up front was wonky, but it was showing half the 8 rather than half a 13 😂. ANYWAYS - my favourite building was the Honolulu City Hall which was beautifully decorated for Christmas by each government department. We then walked to Chinatown which was a different story - very run down, shuttered, and not much to see!

[nfornaomi]

We rented a car today and drove the 'grand circle island tour' according to the Shaka Guide - a great find by Rob which is essentially an audio tour with GPS directions leading you to different points of interest. Some key points of interest (not including all the food stops!!):

- Byodo-In: a Japanese temple built in 1968 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. What made it special to us was the backdrop of the Ko'olau range.

- Mokoli'i AKA Chinaman's Hat: an island that looks like its old namesake 😅.

- La'ie Beach Park AKA Pounder's Beach: white sand, turquoise water, mountainous surroundings in the distance - super beautiful and fairly big waves.

- La'ie Point to see an interesting sea arch.

- La'ie Temple: a Mormon temple dubbed the 'Taj Mahal of the Pacific' and designed after King Solomon's temple in the Bible.

- Sunset Point Beach Park: the biggest waves we saw all day; experienced surfers only'

We also briefly checked out the Polynesian Cultural Centre and had wanted to hit the Dole Plantation as well, but just ran out of time. Good thing we planned to return to the North Shore area for more dedicated beach time and Dole-time!

[nfornaomi]

Today we spent most of the day at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

First up was a short boat ride to the USS Arizona Memorial, which marks the resting place of the battleship and the 1000+ men who died in the attack. While certainly a sobering and reflective experience, it's slightly marred by the strict timetable of getting to and from the memorial, and visitors only have about 10 minutes to soak it all in before being herded back out.

Afterwards we happened to catch a talk by Commanding Officer Digan and a few members of his crew of the new USS Arizona, a submarine currently being built. It was interesting to hear some of the details such as having 2 bunks for every 3 people, the logistics required to feed everyone, the amount of toilet paper budgeted for each person (1.5 rolls per week per person 😂) etc.

We spent much longer on the USS Missouri as our last stop at Pearl Harbor - while the USS Arizona brought about the start of the US' participation in WW2, the USS Missouri brought about the end as its deck is where Japan formally surrendered. Lots to see and read!

We made it back to Waikiki in time for a linner at Marugame Udon, which was perfect since dinner lineups stretch down the full block. After a short siesta back at the hotel, we made it back to the beach in time to catch the sunset 🌅😊

[nfornaomi]

Aloha from Oahu!

It's been almost exactly ten years since the first and last time I was in Hawaii and on this island. We are loving the weather (a sunny 27C) and had a great day walking around, hiking up Diamond Head Crater, eating excellent food, and relaxing on Waikiki beach.

I THOUGHT I loved diamond head the last time I was here, but the walk was completely unfamiliar and the views weren't as impressive as I recalled them to be. Who knows what I was remembering in my head! Maybe it's because I'm now comparing it to the tuff ring crater in Iceland and it looked a lot more volcanic than this one with its abundance of vegetation 🤷🏻‍♀️. Either way, it was nice to sweat and stretch the legs, although I definitely notice I get tired faster with a baby on board!

[nfornaomi]

Retro back to August 3rd when we hiked Sarrail Ridge the day after we found out I was pregnant. Now I know why I found Little Lougheed so difficult - the first trimester fatigue was rough 😅. I have no idea how Jane did this in 2018 with us, 6 months pregnant.

Still a great hike but probably not one I would consider a favourite anymore. I found the steep section getting to the top to be a little too slippery for my enjoyment at this advanced age 😂.

[nfornaomi]

Been MIA here for the last three months because I've been a bit busy growing a baby ☺️ 🤰🏻.

But of course, nothing to get me motivated to start posting again like a great day out to the mountains. We did Troll Falls / Upper Falls / Marmot Falls this morning, had an excellent pizza lunch at Forte in Kananaskis Lodge, and then strolled around the Barrier Dam area in the afternoon.

Hikes are certainly looking a bit different now, but I think we both enjoyed it a lot more than we thought we would - nice to get away and enjoy the mountain air!

[nfornaomi]

July 21: Little Lougheed

700m of elevation gain within 3km = struggle!! I can't recall another hike where I walked so slow and took so many breaks - it was tough! But well worth it as you can see from the first picture. The last section had lots of loose rocks so I appreciated the poles on the way down, but I forced (read: nicely asked Rob 😊) to carry them on the way up because they got in the way, haha.

There's a really nice viewpoint about midway up which is more accessible and gives similar views so it could be an alternative shorter and easier option in the future!

[nfornaomi]

Bear cubs frolicking in Waterton!

[nfornaomi]

We spent a long weekend in Waterton and it was perfection! The weather, the views, the cottage, and the BEAR SIGHTING!!! I'll share the bear video in another post, but let's just say watching two cubs play while a mom is loitering nearby (from the safety of our car) was super cool.

We saw plenty of bison at the bison paddock, hiked Bear's Hump (short but sweet), walked Red Rock Canyon and Blakiston Falls, and enjoyed excellent barbecue dinners from our comfy cottage. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[nfornaomi]

June 29: Picklejar Lakes hike - much fewer mosquitoes than the first time I did it (read: no mosquitoes 😁) and beautiful views as usual. I especially loved the abundance of colourful wildflowers at one section of the hike - what a perfect season to be out and about!