April is winding down and I’m really starting to feel the time crunch.

I fly out on Mother’s Day to go back to the mainland. I’m in utter disbelief. I can’t quite figure out where the last three years went.  The Mister can’t leave until June, so I’m going to be staying with my parents with all of my furbutts.  It’ll be quite the time.  Thankfully though, it’s only for about 4 weeks.  Hopefully we’ll be able to do a little bit of a roadtrip when the other car ships, so we can stop and see a few places The Mister has never been.

I don’t quite remember what we did over my birthday weekend, other than going out to eat. I was so worn out from work, I don’t think we did much. Last weekend, we went to the swap meet at Aloha Stadium to pick up a few more last minute things our families requested. I’ll probably make one last trip there before the movers come, just because I really like going and will truly miss it (even if it’s just a bunch of kitschy, touristy junk).

This weekend, I convinced The Mister to go to Honolulu and see all the sites we missed when we took the ghost walk ages ago. We got to check out things in the daylight which was neat. It was a nice little outing.

I got to see a few churches and a cemetery that I’d been eyeing, so I was pretty excited! We also got to see the Mission Houses, King Kamehameha statue, Kawaiaha’o Church, and a few others.

Essentially, we checked out a lot of Hawaii’s historical sites. I’m glad I got to see everything in the daylight. Hawaii is mix of so many cultures and beliefs, it’s neat to see how they all intertwine. Christian missionaries brought their religion to the islands and it took off. Most of Hawaii’s monarchy embraced it with open arms and took it as a means to make their whole kingdom literate. Kamehameha is responsible for uniting the Hawaiian islands into one kingdom.  Washington Place was where the governor lived until 2002 and the capitol is open air to embrace nature. See what I mean?

As I took in the sights today, I realized how much I’d miss being here. On one hand, I will NOT miss the traffic, intolerance, bugs, or the distance from home; but on the other, so few places have this unique history or amazing weather all year round.  I realize how fortunate I was to live in a place people often only visit, if at all during their lifetimes.  I am truly thankful for the things that came from my stay here (especially 3 of my furbabies), but the adventure will continue at the next station. I’m excited to see where that road takes us.

But, I still have a few more adventures left before I leave. Keep your eyes peeled.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A.xoxo

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.  Tax season is winding down and the last rush is on its way.  Basically, the flood gates will be open and I’m just hoping to survive.  So, I decided that last weekend, we needed to go clear our heads and do something peaceful. Thus, we decided to go check out a working Korean Buddhist temple in Honolulu. I found it on a whim through Yelp, looking for something unique to fill up our bucket list before we leave the island. Since we’d already been to check out the more tourist-y Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe, this was a hidden gem.  “Gem” is right! It was so much more colorful and because it is an actual practicing temple, we were able to fully immerse ourselves in the area.

The Mu-Ryang-Sa Temple (Broken Ridge Temple) is tucked away in a residential area. We parked on the street and would’ve missed it entirely if we hadn’t been looking for it.  Right away, we noticed the reason for the Broke Ridge namesake. Because of building restrictions, the top of the temple had to be halted. Now it clearly shows a flat top where a peak should be.

Remember when I said it was colorful?  I mean, it’s insanely bright. Everything was so intricately painted. The amount of detail was extraordinary.

I really should have expected it. The minute we walked up, we were greeted by four huge statues that were just as colorful and detailed as the outside of the buildings.

As we continued into the complex, we found even more statues…

…and discovered a little hidden corner with  hundreds of Buddhas commemorating the departed faithful.

While photography was not allowed inside the buildings–it’s considered poor taste to photograph places where the actual worshipping was taking place (they were all fantastic as well), I did snap a quick one from the outside.  It was just as intricate as the rest.

Overall, it was a peaceful experience and I’m glad we were able to experience it.  I’m not sure what is planned for this weekend–I had a long week and haven’t really had the energy to make any plans.  Plus, my birthday is Sunday so I’m not gunning for much more than relaxation.

But, as I just got word that I’ll be leaving the first week in May, I will be doing SOMETHING.

Until then…

Cheers!

–A. xoxo