poverty in the most beautiful places

i think sometimes when we think of the poor,
we think of slums in major cities,
in downtown streets,
landlocked by tall buildings,
and run down shacks.
we think of ugly places,
that is just the truth.

i've been wanting to post these for a while,
and was inspired while chatting with my friend megan,
who is living on a tiny, beautiful island,
in the indian ocean,
for a year.
she told me it is overrun with poverty.
thank you megan for our chat this morning.
you put this in my heart.

when i was on oahu a couple of months ago,
the homeless were everywhere.
i mean, it was crazy.
tent cities like the one below were all over.
do you see the beautiful water in the background?
that is waikiki beach.


i think i could have photographed them all day long.
my sister in law was kind enough to drive me around,
and let me snap some photos,
and listen to me talk about the homeless.
some streets were lined with dozens of tents in a row.
it was truly shocking to see.
the homeless were living on some of the most famous,
amazing beaches in the world.
can you imagine living somewhere with such beauty,
and not even seeing it because your problems are so big.



while i was on vacation,
i was happy to hear that the homeless problem there,
was really being addressed.
i know it's a burden to locals and tourists.
i totally get that.
but you know my heart also goes out to the poor.
some of these homeless are addicts,
some may not ever want help,
some are solid families who just can't afford a roof over their heads.

i'm reading maybe one of the most powerful books ever,
the hole in our gospel.
i didn't think a book could have this much of an impact on me.
i won't go into details here about it,
but i just want to say,
if you want your heart to be changed forever,
you have to pick up a copy.
as a society,
we are living by a gospel with holes,
we are ignoring the uncomfortable parts.
our lives are not defined by our possessions and wealth.
it's ok to want nice things,
and have things we enjoy,
but not when it gets in the way of the bigger picture.
we are commanded to help the poor.
they are truly god's chosen people.

day dreaming

i know i just went.
but i am day dreaming about going back to hawaii,
already.
like, i think about it a lot.
i feel like i left part of my heart there.
it's such a magical place.
next time the 3 of us will go together.
here are a few photos that i didn't post before.
if you click on the image,
it will enlarge the collage.
maybe it will get you in the summer mood?!

happy birthday to my aunt sheila today!
and congratulations to my blog friends,
the jones',
who had a precious baby boy today!

michelle and kelly's oahu beach house

just for me to remember.
i am post dating this one in october,
from my trip to oahu in febr/march.
this is the house that my sister in law lived in.
unfortunately they moved from it a few months before my visit.
i got the best of both worlds though,
because i saw this house,
but got to stay with them at pearl harbor/ford island.
she took me to their old house,
and i fell in love.
i can see why she got sentimental going back there.
how beautiful is this?!

the blue house.


front of house and beach access next to house.


their back yard!





paradise found.

oahu part 6, food, the end

besides the beauty of hawaii,
the food is definitely something to talk about.
we had so many delicious meals and desserts.

we had lunch one day at the fabulous kahala resort and hotel.






another day we had lunch at ola's,
at the turtle bay resort.
kalua pork is soooooo good.


and then i had a popular local dish at dole plantation,
called loco moco.
it is rice, then a meat patty, then brown gravy, topped with an egg.
i loved it.


my first night there we stopped at leonard's,
for a deep fried/stuffed pastry called a malasada.
we had them twice while i was there.
plain cinnamon, coconut, macadamia nut, and custard.
delicious.
you must stop at leonard's if you visit oahu.





i don't do shrimp,
but i loved the shrimp trucks all along the north shore.


coffee one night in waikiki.


we had shave ice a couple of times.
this first time i had banana cream and michelle had green apple,
with ice cream in the bottom.



then we had shave ice at matsumoto's,
on the north shore.
i had coconut this time.




pineapple ice cream at dole.
delicious.
creamy and smooth,
and it tasted just like a fresh pineapple.


thank you guys for such an amazing vacation.
my time away was much needed,
and now i have so many wonderful memories,
time with family and a beautiful island!
thank you. thank you. thank you.

{i also posted about diamond head and our atv ride, this morning, see below}.

i have a beach coffee picture posted, here.
thanks kim!

the end.

oahu part 5, diamond head and atvs

only one more post after this one,
thanks for enjoying my trip with me.
this one is from our hike up diamond head,
and our adventures while riding the 4 wheelers in the valley,
at kualoa ranch.

just a few from diamond head.
my niece and brother in law practically ran to the top.
it was a hard hike physically,
but mentally more for me b/c i do not like heights.
lauren kept saying,
you can do it aunt nicolle!
so glad i made it to the top,
with a lot of pep talk from my SIL.
the views were spectacular.
i would do this hike again in a heartbeat,
you just can't miss this if you visit.




another day we went on a 2 hour atv ride,
through an amazing valley at kualoa ranch.
wow.
we didn't take our cameras b/c we didn't know what the weather would do.
we used my SIL's camera phone.
they have filmed pearl harbor, lost, godzilla, jurassic park, 50 first dates,
and many other films here.
the day we were there,
we saw film crews shooting hawaii five-0.
it was beautiful here!



oh yes,
we had to do the dorky helmet picture.
but,
it's not as dorky as the one where i had mine on backwards,
and didn't know.
i'm not posting that one,
but we will laugh about it for a long time to come.


kualoa ranch was so much fun.
thank you for treating me to this day, michelle.

my food post is coming up.

oahu part 4, the beaches

i could dream all day about the beaches in hawaii.
they are spectacular.
i don't even know where to begin.
{kevin's sister and i wrote down most of the names,
but i will probably only label a few of them here}.



halona blowhole lookout.




we snorkeled down here,
hanauma bay.
we didn't take our cameras down with us though.
my SIL and i got to laughing down there,
and could not stop.
i think we caused a scene. ha.
so much fun that day!
i highly recommend hanauma bay.


la'ie point.
in 1946 a tsunami punched a hole through this tiny island.


waves on the north shore.
banzai pipeline surf break.
the north shore was breathtaking, beautiful.



cool beach houses all along the north shore,
where the pro surfers live.


a protected beach for the turtles,
laniakea beach.



this was our view one day at lunch.



a view on another day at lunch,
the beach at the turtle bay resort.


another beautiful beach,
and some body boarders, i believe.

some kona coffee on the beach.


i love my little family.


obviously not a beach picture,
but a pretty plumeria to leave you with.


it was so nice to stay with family,
and that they have lived there a number of years now,
so they know all the hot spots.
if you visit oahu, it's so much more than just waikiki.
drive the entire island, you won't be sorry.

i should have saved this post as the last one.
the beaches are definitely a picture taker's paradise.
the colors are so beautiful.
i think i will combine everything else into one more post.
there is just no way i can share everything.
we packed so much into 6 days.
i know i have more scenery pics than pics with all of us in them,
but i will post a few more of us next time.
i am nursing a nasty head cold.
going to spend some time with kevin and boyd.
have a great sunday.