September 18, 2010

Last Few Days in the Bay Area

August 12-16, 2009

Driving back from Tahoe, we took one last drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Later, we had one last meal at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Yuki Sushi, with two of our best friends, Tim and Dave.

Just a few of the maps we used during our road trip (yes, we used an Auto GPS too!)
Fanciest tamago sushi I've ever seen
Strawberry-filled mochi, with azuki beans
Jennifer at Ike's Place on 16th (now closed)
After a fun-filled six years in the Bay Area, we headed back home to Maui, leaving behind good friends but taking great memories with us.

Lake Tahoe

August 10 -12 , 2009

We stayed at the cabin for one more night and even played one epic game of Mexican Train.


And took one last photo of the cabin before heading on out.


Jenn and myself headed up to Lake Tahoe, driving through a few CA counties we'd never been through, grabbing caches along the way.  One of our favorites was near Kirkwood, where we had only been once before, a few years back to ski.  No snow now, just great views of the lake.
Overlooking Caples Lake in Kirkwood, CA
We arrive in Tahoe and checked into Harvey's.  We gambled a bit, while waiting for my parents to arrive.  The next few days were spent gambling, driving around the Lake, caching, and of course, more gambling.  We had our best luck at the smaller northern casinos, especially the Tahoe Biltmore.

Near Elev. 6555 geocache
Jennifer sure is strong!
Emerald Bay
Dusk at Tahoe
 After a few fun days around Tahoe, we headed back to the Bay Area for one last hurrah, before moving back to Hawaii.

My Brother's Big Day!

August 8, 2009

We woke up to a glorious sunny day, perfect for an outdoor wedding.  But before heading into Yosemite Valley, my brother had given us a task.  He needed large branches to form tripods from which the wedding flowers would be placed on.  Luckily this cabin's surrounded by woods, so we tromped through the wilderness, looking for the branches.  It took us a while, but we finally found some good ones.  We used a rotary saw (which my brother had provided the night before) to cut the branches to good lengths for the tripod.
Dad hacking away at the wooden posts
After making sure we had everything for the wedding, since it'd be an hour round trip if we had forgotten anything, we headed back into Yosemite.  Our destination was the Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite's top hotel.  We couldn't check in yet although plans were made ahead to let us check in early so we could get ready for the wedding.  The front desk said we could check in soon so while waiting we had a nice lunch at the hotel restaurant.  We went back to check in and they said we still couldn't check in, even though the wedding hour was getting close.  My brother was able to check into his room, but we still needed two more rooms to get ready.  Eventually, they released the extra two rooms and we were able to get ready with plenty of time before the start of the wedding.

The wedding took place on the outside lawn of the Ahwahnee, with the sun shining and a cool breeze keeping things comfortable.  I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.
Everyone mingling before the ceremony

The tripods we helped build
Jeff and my parents waiting for the ceremony to start
Waiting for the bride
Jayne reciting her vows
Mr. and Mrs. Hayashida
Name cards
Origami crane tree
Cruising before the reception
Jenn and myself before the reception
Mom making a toast
Wedding sign
The buffet - yum!
Best man's speech

The beautiful wedding cake

First dance
The Hayashidas
After a nice ceremony and fun reception, we headed back to our room to recuperate from the busy day and to rest up for brunch.
Brunch at the Ahwanee Dining Room