Makapu Light House

This morning I went on a hike to Makapu Light House. Here are some pictures from the hike:

Hawaii Pictures

American Samoa in the Honolulu Advertiser!

The following appeared today in the Honolulu Advertiser...

"L&L Drive-Inn has cooked up a new plate lunch special: a three pond dish with three scoops of rice, two scoops of macaroni salad, BBQ beef and a choice of BBQ chicken or chicken katsu. The dish, essentially a combination of a regular plate and a mini plate, is being rolled out at L&L restaurants statewide to celebrate the opening of the chain's first restaurant outside the United States last week in Pago Pago, American Samoa. L&L said the new restaurant attracted 1,000 customers and ran out of food six hours after opening on its first day."

I suppose this is fitting considering the local McDonalds is rumored to have the highest sales of any McDonalds in the world and the local Carls Jr. broke opening day sales records. But I'm terrified a) that there are people who can consume that much food and b) that the restaurant RAN OUT OF FOOD!

And I'm Off!

Last Saturday I boarded a plane in Washington DC en route to my summer rotation with the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in American Samoa! After two easy flights, and a short layover in Dallas, I landed in Honolulu where I will be spending a week visiting family. I am looking forward to a little R&R before I start my new job! While I'm in Hawaii, I will be meeting with several NOAA staff  from the National Weather Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the National Ocean Service. This afternoon I am going to visit Jason Gilbert at NWS. He had my Budget Analyst job several years ago so hopefully he will provide me with some insight into the position. We worked together briefly when I first started at NOAA in October but he has since relocated to Honolulu. Tomorrow I am visiting with several scientists who are currently working on projects in American Samoa. My job will be to design and carry out a socioeconomic study that contributes to their research. On Friday I'm going to check out the Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach. And finally on Sunday I am off to American Samoa and my new home...