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• Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Category: Animation, Buyers & Sellers Tips, Fun Stuff
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Archive for ◊ April, 2011 ◊
• Sunday, April 24th, 2011
Category: Animation, Buyers & Sellers Tips, Entertainment, Fun Stuff, You're doing it wrong...
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• Monday, April 18th, 2011
No Snoozin’! We’re Zoo Cruzin’ !
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| My friends April and Noel Williams (@AprilMWilliams and @NoelFWilliams on Twitter) were in Honolulu recently to escape the weather in Chi Town and we decided to do some Zoo Crusin’! In 1876, King David Kalākaua made royal lands near the slopes of Diamond Head available for the establishment of a public park for the people. The King kept his collection of exotic birds and horses here and in 1877 the marshes, ponds and lagoons in the area were beautified by the subscriber based Kapiʻolani Park Association who opened up the area as Queen Kapiʻolani Park.
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| I haven’t been to the Honolulu Zoo since 1996, and a lot has changed. Gone are most of the old style cages and in place are newer free-range enclosures for the animals and birds. A new entrance has been added as well as an expanded gift shop. Comfort stations and snack bars are located strategically around the 42 acres so it is a more enjoyable experience with rest stops than it was formerly.
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 Here's looking at you, Kid! |
| I have to admit I favor the celebrity animals like the tigers and lions and cute little monkeys over the reptiles and the chimpanzees, who seemed to need anger management classes. I wondered why there were so many tigers and was told they had a litter of tiger kittens last year and they were supposed to go to zoos in Japan this year. Unfortunately, the recent Japan Earthquake and Tsunami has put those plans on hold, so Honolulu has lots of big kitties for you to visit! | |
 We have our Picnic, do you? |
One of the nice things about the Honolulu Zoo is it also functions as a park area, so you can bring in outside food and drink to have a picnic on the grounds. Most other Zoo’s I’ve been to don’t allow that. The grounds are beautifully maintained and there is plenty of open space away from the animal exhibits to enjoy. We had a perfect day, overcast with some showers so it wasn’t too hot. Lots of places to duck out of the rain and wait for it to pass. Still, it is Hawaii so dress for the heat, wear sunscreen and carry a bottle of water with you. And bring a camera! I took a lot of fun zoo pics here!
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| Typically in the heat of midday many of the residents will be out of sight and napping. They are probably saying to themselves “What are those silly humans doing standing around in this weather?” But I swear while looking at the tops of the Lion ears peeking over their little hill in the enclosure I heard them singing this song…
Aloha,
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Category: Entertainment, Fun Stuff
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• Saturday, April 02nd, 2011
Here are some tips to help prevent buyer’s remorse! |
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| Think you’ve found your perfect new home and ready to make an offer? Before you do, here are some tips to help prevent buyer’s remorse.
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| 1. Drive through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening. Drive through on a weekday, weekend and holiday if you can. Each time gives you an idea how busy the area is with traffic, how quiet or noisy it is and how active or empty it is. I know a fellow (not one of my clients) that looked at what he thought was his perfect condo, bought it with out checking it out at different times of the day. What he didn’t tell his agent was that he worked several nights a week and slept during the day. What the agent did not disclose that there was a glass-recycling container in a shopping center right near his unit… |
 It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! |
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2. Visit the schools your kids may be attending and speak with the principal to get a tour during the school day if possible. That will give you and idea of class size, facilities and how the student body behaves.
3. Drive to and from your workplace during your regular commute. What may be a quick fifteen minutes during non rush hour can be a nightmare when everybody is going to work or home. |
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 Any Cat Burglers in the Hood?
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4. Talk with the neighbors. Take this with a grain of salt; you may get truth or nasty gossip. But you may want to know Mr. Smith mows his lawn in a Speedo, and it is not a pretty sight…
5. Check with your state sex offender registry and your local sex offender site. In Hawaii you can find this information here, each state has their own list. |
| 6. Visit SpotCrime or local online crime reports such as the Oahu Statistics by District Sector to see the activity in the area. Your agent is prohibited by Federal law to disclose types of people and crime information, but you can research for yourself.
7. What’s going on in the surrounding area? Is there a busy street or highway, major long-term construction, or other issues close by? Are there major sports arenas near your neighborhood? When there is a football game people here on Oahu plan their commute around it, because traffic in that area turns into a parking lot. I learned this the hard way. I had forgotten about a Big Game and decided to go home via Aloha Stadium area. What normally took me forty-five minutes turned into a three-hour stint. Good thing I am mellow and love my Jazz radio, but there was some nasty road rage going on around me.  Chill, People! Remember, you are not just buying a house; you are buying a lifestyle and a neighborhood. Remember Mr. Smith and his Speedo?
Aloha,
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Category: Buyers & Sellers Tips
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