I'm not really sure what to write for this last "In The Second City" blog. I've had a HUGE week personally and am not quite up for this task, but feel compelled to post a few final words.

It has been a great experience these past four years.

This is what I told somebody last week:

I became a blogger to be an example for my students and it turned out to be so much more than that. I became a blogger! Through writing about Kapolei I have developed a strong connection to my own community and feel a great sense of pride in the Second City where I choose to live. That is HUGE.

This has to be an opportunity for change, to do something different.

You can find me on Word Press. My new blog will launch next week:
Being Jewish in Hawaii. You don't have to be Jewish or in Hawaii to relate, I hope.

Or you can email me at lgershun@secondcityconsult.com

Mahalo to those of you who clicked on my name, my face or my blog and read.

Aloha.

If you are ever stuck at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport for hours because your flight was delayed, like I was yesterday, go get a massage, like I did yesterday.

There is an Express Spa at near gate D 18 among all the shops and restaurants. You can get a 15 minute massage for $35. It's a bit expensive, but totally worth it.

I was much more relaxed for the long wait to get on the plane. And I was even more comfortable for the 8 hour ride back to Hawaii.

Most of Hawaii's public high school seniors "Walked" in graduation ceremonies throughout the state this weekend.

My nephew graduated in Shawnee Mission, Kansas last week. The Class of 2010 is being unleashed upon the world! Congratulations to them all. May you make your families and communities proud as you embrace the next phases of the rest of your lives.

We had the pleasure of celebrating with Kapolei High School Graduate, Logan Snell, and his family last night at Chuck's Steak House in Ko Olina.

It was a fabulous celebration, chock full of the three F's: food, family and friends.

The Snells were my next door neighbors for six years when I lived in the Ko Olina Fairways. We are having the pleasure of watching each others' children grow up and coming together to celebrate their milestones and rites of passage.

We also saw the Phillips family,

the Raimer family

and the Frazier family

--all neighbors as well. It felt like coming home--but in a nice restaraunt.

As far a parties go, this was a good one. It's such a pleasure to be with other families who are proud of their children and celebrating their accomplishments. It also reminded me of how much I enjoyed living in the Fairways.

The blackened ahi we enjoyed for pu pus was caught by Logan and his dad when they went fishing with Shannon on their boat, Live Bait. As good as it gets! The rest of dinner was delicious as well, reminding me that Chuck's Steak House at Ko Olina is right down the road and that we should go there to eat more often.

Last week I took my car to the repair shop for some much needed maintenance. So much that it had to stay there for a few days. I had an inkling that this would be the case, therefore I planned it for a time when my husband would be out of town on business. I could use his car while he was away.

It worked out well, except for one detail, picking up my car when it was ready to come home. I did not have a plan for that.

Cutter Dodge in Pearl City has a drop off service. A very nice young man gave me a ride home the day that I took my car in to the shop. But signs posted in several places in the van that said, "This is a drop off service ONLY," clearly sent the message that I needed to arrange my own transportation back to their establishment.

I decided that the best choice would be to take The Bus. "It would be an adventure," I told myself, "I can blog about it."

I realized that I have lived in Hawaii almost 20 years and I have never been on a passenger on The Bus.

I rode the bus when I lived in L.A.. I rode the bus when I lived in Israel. We take the bus when we are on vacation in other cities: San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston. But I have never been on The Bus.

What is a general lifestyle for much of the local public seemed a potential adventure for me. That thought was a bit sobering and solidified my commitment to riding The Bus.

Combine that with the fact that out of curiosity I called two different cab companies for a fare quote and it would have cost me between $35 and $45 to get from Kapolei to Pearl City, I knew I was riding the bus. It was only $2.25.

I found their website which was very user friendly. I plugged in my address, my destination address and my departure time. It came up with a very direct route, either 40 or 40A: told me the travel time, 45 minutes; and place where I should disembark, Waimano Home Road in Pearl City.

Since I had drive to Honolulu from Pearl City to go to a meeting, I stuffed my computer and other personal items into a backpack, put on comfortable shoes, walked out the door and over to Farrington Hwy to catch The Bus.

It came exactly on time. I had exact change like the website suggested. I confirmed my destination with the pleasant driver and my adventure was moving along.

I have to say it was kind of anti climactic. It was a bus ride. I looked out the window at the scenery, Waipahu, and I got there a lot faster than the 45 minutes I thought it would take, 25 to be exact. I met these nice people at the Farrington Hwy bus stop and sat across from them on the ride to Pearl City.

I got off at Acacia instead of Waimano Home Road, walked past the community garden and picked up my car with time to spare.

I took a photo of the bus driver that did not turn out. I did not bring my camera because it wouldn't fit in my back pack. I used my phone camera with less than stellar success.

While not necessarily the exciting ride I had anticipated, it did make riding The Bus a much more viable option for future travel. It was reasonably convenient at more than a reasonable price.

I can't believe it's been a whole year since the grand opening of Costco and Target and all the other fabulous retail establishments in Kapolei Commons. Remember how excited we were for all of the grand openings? That includes Menchie's.

Now it seems like they have always been there.

The Kapolei Menchie's is celebrating their one year anniversary next Tuesday, May 25.

If you go there between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm you get a 25% discount on all yogurt in the shop. From 11:00 am to 4:00 pm they will be debuting Menchie's Oreo yogurt sandwiches for only $1.49. There are different flavors of yogurt in two large Oreo cookies. Yum.

I am definitely a Menchie's fan. Besides the fact that they support Ko Olina Taste At Kapolei, I have a strong affinity for their Cake Batter yogurt.

See you on Tuesday at Menchie's.