Vacation in Hawaii

Part 3 - Oahu It's been a while since last I wrote, but well, life happens! However, the splendors of our stay on Oahu are still fresh in my memory. They have to last me until we go back in August and I can make new ones! We stayed at a Marriott time-share resort in Ko Olina. Honolulu doesn't really appeal to me, at least not to stay there, in the city, again. So, Dale thought I might like it out at Ko Olina, on the other end of the island from the city, out in the country. We both loved it!

The swimming pools looked like reflecting ponds, and the kiddie pool even had a real sand beach and water only 1 foot deep. There were gardens surrounding the pools and even in the middle of the pools. And if you're more of a beach person, there were 4 large, spectacular lagoons, all within walking distance. The grounds were even more spectacular than those on Maui and Hawaii, which I wouldn't have thought was even possible. The resort had loads of activities for folks to join in if they chose, including feeding the fish at 7:30 in the morning at one of the lagoons. OK, so Dale fed the buggers and I took photos. No surprise there.

Then we discovered that if we were to take a look at the time-shares, we could get a half-day cabana rental and a 3 hour katamaran ride, which included snorkeling and dolphin watching, for free! Now if I'm going to get a chance to shoot photos of real,wild dolphins, I'm definitely there!

In the late afternoon or early evening, we'd make our way over to the family home for a big family dinner cooked by Elton's wife Maeva. The whole clan would gather each night, which was great fun. And Maeva can make a ton of really excellent food! One night she did Hawaiian food, another she did teriyaki, and another Chinese. All homemade, from scratch. 'The real kind stuff!' And the two of us would sit out in this great little garden area she has fixed up with plants, garden gnomes, and lights, and drink wine and smoke and 'talk story' and laugh and complain and laugh some more! I'm looking forward to doing that a lot more often with Maeva......

Vacation in Hawaii

Part 2 - Hawaii

After 3 nights in Lahaina, Maui, we flew over to the big island of Hawaii for the next three nights. We stayed in Waikoloa at the Marriott, where my brother-in-law Elton is a manager, so we got fabulous rates! Plus we got to see Elton!

Now Waikiloa is a rather remote area of coastline about 45 minutes north of Kailua-Kona, but the area is just gorgeous. Marriott has done a beautiful job on the grounds, and the pools are spectacular and very natural-looking, one with a long flowing infinity edge. And you can swim 24/7! At night when the torches are burning it all looks and feels rather magical. We spent our afternoons poolside under a gazebo, swimming and resting, and ordering drinks and food poolside.

And when we felt like it, we'd go check out the alkaline ponds between the hotel and beach, which had all kinds of interesting fish and crabs and eels living in them. The beach is actually a bay called Anaehoomalu, and it is very picturesque, especially at sundown. Palms and sunset are always such a nice combination! And at certain times of the day, sea turtles come in close to the beach to feed, and eventually make their way up onto the sand or lava rock to sun themselves, and sometimes their brood of babies too.

We were originally going to take one day and head south to Kailua-Kona, where I lived for two years, and then on south to Kealakekua and the Place of Refuge, but it was really hot, and we didn't feel like using up so much time in the car when we could spend it with Elton or poolside.

The one thing we did do on the big island was to go up north to Kahua Ranch for a paniolo-style bbq, with fiddle playing, and line dancing, and roping for the kids, and branding, and adult beverages.... And during the drive up to the ranch, the van driver kept up a really good commentary about the history of the area and the ranch itself. The big draw for me to go up there and do this kind of thing, which doesn't really sound like me at all, is the fact that I know the family that owns the ranch; I went to school with the oldest son Tim who was in my class at HPA, and his younger brother John was still in grade school when I saw him last! John is the front man for these weekly events, and he really makes a good one! And his brother Tim came up that evening when he found out that I was there. It was a really fun evening!

And all in all, we really had a great time here too!

Vacation in Hawaii

Part 1 - Maui Before I dive into the splendors of Maui, let me give you a little history on how I have been coping with vacations the past few years. In a word, poorly. I stress so much the day or two before I leave that my gut goes off the deep end. And I could on with symptoms from there, but I won't! Suffice it to say that I don't vacation terribly well, and that really stinks from my point of view. This time I had a new plan! First of all, drugs! Like some mild, short-term relaxant, which I never took. But I had it! I also started packing earlier, started making lists earlier, etc. And it worked! Dale and I had a blast! On Maui, the sun sets behind Molokai. The famous Banyan Tree in Lahaina that takes up the entire city block. So we stayed in Lahaina at a B&B called The Plantation Inn, which was absolutely charming, and we loved it, for many reasons. The decor was done entirely in Island-style Victorian Era, and it was very well-done. The gardens were also beautiful, and you could swim in the pool or lounge in the hot tub 24/7. Lahaina, was also ridiculously hot and humid! Like even the folks that live there were complaining!! So we strolled through Old Lahaina Town (which was only 2 blocks from our B&B) and poked in and out of the shops, and ate Shave Ice, and spent money, and swam at the pool, and took a sunset horseback ride one night, and another night we had a fabulous dinner at Gerard's. Dale snapped this shot of sunset for me on the way down during our sunset ride. Andi riding Jake, wearing the hat big sister Kathy bought me in Maine, to keep me from turning into a crispy critter!

Gerard's is actually attached to the B&B we were staying at in Lahaina, and they do Contemporary French Island Cuisine. And they do it really well! I can honestly say it was the best dinner I have ever had! It's certainly not cheap, but the food was excellent and the presentation was beautiful and artistic, and the portions were fairly decent too. I hope I get to eat there again....

Now we never really left Lahaina, except for the sunset horseback ride. But we were happy as clams, just taking life slowly with no worries at all. We didn't have too much motivation to move in that heat, so we didn't move much. We did however acquire a new piece of artwork for the living room, which will be sent over to us here any day now. This piece was done entirely on a flat sheet of aluminum with a dremel as the artist's tool of choice. It's an amazing technique. The Plantation Inn.

Maine 2009

You can see just how bad the weather was in these photos. The rain had actually stopped, and it was just foggy. So foggy that even the lobster boats weren't going out! This year I took my Maine trip early. Usually I go in late September or early October, when the kids are back in school and the tourists are gone, just before everything closes up for the long, cold winter and I can see some gorgeous fall color and eat lobster. But this year, I wanted to take Cody, my youngest son. He doesn't remember my Mom and Walter, or my sister Kathy, and he'd never even met Kathy's husband Stan. My husband Dale has been to Maine, and even Cody's older brother Dan has been to Maine. And Dan does remember my family. And I love Maine, for many reasons! Cody was feeling a bit left out, and I really wanted him to have some good memories of family back there, especially since Mom and Walter are in their early 90s now. And it gave us a chance to do something together, just the two of us. An adult-type trip. We flew into Rockland airport in a tiny Cessna that holds 9 passengers and the pilot. It was cloudy, of course, so we couldn't see all of the islands that can make this a wonderful flight. But, it wasn't windy or bumpy either, so at least the flight was smooth. And boy, this was one small airplane! And Rockland airport has no control tower; all landings are visual only. The first few nights we stayed at my favorite B&B, Ripples Inn at the Harbor, with my friend Sandi Dillon, who owns and runs Ripples. I love staying there and I love Sandi. It really is like being at home, only much better! You can literally walk into town from there, and you're only a block from the waterfront. Every night after dinner, Cody and I took a walk down along the docks and the waterfront. Then we headed to my sister Kathy's in nearby Owlshead. She and Stan live right on the water, in a gorgeous craftsman house that they had built for them. They're very isolated, and I love their place too! They are between two lighthouses, Rockland and Owlshead, and you could hear the foghorns talking to each other, non-stop, the whole time we were there. The Owlshead lighthouse. Rain or not, we did have a good time. Cody taught my Mom a new card game, which she was thrilled about, because Mom loves to play cards. My sister Kathy and I checked out the new Jamie Wyeth exhibit at the Farnsworth Museum, 'The Seven Deadly Sins'. Kathy and I always go to the Farnsworth and check out the latest Wyeth exhibit. Cody got to watch his Aunt Kathy get rid of a red squirrel one morning after breakfast, in her pjs and bathrobe, and Cody was really quite impressed! (We'll just leave that description right there!) Cody played pool with his Uncle Stan and they watched baseball together and talked sports. Walter amazed Cody with his imitation/comedy Hawaiian 'chanting'. And I had a great time with my family and at Ripples with Sandi. Did I mention how much I truly love Sandi and her B&B? We weren't in the place 5 minutes, and Cody said to me,"I can see why you two are such good friends!" Thus end my epistles of Maine. Who's coming with me next year? It may be a 'Girls' Trip'. Unfortunately, the northeastern part of this country had record-breaking rainfall in June this year. And boy did they! It rained like hell most of the time we were there, which changed some of our plans, but at least we live here in the rainy Pacific NW and not Arizona or some other horrid desert climate, so Cody and I weren't really bothered by the rain too much. My sister Kathy was not a happy camper!