Archive for the ‘Travels’ Category

Deployment Ceremony

Posted in Travels on Sunday, 27 September, 2009| 1 Comment »

The 2BCT Deployment Ceremony was blessed with near perfect North country Weather. The ceremony is conducted so the units who are deploying can “case” their colors (unit flags) and then they “uncase” the colors when they arrive in-country. It marks the official start of a deployment. It was heartwarming to see the  huge crowd of Family members in attendance.  Please keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers during the year long separation.

For a glimpse of the ceremony, click on http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/61509512.html

Note: Favorite Man is at about the -13 (the end of the clip).

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39 and several months

Posted in Travels on Sunday, 13 September, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Happy Birthday to Favorite Man! It was actually last Wednesday but we’ve been celebrating it all week. We didn’t have time to bake a cake on Wednesday (that was run to the ER night) so he got his cake on Friday, we went out for a birhtday lunch on Saturday and since I had to order his birthday gift we’ll still be celebrating next week. Talk about milking it…

Since he’ll be away for his birthday next year, it’s just as well he’s getting to celebrate it multiple days this year.

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Hawaii: Smuggled Lava?

Posted in Big Island, Hawaii, Travels, tagged , , on Sunday, 13 September, 2009| 2 Comments »

A Big Island legend is if you take lava off the island, Pele (the Fire Goddess) will be angry and you’ll have bad luck until you return it. There used to be a display at the Volcanoes National Park Center where letters and returned lava were displayed on a board. People wrote letters begging the park rangers to return the lava so the bad luck would go away. I’m not an overly superstitious person BUT I’ve never been tempted to take lava off the island.

John, on the other hand, always teases me that he’s going to sneak some lava back.

Since we’ve been back from Hawaii, we’ve had a strange week. On Wednesday, I overslept AND had set the alarm incorrectly so poor FG missed her bus, then my mom’s dog died, and Favorite Girl had to go to the emergency room to have x-rays taken after a cheerleading accident. There were other things happening which were just “off”.

I finally called John on Friday from work, when yet another thing went wrong, and asked “This is serious, are you sure you didn’t bring any lava back?”

He promised me he didn’t but did mention the women in front of him getting on the plane had a big chunk of lava. Hmmm…

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Hawaii: Home Again

Posted in Big Island, Hawaii, Travels, tagged , , on Sunday, 6 September, 2009| 3 Comments »

We’re back in New York. As much as I love to travel, it always feels so good to be back in my own home. And one day, that home will be on the beach!

Even though we had a great flight without delays, I don’t do well on “red-eye” flights and this one was no exception. Thankfully, we’ve got tomorrow off and can recover.

Don’t know if I mentioned that my mom made the trip to Hawaii with us. John has always been her favorite but even more so now ~ not only was he OK with his mother in-law traveling with us but he gave her his upgrade miles so she could sit in First Class and have the extra leg room. That’s why I married the man ~ he’s a great guy!!

We like to list our top favorite things about our vacation and here’s a compilation of our combined top five things we enjoyed during our visit:
1) Horseback Riding in the South Kohala Mountains
2) Snorkeling at the following beaches: Puako, Hapuna, Lapakahi
3) Helicopter Ride over Hilo and the lava flow
4) The Eisenhower House at Kilauea Military Camp
5) THE FOOD ~ we ate a lot!

There’s so much to do on the Big Island so we’ve made a list of what we want to do the NEXT time we visit. Yes, we’re already planning a return visit:
1) Green Sand Beach
2) Black Sand Beach
3) Waipio Valley
4) We’ll stay at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel or in a rental villa. It’s nice to have access to a kitchen
5) Play a round of golf at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

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Our Last Full Day of Beach Bumming

Posted in Travels, tagged , on Friday, 4 September, 2009| Leave a Comment »

We plan to take full advantage of our last full day on the island ~ we have plans to snorkel in at least three different spots ~ Puako, Spencer Park and Lapakahi State Park.  Then this evening we’ll be back for a swim at Hapuna Beach which is where we’re staying:

It’s so convenient staying at a hotel on the beach. Favorite Man spent last evening sitting on the beach under the stars and a full moon. I’m guessing he enjoyed a beer and cigar while there. I stayed in the room because FG was exhausted from all the swimming and walking around we did during the day.

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Big Island: Horseback Riding in Hawaii

Posted in Big Island, Hawaii, Travels, tagged , , , , , , on Thursday, 3 September, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The sun was shining so we decided to go on a Paniolo Ride yesterday. And am I ever sore today. It’s been many, many years since I trotted on a horse but it was the canter that did me in. Ouch. Other than the pain involved, it was WONDERFUL. We went on the Sunset Ride and got an added bonus of a full moon and a rainbow. Breathtaking.

That’s the joy of the Big Island of Hawaii ~ there’s such a variety of things to do.

Logan is ready to go riding again but I’m headed to the beach to swim with the sea turtles.

Life is good!

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Big Island, Hawaii: Kilauea Volcano

Posted in Big Island, Hawaii, Islands, Travels on Tuesday, 1 September, 2009| 1 Comment »

It’s very exciting (and a little scary) flying directly over the Kilauea Volcano and watching the lava flow to the ocean.  In spite of the woman with motion sickness on our flight, it was wonderful! My daughter and I got to sit in the front seat with the pilot.


Lift off


The Caldera


Steam as the lava enters the ocean


Try to get insurance on this property 🙂


Back on land…

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Hawaii: Kilauea and the Volcanoes National Park

Posted in Big Island, Hawaii, Travels, tagged , , , , , on Tuesday, 1 September, 2009| 4 Comments »

The Big Island of Hawaii is, well… BIG!

That’s what I love about it ~ it’s so diverse.  We began our visit in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It’s located on the Southeast side of the island which is usually damp and chilly.  We’re stayed at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC) which rents out cottages to military members and their Families.  We splurged and rented the “Eisenhower House.”  President Eisenhower stayed in this cottage in 1946 when he was General Eisenhower. It’s a beautiful house with two bedrooms, dining room, living room, full kitchen and two bathrooms. I could easily live here!

As lovely as the cottage is, the best part is the proximity to Kilauea Volcano and all the sights to see in the Park. There is a lot to see in the Park and I highly recommend the hikes. Makes you feel like you’re on another planet sometimes ~ the vast, empty spaces that have been covered by lava.  Well worth the trip to see it.

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Feels Like Home…

Posted in Travels on Monday, 31 August, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I’m back on the Big Island of Hawaii.  After all my moves and travels, this is the one place that feels most like home. As with comfort food, this is my comfort place. And the nice thing is, as much as it has grown and changed, so much is still the same.

We only have a week and plan to make the most of it. Now if only I could get on Hawaii time ~ it’s 4am and I’m wide awake 🙂

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Iconic Hotel with Canine Ambassador

Posted in Animals, Travels on Tuesday, 23 June, 2009| 1 Comment »

During our stay in Quebec City, we stayed at the historic and beautiful Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac.  The castle-like hotel dominates the Quebec City skyline.

The hotel was completed in 1893 but has had numerous extensions built with the latest one being in 1993.  Le Chateau is such a prevalent part of the city and visitors literally flock to it for a glimpse of history.  Driving the walled city with cobblestone streets made me feel like I was back in Europe and the hotel just added to the ambiance of Old World charm.  Our room was spacious, amenities were wonderful and, best of all, the staff were all very friendly and welcoming.  The prices in the restaurants scared us away so we went next door for breakfast at Le Petite Chateau and had yummy butter-lemon crepes. Hmm…my mouth waters just thinking about it.  

It’s possible to take a 50-minute hotel tour with a period dressed tour-guide but, because we were so limited on time, we decided we would rather walk Santol Canine Ambassador.

 

 

Santol is the Canine Ambassador for hotel, hangs out in the lobby next to the concierge and does a great job luring mostly women guests over to scratch his belly. This big teddy bear of a dog was originally trained as a service dog but he was so social and good with lots of people, the trainors decided to keep him as their ambassador. There’s even a nightly package guests can book which the hotel then donates $25.00 to the training of future dogs. Registered guests can also sign up to take him for a walk and, of course, I couldn’t resist.  First I walked him, then Favorite Girl and then Favorite Man. All I have to say is, for being such a tough Army dude, FM has such a soft spot for dogs and they take advantage of him. Both FG and I had no problem keeping Santol within the grassy areas of the park. As soon as FM started walking him, he decided he wanted to go up the stairs and into the more residential area. FG and I laughed long and hard when FM said to Santol “We’re not going that way” and the look FM got from Santol was “Really? You’re gonna stop me?”  Needless to say, we ended up doing a loop around the residential area 😉

There are tons of hotels as well as B&Bs scattered throughout the city and many looked very lovely but I would stay at the Fairmont again next time ~ the atmosphere was so comfortable.

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