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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Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My Teaser Tuesday is The Beach House by Georgia Bockoven. I picked it up at Borders on Sunday ~ it was the name and cover of the book that appealed to me. Here’s my teaser from page 197:
Her voice washed over him like a warm summer rain, the kind you tilted your head back to let the drops hit your face, where you licked the moisture from your lips and closed your eyes to concentrate on the utter sensuality of the moment. “I have them for three weeks. Their mother is on her honeymoon.”
It’s an easy read with interesting stories weaved together at the beach house. It’s not a breezy story though and I’ve ended up crying during a couple of chapters so I’m only reading it at home 😉 Once I’m done, I’ll post a review.
What’s on your summer reading list?
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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.
Posted in Animals, Travels | 1 Comment »
All Favorite Man wanted for Father’s Day was a trip to Quebec City. Favorite Girl and I were dragging our feet because the thought of a 7 hour drive for a 2 night stay exhausted us just thinking about it. As the weekend got closer and we reviewed the calendar, we realized just how few weekends we have left to travel with FM before his deployment. We decided he deserved a fun getaway weekend.
FM had Friday off so FG and I took half days off of work and school. It’s an easy 6.5 hour drive to Quebec City with the only hiccup being Montreal’s hideous traffic. Unfortunately, we drove through Montreal during rush hour. We didn’t get to our hotel, the beautiful Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Old Town, until 9 pm but that didn’t stop us from taking time to take a quick walk about and have a bite to eat. It was a great way to start off the visit.
Our hotel was truly a delight and I was especially thrilled I found such a good deal through Travelocity. Hopefully I’ll get a similar deal next time we visit because I can’t imagine staying any where else. Definitely spoiled us.
Happy Father’s Day to Favorite Man and it’s safe to say, FG and I are very glad we made the trip. Much more on Quebec City in the coming days. For now, I’ve got to do laundry and get ready for another week at work…
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All this talk about the 18 Guantanamo detainees moving to Palau certainly has me thinking about our wonderful trip we enjoyed back in Feb 2007. Ah, true paradise…
Kayaking through the Rock Islands, Palau
Swimming with the Dolphin
Posted in Beach, Flashback Fridays, Palau | Tagged Beach. Island, Micronesia, Palau | Leave a Comment »
Just like everyone else, life has been zooming along at a crazy pace. Work keeps me exceptionally busy but I’m enjoying the challenge. When I’m not at work, it feels a little like I’m just trying to maintain the housework ~ how can three people produce so much laundry. Oh, yeah ~ I have an 11 year old who likes to “try” on clothes and somehow those items end up in the laundry. Unfortunately, I wash a lot of clean clothes.
It’s still chilly here. Even today, the last day of May, the highs will be in the 50s. The cold weather doesn’t keep us in. Here are a couple photos of our sweater weather outdoor activities:
Double Dutch Jumping with Favorite Girl and her friends. Talk about a trip down memory lane. In middle school, I spent all my recess and after-school time jump roping. I was in FANTASTIC shape then. Hmm, maybe I should do this everyday.
Hiking with the Favorite Girl, Man, and the dogs.
More photos and updates to follow…
Posted in Favorite Girl, Favorite Man, Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »
Last night, Favorite Girl decided to give Paintball a try and is now a big fan. The Youth Services here on post gets kids (ages 10-18) together for paintball games every Friday night. Being the overprotective mom, I wasn’t thrilled about FG being out there with mostly older boys who are a lot tougher than her. But, she LOVED it and was especially proud of getting a few “hits” on the more professional players.
Once again, I’m so thankful for all the activities which are offered here on post ~ it’s just a matter of finding the time to do everything.
Posted in Favorite Girl | 1 Comment »
For our 14th wedding anniversary, we went to Niagara Falls for an overnight visit. I could have done without the town ~ it’s a bit like Las Vegas off the strip, but the falls themselves are spectacular. We splurged and got the fallsview room at the Marriott. This is the view from our room:
At night, the falls are lit with changing colors which we watched throughout our dinner from the hotel restaurant. We were quite entertained.
The next day we walked around and UNDER the falls.
With the wind, we were all freezing cold, but we kept going because the falls are so powerful and it was fun to watch. While walking around, we stopped in at a couple of venues which have casinos and shows.
Posted in Travels | Tagged Niagara Falls, Travels | 7 Comments »
I’ve got three netflix movies waiting to be watched. I missed two big birthdays this week: my good friend, Dave and Favorite Man’s niece who’s turning 18. My house is a mess and I haven’t cooked dinner in a week month. Seriously, where did my time management skills go?
Favorite Man and I attempt to sync our calendars on a weekly basis so my goal is to get ahead of the curve especially with birthdays, but I need to give it more time and effort.
To Dave and KK ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Posted in Miscellaneous | 2 Comments »
Last night, we enjoyed gathering with friends for a belated St. Patrick’s Day celebration. As a long-time celebrator of St. Patrick’s Day, I know it’s not proper to have a party AFTER the day passes BUT, this year, Favorite Man was away training and his friend’s who were hosting the event wanted to wait for his return. Very nice of them. Personally, I think they wanted to see him in his kooky green bow-tie and leprechaun shoes (not shown).
Posted in Miscellaneous, Travels | 4 Comments »
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Displaced Beachbums 