And moved on to an enjoyable day reading and lounging! We had so much fun we didn't take any more pictures ;)
Hawaii '09: Day 5
Today was our relax day. We started out with breakfast:
And moved on to an enjoyable day reading and lounging! We had so much fun we didn't take any more pictures ;)
And moved on to an enjoyable day reading and lounging! We had so much fun we didn't take any more pictures ;)
Hawaii '09: Day 4
Up early, off to Hukilau Cafe for some authentic Hawaiian fare.
God poured extra awesome on Goat Island. Absolutely gorgeous white sand beaches + completely deserted = totally awesome. We waded across this corral reef:
To find these beautiful spots:
Julie wasn't feeling so great so we settled in for an afternoon of 24 and baked brownies in a 2 qt stove pot :)
Later we took a drive up the coast and saw these beautiful sites/tastes:
From from that side of the north shore the sun sets over the ocean :)
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| From Handel Travels |
God poured extra awesome on Goat Island. Absolutely gorgeous white sand beaches + completely deserted = totally awesome. We waded across this corral reef:
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| From Handel Travels |
To find these beautiful spots:
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
Julie wasn't feeling so great so we settled in for an afternoon of 24 and baked brownies in a 2 qt stove pot :)
Later we took a drive up the coast and saw these beautiful sites/tastes:
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
From from that side of the north shore the sun sets over the ocean :)
Hawaii '09: Day 3
Up early! We made it out of bed shortly before sunrise, so we took the 30-second walk to the end of Laie Point, and watched that beautiful globe ascend into the sky.
Next, it was off to grocery-ville, named Foodland here in Hawaii. We could have walked, as it's a pretty big shopping center at the other end of our street, but our purchases would have gotten the better of our carrying ability, so our trusty steed was saddled with the goods instead. Pete quickly worked our purchases into a lovely breakfast:
Today is our lounging around day! We lay by (and in) the pool and worked on our tans.
Lunch was Hamburger Helper (Hawaiian style), and for dinner, we walked to the same Foodland and picked up a loaf of French bread, cheese (they didn't have any artisan cheeses, so we settled on a shredded cheddar & mozzarella), and tomatoes. Early to bed again, right after a short sonnet played on a guitar graciously provided by our host.
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| From Handel Travels |
Next, it was off to grocery-ville, named Foodland here in Hawaii. We could have walked, as it's a pretty big shopping center at the other end of our street, but our purchases would have gotten the better of our carrying ability, so our trusty steed was saddled with the goods instead. Pete quickly worked our purchases into a lovely breakfast:
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| From Handel Travels |
Today is our lounging around day! We lay by (and in) the pool and worked on our tans.
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| From Handel Travels |
Lunch was Hamburger Helper (Hawaiian style), and for dinner, we walked to the same Foodland and picked up a loaf of French bread, cheese (they didn't have any artisan cheeses, so we settled on a shredded cheddar & mozzarella), and tomatoes. Early to bed again, right after a short sonnet played on a guitar graciously provided by our host.
Hawaii '09: Day 2
Climbed out of bed :-) and rolled poolside for the free continental breakfast. Chatted with a nice older couple from Georgia. Then, headed out to Waikiki Baptist Church for a nice hour-long contemporary service. We then took a quick trip to Urgent Care, and discovered that Julie had a minor bacterial infection.
After stocking up on groceries and antibiotics, we set sail for the North Shore, with lots of beautiful roadside views/foods on the way.
We checked in to the Ocean View Paradise in Laie. What a great place!
We put our stuff away, and started our search for grub: Peter's hunger fell victim to a giant yellow truck hawking shrimp, and Julie's was bested by a roadside chicken curry stand.
Yum yum! After such tasty fare, sleep was in order, and we willfully complied to a severely early bedtime.
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| From Handel Travels |
After stocking up on groceries and antibiotics, we set sail for the North Shore, with lots of beautiful roadside views/foods on the way.
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
We checked in to the Ocean View Paradise in Laie. What a great place!
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
We put our stuff away, and started our search for grub: Peter's hunger fell victim to a giant yellow truck hawking shrimp, and Julie's was bested by a roadside chicken curry stand.
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
Yum yum! After such tasty fare, sleep was in order, and we willfully complied to a severely early bedtime.
Hawaiiii '09, here we come! Day 1
It's Saturday morning, time to ship out! Plane leaves SJC @ 9:10am, direct to HNL, yipee! Flight was uneventful, although Hawaiian Air is rapidly becoming our favorite airline to fly - free meals, friendly crew, and lots of nice small touches (like flowers in the bathroom!).
After landing @ 11:30am, we quickly mounted our Budget-supplied trusty grey steed (Ford Contour), checked in at the hotel (Aqua Palms Spa), donned beach attire, picked up sandwiches, and BOOM found ourselves on the beach, soaking up rays, at 12:59. Woot!!
We lounged around the ocean for a bit, then shifted over a few feet to the gorgeous (even from space!) Hilton Lagoon:
Waikiki is wonderful - the beach is great, the people friendly, and the water is very clear. We ran into lots of friendly tourists, and chatted with one couple for quite some time, gleaning tips as they looked back over their highlights.
One theme keeps emerging from everyone we talk to: Go to the Polynesian Culture Center - a Polynesian version of the Epcot Center.
We headed back to our hotel to relax for a bit, and then it was off to dinner at Duke's Waikiki, a short 15-minute walk away. The walk took us down Kalakaua road, by the huge Spam Jam 2009, and by the amazingly well-situated Royal Hawaiian Apple Store. Dinner wasn't bad: Maui-onion soup, chicken & steak teriyaki kebabs, and a crazy ice cream "Hula Pie":
After dinner, we took a short detour to Chip and Cookie - a new venture by the Amos who started Famous Amos cookies. Then, Pete threw his sneakers in our car, and we both jetted off in search of an Ultimate Frisbee game Pete found at the Ultimate Players Association. Pete: "It was a blast! Some strange things like horizontal stacks were interesting, but even without cleats, it was a fun and fast game."
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| From Handel Travels |
After landing @ 11:30am, we quickly mounted our Budget-supplied trusty grey steed (Ford Contour), checked in at the hotel (Aqua Palms Spa), donned beach attire, picked up sandwiches, and BOOM found ourselves on the beach, soaking up rays, at 12:59. Woot!!
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| From Handel Travels |
We lounged around the ocean for a bit, then shifted over a few feet to the gorgeous (even from space!) Hilton Lagoon:
Waikiki is wonderful - the beach is great, the people friendly, and the water is very clear. We ran into lots of friendly tourists, and chatted with one couple for quite some time, gleaning tips as they looked back over their highlights.
 |
| From Handel Travels |
One theme keeps emerging from everyone we talk to: Go to the Polynesian Culture Center - a Polynesian version of the Epcot Center.
We headed back to our hotel to relax for a bit, and then it was off to dinner at Duke's Waikiki, a short 15-minute walk away. The walk took us down Kalakaua road, by the huge Spam Jam 2009, and by the amazingly well-situated Royal Hawaiian Apple Store. Dinner wasn't bad: Maui-onion soup, chicken & steak teriyaki kebabs, and a crazy ice cream "Hula Pie":
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| From Handel Travels |
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| From Handel Travels |
After dinner, we took a short detour to Chip and Cookie - a new venture by the Amos who started Famous Amos cookies. Then, Pete threw his sneakers in our car, and we both jetted off in search of an Ultimate Frisbee game Pete found at the Ultimate Players Association. Pete: "It was a blast! Some strange things like horizontal stacks were interesting, but even without cleats, it was a fun and fast game."
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| From Handel Travels |
NYC-Boston Day 5
After a tasty breakfast chez Saylor, we're off to Church (with the prerequisite Dunkin' Donuts stop). Fun service, with the pastor giving great reasons for the resurrection, and with the congregation belting out the Hallelujah chorus.
An hour later, we're back on the Freedom Trail. Historical museum after oldest house in America after tasty tourist-trap (but still amazingly tasty) food court after canoli and cappucino, we feel like we've gotten a good high-level overview of Boston. It was time to head home - thanks for the great memories Formicas and Saylors!
An hour later, we're back on the Freedom Trail. Historical museum after oldest house in America after tasty tourist-trap (but still amazingly tasty) food court after canoli and cappucino, we feel like we've gotten a good high-level overview of Boston. It was time to head home - thanks for the great memories Formicas and Saylors!
NYC-Boston Day 4
Phil's breakfast was a crowd-pleaser, as usual - yum! Eggs a la maison, fresh fruit, and fun fellowship were on the menu, and each was perfectly presented, providing sustinence for the rest of the day. We then saw some amazing stuff on Harvard's campus: an exquisit glass flower exhibit, the 300k+ ft2 main library, and the history-seeped campus square.
We ended up lunching at a student favorite burger joint: Mr Bartles Burgers.
The continuing rain drove us to explore the warmth of a few local bookstores, each brimming with character. Dinner was a few hours later, at a tasty Betty Boop-inspired noodle place. The SS Snoozer set sail shortly thereafter, bringing back refreshing sleep from a far away land.
NYC-Boston Day 3
Last day with the Formicas :-( Wesley was in a great mood, and Pete took a turn playing father :-) Yummy lasagne encore for brunch, then packed our bags and headed out to the Bolt Bus.
Ah yes, the Bolt Bus. We actually really liked it. However, what promised to be a svelte 4-hour wifi-enabled breeze from NYC->BOS, ended up being a 5.5 hour slog through traffic (broken wifi, PTL for tethering!), with one quick pit-stop at a pizza and burger joint. I'm so glad we didn't have to drive, and you can't beat the price ($18 per person per way)!
Laura picked us up right at the bus stop, and her pick-up timing was impeccable. After a very short but sweet city tour, we sat down to a tasty lasagne dinner with the Saylors, along with a fun bottle of vino. Then, it was off to dreamland- we chartered a huge & very comfortable queen-sized air mattress, and shoved off almost immediately.
Ah yes, the Bolt Bus. We actually really liked it. However, what promised to be a svelte 4-hour wifi-enabled breeze from NYC->BOS, ended up being a 5.5 hour slog through traffic (broken wifi, PTL for tethering!), with one quick pit-stop at a pizza and burger joint. I'm so glad we didn't have to drive, and you can't beat the price ($18 per person per way)!
Laura picked us up right at the bus stop, and her pick-up timing was impeccable. After a very short but sweet city tour, we sat down to a tasty lasagne dinner with the Saylors, along with a fun bottle of vino. Then, it was off to dreamland- we chartered a huge & very comfortable queen-sized air mattress, and shoved off almost immediately.
NYC-Boston Day 2
The next morning we slept in and meet little Wesley after his 3rd feeding for the day. What a cutie! Ru's mom made us eggs and we chilled for a bit. Quiches were on the menu for lunch (Ru's mom was really working the kitchen!).
Ru packed the little guy up in her new carrier and we took a tour of the neighborhood. What a fun area! The view on the waterfront was fabulous and Long Island City seems to be putting a lot of money into great amenities like streetside parks, grassy knolls on the river, soccer/baseball fields. We were back to the apartment for another feeding.
That night, we supped in the SoHo district, and stumbled into a really cool restaurant that had only been open for 2 days. While they definitely had quite a few kinks to work out, the food quality and atmosphere were top-notch, making for a memorable evening with great friends.
Afterwards, we braved a new New York trend - rice puddin'! - in the "Rice To Ritches" incarnation. After sampling a few flavors, we decided the neighboring Pinkberry was more our speed.
Ru packed the little guy up in her new carrier and we took a tour of the neighborhood. What a fun area! The view on the waterfront was fabulous and Long Island City seems to be putting a lot of money into great amenities like streetside parks, grassy knolls on the river, soccer/baseball fields. We were back to the apartment for another feeding.
That night, we supped in the SoHo district, and stumbled into a really cool restaurant that had only been open for 2 days. While they definitely had quite a few kinks to work out, the food quality and atmosphere were top-notch, making for a memorable evening with great friends.
Afterwards, we braved a new New York trend - rice puddin'! - in the "Rice To Ritches" incarnation. After sampling a few flavors, we decided the neighboring Pinkberry was more our speed.
NYC-Boston Day 1
Julie and Geri picked Peter up at work, on the way to SFO to catch our 3:15 flight to NYC. The flight was great we had good seats next to the stewardess staging area and even got first class fresh cookie left overs :)
We arrived in NYC and took a very curcuitous taxi ride (Pete had prenegotiated the rate so we're baffled why this happened) to Matt and Ru's place. We had yummy homemade lasagne (Ru's mom was in town and keeping the Formica's awash in yummy dishes) and crawled into bed.
We arrived in NYC and took a very curcuitous taxi ride (Pete had prenegotiated the rate so we're baffled why this happened) to Matt and Ru's place. We had yummy homemade lasagne (Ru's mom was in town and keeping the Formica's awash in yummy dishes) and crawled into bed.
