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Saturday, August 1st, 2015

This morning we were up and out of our cabln before 8 am.   Kate had some hiking planned for us when we got to the Visitor’s Center at Mt. Rainier.   Even though our cabin is right near the entrance, it still took quite a while to travel the windy roads to the Paradise Lodge and Visitors’ Center.    It was cool this morning and I wasn’t sure whether I was going to need a sweatshirt, but as we hiked, believe you me, I did not need one.   Altogether we hiked about five miles stopping often for water breaks and for Frank and me to catch our breath.   Kate was very patient with her senior cititzen hiker companions.

It was a clear day and views of Mt. Rainier were magnificent.  We had been here in 2002, but that day it had been cloudy and we never saw the mountain.   We saw a deer and a marmot, like a groundhog back home only cuter.   I think I will just have to let the pictures speak for themselves.   It got to be about 83 degrees today.   In the sun it seemed hotter and of course the ascent was far worse than the descent.

When we finished the trail we had lunch at the Paradise Inn. The inn was built in 1917 and was one of the first national park lodges that many others have been modeled after.   As we sat in the cathedral ceiling room with its tall log supports and rafters, the setting was indeed a pleasant one to enjoy my Coors Light and food after our strenuous workout.

It was very crowded at the Visitor’s Center.   After watching the 20 minute film about Mt. Rainier we left and headed back to our cabin to rest up.   I don’t think Frank and I will be taking on any long distance hiking any time soon.

It spite of the crowds, we saw beautiful scenes today on our hike.   Thank you, Kate, for being a very patient tour guide!

Friday, August 31st

On the road again.   Last night Frank and I flew to Portland to visit daughter Kate and do some touring as well.   Kate just recently got home from a trip to Iceland, so she really couldn’t take time off from work.   The plan is that she will spend the weekend with us and will return to Portland on Sunday night. We have a rental car and will do some more sightseeing and will return to Portland Thursday for our flight home on Friday.

Since it was sunny and 102 today in Portland, Frank and I opted to stay close to Kate’s  town house apartment while

she was at work. Kate lives in the Northeast section of Portland.   The houses are wood frame and  look to have been built in the 1950’s. The houses and lawn are so different than backhome. It was fascinating to get my 10,000 steps today!

Kate got off work a little earlier than expected. After a late lunch in her neighborhood, we headed for Ashford, Washington where I had reserved a cabin for us to spend the weekend exploring Mt. Raineer.

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

Sad but true, this was our last day to enjoy Hawaii (for this trip anyway).    When  Frank and I were here before, we had climbed Diamond Head.  In my mind, that was a must for Betty since the scene from the top overlooking Waikiki is amazing.  I am not so sure that Betty thought so, but she had agreed to give it a try .  So off we went once again, although this time we had signed up for a tour rather than taking a bus.

Diamond Head is a left over part of an old tuff volcano.  That means it didn’t actually ever erupt but there had been volcanic activity here and the dust that flew up in the air formed the high cliffs that surround the crater.  It just wasn’t lava.  When you’re on Waikiki Beach and look to the southeast, Diamond Head’s silloutte is iconic.

It has been very hot here as I mentioned yesterday.  Taking a hike up a mountain in the late morning in this heat was not a pleasurable experience.  Plus the physical demands of hiking the switch backs and the final steps were a bit more rigorous than I had remembered, but then again I was nine years younger.   With many rests stops and sweat pouring down our faces, we did indeed reach the summit.  And yes, the view was amazing!

Going back down was much easier.  Betty was worried that we would be the last of our group to get back, since we appeared to be the oldest in the group.   Our guide was waiting for us.  Betty asked, “Are we the last ones back?” And of course the answer was yes.  We felt a little embarassed as we got back on the bus.  But we made it didn’t we?That’s what counts, right?   Perhaps I am aging and I  just don’t like to admit it!

After returning from our hiking tour, since we had already checked out of our hotel room, the desk attendant loaned us a key to the fitness room so that we could shower.  We wanted to head back to the beach area before returning to catch our shared ride shuttle at 6:10 for our flight at 8:40.

We had a little trouble with getting the shower room.   A young Japanese woman got there  at the very same time we did.  We tried to work out a compromise, but neither one of us could understand the other’s language.   The young lady finally walked away.  Seizing the opportunity, I quickly locked the door and we took our showers.  We tried to hurry as fast as we could, but did not see her when we left.

We used the hotel shuttle to the beach area and headed for The Cheesecake Factory and had a great meal.  After some last minute returns and a few more purchases, we headed for a bench by the beach.  It was fascinating to watch the surfers, the swimmers, the huge waves cresting, and the brightly colored turquoise ocean.

Flagging down a taxi, we were back to our hotel in plenty of time for our shuttle.  We waited and waited and waited.  Finally when it was 6:40, a half hour later than our scheduled pick up time, Betty and I opted to take a taxi rather than take a chance on missing our flight.  I can hardly wait to call Speedi Shuttle  to try to get a refund from their not so speedy service!

Our flight from Honolulu to Dallas was about seven hours.   Our lay over was supposed to be about two hours.   There wasn’t a gate open for our plane, so that time got cut drastically.   We had about twenty minutes to get to our gate and buy some food before boarding.     What a contrast to our five and half hour lay over in Los Angeles on our way to Hawaii. We made our flight, a little ruffled, but glad to be heading home.  Unfortunately our bags did not make it to Philly.   When we checked in at the claim desk, the man said they did not have on record that the bags were ever scanned.   Not a good sign. So we drove home without our bags.  They are supposed to be delivered to our homes when they are found.

Betty and I had spent a lot of time planning this trip and did get in all the activities on our agenda. I am pretty sure Betty was out of her comfort zone several times this past week with some of my hasty decisions.   All in all, we made a lot of wonderful memories.  Hawaii sure beats the trips to Ocean City, N.J. that we took together as teenagers!

Tuesday, June 30th

Off to the Ilikai Hotel once again.   This time to catch the bus to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  This place is like a Williamsburg for the history and cultures of the islands in the Pacific-Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, and Hawaii.  It was established by the Church of the Latter Day Saints in the 1960’s  as a way to  explain the cultures of the islands and to provide a college education their students. 75% of the proceeds of this attraction go to their college expenses.  Most of the tour guides, dancers and workers are students.

Our escort on the bus wound up being our tour guide.   Ash took us around to the different cultural shows and saved us a lot of wasted time trying to figure out what we were going to do next.   Our biggest problem was the heat and humidity.   I had thought Hawaii was always sunny and 70.   This trip has proved that to be a fallacy.   It must have been in the high 80’s and very humid.  We both remarked how Frank and Jim would have been miserable.  There was an Imax movie which was in an air-conditioned theater.  The scenes of Hawaii were breathtaking, but the cool air was even better!

I tried to put the pictures at the end, but they wound up all over the place.   But I think you get the idea.   Gotta go.  Off to climb Diamond Head and then later catch our flight home.   Guess we’ll sleep well on the plane.

Monday

June 29th, 2015

Who comes to Oahu and doesn’t spend some time on the beach at Waikiki?  That certainly was on our list of must dos.  Since we were signed up for a luau that would pick us up at 4:00, we decided this would be a day to sleep in, go for breakfast, and then head for the beach.

Waikiki, is spite of the string of high-rise hotels, ABC stores, and specialty stores galore, is really beautiful.  We browsed through some shops then hopped onto the beach.  We set up our towels under a shady palm tree and took turns swimming in beautiful clear aqua blue water.  It was sunny, hot, and in the 80’s.

We took the hotel shuttle back to our hotel, got showered and headed to the meeting place to catch the bus to the Germaine Luau. It wa a hour and a half bus ride to the site which was on the leeward or west side of the island. Our escort was named Chad; he looked about 16, was quite comedian and  kept up a lively dialogue. We even played bus games and sang a humorous rendition of Old MacDonald with those on the bus participating on the way back to Honolulu.

I had been to a luau previously. The Germaine Luau was smaller with only about 150 guests tonight. They pulled the roasted pig out of the pit and proceeded with our buffet. There was a lot of audience participation like women volunteers learning to dance the hula and a men’s hula competition. Betty and I opted out of the hula instruction. There was one hula dancer from the show who came on stage with her back to the audience. She had on a grass skirt but no top across her back. I noticed the men paid careful attention to her swaying, anxiously awaiting for her to turn around. Unfortunately for the men, when she did, she had two strategically placed coconuts securely in place.

Can you believe it; I was still awake by the time we returned to the Hawaiian Prince at 10?  That proves that the luau  was indeed a successful evening! Got to get some rest for more adventures tomorrow!

Continue reading “USS Arizona and Aloha Swap Meet”

Saturday, July 27th, 2015

Today was the day for the Lions Club International Parade.   There are about 20,000 Lions club attendees at the convention.   It was neat to see delegations from all over the world wearing their native costumes and/or outfits representing their club.   Betty had borrowed  a loden green PA Lions shirt for me to wear, had the appropriate pins and even a small PA flag for me to wave.   Our PA group was 38th in parade order.   As we walked it was neat to see so many people wave back and cheer as we passed.   I can see how international conventions like this do a lot for building community worldwide.   Quite a contrast to all the bad you see on the evening news each night!

We spent a relaxing afternoon at the pool here at the Hawaiian Prince Hotel.   Then we got ready for the International Show at the Convention Center this evening.  It was a rock music extravaganza.   Since most of the audience was older, we were surprised at this choice of entertainment.    The groups performing were Journey, Jefferson Starship and Kenny Loggins.   Betty knew a lot of the songs such as Journey’s Anyway You Want It and Jefferson Starships’ Sarah.    I recognized a few but not many.   I did recognize Your Momma Don’t Dance and Your Daddy Don’t Rock n Roll and Footloose by Kenny Loggins.    I must say this concert was a quite different that my usual Saturday evening back in Blandon.

Tomorrow we are headed for Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona.  We need to catch the 7:21 am bus.   Hope we make it!

Friday, June 26th

For those you who do not  know, I am in Hawaii.  I accompanied my friend Betty Murphy to the International Lions Club Convention in Honolulu.   We left yesterday on  a  7:30 am flight from Philadelphia and with two flights and a delayed layover in LA, we arrived at our hotel last night around 7 pm Honolulu time.   Since they are 6 hours behind us, it was about 1 am back home.  We were exhausted!

Today was the day we planned to head to the windward side of Oahu to Hanauma Bay.  This is a  natural preserve noted for great snorkel.   I had called ahead and wrote down in great detail how to catch bus 22 to this beach.   Unfortunately I asked the hotel staff and they told us to take bus 23.  That was not correct, but a  kind bus driver helped us find the correct bus stop to catch 22.  However by this time we missed the 8:00 bus and found out the next bus wasn’t until 9.  After sitting for about 15 minutes, a guy in a not so great looking van pulled up and said he would take us to Hanauman Bay for 5 bucks each.   I decided to jump on the chance, although I could tell Betty thought I had lost my mind.   The van driver stopped at several bus stops trying to get more passengers and finally a guy from Belgium was added.  In  our conversation with him, we found out he was a policeman.   Then Betty ( and I ) felt much better.  I am happy to report that we got to our destination just fine and a lot faster because of my rash decision!

Hanauma Bay was once a volcanic crater and is now just a visual delight!  You really didn’t have to swim very far to be over reef with  lots of colorful fish.  I loved every minute of this place and wished we could have stayed longer.

We had to catch the 12:30 bus for Sea Life Park, about a 15 minute drive from the bay.  Betty had signed up for a session to swim with the dolphins at 3:15.   We did have time to take in a dophin show and a lion show before her swim.  I watched and  was the designated photographer.  Luckily their was a real photographer on hand as well.

We caught the 5:00 bus back to our hotel and were quite pleased with ourselves for our first day’s adventure.  After a dinner  at a restaurant down the street, we were once again exhausted and called it a day!   We did everything we had planned.   So far, so good.   Stayed turned for Day 2 of our Hawaii adventures!

Wednesday,April 29, 2015

On the road again, we headed back to Moab. It was a clear day and the views of the snow covered La Sal Mountains were gorgeous.

Biking sounded like a fun way to spend the late morning.  We had noticed a bike path along the Colorado when we were rafting on Monday.   Stopping in at a bike shop, we were all set up lickity split with bikes and helmets.   We do a lot of biking at home and it was great to add this stretch to our experience.  How often do you get to bike along a river bordered with massive red sandstone cliffs?

We stopped at the Cedar Cliffs Winery along the scenic byway, R 128,  on our way back to Grand Junction for our flight home tomorrow. Right next door was the Red Cliffs Lodge.  They had cabins along the river that Judy and I thought would make a great place to stay for a future trip.  They were pricey;  we asked, of course.  There was also a museum of the filming industry in the Moab area in the lodge.  Did you know that over 120 films have been made in the Moab/Monument Valley area?  I can’t wait to see Thelma and Louse again now that I have seen the cliffs of their demise.

It was a great trip and we all thoroughly enjoyed Arches, Canyonlands, Goblin Valley and Dead Horse Point State Parks. What a treat it was to have hiker Kate as our tour guide over the weekend as well!  After two weeks traveling with a day home in the middle, I was glad to be heading home as were Frank, Judy and Marty.   Thanks for following my blog!