Surf Lesson? Big Island arrival

Spent the morning having a leisurely breakfast and packing in prep for our commute to the Big Island later in the day.

Made a stop at Leonard's Bakery for a malasada. These are basically fried dough balls, but oh so much better! You can get them with cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, and some other kind of Asian sugar. You can also have it filled with custard, chocolate custard, or a coconut custard. Mike got the chocolate. Yum! They are almost like the little sugar doughnuts you get on a Chinese buffet, but bigger, fluffier, and tastier. These ethnic treats were brought to the island 60 years ago by a Portuguese family, and caught on. They are now a landmark bakery, much like the Mike's Bakery of Boston.

UPDATE: Click here for an authentic Malasada Recipe!

Mmmmmmaladadas!

To kill some more time before our surfing lesson at noon, we drove up the coast a bit and stopped at this amazing overlook. We jumped the wall (you're not supposed to, of course...) and walked out on the rock ledges and discovered all of these amazing lava tubes and crevices where the ocean eats away at the coast one wave at a time. Quite incredible, the power of the ocean.

We get to our surfing lesson and check-in at the harbor, and it turns out the reservation lady only booked one person for the lesson instead of 4. I know when I booked this in January that I told her I had the Groupon for a surf lesson for 4. The boat only holds 6. One of us could go, or we could reschedule. Luckily we were able to reschedule for when we come back to Oahu before for our final trip home. Unfortunately though, it means traveling back from the North shore in order to do that. Oh well, what can you do. The kids were pretty disappointed, but we made the best of it by getting a chocolate dipped cone at McDonald's. I know, we went to Mickey D's while in Hawaii...!!? We don't even go at home. I hate to say it, but it was our second trip to the golden arches already. I tell you though, this Mickey D's had the best view of any I've ever been in!

Being that we were all greased up for the sun and had our suits on anyway, we decided to try our hand at getting into the Hanauma Bay nature preserve to do some snorkeling - Big... Fat...no go. The parking lot was full the first time we drove by, and still full at 1pm. We were on limited time, so didn't even entertain the "park at the bottom of the hill someplace and walk up" option. Whew...dodged that bullet.


Instead we headed back toward the airport and decided to spend an hour at Waikiki beach, seeing that we never went in the water when we arrived the first day. The kids walked the barrier wall (I thought they were going to get washed off, but I guess the waves weren't that big), and Mike did some exploring on the other side of the wall. However, sea urchins everywhere, so he and the kids beat it back to the other side of the wall. I hung out on the burning hot beach, but dipped in up past my knees when I could bear the heat no longer. I didn't want to be all sandy and gross for the flight in an hour.

The view of Waikiki Beach from the top of Diamond Head Crater

Fast forward to arrival at our hotel, the Hilton Waikoloa Village - OMG! This place is AMAZING! It has an electric tram to take you to your room - that's how big it is. Think of a Disney World resort - amazingly landscaped, adorned, decorated, and lush. Streams twist throughout the property, with paths and bridges that you can take to the different areas. There are various pools, some connected by 'natural' water slides and a lazy river. They have their own snorkeling cove with sea turtles, and there is an area where you can swim with the dolphins (for a fee, most likely). You can even take a boat from the main lobby back to your hotel complex if you don't want to wait for the monorail. We are on the 4th floor and have a lovely view of the ocean and the lagoon, statuary, mini golf, and the rocky lava coast.

The inside view of our hotel

 You never have to leave this place! - the resort has daily fitness and health classes if you want to partake, as well as evening activities, happy hours, movies at the beach and other fun stuff. We've decided to spend our down day on Wednesday checking everything out and taking advantage of all the amenities. The best part is, the kids can go explore on their own.

To Top it all off, the hotel delivered us a bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, some dried fruit with chocolates, macadamia nut brittle, and macadamia nuts to help us celebrate our anniversary and Austin's graduation. How nice! Tonight we will enjoy that champagne!







//.l

Hawaiian Observations

• Crazy drivers (no offense...), especially on Oahu. Picture: NO blinkers, and quick cut offs and lane changes.  Not a good combination.  Aloha!

• Narrow roads - not a lot of wiggle room when driving between the lines!  And they are adding a lane on the H-1 expressway, a main thoroughfare to and from Honolulu, taking the lanes down to 10 feet each to create a 4th lane.

• No helmet law, which when combined with the first two observations, makes driving a motorcycle in Hawaii a death wish. I've been meaning to look up the motorcycle death rates in Hawaii to test that theory... (side note: there were 2 motorcycle deaths on the islands during our visit - both were wearing helmets...)

The latest statistic I could find from NHTSA - 26 Total motorcycle fatalities in 2010. Of those, 21 were unhelmeted.

• People ride in the beds of their pickup trucks - not just the 'extra' guy, but the whole family! Complete with lawn chairs! Crazy sh*t, man! I'll have to look up those stats while I'm at it...

Stats specific to passengers riding in bed of pickup weren't available, but there were 16 deaths of passengers riding in light pickup trucks.

• CRAZY PRICES!  Most things are more expensive, which is to be expected on any island, but $6.12 for a 10 pack of Ho-Hos's or Twinkies?!  At Walmart?!

Here are some other Hawaiian Walmart  'Always Low Prices':

• 1/2 gallon of milk - $3.88
• One apple - $1.50
• Large, seedless watermelon - $10.44
• But if that's too much, you can get a smaller one for only $8.98

Resort prices are even worse - my .99 ABC coffee cost me $4.50 at the coffee shop on the resort. Poor lady in line in front of me paid $31 for two coffees and pastries.  Imagine if she had gone to the restaurant:

$23 for eggs benedict... $18 for pancakes... Oh, but they're lemony!

• Grafitti on the Big Island is eco-friendly - people use white beach rocks to write out names or messages on the black lava fields along the highway. 

At first we thought they were just memorials to people who were killed on the highway (likely tossed from the back of their pickup, or off their motorcycle), but then it just continues and you realize it's probably all of the visitors who can't resist leaving their mark. It is interesting to see how creative people can be.  See the little penguin?  How cute!

Parking spaces are small - this is going to be fun with our Maui rental - a Crown Vic.  Emma aptly named them 'cuddle spaces' instead of parking spaces.  Mike ended up letting us out of the car every time before he parked.  Hilarious!

Waking up in Paradise - Day one: Oahu

Today's Itinerary:  USS Arizona, Diamond Head Crater, Byodo-In Temple, Kailua Beach Park, Chief's Luau

USS Arizona - solemn and peaceful. The movie you see before the boat ride over to the memorial is quite stunning. Of course we ran late this morning and had to catch the movie after our boat ride, but it was stunning none the less.

The smell of the oil that is still bubbling up to the surface some 70 years later, is almost overpowering.

Diamond Head Crater - 380 views of the island, including Waikiki Beach. Way to hang in there on the walk up, Emma!  The only thing that kept me going was eating my first giant shave ice on the way up.  Once up there, I figured we earned another once we made it back down.

Austin and I decided to take the more direct route to the top near the end of the path. What a thigh burner, for sure! But oh, so worth it!

It's windy up here!

Nu‘uanu Pali Overlook - a stop on the highway to view the Nu'uanu Valley, an easy stop on the way to the Byodo-In Temple.  Simply breathtaking.

Made a stop at the Byodo-In Temple, located in the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.  The temple is located at the back of the cemetery, which has to be the most beautiful cemetery I've ever seen - is that morbid?

There was a funeral going on while we were there, complete with pyre.  They were burning objects, and the kids saw them put a surf board in.  The kids were a little worried at first that it was an actual cremation, and I'm not entirely sure it wasn't.  I haven't been able to find any info on this practice, but I'll keep looking.

This is a Buddist temple that is in scale replica of the 950 year old Byodo-In Temple in Uji, Japan.

The 9 foot Amida Buddha, carved by famous the famous Japanese sculptor, Masuzo Inui, is thought to be the largest Buddha carving outside of Japan.

Amida Buddha - covered in gold lacquer and a layer of gold leaf.

Hit the beach! Kailua Beach Park - known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and our first 'day at the beach', (which was really only a few hours, but amazing none the less.) The sand is like powder - so soft, you almost don't feel it on your feet.

























The Chief's Luau at Sea Life Park - kinda kooky, but fun and entertaining. We were late to this because we just didn't want to leave the beach! Mike and on were called up onstage with all of the other folks celebrating anniversaries, and were presented with a botanical flower bouquet and serenaded by the Chief himself. Very touching.  Corny, but touching.

The kids seemed to have a good time.  The Chief was a bit cheeky at times, and Austin says, "I think this is an adult luau!"

I crashed at the hotel, while Mike took the kids to walk the Waikiki blvd and see the nightlife. A busy and most enjoyable day!

PS - we all got a sunburn... : )

Waikiki Beach

It is so amazing here! Hotel is awesome!

Check out our view from 19th floor!

First Hawaiian sunset...

Touchdown at LAX - 2/3 the way there

Blogging from the United Club Lounge - free wifi!


The flight from Chicago to LA left a little late, but we still ended up landing at LAX bit early. The kids were surprised when they realized that we had first class seats for the rest of the trip. Mike played it up the first leg pretty good, pretending to ask in Chicago about first class, and telling the kids it was full. Surprisingly he was able to keep the secret all these months, cuz sometimes he just can't help himself!

Celebrity Sighting! So before the plane even left the ground in Chicago, there was this person sitting a row behind us and across the isle, who had fallen asleep practically with their head in their lap, hunched right over. This person was wearing a hat and an oversized jean jacket, and looked very outdoorsy- granola-ish in a Columbia clothing kind of way, and I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. All you could see was this shouler length hippy hair exploding out from under the hat. Later on in the flight, this person had gotten up to use the bathroom, and on the way back to their seat is when I recognized her as Paula Poundstone. Now I can say I peed in the same place as a celebrity!

No offense, but she was not looking her best...!!

Change of plans! United cancelled our flight out of Rochester at 12:20 am...thanks for the email, United. You'd think that 5 hours before a flight which happens at 5 am, you would get a phone call, since most people are sleeping and won't check their Email. Good thing Mike did.

So in order to make all our other connections and retain our "wide" seats all the way to Hawaii, we rented a car to travel to Buffalo to catch the flight to Chicago. So here we are... The kids still don't know we are flying First Class all the way... this is going to be fun!

Twas the night before departure...

The thing about packing, for a 'Plan B' person like me, is you end up bringing too much stuff. You just never know what you might need. We are doing fairly well though, with only two big suitcases between the 4 of us, one being entirely flippers, water socks, diving masks, a cooler filled with towels, snacks and extra shoes. The other being the overflow of stuff that doesn't fit in our respective carry on's. Of course most of the overflow is mine... !

Max knows there is something up....

Countdown...

Riding high on a wave of excitement today thinking about our trip. Working on our itinerary has gotten me all riled up! Until today, I had only gotten as far as our first few days on Oahu - PANIC! It's like the recurring dream I have that I'm in London and it's the last day, and for some reason, which always makes sense in dreams, I haven't yet left the hotel.

But I'm feeling better now that our Big Island itinerary is all set. Today I booked our zip line adventure on the Hilo side of the Big Island (Groupons are great!). Bummer is we have to be there by 9:00 - which makes for a very early start, since Botanical World Adventures are 1.5 hours from our hotel. Getting the kids up and out by 7 will be an adventure all its own. The lady on the phone was so nice, and happy sounding! And she said something cool in Hawaiian when she said goodbye, I just don't know what it was! I'd better brush up on my lingo.

This is for all the folks who know me for being too organized; go ahead and laugh. It's ok! Six days planned, 11 to go...

Hiatus Breaker - Hawaii!

Well, the B's have been on a layoff-inflicted travel hiatus for the past two + years, not easy for folks with incurable Wanderlust. So we're hitting the proverbial road in a big way to make up for it. Big, as in 5,460 miles to Hawaii, big. Go big, or stay home, I always say! Makes our European trip look like a trip to Canada in comparison.

Seemed like a good time to finally take the trip that we've been talking about ever since Emma was 5 and asked, "When can we go to Hawaii?". A 20th anniversary sounded like a pretty good excuse, and once you tell kids something, you know you can't go back on it! Here we are some 9 years (and many air miles) later, and we are days from being on our way. Seems like a dream! Shangri La, here we come. 

So I've decided to blog it up again, only this time thanks to technology, I'm better prepared to moblogo - mobile blog on the go. I hope you check in on us every now and then for an adventure update.

Aloha!

Magic Kingdom

Today was spent at Magic Kingdom. The kids were very excited to get out and have a little freedom after being cooped up on a bus for 24 hours. Everyone had the day to enjoy the park.

Right away we (meaning Mike, Em, and I - Austin was seen for a mere 5 minutes on this trip!) headed for Fantasyland, as that's the part of the park Em remembers from our last trip. She wanted to see Cinderella's castle and make a wish in the wishing well. We couldn't walk through the middle of the castle, since there was a show going on at the time, but we did weave our way up the side to throw some pennies into the wishing well.

We got a speed pass for the Peter Pan's Flight, then stood in line at It's a Small World. The line wasn't too bad - maybe 30 minutes. It was fun to see all the different countries and be able to say which ones we had visited. By the time that ride ends, you're just about out of your mind from the song!

Mike and I talked Em into going in the Haunted Mansion. She was nervous at first, but once we got past the part where the room grows and on the actual ride, she was fine. From there, we explored Tom Sawyer Island - something we hadn't ever done before. That was cool. Just a bunch of nooks and crannies to run around and hide in. Would be a great place to let a group of kids loose for a few hours...

Other places we made it to were the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster, (Em wouldn't ride it! Good thing - that baby flies!), Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (I won high score!), Monster's Inc., Laugh Floor, Minnie's Country House, Swiss Family Treehouse, Tomorrowland Speedway, and Em's least favorite, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. Quite a few rides considering how many people were in the park. We could've gotten on more if we weren't so cold and tired! Mike and I attempted Space Mountain, but the Speed Pass line closed before we could get a ticket! The roller coasters were out of the question for Em, so that cuts down on a few rides.

After a 2:00 chaperone check-in, the band kids had to meet at 6:45 to get ready for the pre-SpectroMagic parade, which didn't start until 8:30. We staked our claim on Main Street USA and waited for Mike to get back from helping the band kids. We were doing our best to stay warm and keep the energy up after such a long and tiring day. Then it started snowing... Of course this is due to the Magic of Disney, which may be amusing when it's 70 degrees out, but not when you've traveled 23 hours on a bus to escape the snow and cold! The temperature had to be in the 40's, and it was so cold that we broke down and bought a blanket from the vendor walking up and down the street just to make it bearable!

The crowds were gathering and the main street was being cleared to get ready for the parade. How exciting when they started to announce the 3 bands performing, and how disappointing when they announced us as Gates Chill-ee, as in a hot tasty meal made with beans and beef!

The kids did a great job! They sounded and looked great, despite having stood for hours before marching. It was very hard to get pictures, but I did my best. At least I did get one of Austin and his sousaphone with the fancy new Spartan covers.

I can honestly say we sounded the best of the three bands. The last band, from Tulsa, OK hardly played: instead of playing a full song, they opted to play a 20 second refrain, then march to a drum beat for 1 minute before playing different snippet.

The Spectromagic parade started at 9 pm. By then me and Emma were so frozen, that we took cover in a restaurant while Mike helped backstage with the band kids, then met with his wards to watch the fireworks. The plan was for all the kids to be with their chaperone for the fireworks, and then head back to the buses immediately following. Em wasn't feeling well, so we never even looked out at the parade. We did find a good seat for the fireworks, and snuggled up as best as we could. We headed back toward the buses a little early, seeing the finale from the ferry boat on our way back to the main entrance.

It was 11 pm before we got back to the hotel, and boy, were we exhausted!

Florida at Last!

My butt blisters have blisters...

We've made it to Florida and should be making our last food stop before reaching our final destination.

After lunch the plan is to stop at the convention center for a quick rehearsal before checking into the hotel, but we're running a little behind schedule and were told to get our food to eat on the bus.

Em and I don't get to see Mike or Austin on these food stops since the buses split up to make it easier on everyone and I'm really missing the rest of my family....

At this point my McD's egg thingie is sitting in my gut like a rock and I don't feel much like eating Chic-fil-A. I'd much rather get to the hotel and meet the shower and say hi to my toothbrush.

The weather is overcast and cool. Being that this is pretty much the only day to be at the hotel pool, the chances of catching some rays today are about as good as they are in Rochester! Hopefully it will be warm enough tomorrow to wear short sleeves - at least that will up my chances of getting SOME color!

Stop # 2 - Selinsgrove Penn

The buses split up to different restaurants. We (Em and I) ended up at Wendy's, and the others split between McD's and the King. It's 6:22 and we're on the road. Again. Maybe we can go at least 3 hours before stopping again!

On The Road

Arrived at the HS around 11:40 to a whole bunch of chaos. The followers, (as me and Emma will be known as for the next 7 days), were allowed to get on their bus first - that being bus #5.

Of course there was a lot of jockeying for position, and even in the first 3 hours of the trip am glad we have the seats we have. 23 hours with relative strangers is one thing, but to possibly get stuck next to the loud family could be a nervous breakdown in the making.

We had our first pit stop 2.5 hours into the trip at a beautiful post and beam rest stop in Tioga Penn. The weather is misty and foggy, and what little view we could see at the overlook was pretty-but I like fog! Mike and I decided right then that we'd have to make a trip back sometime - the ranger stating that the view is "unbelievable".

Our next stop should be between 6 and 6:30 for dinner. Not sure what town that would be, but at this rate - can see why it will take 23 hours to get there!

Sending this via Mike's blackberry - loving technology! I'll try a picture from the dinner stop!

"I'm with the Band!"

The blog has taken a turn! Although I still intend on adding information and pictures from our previous and very lengthy and exciting European adventure, I'm prepping our massive audience to keep up with our travails in the next few weeks as we conquer... Disney World!

Austin and his tuba, well, sousaphone, technically, will be traveling with the Gates Chili Marching Band to Orlando Florida to march in the Citrus Bowl parade AND to perform in the SpectroMagic Parade, as well as sing in the choir for the Candlelight Processional.

What is a SpectroMagic Parade, you ask? Well, according to the Disney web page:

"The SpectroMagic Parade is a dazzling nighttime procession filled with brilliantly lit Disney Characters and floats at the Magic Kingdom Theme Park." with marching bands.... (I added that part!)

I say, "It's like Las Vegas...on wheels!" with marching bands... (I added that part too.)

I'm having deja vu, as this is the same trip I took in HS! We marched in the Centennial parade- it's all so foggy now. I'll have to dig out the old 1/2 vhs to see what Dad taped. Now if I only had VCR....

But anyway, we are all traveling together; a wonderful test of the traveling spirit to spend 23 hours on a bus that you aren't driving and can't stop if you want it to. The plus side of riding the bus instead of driving your car is that you get to walk up and down the aisle on your way to the bathroom, which after 12 hours with 38 other people can be a good or a bad thing to have on a bus that's not going to stop when you want it to.

Luckily, Emma and I are "followers" so we get to be on the bus that has all the Big People - parents and siblings of band members. Now I can say in all truthfulness, "I'm with the Band!" Mike however is chaperoning, and gets to ride 23 hours on a bus with the kids. Bless his heart!

Paris - Art, Romance, and Architecture

View of the city from atop the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile

One wing of the Louvre - there are 3, and each take 1 week to visit.














Teddy meets Mona. He smirk's as he quips, "She's much smaller in person."




























Sculpture from the Tomb of Philippe Pot














Even the rooftops are romantic

A view of La Tour Eiffel from the Louvre courtyard

Just inside the Louvre - the space is amazing. A clash of old world through a modern sparkling mass of glass eyes.

The Venus De Milo

Created at some time between 130 and 100 BCE, it is believed to depict Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) high.

The Teddy De Milo

Manufactured in China at some time between 1993 and 1994 AD to depict a polar bear; a symbol of comfort and coziness to American children. It is 3/4 marble sculpture, with the head being made of faux fur, plastic eyes and nose, with a thread mouth. Slightly smaller than a life size polar bear at 3 feet, 2 inches.

The view from the tippy top of the Eiffel Tower