What I Really Think

This morning Chris and I went for a bike ride. We rode past Lahaina for a few miles, and then turned up towards the mountains. Rumor had it that after a climb (911 feet), there's a path that runs along the midpoint between ocean and the mountain base. About 3/4 of the way up the hill, I had to break but we met a biker coming down and asked about the path and he gave us the best directions, so after a bit more climbing (and another break), we found the path which you had to take slowly (lots of dips, sharp climbs and some hairpin turns) but had some incredible vistas. We took it down to the sugar cane road, and then from there back to the main highway into Lahaina where we stopped for breakfast before returning to the hotel. Not a long ride (a bit over 20 miles), but great fun and I felt great at the finish.

Continue reading "This Morning's Ride" »

In my bid to get "caught up" with Stephanie Plum before we left for Hawaii, I read Fearless Fourteen last weekend. Now, while 13 had me laughing pretty good throughout, Fearless Fourteen did not. As a matter of fact, as I sit here and write this, I'm hard-pressed to even remember the story line though I do remember I finally started laughing pretty well, near the end - maybe 250 pages in (thoughts of grandma Mazur playing in a Worlds of Warcraft wanna be and flying potatoes helped). But seriously, other than keeping up with the series (after all there was a semi-important development, possibly, in Lula's life), I wasn't totally enthralled with nor could I recommend this one. Sorry.

Unfortunately, Chris forgot the cord to connect his camera to the laptop so we can't get the images from today's snorkeling adventure off his camera until we get home (he has an underwater camera). Needless to say, it was a lot of fun (though I did battle a bit of nausea), and we got to see a sea turtle and dolphins!

The Gang at Kimo's for Sunset, well missing the boys

Jake and "Don" Chris

Funny story there, we're Jake's godparents and years ago, on our first joint vacation to Disney World (Jake was 5, I think), Chris told Jake to call him "Don" Chris because Chris is Jake's godfather. And the name has stuck.

Sunset from Kimo's

I don't have a lot of time to write at the moment (we're supposed to go snorkeling in 30 minutes) but I wanted to upload some pictures so far.

We arrived on Thursday night and immediately got laidleid.

After arriving at the hotel and checking in, we headed to the pool bar for our first round of drinks.

Don't worry - that's a virgin drink for Sammi.

Continue reading "Images from Hawaii" »

C'mon did you all really think I was just bringing workout clothing and books to Hawaii?

Okay - let's see what else:

Packing

3 - 4 pairs of capris
3 - 4 pairs of shorts
Tops - hmmm....5 - 6 (need to go through closet and see what fits and looks good)
1-2 cover-up
1 dress
underwear
bras
sandals (which ones still up for debate)
pjs (2 silk tops perhaps)
sun glasses
reading glasses
toiletries (tooth brush, toothpaste, deodorant, I'll use the hotel shampoo)
makeup
brush - NOT (still don't need one, which is kind of cool)
travel scrabble
travel rummy cube
suntan lotion
Tylenol Extra Strength
Simply Sleep (for the flight home)
Instant Oatmeal
Vitamuffins (for snacks)
Father's Day cards

Things to Buy Still

Suntan lotion (we went through almost four bottles in the Bahamas for 5 of us)
Cold Medication (all this rain and Sammi's illness has me feeling a bit sinusy)
Cough syrup (for Sammi)
Toothbrush (must throw out Sammi's old one)
Contact Lens case (must throw out Sammi's old one)

Is that it? I feel like I'm missing stuff.

My Bookcase - pre-cleaningOkay - so with much distraction for the last few days (yes, that's Sammi with the flu but don't worry we think she's on the mend), it's time to start thinking about which books I'm going to bring to Hawaii.

So far I have pulled out:

• New Moon (2nd book in the twilight series)
• Nineteen Minutes (should have read this for book club while I was sick)
• Suite Francaise (I'm on the fence about this one. I read the first half a while ago but never finished it. I just don't know if I want to take up precious space with 1/2 a book.
• The Seventh Sacrament (another by David Hewson) - a friend loaned me these and I enjoyed the first I read, Sacred Cut
• End Games (by Michael Dibdin - the last of the Aurelio Zen series)
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (another missed book club book)
• The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency (yet another missed book club book).

Ooh, just dug out two more paperbacks waiting to be read

• The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
• For the Sake of Elena by Elizabeth George (a Lynley mystery)

Okay, I think I'm good!

So which one or two do you think I should take on the plane? Remember it's an 10+ hour flight.

2 - 3 bathing suits (If I can find a third that fits)
2 biking shorts
2 biking tops
2 biking socks
biking gloves
biking shoes
heart rate monitor watch
heart rate monitor strap
4 sport bras
2 walking shorts
5 t-shirts/walking tops
3 walking socks
GPS Unit (if it arrives on time)
sandwich ziploc bags
laptop
charger
iPod
iPod charger
cell phone
cell phone charger
camera
camera charger
books (that will be another entire post)

Well, with all the other "distractions" in my life I haven't really written or planned too much for this trip. As some of you may recall, my parents will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

Dad, Mom & Sammi at Sammi's Bat Mitzvah

So to celebrate, they're taking all of us, my family and my brother's to Maui for a week. My brother used to live there, so we've spent time there together before the children (aka grandchildren) arrived.

I want the girls to see Pearl Harbor, so in the totally untrue SlowTrav spirit, I tacked on a day at the front of the trip for Ohau (I was hoping for longer but as it is Becky's taking a final and leaving for the airport right afterward - luckily I hadn't scheduled that earlier flight). We'll leave Thursday afternoon, and arrive Thursday night. Andrew and Katy's kids finished school over a week ago, so they're heading to Oahu on Wednesday. Mom and Dad decided to go for alone time, and are heading straight to Maui on Wednesday. On Saturday, all the "kids" will head over to Maui to join my parents - we'll all be there for a week before catching late-night-flights and arriving home the next morning.

So here's what we have on the "agenda" so far.

Friday morning we're rising early (the four of us that is), to take a tour of Pearl Harbor. I found this company, E Noa Tours, and booked their Pearl Harbor Excursion. We won't have a car on Oahu, and I wanted a tour of just Pearl Harbor, most of them combine that with other sites (e.g., Punch Bowl, Diamond Head) but I didn't want that, I wanted just Pearl Harbor because I'm really not a "large group tour" person. And one of my not-so-great memories of Oahu was a tour we took there - the Pearl Harbor part was fantastic, but I just remember feeling completely trapped and bored on the parts afterward. I also wanted an early pick-up (because, let's face it, our jet-lagged bodies will rise early that morning) and this one has one - we'll get picked up at 6:30am and returned to our hotel about 10:30am. At a cost of $24 per person, I figured good deal.

Afterward, I'm meeting Girasoli of Shave Ice and Gelato fame as she graciously offered to do a tour for us of the windward side of the island or the north shore (either works for me) but of course, we'll have lunch first!

Friday also happens to be my sister in-law, Katy's birthday, so to celebrate we're heading over to the Hau Tree for dinner. We have good memories of that place - not so much the food (can't recall good or bad) but of sitting out on the beach to have dinner.

Saturday, we're up early to catch a 9:30am flight from Oahu to Maui. I think we'll be waiting at the airport longer than the 45 minute flight!

Once we're on Maui, we have little to nothing organized/planned.

Chris and I have rented two road bikes from West Maui Cycle and hope to do three or more rides about the island.

I'm hoping to arrange a get together with Candi, of Candi's Corner: Wanderlust and Passions, fame.

There is some talk of a group heading to Hana (I will not be apart of said group).

There is some talk of sport fishing (I will not be sport fishing).

There are some ideas about sailing and snorkeling cruise (I could be persuaded).

And the possibility of one or two short (three hours or less) hikes.

But other than that, not much planned yet.

Oh, and I think I forgot to mention this but we'll be staying at, the Hyatt Waikiki Resort and the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort. Life is good.

Okay - just a quick update. My Dad (yes, we'll get into that later), called my surgeon because he's been worried/stress since last week's "issue." (And yes, I gave my docs permission to talk to my parents) but anyway - just wanted to let you know that she told him I could have taken the port out - she just wants to see me and have me get copies of that MRI so she can put them in my file - so all is good! More later, but you all have been so supportive of me, I just wanted to drop you a quick note and let you know all is cool.

Thank you.

Deborah, of Old Shoes New Trip provided this week's recipe. It sounded like a great side salad to our barbecue dinner last night (gaucho steak sandwiches) so I made it yesterday evening, not realizing the flavors were supposed to blend overnight. Oh well! It was still darn good, and am looking forward to having it again this evening with our Greek-Style Burgers.

Roasted Corn & Wild Rice Salad

Roasted Corn & Wild Rice Salad

The recipe is very easy. It keeps well and freezes well. You can serve it both chilled or at room temperature. Great for picnics where you don't want to worry about spoilage.

1 package - uncooked wild rice. (the original recipe called for wild rice blend, but I prefer the stronger flavors of only wild rice.)
2 cups - frozen roasted corn nibblets (Deborah uses Trader Joes. I don't know if our local shop rite carries such a thing, so I bought frozen corn kernels and then sauteed them in a non-stick pan until they were caramelized a bit).
1 cup - finely chopped celery
3/4 cup - shredded carrot
3/4 cup - Craisins
2/3 cup - toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup - finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup - raspberry vinegar
1 tbs - olive oil
1 tbs - low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp - grated orange peel
1/2 tsp - pepper

Cook rice according to package directions: omit salt and fat. Cool.
Combine rice, corn and all other ingredients in a bowl; stir well; chill overnight to blend flavors.
Serve cold from fridge or bring to room temp if you prefer. (I like room temp., Dan likes cold)

This makes a pretty big batch, so you might want to halve it.

I have to say I was a bit leery on the orange zest addition but it really gives the salad a nice, refreshing flavor.

Oh, and for Weight Watchers out there figure 12 servings, serving size 2/3 cup and 3 points per serving.