Just because a week in Germany isn't enough...

Dad booked the airfare the other day and decided (with my thunderous approval) to add two days to the start of the trip. We will fly into London early Saturday morning, spend the day, take the Eurorail to Paris (!) and spend Sunday there before joining the tour in Germany Monday morning!!

I cannot wait!

Now, to get a new passport... hopefully with the correct name on it this time!

Librarian's Trip to Germany!

I recently found out about a trip being sponsored by SLIS that goes to Germany for a week and tours numerous archives, libraries and other library-related points of interest... and I can get two credits out of it! So it goes, Dad and I will be going to Germany for a week at the end of May.

http://www.slis.wisc.edu/germany.htm

The countdown begins!

Took the words right out of my mouth

Day 10: Aloha Oe!

Well, we've actually been home for about 12 hours now, but I'm just getting around to this!

So to use up our last few hours in Kauai yesterday, we met for breakfast around 8:00am. Becky was unfortunately still incapacitated due to her foot, so she was pretty much stuck in the hotel room, but Doug ran to the post office to send their box home and to the pharmacy to get Becky's prescription. Mom, Baba and I went back up to Spouting Horn to peruse the booths again and of course get a few more photos.

We met back up for one more lunch at the hotel and we ended up eating at the same restaurant where we eat breakfast - Ilima Terrace. We all had the Tortilla Soup, except Mom who had a Caesar Salad.

Since our flight was due take off at 3:13, we just headed to the airport after lunch. Good thing too - because of all places the LIHUE AIRPORT has a backscatter scanner!! LAX doesn't have one, but the airport on an island that's only 23 miles across does!! Who would have thought!

I exercised my right to refuse the scan, so after the TSA agents all rolled their eyes at me, I was patted down and searched. Tons of fun, let me tell you. Becky also had to get patted down as she couldn't very well take off her shoes... or bootie.

Our flights went pretty smoothly, but I got very little sleep - so I took a nap when I got home and I'm taking an extra day off to sleep too.

It's nice to be home, but of course, the 3 degree weather and two feet of snow is a bit of a shock to the system.

Always looking forward to leaving again! :)

Aloha Oe!

Day 9: Oh, so that's how you drink a Mai Tai...

Due to the storms the island saw yesterday, the Internet in the hotel was down last night - so I didn't get another chance to post anything more then mobile updates... So - I'll catch you up from last night first!

We had dinner reservations at Tidepools here at the hotel. Mom and I split the prime rib and I had the Kauai Corn and Vanilla soup sans the crab. For desert, we all split the molten chocolate cake... everything was to DIE for!

After dinner, we got to listen to more live music in the Seaview Terrace and hit up the hot tub again before turning in.

Today, we ALL (yes, Baba and Mom too!) met to watch the sunrise at about 7:00 am. Many picture-taking opportunities ensued...

Then, breakfast, followed by another trip to Hilo Hatties - well, we hadn't been there on this island yet! :)

After we spent more money then we had, we found Kilohana Plantation and their RUM TASTING!! This rum has only been around a few years, and has already won plenty of awards, so it was very cool to have the opportunity to see where it was made and to sample all three of their styles of rum. During the tasting, the guide gave us instructions on how to properly make and imbibe a Mai Tai... we've been doing it wrong for years! I have a video to upload later - so I won't spoil the surprise... you'll just have to wait to watch! 

After the plantation, we made our way back to the hotel. Mom, Doug, Becky and I decided to go down to the beach and play in the sand and waves, and boy were those waves strong! Becky actually ended up getting knocked over by one and may have either broken or dislocated her toe in the process of regaining the shore... She and Doug are actually at Urgent Care right now trying to get that sorted out. I guess if there's any silver lining - at least it was our last day, not our first - I doubt Becky would be thrilled having to go through a second trip to Hawai'i unable to walk...

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the lagoon with Mom. We headed back up to the room around 5:00 to get ready for our 6:00 pm reservations at Dondero's. The food was very good, and clearly a step up from Olive Garden... says Baba :)

Picture got a little over-exposed... I promise, we're all more tan then that! :) 

Now, we're back in the room, repacking and writing. One more half-day in paradise... 

Hopefully I'll have a chance to post a few updates tomorrow, but if not, I'll see you soon Wisco!

I love it - of the four people reading next to me at the beach,  three have ereaders :)

-- Erin
~~~~~~
This has been communication in motion (sent from my phone)

Day 8: Holy Hanalei, Batman! Look at those waves!

Aloha `auinala!

We're not done with the day yet, but I had some time - so I thought I'd write now. 

Becky, Doug and I met at about 7:00 am to watch the sunrise over the beach this morning again. It's funny how we watched the sunset from the hotel on the Big Island and the sunrise here! 

Afterwards, I joined Baba for his morning constitutional. We walked all the way to the other end of the property before going back to the Ilima Terrace for breakfast again. You'd think with all this walking, I'd counter the all the food - but I still feel like I'm eating too much. Well you know what they say - eat, drink, and be merry for Tuesday we go back to Wisconsin! :)

After breakfast, Mom, Becky and I made shell jewelry in the lobby!

Next, we called for our cars and took a scenic drive up the Eastern Coast to the North Shore and Hanalei Bay. The area had been reporting 30-40 foot waves due to the storms off the coast, and we thought that would be something to see, so we went to see it! 

Driving up the whole shoreline like that does take a while - the island may only be 23 miles across, but when you're only going an average speed of about 35 miles and hour, well you get the idea! 

On our way home we stopped at a "Farmer's Market" and also the Po'ipu Shopping Center again, just to make sure nothing had 'gone on sale...' 

Upon returning to our hotel, we parted ways until dinner. More on dinner later! :)

Day 7: Hi. I'm Erin, and this is my job...

Good evening. Tonight I write to you from the Stevenson's Library; martini-n-sushi bar and Oxford-Lounge-esq venue at the Grand Hyatt Kaua'i. There is a Jazz band playing, folks laughing and talking story, glasses clinking and (if Hawaii allowed smoking in-doors I imagine) smoke curling in the soft light. The notes of the sax drift slowly through my mind, sonorous sounds sink deep into my soul.  

Okay, enough of that! :) Today we had a relaxed start, meeting for breakfast at 9:00 am. I had been up since about 6:30, though, partly because I'd forgotten to update my alarm clock, but mostly because I wanted to (finally) talk with Andrew for awhile. Which I did! It was nice! :)

So, after breakfast, we left the hotel with the intent of finding the Original Red Dirt Shirt Factory in Ele'ele. The factory is about a 30 minute drive from the hotel and we found it with no problem. Unfortunately, the do not run their tours on the weekends, but we were able to look through the store where - of course - they have the episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe playing on continuous loop next to a large cardboard cut out of Mike Rowe himself!

(I would love to insert a picture here, but the Internet is not allowing me to do so... so.... you'll see them later... maybe... if you come back to my blog after reading the post for the first time... :) )

The Factory Store sells the "Mike Rowe Works" products as well, and it was cool to see those! Baba got a shirt that says "Older than Dirt" :) and Doug got a shirt with the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a featured. They also sold the "lava dyed" shirts like Andrew got on last year's trip.

After getting dirty (and, seriously, you do - just picking up the shirts! Until you get home to wash them...) we went to Spouting Horn on Po'ipu Beach. The Flea Market is still there as well, so of course we had to pick though all the rough to find a few diamonds there - both times you have to walk through it to get to Spouting Horn... :-/

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for Shave Ice, but instead had Puka Dog for a late lunch. Gotta say, it's always fun to eat at places featured on the shows I watch at home! :) And, the hot dogs are fantastic! I had the Polish Sausage, with the Jalapeno sauce and mango relish. Very tasty!

We made it home in time to hit the pool for a few minutes in the sun before the Packer Game started... and I know I don't need to say it but - WE WON!!! Second Round of the playoffs have been successful, now depending on the outcome of the game tomorrow, we'll either play the Seahawks or Da Bears next week.

The game completed and the victory secured, Becky, Doug, Mom and I met Baba for dinner at the Seaview Terrace. Becky and I split an "Ali'i Pie" - pizza, with grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, bacon and garlic sauce - Mom had some sort of sweetly marinated beef kabobs; Doug had Coconut Chicken Wings and Baba had a Black Angus Burger.

Becky, Mom and I hit the hot tub after dinner, and that brings you up to speed on our day.

Now, it is time for sleep - the sun has gone to bed and so must I! We plan to catch the sunrise tomorrow - so I'll be sure to say 'Hello!' :)

Aloha!

Day 6: Look Mom, a Dinosaur!

Our first full day in Kaua'i was nothing short of amazing, to be honest! This morning, after I rose early at 6 to 'watch the sunrise with Andrew,' we all met for breakfast in the Ilima Terrace restaurant. This breakfast buffet has and omelet bar too (not sure if I mentioned the one on the Big Island) and I thought I'd take my chances and ask for an egg over easy with cheese on top just like my lovely Andrew makes for me at home.

Well, it isn't Andrew's, but it made me feel very close to him today! 

After breakfast, we had a few hours to kill before we needed to leave for our helicopter ride (!) so we went to the beach. It was a bit chilly, and the shore is lined with rocks, so we didn't do any swimming there, but we did see a couple of surfers out on the waves. 

We were due at Island Helicopters at 11:15, and it took us about a half hour to get back to the airport where their pad was located. The helicopter held six passengers all together, so it was the four of us - Mom, Becky, Doug and me - and another couple here on their honeymoon. Our pilot's name was Isaac and he was fantastic! He seemed to gauge our responses to what we were seeing and allow us more time at certain places because he knew we'd liked them. He also created his own playlist for the ride and the music was great! I even found a new song I liked so much, I may have to buy it. 

The sites were fantastic too. We flew up the Na Pali Coast, which is only accessible via helicopter... or 12 mile hike - take your pick. We flew over many of the vistas that were used in movies like James Bond, Jurassic Park and Tropic Thunder and they were amazing! The pilot must get sort of sick of it, but when he named Jurassic Park (we saw both the cliff that everyone recognizes as the island from the first one and the beach where the opening of the second movie was filmed, he's like "ooooh yeah - JUUUUUURASSIC PAAAARK!!!" :) 

We even saw a few whales from the air!

After  we were back on solid ground, we had a short wait until we needed to leave for the Smith's Kaua'i Family Luau this evening. 

The Luau is located in Kapaa which is about a 35-40 minute drive from Koloa, where our hotel is located. They start you out with a tram tour of their botanical gardens, which also have many fruits, vegetables, and animals native to Hawai'i and the Islands of Polynesia. It seems, in fact, that they are pretty self-sustaining, but I'm not sure about that. 

Next is the Imu Ceremony, where the Pua'a Kalua (a pig, cooked with the Kalua method of wrapping in banana leaves and roasting with hot rocks) is extracted from the underground oven. 

Dinner was great, lots of traditional and modern Hawaiian classic cuisine including Poi, mac salad, sweet bread, the pork of course, beef teriyaki and really good "Guava Lava" dressing for the salad. There was also and open bar with Mai Tais and any other drink you'd like!

After dinner, we went to a show which traveled around the Islands of Polynesia in the same way the show at PCC does, however it seemed they focused on their family's heritage rather then covering all the islands. Though, this was cool because we saw dances from China and Japan as well as the ones you'd expect and that was something new. Overall, the Luau was very well done and we all enjoyed it. 

We made it back to the hotel around 9:30 and I actually fell asleep while typing this post (I'm finishing this Saturday morning...) Today is going to be a fun day too - so I'd better go get ready! :) 

Aloha! 

Day 5: Just keep swimming...

Aloha! Here I am sitting on my king sized bed in my absolutely FAB room in the Grand Hyatt Kaua'i Resort and Spa on the island of Kaua'i. Pictures to follow... :) Not sure what the view looks like yet, as we arrived after sundown, but it's partial ocean view, so it can't be all bad! 

Today was our travel day between the Big Island of Hawai'i and the island of Kaua'i, but before we left the Hilton Waikoloa we had the opportunity to get a few more things checked off the list.

First thing this morning after breakfast, Mom and I FINALLY made it to the lagoon for some peddle-boating. Last year, Andrew and I did some kayaking - but since he wasn't here to steer while I enjoyed the view, we decided to do something a bit less, um, physical. :) I took an underwater camera with me, but I didn't have a lot of film left on it, so I also took pictures and video with my 'real' camera.

After the lagoon, Mom and I walked up to Buddha Point.

And then we met back up with Baba, Becky and Doug and sent our bags down to the lobby in time for our 11:00 am check out. We loaded the cars, then headed to Nana's memorial site to tidy up and add her birthday to the rock writing Baba, Becky, Doug and Dad did the summer after she passed away. Baba also added his own touch - a 'rainbow' over the top.

We also made it to the Petroglyph fields, which I was really happy about as that was one of the coolest things we saw last year. Prior to that, I had never seen them, and you know I love historical stuff... :)

Our flight to Kaua'i was due to leave Kona at 3:25, and arrive in Lihue Airport at about 5:20 with one stop in Maui. Everything went off without a hitch, and after about an hour to retrieve our checked bags and acquire a car - PT Cruiser for me, Dodge Charger for Doug - we were on our way to the hotel. As you have seen, our hotel is pretty much amazing and I can't wait to see it in the daylight!! 

Tomorrow is our helicopter ride courtesy of Doug and Becky and the Luau at Smith's Kauai tomorrow night, but I plan to get up early-ish and do some exploring! 

So: good night unto you all if we be friends, and let Puea restore amends! :)