Amsterdam-Belgium- London

August 3-16, 2007

Amsterdam-Belgium- London

Friday- August 3 Houston

Gary and I left for Houston around 2:30.  Gary had to stop by his school to talk to his professor…

From there onto the airport.  Pretty heavy traffic, made it there in good time even though waiting a little bit for the Parking Spot shuttle.

Flight was uneventful and little bumpy..  but good!

Tried to get some sleep… didn’t get much…a little!

Saturday-  August 4th (Amsterdam)

Arrived in Amsterdam around noon. Great weather, sunny and pretty…went through customs and stored the luggage.  Went by train to Central.  Walked towards the Dam square, very busy and packed with people as was most of Amsterdam seeing it was the Gay Pride Weekend.

Went to the Hard Rock Café for lunch, now around 2 pm, felt good to rest and eat.  Bought souvenirs for niece and SIL…then headed onto the Van Gogh museum.  We didn’t have tickets so we had to wait in a short line… not bad at all.  Since we were there for only one day we hurried through to the Van Gogh paintings.  Saw the famous Sunflowers, very neat to see it…

Since we had to be at the Anne Frank House at 5:30, we had pre-bought tickets online.  So had about an hour and a half to get there…kind of got turned around plus stopped to take a few pictures, so for the last 4 or 5 blocks we took a cab.  There was a LONG line for tickets…  so glad we bought them online.  We just went up to the side door and straight in.

I LOVED Anne Frank’s house.  Just the fact I was actually there.  I have read Ann Franks Diary several times.  I encourage everyone to read it.  So good to see it in person.  Still has her pictures on her bedroom wall.  After looking around went to the gift shop and had a snack at the café there.  Decided to just get a few postcards and I am planning on ordering a book on like from the museum.

Heading back to the train station the parade was just ending. Still floats and a lot of people, took a few pictures. 

Back to the airport to get luggage and take train to Antwerp.  We did accidentally get off at the wrong stop and had to wait an hour for the next train.  Other than that the train ride was uneventful.  Finally made it to Antwerp, around 11PM.  Took cab to hotel. Checked into the hotel (Holiday Inn express) very tired and GLAD to be finally in the room.

Sunday - August 5th  (Ghent & Bruges)

Today we got up around 8, ate breakfast at the hotel then walked to the rain station to leave for Ghent.  Great weather, very pretty.  Ghent was beautiful.  They were having outdoor markets in several areas.  Walked around through those.  Ate frits for lunch. Stayed for about 3.5 hours, sight seeing. Then took the train to Bruges..  the train rides always seemed to rock us to sleep.  Really enjoyed the train travel when we had seats. LOL!

Stayed in Bruges for about 2 hours..  A LOT of walking.  Very pretty though.  really enjoyed the two towns.

Trained back to Antwerp, stopped in at Pizza Hut on the way back to the room.  Decided to walk to the Grote Market, then by the harbor towards the room.  Finally back at the hotel around 11:00 (stayed daylight until around 9ish)  Even though very tired had trouble getting adjusted to the time difference.

Monday- August 6th (Antwerp)

Gary had to work today through Friday.  We got up around 6:30, I ate breakfast with him downstairs, then came back to the room.  Overcast and sprinkling.  Wrote out postcards, slept a little more.  Walked down to the shopping area around noon.  Bought a few gifts.  Took pictures, just looked around.  Back to the room around 4:00.  Gary got off work and back to the room around 7:00, stayed in watched TV. (Had a few English channels)

Tuesday- August 7th (Antwerp)

Overcast today, ate breakfast with Gary again this morning.  Stayed in for most of the day.  Only left to buy a few groceries a couple blocks over.  Gary came back around 10:00.  We ordered a Pizza from Pizza Hut.  VERY GOOD.

Wednesday- August 8^th (Antwerp)

Raining and cooler today.  Ate breakfast with Gary.  Walked to the Groote market for shopping. Stayed a few hours, started raining so took a cab back to room.  Stayed in for the rest of the day/evening.  Gary came in around 8:00

Thursday- August 9^th (Antwerp- Gary’s B-day!)

Rainy and cool today, ate breakfast with Gary then decided to pack up most of our things.  Gary got off at 5:45, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner, then walked around the Diamond market, back to the Grote Market for a few last minutes gifts and pictures.  Back to the room around 10:00!

Friday- August 10^th- Antwerp/Brussels

Prettier today.  Ate breakfast with Gary, last night at the hotel.  Pack up the rest of the backpack.  Went to the chocolate store for last gifts and grocery store for water and snacks.  Gary’s last day to work.  He got off around 2:00.  Trained to Brussels for the evening.  Looked around, sightseeing, taking pictures.  A lot of souvenir shopping since it was our last night in Belgium. 

Trained to Antwerp for the last night.

Saturday- August 11th- (Antwerp to London via Brussels)

Up early. Ate breakfast at hotel for the last time. Called a cab for train station. We had just enough Euros’ to pay the cab fare. Made it to Brussels with no problems. Only problem we did have once arriving at the Brussels train station was I had to use the restroom and we had no Euros and it was .50 Euro to go in. So Gary had to stand in the Bureau of change to change in $4.00 for me to use the restroom… I had to wait about 30 minutes total. It wasn’t fun…LOL!

After I finally had some relief we went to check in for the Euro star to London. We made good connections so we were about 2 hours early for our 11:59 train.

Euro star was fine. Took about 2.5 hours and we were in London! Arrived at Waterloo. Bought our Oyster cards for the tube, then onto Paddington Station. We stayed at Quality Crown Hotel at Paddington Station. The room was very small, but clean and modern. Only draw back was it WAS so close to the underground you could hear it and feel the vibrations form the train. On the flip side is was nice to be that close to the underground. There is a Mc Donald’s next door, Garfunkel’s is an American style restaurant. Food isn’t that great, but convenient. Across the street is an all night mini market. The Hilton is a few blocks from Paddington also.

We put the luggage in the room. Freshened up a bit, then headed out to sightsee! Walked to Hyde Park, saw the Diana Memorial Fountain. Went to Harrods. It was SO crowded. People everywhere. All I bought was water..LOL! Did a little shopping. We had to buy a battery charger since ours stopped working. Then onto hard Rock Café. A 2 hour wait. So we went next door to the gift shop and toured the vault. Ate, then back to the room at 11:30. VERY TIRED from long day.

August 12, Sunday (Salisbury/London)

Today is Stonehenge, the only thing Gary wanted to see on the entire vacation! We left the room around 8:00, stopped at Mc Donald’s for breakfast to eat on the train. Trained to waterloo, then bought tickets to Salisbury. Made it in perfect time to catch the bus to Stonehenge. We didn’t have pre-paid tickets so bought tickets, only like a 5 minute wait. Pretty day and got great pictures. There were a lot of people there but it was very peaceful, almost like a hush over the crowd. We bused, trained back to London by 3:15, from there we decided to go to the British Museum. The Rosetta Stone was the main thing we wanted to see. Stayed only an hour, looked mostly at the Egyptian displays. Walked to Oxford Street, on to Covent Garden, shopped, watched the performers. Went to the London Eye for pictures. Walked to Westminster Abby (I think the prettiest church) Big Ben and Parliament. Decided to call it a day/night. Back to the hotel for some much needed rest!

August 13th Monday

Up at 8 am…ate breakfast then headed to Buckingham Palace. Started using our London Pass today. Bought it for 3 days. I think it was a good buy. Easy access to every site. Nice weather, some clouds rolled in during the day but no rain.

Arrived at Buckingham just in time for the 10:30 tour. It was so much prettier than I imagined. I kept telling Gary when we would enter a room.. “This is my favorite…”, and then move to the next room which was even prettier. Enjoyed the tour very much! After the tour, shopped in the gift shop then went to watch the end of the changing of the guard. It was SO crowded. We stayed on the outskirts.. I don’t like being in the middle of a crowd that size. Gary took a few pictures best he could. We went during the Queen’s 60th wedding anniversary, so I thought it was neat to see her wedding dress and the exhibit.

Next up was Kensington. Took a few pictures at the gate… went inside for the tour. They were also having an exhibit here for Diana. I think some of the dresses I had already seen on tour in Houston, but maybe not? The gardens were very pretty. Took a few pictures before moving on…

Notting hill, Portobello Street was next on the itinerary. While we were trying to read the map and find out which direction to go and sweet little lady came up and offered directions. She was so nice. Loved the fact that she was happy to see tourist. I LOVED Portobella Street!!!! So neat… we walked around for about a hour enjoying the out door vendors. Took pictures. Loved all the house with the gardens. Very neat!!

Went back to the room around 4:00 to take a nap and rest up for the evening. Back out around 6:00. Headed to Piccadilly Circus for dinner and took a few night shots. From there we went to the London Eye/ Big Bend to take a few night shots.. They turned out very good. The London Eye is so pretty at night. A lot of people were out taking pictures. I should add in here that I never once felt unsafe in London. Back to the room around 10:00 pm for the evening.

August 14th- Tuesday

This morning we slept in. Left the room around 10, stopped to get breakfast for the train ride to Windsor. Weather was TERRIBLE. The only day I can say it was YUCKY. Very windy to say the least and COLD. Used our London Pass again here. Line was a little longer wait but that was okay, at least we were dry while waiting. Toured for around 2 hours. Tried to take pictures. It was so wet I couldn’t really take the pictures I wanted. Took a few, bought a book at the gift shop then back to the train. Decided to go to Tower of London next. Weather cleared up to just a drizzle which was nice. We were able to set up the tripod to get a few pictures of us in front of Tower Bridge.

Went back to Piccadilly Circus for dinner, (we liked this area). Then to Abbey road, a highlight for me. I am a huge Beatles fan. Gary took pictures of me crossing several times. They have a web cam and I was able to talk to my mom and she could see u while we were crossing. Very neat. My parents were there in May and I saw them also on the web cam! Fun!

Back to the room for the evening!

August 15th Wednesday (last day)

So up around 9:00…I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go to Hampton Court or not. But I’m so glad I did. We LOVED it! The gardens are amazing there. Just as I imagined. Of course we went through the maze. We took a lot of pictures here. Trained back to London around 3:00. Had lunch, went back to Buckingham Palace to get a few pictures with the tri pod and less people. Walked through Green Park. Very pretty weather today. Went to St. Paul’s so I could see where Diana was married. Took a few pictures. Back to Paddington area, did the last of the souvenir shopping, had dinner then in for the evening to pack. Packing was difficult. We only took backpacks. So I had to really organize. LOL!!

August Thursday

Left the hotel at 7:45, trained to Victoria, then to the Gatwick Express, very crowded! Made it through customs, bought a 2007 Christmas ornament at Harrods, a few snacks for the flight and then waited to get on the plane. Tried to stay awake for most of the flight. Wanted to be able to get back to a normal sleeping schedule. Had a good flight, seat between Gary and I was open so I was able to stretch out! Very nice.

Picked up checked luggage at the Houston airport. Stopped to eat Mexican food and then home! Nice to be in my feather bed!

We had a great time. A wonderful trip. Lots of pictures and wonderful memories!

Going back to Cali

August 13-19, 2008
Day 1 – Wednesday -13th

Left the house Cali bound at 4:30 AM… made it to airport 1.5 hours away and checked in for flight no problems..

Slept on the plan… had breakfast…uneventful flight.

Arrived in San Francisco around 9:40… got rental car.. then off to Lombard Street…. After driving around for a bit…we finally found it… got out walked around.. took pictures… on way back stopped at Swenson’s for our first of many ice cream stops…. 49 mile drive was next… this took most of the day.. gives you great views of bridge from different angles… on the way…we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on drinks and snacks for trip and for room…

1. The Palace of Fine Arts

2. National Cemetery

3. Grace Cathedral

5. Coit Tower and much more

Went to Ghirardelli Square… did a little shopping… sightseeing…

Drove to room (about 15 miles out) Crowne Plaza

Had pizza delivered to room for dinner that night. A good nights rest!!!

Day 2 – Thursday- 14th

Up around 8 AM…. Ate at IHOP..before heading into San Francisco… Parked near Fisherman’s Wharf…went to Blazing Saddles to rent bikes to ride over the bridge. Had a great time riding over the bridge. It was very foggy but fun to say the least. Took about 30 min to get over the bridge. Had to stop for photo opts. After we got across the bridge…then rode down to Sausalito. Loved this little village.. so pretty… shopped here and ate lunch at a little sandwich shop. Enjoyed Lappert’s ice cream a favorite we found in Hawaii!

Rode the ferry back to Fisherman’s Warf.. overall the trip tool about 3.5 hours.. returned bikes… bought a tee that says “I biked the bridge” Then onto Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions. There were a lot of them out there… they were so cute… fighting with each other…making a lot of noise.. very cute! I LOVED seeing them. Did some shopping on Fisherman’s Warf… Had dinner close to the hotel… drove that evening to Half Moon Bay. Slow, foggy drive. Just drove to beach and looked around.

Last night in San Francisco. Packed that evening to leave early the next morning. Heading to LA!

Day 3 - Friday- 15th

Up around 8 am to head out to LA… drove the PCH! VERY foggy at the beginning of the trip. Didn’t really clear up until we arrived in Big Sur. Coast is very pretty… great drive… fog or not… Did the 17-mile drive to see Pebble Beach.. very pretty location… Stopped in Big Sur for lunch and to stretch our legs.. Had hot dogs for lunch… LOL… Stopped at Ano Nuevo State Reserve to see Elephant sea lions… very neat to see them… I really enjoyed it… headed onto LA..

Drove through Monterey and Carmel… didn’t have time to stop and shop etc… really needed more time on the PCH!

Had to head inland towards then end of drive.. getting too dark PLUS we were very tired and were ready to get to LA!

My first view of city of lights was WOW… amazing…Very pretty!

Stayed at Seal Beach, Ayres Hotel. Very nice hotel… free parking and free full breakfast in the mornings. A little far out if you are planning on going back and forth to like Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Room was very clean and nice… felt good to FINALLY be out of the car! Drove through Wendy’s really late…took food back to the room!

Day 4 - Saturday-16th

Slept in until around 9AM…Ate breakfast at the hotel… dove to Hollywood…Parked at Highland and Hollywood.. saw first glimpse of the Hollywood sign from here… Did the Mann’s Chinese Theater…Had my picture made with an Elvis impersonator…. This is something I have wanted to do forever… FINALLY… just a shame it was Elvis in the later years..LOL…Hollywood Walk… walked a few blocks saw the stars… took pictures with a few… Elvis’ star had flowers…(flowers were honoring his death August 16th)

Souvenir shopped….ate a slice of pizza…

From here we drove to the Hollywood sign.. took a short hike to get closer to the sign….. took pictures… VERY NEAT!

Next stop was the Getty… pretty flower gardens… arrived here around 6 PM…. Saw Van Gogh’s Iris.. Stayed a couple hours… then drive back to room… Wendy’s again for dinner… too much sight seeing for a decent meal…LOL

Day 5 – Sunday 17th

Up around 7:30.. breakfast again at the hotel… Went to Westwood Village and Memorial park to see Marilyn Monroe’s final resting place… also saw… Don Knotts… Dean Martin and a few other faves… then we headed to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive… stopped at a neat Farmer’s Market… beautiful flowers… wishing I could take some home with me! Spent an hour or so window shopping… taking pictures on Rodeo Drive…Ate Mexican…and of course another ice cream…LOL!

Drove around Beverly Hills at took in the Amazing houses.. WOW!!! Drove buy the Playboy Mansion.. I now have a picture of Hugh Heffer’s gate..LOL! Also drove to Brentwood so I could see Marilyn Monroe’s last house.. I also have a picture of her wooden fence..or current owner’s.

Next stop was Universal City Walk… needed to get a few Hard Rock souvenirs for niece and sister-n law… I of course had to have a Hard Rock café tee! Looked around for about 2 hours then back to the room!

Day 6 – Monday-18th

Up again around 7:30…breakfast at the hotel!

Beach day!!!

Today we drove the beaches from Newport to Malibu…Saved Santa Monica for last day….

Newport was VERY pretty… did a little shopping… walked along the beach…

Hermosa, stopped here to see the beach house from 90210.

Venice Beach was different to say the least,… lots of vendors… people everywhere… stayed a couple hours… shopped… enjoy the sights…

Malibu Beach was the last beach of the day. Nicest area to me…

From here we went to Groves and Farmers Market.. at Cheesecake factory… YUM Pasta… finally a decent meal after fast food all week….Walked around Farmer’s Market.. bought a few souvenirs… enjoyed the markets!

Day 7 – Tuesday-19th

Flying home!

Today… up around 7:30….ate breakfast,,, then went to room to pack for flight home…

Left hotel by about 9:30… went to Santa Monica, 3rd and Promenade… walked around for about 2 hours… shopped… enjoyed the gorgeous day at the beach!!

In and Out burgers were next on the list.. and YUM.. I even ate a cheeseburger… LOL So unlike me since I hardly eat red meat…it was very good! Decided from here to head to airport.. a little early… it was a good thing. Getting through security was a long process…Finally through with an hour to spare….

Gary slept all the way home… I watched Leatherheads and typed my trip review…

Overall we had a great time… I think a little too much driving… hotel was an excellent choice.. no complaints other than far out from most tourist attractions…unless you are there for the beaches in that area…

Wonderful trip!!!!!!!!!
Loved the time I had in CA! Will be BACK!!!

Maui Looking Back

Maui Trip Report
August 8-15, 2006

We stayed at the Milowai Condos, Unit 304 in Maalea
Flew Continental, Houston to Maui with a stop in LA both flights

(Like to add, Gary has Elite membership, which makes boarding very nice)

Hope I have all the names and places accurate and spelled right!
I also want to say I had a schedule before we left; however the only things we kept on the schedule were the sunrise and the para sailing. We saw everything we wanted to see, just not in the order we had planned. It felt great to not have an itinerary and just decide then and there. We normally have schedules and stick to them.

Tuesday 8th- Day 1

We left home at 9:30, Gary my husband had to stop by his school to get a parking pass for the semester. We arrived at the airport ahead of schedule and tried to get a earlier flight. No luck… grabbed something to eat and waited… so we finally boarded at 1pm, had to set on the runway for an hour waiting for the storm to pass. Finally were off… watched Failure to Launch and had a snack, uneventful flight…
Since we were late leaving Houston…just had time to use the restroom grab a snack and we were back on the plane headed for Maui. Tried to sleep most of the flight.. not much luck there, Gary can always sleep, Take the lead was the movie and we had pizza for dinner… flight was fine, very tired when we arrived.

I love the anticipation of the Hawaiian airports… just a great feeling!

We got the rental car, Avis, Gary has preferred membership, car was waiting as soon as we got off the bus… so, headed to the condo, we were going to stop for groceries but decided we could get a few things at a convenience store right by the condo, then shop later.

The condo was okay.  I realized I had booked it without AC… after the initial disappointment. It was okay. It was clean. It was almost a full moon and from the lanai you could see how close we were to the water, hear the waves crashing. Showers for both and off to bed…

Wednesday 9th Day 2

Today is Gary’s birthday, what a way to celebrate. In Maui!!! We decided to drive to the Haleakala National Park to see the sunrise. Since we were still on Texas time it worked out well. We left the condo around 3:45 AM. Drive was fine, didn’t get busy until the entrance. Gary kept saying we got up WAY to early. I kept saying everyone on Trip Advisor said that is when we should leave. Paid our fee and she said we had plenty of time. Actually we thought we cut it close. There were tons of people and not much room to park. We stopped at the Leieiwi Overlook, Gary sat up the tripod and I sat on a rock in a blanket from the room. It was cool, about 50. It was very pretty… totally worth it. You could feel the nervous energy, everyone waiting for the sun to appear. A great experience. Would definitely do it again! I think this time without a camera and just enjoy the moment.
We went to the very top lookout, VERY crowded. Took a few pictures there and a few on the way down. We were going to do some hiking but decided against it at the last minute. Gary was obsessed with trying to beat the bikers down. We would stop to take a picture and see them coming, he would be like hurry, get in. It was funny!

Ate breakfast at Denny’s in Kahului, finally coffee. Gary had pancakes and I had biscuits and gravy.

Went to K-mart to buy water and snacks, bought a few souvenirs (how can you resist)

Decided to drive to the Iao Valley State Park, really had a great time here. We took a lot of great pictures. Saw locals diving off the cliffs there. A very pretty place. Stayed here about 2 hours,

Drove to Kihei around 2 PM, ate at Fred’s Mexican Café, across the road from the beach (not sure of the name). VERY GOOD. We liked it a lot. Gary had a cheeseburger (he always orders a cheeseburger) and I had Nachos. The servings are HUGE there.
Decided to walk off dinner, walked some on the beach, then shopped some. We were going to get Lappert’s ice cream (some of the best I’ve ever tasted) but we were too full.

From here we went to Ka’anapali Beach, got there just as the cliff diver was jumping. Walked around the resorts, watched the sunset. WONDERFUL!!! No dinner tonight, still full from Fred’s! Walked around Whalers Village, saw a free Hula show, then back to the condo. Long day, went to bed around 11PM


Thursday 10th Day 3

Well up at 5:30 without an alarm clock, and for the very first time to see the view off the lanai. Gorgeous. I could get used to watching a sunrise like that every morning over the blue water, palm trees swaying. Made coffee, ate breakfast and enjoyed the view.
We had booked tickets before we left with UFO to go para sailing, a first for us. We also had bought the 2006 Entrainment Guide for a coupon (the only thing we used the book for, we left it in the condo for other ppl to use)
Drove to Ka’anapali, checked in and waited for our turn. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I loved it, we did the 800 ft para sail. The best part is when they bring you down close to the water, you can almost touch it, then they take off and you go up really fast. I also enjoyed riding in the boat really fast while the other people para sailed. We bought the pictures and tipped the great crew. Everyone should try it. Great FUN!!!

From there we decided to drive North and on around back through Kahakuloa and onto Kahului. We went to Dragon’s Teeth. Very neat place. Kept on driving, the road was VERY NARROW, one-lane for a lot of it, and Gary realized we were almost out of gas. Thank God we made it… we couldn’t remember the last gas station we saw. I really enjoyed the road. It was an adventure. We did stop to buy Banana bread. I didn’t really care for it but Gary thought it was great. Finally made it to a gas station in Waiehu, and onto Kahului. So I realized that we had left our other SD card for the camera at home, so we stopped at Longs drug store to copy our pictures, we ate at Piñatas a little Mexican restaurant there in Kahului (we both had bean and cheese burritos, very good) while we waited an hour for the CD’s to be ready.
We came back to the condo around 3PM to rest, shower and relax… we both fell asleep on the futon in the living room and didn’t go back out. Time difference had caught up with us.



Friday 11th Day 4
Road to Hana

Up at 5:30 AGAIN! Made coffee and ate breakfast. Watched yet another amazing sunrise. Off at about 7AM…
Our first stop was to a waterfall right off the road; Four Falls of Na’lil’ili hale. A very neat hike through the Bamboo. I have never seen that much bamboo in my life. We took the tripod and got GREAT pictures here. We had a great time and the waterfalls was all to ourselves.
Next stop was the Garden of Eden.. I was a little disappointed the Bird Man was not there… I wanted my picture made with the parrots. The grounds were very pretty but I’m not sure worth $20.00 w/out seeing the birds…I guess the chance you take…
Next was a hike through a wild boar lease to the Punalau Falls. We also had this stop to ourselves..
We then stopped at Honomanu Bay…walked a little bit to the beach..it was okay… t
After the stop there we went onto Ke’anae, just stopped here and look out over the little town…. very picturesque.

At mile 17 there is a bridge that you can look down on falls… pretty neat to see it from that angle.
The Waikani falls next were almost dry…so just drove onto the 3 bears falls…. it had started to drizzle (the only time it rained on our trip) Gary wanted to hike down to them…but with the rain and the hike seemed pretty difficult we decided against it…just took a picture.
Drove to the town of Nahiku next. Probably the prettiest area to me. Very lush and green. The road ended at a very pretty beach. Nice little side road to take.
To the Blue Pool next. They had a barricade up, hand written, nothing official, just the locals stated they would rather we didn’t go to the Blue Pool and that it didn’t exist. However 2 little boys were flagging us in to park for $2.00, so we parked. Walked down a bit to the pool. Very pretty and crowded.
Next was Wai’anapanapa State Park. We probably stayed here the longest.. very pretty…took pictures…walked through the lava cave…took pictures of the sea arch.
Onto the last stop of the day (or so we thought) Oheo Gulch. We didn’t have to pay because I had my receipt from the Haleakala National Park… we parked and followed the crowd. It was VERY CROWDED. We didn’t stay long. We were tired from the hiking and driving. Took a few pictures then headed to the restrooms.
While in line a guy (Steve) was asking if anyone was going to Kula? We weren’t really sure if that was a town on the way (we were going all the way around Maui) so we didn’t reply. He needed a lift; he had lost his keys while he was swimming. Everyone kept telling him to call his car rental company but he was a local. Anyhoo… we headed out and saw him hitching, we were going his way so we picked him up. We took him to his home in Kula. A very nice guy who was home visiting. He is attending school in California now. He invited us in, but we didn’t impose. We were just ready to get back to the condo.

Back to the room around 4 PM rested a bit and showered. Then went to Kihei for dinner, ate at Moose Mc Guillycuddy’s. Gary had Coconut shrimp I had potato skins. We had a great table overlooking the beach just as the sun was setting. Went to sit on the beach for a bit, then to get ice cream. Back to the condo for the night.



Saturday 12th Day 5

Slept a little later today, still in time to see the beautiful sunrise once again. We decided to walk down to the beach near the condo, Mai Poina Oe Lau. Very nice, not crowded at all. Stayed there for a few hours, walked around the condo complex. The Waterfront restaurant is located in the condo complex we stayed in.
Decided to go back to Kihei for lunch and souvenir shopping. Ate at Bada Bing, really good. I had chicken Parmesan sandwich and Gary had a meatball cheeseburger. Shopped for a few hours, then decided to drive to Paia, cute little town we saw on the way to Hana. Enjoyed the shopping there, neat shops. Came back to the condo to shower and nap.
Tonight we headed to Front Street in Lahaina. Watched the sunrise from the harbor, shopped, ate dinner at BJ’s REALLY good pizza, we each ate a piece and took the rest home.


Sunday 13th Day 6

Up around 6:30 again this morning. Gary and I ate left over pizza for breakfast. YUM! Watched the sunrise… never get tired of that… Decided to drive into Kihei..looked at a few house that were for sale, drove onto Wailea (the NICE AREA of Maui)looked at houses there. Went through a few of the resorts… very nice. Did a little shopping here also. Best shopping in Maui to me.

Stopped at the Kaahumanu shopping center for shopping and dinner. Ate at a local restaurant called Koh (I think) I cannot remember the name.

Went to Little Beach/Big Beach…stayed here a few hours. Really liked this beach. Drove onto the Kanail Coast through the Lava Flow. It was like you were stepping into another country. The contrast of the dark lava against the blue sky. Very pretty yet unsettling. At the end of the paved road was a little beach we stopped at. Took a few pictures and headed back.

That evening we went to Whalers village for the last (good) sunset. So pretty!

Monday 14th Our last day!

Slept a little later, about 8:30. Took shower, ate breakfast, cleaned up a little around the condo. Packed up our luggage, tried to get everything in the two carry-on’s we brought. We checked luggage on the way back because of the new restrictions for carry on luggage.

We decided to go to Whaler’s Village again. We really liked the beach there. While we were on the beach we had the pictures put on CD’s. That took a couple hours so we just enjoyed the morning. After the CD’s were ready we went to Front Street again and ate lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Gary got a Cheeseburger and I got a grilled cheese. Probably the best-grilled cheese I’ve ever had. Made with Hawaiian sweet bread. We walked around for a bit bought a few last minute gifts. On the way out of Lahaina we stopped at an out door flee market…bought a few more things. We drove back to the beach near the condo and stayed a few hours before we headed in to Kahului that evening. We parked at the harbor and watched the local fishermen fishing. Stayed until we HAD to leave for the airport.

Dropped of the car at Avis, got in line. We only had to stand in line for maybe 30 minutes (I’ve waited longer when we weren’t at high alert) We grabbed a snack at the airport and waited for our flight. It was on time and we were TIRED. Right before we boarded we watched a plane full of HAPPY people getting off the plane for their first night in Maui. All we could say was LUCKY DOGS!!!

I always take water, lotion, and antibacterial hand jel…so the flying without it was tough on me. I tried to sleep most of the flight, but like I said before I don’t sleep well on planes. Of course Gary was out.
We had pizza again on the flight (I mean did they get a good price for a truck load of mini pizzas?). There was more turbulence on this flight. The movie was animated? Don’t remember what it was I listened to my MP3 player
Got off in Los Angeles. It was EARLY in the morning and we were tired. I bought a couple things in the gift shop and we waited. AT THE WRONG GATE…LOL!!! Finally dawned on us when they started boarding a hour earlier than our original time (we thought we were just lucky, the flight was early.LOL!)
So the flight from LA to Houston was UNBEARABLE. I was SO tired of sitting. I probably got up about 10 times to just stand. We finally landed in Houston…got the luggage.. got the truck and we were HOME!!!!

Yes. We are ready to go back…would leave tonight if I could!!

Christmas in Chicago 2010

Christmas in Chicago
December 24-26, 2010

We decided to take a weekend trip to Chicago during Christmas.  We had been once before in the Spring so we were very excited to celebrate the holidays there.

Friday-Christmas Eve

We had to leave the house around 3:30 am to catch our 6:30 flight.  Seat was open between us.. so I had room to lay down and sleep.  We arrived EARLY Christmas Eve..  It was snowing when we arrived.  Rode the "L" train into downtown.  We then stopped off at Starbucks to finally have coffee for the morning plus to warm us up as we walked to the hotel.

We decided to stay at The Drake Hotel.  The hotel is really pretty.. a lot of history.  Royalty and stars have stayed there.  Room was very nice.  Reminded us a lot of the Waldorf in NYC.  Hotel staff is wonderful!

We checked in... unpacked.  Then to grab lunch on our way to the Willis Tower (Sears) we decided to walk (should have rode the bus LOL) Finally made it to the tower and the visibility was bad.. SO back into town to shop..   Went to Macy's (former Marshall Fields) to see the tree.  AMAZING..  I loved the tree..... We also went to the Art Institute of Chicago (second time for us)

Shopped the Magnificent mile... then dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

Saturday-Christmas Day

Had coffee in the room before heading out to the Wills Tower (again) Today there was less snow and the skies were trying to clear up.  Rode the bus and arrived around noon...  Enjoyed the view.  Beautiful.  Saw Santa.  Stayed for an hour or so...
All of the stores were closed.  A few places like Walgreens and a Dunkin Donuts were open.  We went back to the room to freshen up for our Christmas dinner at  The Grill on the Alley.  Loved the restaurant.  Food was good..  they have HUGE servings.
After lunch we went back to the  room for a nap... 

Around 6pm went back out to John Hancock Tower.  The night views are even better than the day views.  They have a restaurant Lavazza Cafe,  at the top.  Gary had a sandwich and I had Gelato.  Stayed and enjoyed the views.  So nice....  A great Christmas.

Sunday-Going home

Our flight was scheduled to leave around 7pm.  Had breakfast at Lavazza Cafe (right next to hotel)  We decided to go do some after Christmas shopping...  Macy's...Bloomingdale... Saks.... :)

We walked out to the water ( hotel was next to the water) Went back to hotel at 1pm..  had a later checkout...  Then lunch at Giodano's Pizzeria...YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Best meal we had here.  From here we walked to the "L" for our trip back to the airport. 

We brought out leftover pizza home (it actually made it through security...we weren't sure..LOL)
Gary bought Garrett popcorn for the ride home.

Back in Houston late..

Chicago was wonderful...  we had a GREAT time.  Already planning the next adventure.

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