Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Go Seahawks...Go Seahawks... Go Seahawks
So...can you guess who we are rooting for in the Super Bowl! FINALLY, our team is in the Superbowl! We are SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! We have been Seachicken, er, Seahawk fans forever...whether they are losing, losing or finally WINNING! The team is very strong this year. The team mates actually LIKE each other and support each other. Article in the paper this morning (yes, in the TUCSON paper) about how as the van carrying some of our players was entering the hotel parking lot in Detroit hit the gate. WAS THE DRIVER A STEELER FAN??? Fortunately for us, no one was hurt. I can hardly wait for Sunday!!! Of course, I will be a nervous wreck during the game.....and before...but that's what it is all about! Oh, and the 12th man...is alive and well here in Tucson as well! Nothing could be better, unless we were actually at the Superbowl..and I don't think I could survive that!
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Home, sweet home....again!
Jan. 21, 2006
Tucson
We finally got home from Hawaii on Jan 9. We arrived in LA at midnight, and waited an hour, yes, an hour for our luggage, which I was sure was still basking in the Hawaiian sun! However, it also made it back in one piece (Thank You American Airlines!). We got back to Billie and Dan's at 2:30 a.m. (it has been years since we have been up that late...oh, no wait, I remember a certain Amtrak trip taken last month...) and litterally fell into bed. Up the next morning, loaded our car and headed towards Arizona. We decided we would drive part of the way and then finish the trip the next day. HA! We hit the Arizona border about 7:30 p.m. and we were like an old horse headed for the barn...we were going HOME! We got home about 11:30 and we were greeted by two angry cats who let us know, in no uncertain terms, that we were definitely on their "list"....what ever that is!
THe next week went by in a blur.... I know we had doctor appointments and the likes; but I can't tell you when or why! All I know is we were enjoying sun, albeit, it was cold at night (in the low 30's). And that all I heard from our daughter in Washington and daughter in Oregon is that is was still raining and they may float off at any time! Tee hee...we were on our 88th straight day of sun...but we sure could use a little of that rain. IF nothing else, to settle the dust down in the air. Of course, I have enough dust in the house to cause a small dust storm at any time if I turn on the fan!
Last week kinda' went by in a blur as well....I guess that is what retirement is all about. We are too busy to do anything, but I can't tell you what we were too busy doing! IT is still sunny and I am still hearing from those kids up north that are getting very soggy that it is still raining....wah! OH, and my NFL team, THE SEAHAWKS are doing fantabulous! GO SEAHAWKS! Tomorrow they play the Carolina Panthers....I may not watch the game...can't stand the suspense!
We went to dinner tonight at a wonderful place downtown called Cafe Poca Cosa! AL's cousin's Neil and Bobbi are in town, so we went with them and our other cousins, Holly, Bruce and Cortney to dinner. WOW! THe food there is sooooo good and I am soooo stuffed! Burp. OH, excuse me!
Cortney is almost 15, and tonight was her first formal dance! She looked absolutely beautiful. Do you remember your first formal dance? I do...it was at least a hundred years ago.... I think we had electric lights and cars...maybe! I also remember my girls first formal and I was a closet crier. I would go in the closet and cry because they looked so grown up...and beautiful. Boo Hoo...my babies ...oh well, that too passed, and now they are all grown and one has a daughter that she will possilby get to go through this with in the near future...if Lori can take her horse with her! Nuff of that nonsense!
So, that pretty much brings us up to date...for now. We still have sun and Seattle still has rain....nothing changes!
Tucson
We finally got home from Hawaii on Jan 9. We arrived in LA at midnight, and waited an hour, yes, an hour for our luggage, which I was sure was still basking in the Hawaiian sun! However, it also made it back in one piece (Thank You American Airlines!). We got back to Billie and Dan's at 2:30 a.m. (it has been years since we have been up that late...oh, no wait, I remember a certain Amtrak trip taken last month...) and litterally fell into bed. Up the next morning, loaded our car and headed towards Arizona. We decided we would drive part of the way and then finish the trip the next day. HA! We hit the Arizona border about 7:30 p.m. and we were like an old horse headed for the barn...we were going HOME! We got home about 11:30 and we were greeted by two angry cats who let us know, in no uncertain terms, that we were definitely on their "list"....what ever that is!
THe next week went by in a blur.... I know we had doctor appointments and the likes; but I can't tell you when or why! All I know is we were enjoying sun, albeit, it was cold at night (in the low 30's). And that all I heard from our daughter in Washington and daughter in Oregon is that is was still raining and they may float off at any time! Tee hee...we were on our 88th straight day of sun...but we sure could use a little of that rain. IF nothing else, to settle the dust down in the air. Of course, I have enough dust in the house to cause a small dust storm at any time if I turn on the fan!
Last week kinda' went by in a blur as well....I guess that is what retirement is all about. We are too busy to do anything, but I can't tell you what we were too busy doing! IT is still sunny and I am still hearing from those kids up north that are getting very soggy that it is still raining....wah! OH, and my NFL team, THE SEAHAWKS are doing fantabulous! GO SEAHAWKS! Tomorrow they play the Carolina Panthers....I may not watch the game...can't stand the suspense!
We went to dinner tonight at a wonderful place downtown called Cafe Poca Cosa! AL's cousin's Neil and Bobbi are in town, so we went with them and our other cousins, Holly, Bruce and Cortney to dinner. WOW! THe food there is sooooo good and I am soooo stuffed! Burp. OH, excuse me!
Cortney is almost 15, and tonight was her first formal dance! She looked absolutely beautiful. Do you remember your first formal dance? I do...it was at least a hundred years ago.... I think we had electric lights and cars...maybe! I also remember my girls first formal and I was a closet crier. I would go in the closet and cry because they looked so grown up...and beautiful. Boo Hoo...my babies ...oh well, that too passed, and now they are all grown and one has a daughter that she will possilby get to go through this with in the near future...if Lori can take her horse with her! Nuff of that nonsense!
So, that pretty much brings us up to date...for now. We still have sun and Seattle still has rain....nothing changes!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
So Long Hawaii, Hello Wreal Life!
Kona, Hawaii
Jan. 7, 2005
Tomorrow we leave for home. I am including the last of my diary entries from here. We have really enjoyed our trip here and we will be back.
Jan 1, 2006
Happy New Year!
Today we lazed around the condo for the morning. Jennifer, Ric and Cammie took off to go back to the Point of Refuge to see if they could see more of it…last time they were there the waves were so big half of the park was closed. While they were gone, Al and I drove to the end of the road from our condo and I walked out to the beach where the waves were really pounding on the rocks…HUGE WAVES! WOW!
From there, we went to see Suzi, who is still in the hospital. We hope she gets out soon….this is no fun!
Rowland and Kathy Brasch got in around 4:30 and we met up with them at the condo that we are moving to. They will spend the night there tonight and we move tomorrow.
Dinner tonight was with everyone, minus Suzi, at Huggo’s. It is advertised as the restaurant where you can see the manta ray’s…well, apparently, the manta rays haven’t been in this bay for years! However, it was still a nice restaurant, we sat out on the patio and the waves were crashing on the rocks right below us. We said goodbye to Mike and Bev, they leave tomorrow.
Jan 2, 2006
Moving day for us. We got all of our “stuff” moved into our new condo. This one is MUCH nicer that the last…We were at Holua, which is nice, just no view. Now we are at Kona Coast Resort and we have a wonderful view of the grounds, golf course, ocean and pool and the waves crashing onto the rocks! The unit it much nicer as well. It is almost as good as our unit was at Sea Village 3 years ago.
We watched the Rose Parade; then went to lunch at Lulu’s. Great hamburgers….Jo was happy. Afterwards we walked through the ABC store again, and then Rowland and Kathy went to Costco and we took Jennifer to the airport. She goes back to reality and soggy Seattle.
Suzi has E-coli and is still in the hospital. We sure hope she gets better soon. Her temperature is still up and until they can get that under control she will stay there! What a horrible way to spend a vacation in Hawaii…I feel so bad for her and Jack.
Dinner tonight was French Dip Sandwiches, made from the left over tri-tip. They were really good!
Ric, Janet and girls stopped by to say goodbye to us. They leave in the morning.
Jan 3, 2006
We went back to Bubba Gumps for breakfast. This time they were out of the Southern Style French Toast that we like so well. Wait! How can that be? Apparently they were out of the cinnamon raisin bread. So we ordered it with white bread…and it was wonderful this time.
Back to the condo, where we had an appointment to take the 90 minute tour of the complex and the “condo sales pitch”. We did add some points and now we have a 2 bedroom unit in this complex every other year. AND we have enough points for a cruise every other year, or we can divide up points and come here every year, or a cruise every year.
This was a potato, carrot, pea day…in other words, we vegged all day. Later in the afternoon I went up to visit with Suzi.
Some observations from Hawaii:
Local drivers are very courteous…and you can definitely tell the tourists drivers!
Local people are very friendly and helpful.
SPAM…and not the email type. SPAM is the national food of Hawaii…I swear more Spam must sold here than anywhere else in the world! And, did you know, Spam comes in different flavors? As if you care……..how about garlic Spam, or Tabasco Spam, or cheese Spam? Still don’t care, huh?
Exotic birds fascinate me. There are so many pretty birds…with names I can’t pronounce or begin to spell.
Hawaiian language fascinates me….can I buy a consonant? Lots of vowel together and repeated and my tongue doesn’t allow me to pronounce them all! Fun to try, however, I am sure we have massacred the Hawaiian language.
Jan.4, 2006
We finally got Suzi out of the hospital and she wasn’t out 10 minutes and rarin’ to go! We all took off for Pu’uhonua o Honaunau. I know, easy for us to say! Pu’uhonau o Honaunau is also called the Place of Refuge and is an awesome spot to visit. In ancient times, commoners’ lives were governed by many, confusing laws. The penalty for breaking these laws was usually death. The lawbreaker could elude the penalty of death if he could reach Pu’uhonua o Honaunau, which offered a safe place, and they could perform certain rituals designated by the priest and all would be forgiven and they could return home. Pu’uhonua o Honaunau is a National Park and it was great to walk around. Some of it was still closed off due to the high waves that have been pounding the island. We did get an idea of what it was like.
Before we went to Pu’uhonua o Honaunau we also stopped at a coffee plant, however, no tours were offered. We walked around the grounds, and sampled some coffee, but didn’t buy any Kona coffee. Kona Coffee is expensive even here! Then we stopped at the Painted Church not far from Pu’uhonua o Honaunau. The Painted Church is actually St. Benedict’s Catholic Church. It is a small, charming church dating back to the 1800’s. Faterh John Velge dedicated himself to creating frescos on the walls and ceiling of the church. It was really very moving to see.
Lunch today was a real treat. We stopped at The Coffee Shack in Captain Cook. This is really a popular place for lunch and we had to wait a while, but it was worth it! We were able to sit on the deck and had a panoramic coastline view overlooking Kealakekua Bay. The food was outstanding with homemade bread and lots of great goodies.
Tonight we tried a restaurant that the locals frequent. The Big Island Grill is located off the beaten path, and is excellent. The food was wonderful and the prices were very reasonable. Al, Rowland and Suzi had the lamb chops; the rest of us either opted for the roast pork, fish or a combination of both.
Jan 5.2006
We are finally getting the hang of being in Hawaii…of course, we will leave in 3 days! We all went to breakfast at the Aloha Angel Café in Kainaliu ( a little south of Kona). WOW…was that good. Better than Bubba Gumps by far. This café is located in the renovated historic Aloha Theather, which was built in 1932 and was originally a silent movie house. Now it still is used for culture events as well as having a great restaurant. Aloha Angel has a lovely view of the beach and ocean and has the best pancakes I have ever had! YUM! A must try if you come to Kona. And the entertainment was great...we had gecko's coming right up to the table...we enjoyed watching the battle of who was the "alpha" gecko! And no, we didn't see the Geico Gecko!
After breakfast, Rowland and Kathy headed for the volcano. Jack, Suzi and us decided to drive north and go over Saddle Road to Hilo. Saddle Road runs between two volcano’s, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The entire area is called a saddle because of the saddle shape of the valley (some BIG saddle!) This road travels through mostly unpopulated areas and some of the most drastically changing scenery you could ever imagine. We started out in the desert, gradually winding our way into the lava fields; or the surface of the moon, whichever you chose! From there we rose to an elevation of 6500 feet to heavily wooded areas; and then on the other side to lush, green tropics! It was absolutely amazing. A few words on the road itself. Saddle Road was hastily built in 1942 for military purposes. As the guide book states “The road was paved by Sadists-R-Us” and that is pretty much an accurate description! The road is very narrow, winding and ROUGH---but well worth the trip. Until a couple of years ago, if you were driving a rental car (and who isn’t on this island???) you couldn’t drive this road without it voiding your contract with the rental car company! We also experienced a definite change in weather. From the east side it was warm, sunny and clear; the farther up we got it was windy and cool, then cold (well, cold is relative..it was 50 degrees); then it changed to fog, rain and a little warmer. It was rainy in Hilo and we basically just drove through Hilo and then headed north on the highway on the west side of the island, through Waimea and then back to the east side of the island and to Waikoloa Beach Resort for dinner at The Big Island Steakhouse…not to be confused with where we had dinner last night!
After dinner Jack and Suzi headed to the airport for their trip home and we headed back to the condo. Row and Kathy weren’t back yet, however, we had a message saying their rental car had broken down not far from the volcano and they were waiting for a replacement car to be towed down for them. They finally got home around 11:00 p.m. Long day for them.
Jan 6, 2006
Today was another veg day. This is what Hawaii is all about for us anymore…rest and more rest. Now, people say, why do you need to rest when you are retired? Well, let me tell you, I do more now that I am retired than when I worked…just different activities. We have been here and it is one of those “been there, done that” things, and there are just some days we don’t want to do anything but read, relax and enjoy the balmy weather and look at the ocean. Kathy and Rowland did go into Kona town and do some required retail therapy this afternoon.
This evening we all piled into the car and drove to Waikoloa to Roy’s Restaurant. Yes, the same one we HAD reservations at for Jennifer’s birthday, however never made it because she was sick. All we can say is WOW! The food, the service was great. I had the best creamy polenta I have ever passed over my lips! And the ribs were wonderful as well. And of course, we had their signature Lava Chocolate Soufflé….it was great as well. We all left there as stuffed as one can get. Burp! All of us commented on how good the food was/is. There is a Roy’s in Scottsdale…hmm…Jack and Suzi, shall we take a road trip sometime soon???
Tomorrow the plan is to lay around in the morning and then take off for the north end late morning and go to the Bamboo Restaurant in Hawi for lunch and play around the north end. Then come back here for clean out the fridge for dinner…which will be a chore. You should see the food Al has stockpiled in the fridge! We could probably eat for another month!
Jan 7, 2006
After lazing around for most of the morning, we took off for the north end of the island. We encountered the normal slow traffic in town, and finally hit the open highway just before the airport. It was really windy today and tough driving. We drove Hwy 19 to Hwy 270 and went to Hawi again. Hawi is where King Kamehameha was born. There is a unique statue that sits in the little town of Kapa’au. We had lunch at the Bamboo Café and it was wonderful. The building this café is in dates back to 1911. Very old and very unique. Again we went to the end of the road to the Pololu valley…this sight is really pretty. We also found a great beach near there called Keokea. Very secluded and protected.
On the way back we saw a lot of Humpback whales near North Kohala area. We spent a few minutes watching them blow, flip their tales and breach. Very cool to see. Also got some awesome sunset pictures from Honoka’ope Beach, just above Waikoloa. Neat area.
Once back into Kona, a quick stop was made for Jo to get her free gift from the ABC Store and for Kathy to pickup a tee shirt. Back at the condo, we bbq’d hamburgers and gave our neighbors all the food we had left over. They won’t have to buy food the entire time they are here. Nice people from Madison, WI.
We are packed and ready to depart tomorrow morning. We both leave around 10:00 a.m., the Brasch’s on Hawaiian and us on Island Air. We both go to Honolulu, they only have a short layover, we have about 5 hours, so Willy, Nora and Ashley are going to come get us and we will go to lunch with them. We should be back in LA around midnight tomorrow night and then on up to Billie and Dans. We should be home in Tucson on Tuesday.
So until next time from who knows where,
we are:
The Wroamin' Wraspir's
Al & Jo
PS...Holly, tell the boys we are comin' home finally!
Jan. 7, 2005
Tomorrow we leave for home. I am including the last of my diary entries from here. We have really enjoyed our trip here and we will be back.
Jan 1, 2006
Happy New Year!
Today we lazed around the condo for the morning. Jennifer, Ric and Cammie took off to go back to the Point of Refuge to see if they could see more of it…last time they were there the waves were so big half of the park was closed. While they were gone, Al and I drove to the end of the road from our condo and I walked out to the beach where the waves were really pounding on the rocks…HUGE WAVES! WOW!
From there, we went to see Suzi, who is still in the hospital. We hope she gets out soon….this is no fun!
Rowland and Kathy Brasch got in around 4:30 and we met up with them at the condo that we are moving to. They will spend the night there tonight and we move tomorrow.
Dinner tonight was with everyone, minus Suzi, at Huggo’s. It is advertised as the restaurant where you can see the manta ray’s…well, apparently, the manta rays haven’t been in this bay for years! However, it was still a nice restaurant, we sat out on the patio and the waves were crashing on the rocks right below us. We said goodbye to Mike and Bev, they leave tomorrow.
Jan 2, 2006
Moving day for us. We got all of our “stuff” moved into our new condo. This one is MUCH nicer that the last…We were at Holua, which is nice, just no view. Now we are at Kona Coast Resort and we have a wonderful view of the grounds, golf course, ocean and pool and the waves crashing onto the rocks! The unit it much nicer as well. It is almost as good as our unit was at Sea Village 3 years ago.
We watched the Rose Parade; then went to lunch at Lulu’s. Great hamburgers….Jo was happy. Afterwards we walked through the ABC store again, and then Rowland and Kathy went to Costco and we took Jennifer to the airport. She goes back to reality and soggy Seattle.
Suzi has E-coli and is still in the hospital. We sure hope she gets better soon. Her temperature is still up and until they can get that under control she will stay there! What a horrible way to spend a vacation in Hawaii…I feel so bad for her and Jack.
Dinner tonight was French Dip Sandwiches, made from the left over tri-tip. They were really good!
Ric, Janet and girls stopped by to say goodbye to us. They leave in the morning.
Jan 3, 2006
We went back to Bubba Gumps for breakfast. This time they were out of the Southern Style French Toast that we like so well. Wait! How can that be? Apparently they were out of the cinnamon raisin bread. So we ordered it with white bread…and it was wonderful this time.
Back to the condo, where we had an appointment to take the 90 minute tour of the complex and the “condo sales pitch”. We did add some points and now we have a 2 bedroom unit in this complex every other year. AND we have enough points for a cruise every other year, or we can divide up points and come here every year, or a cruise every year.
This was a potato, carrot, pea day…in other words, we vegged all day. Later in the afternoon I went up to visit with Suzi.
Some observations from Hawaii:
Local drivers are very courteous…and you can definitely tell the tourists drivers!
Local people are very friendly and helpful.
SPAM…and not the email type. SPAM is the national food of Hawaii…I swear more Spam must sold here than anywhere else in the world! And, did you know, Spam comes in different flavors? As if you care……..how about garlic Spam, or Tabasco Spam, or cheese Spam? Still don’t care, huh?
Exotic birds fascinate me. There are so many pretty birds…with names I can’t pronounce or begin to spell.
Hawaiian language fascinates me….can I buy a consonant? Lots of vowel together and repeated and my tongue doesn’t allow me to pronounce them all! Fun to try, however, I am sure we have massacred the Hawaiian language.
Jan.4, 2006
We finally got Suzi out of the hospital and she wasn’t out 10 minutes and rarin’ to go! We all took off for Pu’uhonua o Honaunau. I know, easy for us to say! Pu’uhonau o Honaunau is also called the Place of Refuge and is an awesome spot to visit. In ancient times, commoners’ lives were governed by many, confusing laws. The penalty for breaking these laws was usually death. The lawbreaker could elude the penalty of death if he could reach Pu’uhonua o Honaunau, which offered a safe place, and they could perform certain rituals designated by the priest and all would be forgiven and they could return home. Pu’uhonua o Honaunau is a National Park and it was great to walk around. Some of it was still closed off due to the high waves that have been pounding the island. We did get an idea of what it was like.
Before we went to Pu’uhonua o Honaunau we also stopped at a coffee plant, however, no tours were offered. We walked around the grounds, and sampled some coffee, but didn’t buy any Kona coffee. Kona Coffee is expensive even here! Then we stopped at the Painted Church not far from Pu’uhonua o Honaunau. The Painted Church is actually St. Benedict’s Catholic Church. It is a small, charming church dating back to the 1800’s. Faterh John Velge dedicated himself to creating frescos on the walls and ceiling of the church. It was really very moving to see.
Lunch today was a real treat. We stopped at The Coffee Shack in Captain Cook. This is really a popular place for lunch and we had to wait a while, but it was worth it! We were able to sit on the deck and had a panoramic coastline view overlooking Kealakekua Bay. The food was outstanding with homemade bread and lots of great goodies.
Tonight we tried a restaurant that the locals frequent. The Big Island Grill is located off the beaten path, and is excellent. The food was wonderful and the prices were very reasonable. Al, Rowland and Suzi had the lamb chops; the rest of us either opted for the roast pork, fish or a combination of both.
Jan 5.2006
We are finally getting the hang of being in Hawaii…of course, we will leave in 3 days! We all went to breakfast at the Aloha Angel Café in Kainaliu ( a little south of Kona). WOW…was that good. Better than Bubba Gumps by far. This café is located in the renovated historic Aloha Theather, which was built in 1932 and was originally a silent movie house. Now it still is used for culture events as well as having a great restaurant. Aloha Angel has a lovely view of the beach and ocean and has the best pancakes I have ever had! YUM! A must try if you come to Kona. And the entertainment was great...we had gecko's coming right up to the table...we enjoyed watching the battle of who was the "alpha" gecko! And no, we didn't see the Geico Gecko!
After breakfast, Rowland and Kathy headed for the volcano. Jack, Suzi and us decided to drive north and go over Saddle Road to Hilo. Saddle Road runs between two volcano’s, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The entire area is called a saddle because of the saddle shape of the valley (some BIG saddle!) This road travels through mostly unpopulated areas and some of the most drastically changing scenery you could ever imagine. We started out in the desert, gradually winding our way into the lava fields; or the surface of the moon, whichever you chose! From there we rose to an elevation of 6500 feet to heavily wooded areas; and then on the other side to lush, green tropics! It was absolutely amazing. A few words on the road itself. Saddle Road was hastily built in 1942 for military purposes. As the guide book states “The road was paved by Sadists-R-Us” and that is pretty much an accurate description! The road is very narrow, winding and ROUGH---but well worth the trip. Until a couple of years ago, if you were driving a rental car (and who isn’t on this island???) you couldn’t drive this road without it voiding your contract with the rental car company! We also experienced a definite change in weather. From the east side it was warm, sunny and clear; the farther up we got it was windy and cool, then cold (well, cold is relative..it was 50 degrees); then it changed to fog, rain and a little warmer. It was rainy in Hilo and we basically just drove through Hilo and then headed north on the highway on the west side of the island, through Waimea and then back to the east side of the island and to Waikoloa Beach Resort for dinner at The Big Island Steakhouse…not to be confused with where we had dinner last night!
After dinner Jack and Suzi headed to the airport for their trip home and we headed back to the condo. Row and Kathy weren’t back yet, however, we had a message saying their rental car had broken down not far from the volcano and they were waiting for a replacement car to be towed down for them. They finally got home around 11:00 p.m. Long day for them.
Jan 6, 2006
Today was another veg day. This is what Hawaii is all about for us anymore…rest and more rest. Now, people say, why do you need to rest when you are retired? Well, let me tell you, I do more now that I am retired than when I worked…just different activities. We have been here and it is one of those “been there, done that” things, and there are just some days we don’t want to do anything but read, relax and enjoy the balmy weather and look at the ocean. Kathy and Rowland did go into Kona town and do some required retail therapy this afternoon.
This evening we all piled into the car and drove to Waikoloa to Roy’s Restaurant. Yes, the same one we HAD reservations at for Jennifer’s birthday, however never made it because she was sick. All we can say is WOW! The food, the service was great. I had the best creamy polenta I have ever passed over my lips! And the ribs were wonderful as well. And of course, we had their signature Lava Chocolate Soufflé….it was great as well. We all left there as stuffed as one can get. Burp! All of us commented on how good the food was/is. There is a Roy’s in Scottsdale…hmm…Jack and Suzi, shall we take a road trip sometime soon???
Tomorrow the plan is to lay around in the morning and then take off for the north end late morning and go to the Bamboo Restaurant in Hawi for lunch and play around the north end. Then come back here for clean out the fridge for dinner…which will be a chore. You should see the food Al has stockpiled in the fridge! We could probably eat for another month!
Jan 7, 2006
After lazing around for most of the morning, we took off for the north end of the island. We encountered the normal slow traffic in town, and finally hit the open highway just before the airport. It was really windy today and tough driving. We drove Hwy 19 to Hwy 270 and went to Hawi again. Hawi is where King Kamehameha was born. There is a unique statue that sits in the little town of Kapa’au. We had lunch at the Bamboo Café and it was wonderful. The building this café is in dates back to 1911. Very old and very unique. Again we went to the end of the road to the Pololu valley…this sight is really pretty. We also found a great beach near there called Keokea. Very secluded and protected.
On the way back we saw a lot of Humpback whales near North Kohala area. We spent a few minutes watching them blow, flip their tales and breach. Very cool to see. Also got some awesome sunset pictures from Honoka’ope Beach, just above Waikoloa. Neat area.
Once back into Kona, a quick stop was made for Jo to get her free gift from the ABC Store and for Kathy to pickup a tee shirt. Back at the condo, we bbq’d hamburgers and gave our neighbors all the food we had left over. They won’t have to buy food the entire time they are here. Nice people from Madison, WI.
We are packed and ready to depart tomorrow morning. We both leave around 10:00 a.m., the Brasch’s on Hawaiian and us on Island Air. We both go to Honolulu, they only have a short layover, we have about 5 hours, so Willy, Nora and Ashley are going to come get us and we will go to lunch with them. We should be back in LA around midnight tomorrow night and then on up to Billie and Dans. We should be home in Tucson on Tuesday.
So until next time from who knows where,
we are:
The Wroamin' Wraspir's
Al & Jo
PS...Holly, tell the boys we are comin' home finally!
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Kona, Hawaii Jan 1, 2006
Hauoli Makahiki Hou! Or Happy New Year in Hawaiian! Happy 2006!
Here is a copy of my travel log so far......
Hawaii 2005-06
Dec. 23, 2005
Left LA at 8:30 a.m. via American Airlines. How airlines have changed! No more meals anywhere! We paid $5.00 for a turkey/cheese sandwich which was probably made 2 days ago! We arrived in Honolulu at 12:30 p.m. Hawaii time (2 hours behind LA)Got our car, and had 3 hours to wait for Jennifer to arrive, so we went and got something to eat then just drove around. Bought Lei’s for all of us, including Dionisio’s,, our good friends here that we are spending Christmas with. J arrived at 3:20, and off we went to Willy and Nora’s. They have moved and they live on the west side of the island in Kapolei, in the Makakilo gated community. Their house is absolutely beautiful. They overlook Honolulu, and the view is breathtaking.
Dec. 24
Got up to shower, only the shower outsmarted me. Had a heck of a time figuring out how to turn on the shower! Finally remembered that you pull down the faucet and that starts the shower. Came down stairs and Jennifer came out of her room and said that the shower was smarter than her and how did you turn it on? We got a laugh out of that.Jennifer and I went for a drive today to Diamond Head. Also had lunch at our favorite burger spot, Teddy’s Burgers. They have moved from a tiny, secluded spot to right down on Wakiki, and they are still good.Tonight Willy and Nora had their xmas celebration with their very large family. I have never seen so much food. I thought the Wraspir’s did a good job of providing lots of food, but honestly, we don’t hold a candle to the Dionisio’s. And it was all wonderful!
Dec. 25
After calling all of the kids, we kicked back and relaxed most of the day.Bad news today,Jr.Jo's brother-in-law, died this afternoon at about 2:00 p.m., PST. He has been sick and just never recovered from a bad bladder infection. His Parkinson’s got worse, and he just wasn’t strong enough to fight it. He died very peacefully at home with all kids home. Jean, Jo's sister is doing well, knowing that Jr. is in a much, much better place.
We are going to Willy’s Aunt Betty and Uncle Bernie’s tonight for dinner. Bernie was the first Philippine lawyer in Honolulu and spent time as a representative for the state of Hawaii.It has been very hazy here, VOG they call it…haze from the volcano on Hawaii.
What a place Bernie and Betty’s place is! First of all, when you walk in you are immediately in a time warp! Back to the 60’s….green shag carpet, olive green and orange walls and orange furniture everywhere. Actually, I admire them for keeping it up so well! Now, let me tell you ,this family is TALENTED! Bernie and Betty’s children are so musically talented it is unbelievable. Not only were the tables loaded with food; there was a honest to goodness band playing! And most of the band was either family or friends of theirs. Their two daughters sang beautifully, and so did their son. One lady who sang was the voice coach for the lead singer in the musical “Miss Saigon” and she had a beautiful voice! Bernie and Betty were wonderful hosts and we had a great time.
Dec. 26
Off to the big island today. Jennifer, Al and I arrived around 2:30; rounded up our rental car (another convertible…can’t be in Hawaii without one!) and set off to find our condo. We are staying at Holua and Mauna Loa Village…these condo’s are part of our Shell Vacation Club. I had reserved a two bedroom condo here; however, when we got here they had a computer “glitch” and had only one bedrooms left. After I explained that there was 6 adults staying in this condo, (Ric, Janet and girls, plus Jennifer and us) they put us in two, one bedroom units for the night, saying that we would have to move into our two bedroom tomorrow. I was not too happy about moving, but at least we have two condo’s for the night and no one has to sleep on the floor! Ric, Janet and girls got in about 6:00 p.m.
After they got settled in, we took off to find dinner. We had dinner at one of our favorite places, Bubba Gumps. After a short wait, we were sat at a wonderful table outside, overlooking the ocean, hearing the waves crash and loud screams. Loud screams??? Wait, that doesn’t fit into this scenario! What happened is a cockroach the size of Texas had flew in and landed on Jennifer’s arm, took a cruise down her arm and then cruised down the table; causing Jennifer and our two grand daughters to scream so loud I am sure you could hear them on the mainland. The rest of us were so stunned over the screams we just sat there and watched the cockroach on his/her trip up and down the table! The roach then attempted to fly, but Ric backhanded him/her and sent it flying! The rest of the dinner everyone was on “cockroach alert!” Ah yes, we are in Hawaii.
Dec. 27
We all just kinda lazed around this morning, Ric, Janet, Ashley, Cammie and Jennifer took off to go to the Place of Refuge, however, they couldn’t get to it due to high waves. After they got back, we waited around for Mike and Bev to arrive. After they got here, some of us took off for a Costco/Safeway run. Then I took Mike and Bev to their condo. They are staying at Sea Village, which is about 4 miles north of us and is where we stayed last time. It is really nice. All came back to our condo to have taco’s and everyone gave up early….long day.
Dec. 28
Everybody, with the exception of Al and I, took off to see the volcano. We decided to stay here and rest and do nothing! We did drive down Ali’i drive to see where Jack and Sue are staying. The location of the condo we got for them is awesome…right in the middle of downtown Kona, walking distance to everything. I hope they like it.
Mike, Bev and Jennifer returned from the volcano around 7:00 and we all went to Rocky’s for Pizza. YUM…some of the best pizza I have had. Ric, Janet and girls stayed at the volcano to see the lava flow at night. They said it was cool to see, but hard to walk to the point where you coud see it.
Dec.29 Happy 37 Birthday Jennifer
Woke up to a sick Jennifer. She has a really bad cold and she spent the day in bed. Everyone else but Dad went downtown Kona to do some shopping. Had lunch at the Hardrock Café. Jack and Suzi got in today around 1:00 and we got them checked into their unit. It has a great location, but the unit itself isn’t the greatest. We were going to go to Roy’s for dinner tonight, however, canceled because Jennifer is sick. We bbq’d tri tips here at the condo.
Dec. 30
Jennifer is feeling a little better. We took it easy most of the day tho. Suzi is in the hospital…she has a kidney infection that has really gotten bad. This trip isn’t the best so far for some of us! The girls went shopping downtown again and the boys went to town to have a drink at Lulu’s. For dinner I fixed a lasagna from Costco. We really are laying low this trip...at least so far!
Dec.31
FINALLY…we did something today! We had the worst breakfast at Bubba Gumps….which is usually very good but all of our food was either cold, soggy or didn’t taste good. Afterwards Ric, Janet and Ashley went back to the condo, Ashley isn’t feeling good! The rest of us took off for the north shore to see the huge waves. Huge waves and high surf is pounding the islands and it is great to see. We stopped at the National Energy Lab Beach and the waves were HUGE….I would guess over 20 feet high and when the hit the rocks they would splash up at least 50 feet in the air! After oohing and aahing over them we took off for the little town of Hawi on the north shore. It was like stepping back into the 1950’s. The town is very small, but very unique! We drove to the end of Hwy 270 to see the Pololu valley and overlook. It was absolutely breathtaking. And we could see Maui clearly today from the north shore.
Driving back we almost ran out of gas and had to make a quick stop in Waimae to get some go juice in the car! We got back to Kona and went looking for the hospital to see Suzi..I hope she hasn’t taken up a week’s residence there! She is looking and feeling much better and we hope she gets out tomorrow.
Dinner was at Mike and Bev’s condo at Sea Village. I think I prefer those condo’s to the one’s we are in…at Sea Village you have a nice view of the water, even in the back condo’s. Here we can see NOTHING! Condo’s are nice, but absolutely NO VIEW of anything but more condo’s. Jack came to dinner, but took off for the hospital afterwards to spend more time with Suzi.We came back to the condo, and NO ONE stayed up to welcome in 2006 in this time zone. We were so tired we celebrated the new year in Pacific Time Zone and went to bed.
Hopefully, 2006 will be a great year for everyone! We were not unhappy to see 2005 leave...
Until next time.....
The Wroamin Wraspir's
Al and Jo....no dogs or cats on this trip!
Hauoli Makahiki Hou! Or Happy New Year in Hawaiian! Happy 2006!
Here is a copy of my travel log so far......
Hawaii 2005-06
Dec. 23, 2005
Left LA at 8:30 a.m. via American Airlines. How airlines have changed! No more meals anywhere! We paid $5.00 for a turkey/cheese sandwich which was probably made 2 days ago! We arrived in Honolulu at 12:30 p.m. Hawaii time (2 hours behind LA)Got our car, and had 3 hours to wait for Jennifer to arrive, so we went and got something to eat then just drove around. Bought Lei’s for all of us, including Dionisio’s,, our good friends here that we are spending Christmas with. J arrived at 3:20, and off we went to Willy and Nora’s. They have moved and they live on the west side of the island in Kapolei, in the Makakilo gated community. Their house is absolutely beautiful. They overlook Honolulu, and the view is breathtaking.
Dec. 24
Got up to shower, only the shower outsmarted me. Had a heck of a time figuring out how to turn on the shower! Finally remembered that you pull down the faucet and that starts the shower. Came down stairs and Jennifer came out of her room and said that the shower was smarter than her and how did you turn it on? We got a laugh out of that.Jennifer and I went for a drive today to Diamond Head. Also had lunch at our favorite burger spot, Teddy’s Burgers. They have moved from a tiny, secluded spot to right down on Wakiki, and they are still good.Tonight Willy and Nora had their xmas celebration with their very large family. I have never seen so much food. I thought the Wraspir’s did a good job of providing lots of food, but honestly, we don’t hold a candle to the Dionisio’s. And it was all wonderful!
Dec. 25
After calling all of the kids, we kicked back and relaxed most of the day.Bad news today,Jr.Jo's brother-in-law, died this afternoon at about 2:00 p.m., PST. He has been sick and just never recovered from a bad bladder infection. His Parkinson’s got worse, and he just wasn’t strong enough to fight it. He died very peacefully at home with all kids home. Jean, Jo's sister is doing well, knowing that Jr. is in a much, much better place.
We are going to Willy’s Aunt Betty and Uncle Bernie’s tonight for dinner. Bernie was the first Philippine lawyer in Honolulu and spent time as a representative for the state of Hawaii.It has been very hazy here, VOG they call it…haze from the volcano on Hawaii.
What a place Bernie and Betty’s place is! First of all, when you walk in you are immediately in a time warp! Back to the 60’s….green shag carpet, olive green and orange walls and orange furniture everywhere. Actually, I admire them for keeping it up so well! Now, let me tell you ,this family is TALENTED! Bernie and Betty’s children are so musically talented it is unbelievable. Not only were the tables loaded with food; there was a honest to goodness band playing! And most of the band was either family or friends of theirs. Their two daughters sang beautifully, and so did their son. One lady who sang was the voice coach for the lead singer in the musical “Miss Saigon” and she had a beautiful voice! Bernie and Betty were wonderful hosts and we had a great time.
Dec. 26
Off to the big island today. Jennifer, Al and I arrived around 2:30; rounded up our rental car (another convertible…can’t be in Hawaii without one!) and set off to find our condo. We are staying at Holua and Mauna Loa Village…these condo’s are part of our Shell Vacation Club. I had reserved a two bedroom condo here; however, when we got here they had a computer “glitch” and had only one bedrooms left. After I explained that there was 6 adults staying in this condo, (Ric, Janet and girls, plus Jennifer and us) they put us in two, one bedroom units for the night, saying that we would have to move into our two bedroom tomorrow. I was not too happy about moving, but at least we have two condo’s for the night and no one has to sleep on the floor! Ric, Janet and girls got in about 6:00 p.m.
After they got settled in, we took off to find dinner. We had dinner at one of our favorite places, Bubba Gumps. After a short wait, we were sat at a wonderful table outside, overlooking the ocean, hearing the waves crash and loud screams. Loud screams??? Wait, that doesn’t fit into this scenario! What happened is a cockroach the size of Texas had flew in and landed on Jennifer’s arm, took a cruise down her arm and then cruised down the table; causing Jennifer and our two grand daughters to scream so loud I am sure you could hear them on the mainland. The rest of us were so stunned over the screams we just sat there and watched the cockroach on his/her trip up and down the table! The roach then attempted to fly, but Ric backhanded him/her and sent it flying! The rest of the dinner everyone was on “cockroach alert!” Ah yes, we are in Hawaii.
Dec. 27
We all just kinda lazed around this morning, Ric, Janet, Ashley, Cammie and Jennifer took off to go to the Place of Refuge, however, they couldn’t get to it due to high waves. After they got back, we waited around for Mike and Bev to arrive. After they got here, some of us took off for a Costco/Safeway run. Then I took Mike and Bev to their condo. They are staying at Sea Village, which is about 4 miles north of us and is where we stayed last time. It is really nice. All came back to our condo to have taco’s and everyone gave up early….long day.
Dec. 28
Everybody, with the exception of Al and I, took off to see the volcano. We decided to stay here and rest and do nothing! We did drive down Ali’i drive to see where Jack and Sue are staying. The location of the condo we got for them is awesome…right in the middle of downtown Kona, walking distance to everything. I hope they like it.
Mike, Bev and Jennifer returned from the volcano around 7:00 and we all went to Rocky’s for Pizza. YUM…some of the best pizza I have had. Ric, Janet and girls stayed at the volcano to see the lava flow at night. They said it was cool to see, but hard to walk to the point where you coud see it.
Dec.29 Happy 37 Birthday Jennifer
Woke up to a sick Jennifer. She has a really bad cold and she spent the day in bed. Everyone else but Dad went downtown Kona to do some shopping. Had lunch at the Hardrock Café. Jack and Suzi got in today around 1:00 and we got them checked into their unit. It has a great location, but the unit itself isn’t the greatest. We were going to go to Roy’s for dinner tonight, however, canceled because Jennifer is sick. We bbq’d tri tips here at the condo.
Dec. 30
Jennifer is feeling a little better. We took it easy most of the day tho. Suzi is in the hospital…she has a kidney infection that has really gotten bad. This trip isn’t the best so far for some of us! The girls went shopping downtown again and the boys went to town to have a drink at Lulu’s. For dinner I fixed a lasagna from Costco. We really are laying low this trip...at least so far!
Dec.31
FINALLY…we did something today! We had the worst breakfast at Bubba Gumps….which is usually very good but all of our food was either cold, soggy or didn’t taste good. Afterwards Ric, Janet and Ashley went back to the condo, Ashley isn’t feeling good! The rest of us took off for the north shore to see the huge waves. Huge waves and high surf is pounding the islands and it is great to see. We stopped at the National Energy Lab Beach and the waves were HUGE….I would guess over 20 feet high and when the hit the rocks they would splash up at least 50 feet in the air! After oohing and aahing over them we took off for the little town of Hawi on the north shore. It was like stepping back into the 1950’s. The town is very small, but very unique! We drove to the end of Hwy 270 to see the Pololu valley and overlook. It was absolutely breathtaking. And we could see Maui clearly today from the north shore.
Driving back we almost ran out of gas and had to make a quick stop in Waimae to get some go juice in the car! We got back to Kona and went looking for the hospital to see Suzi..I hope she hasn’t taken up a week’s residence there! She is looking and feeling much better and we hope she gets out tomorrow.
Dinner was at Mike and Bev’s condo at Sea Village. I think I prefer those condo’s to the one’s we are in…at Sea Village you have a nice view of the water, even in the back condo’s. Here we can see NOTHING! Condo’s are nice, but absolutely NO VIEW of anything but more condo’s. Jack came to dinner, but took off for the hospital afterwards to spend more time with Suzi.We came back to the condo, and NO ONE stayed up to welcome in 2006 in this time zone. We were so tired we celebrated the new year in Pacific Time Zone and went to bed.
Hopefully, 2006 will be a great year for everyone! We were not unhappy to see 2005 leave...
Until next time.....
The Wroamin Wraspir's
Al and Jo....no dogs or cats on this trip!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
We Can't Seem to Stay Put!
Tucson, AZ
Dec. 15, 2005
Season's Greetings to all!!!
Well, here we go again! We went to see our Grandson in San Antonio...What a fun trip! We took Amtrak from Tucson to San Antonio. Now, that was an experience! First of all, the train was 5 hours late getting into Tucson; it was suppose to arrive at 2:20 ahoy; however we spent 5 long, hard hours on very hard benches in the train depot until it finally arrived at 7:20 a.m. We could have gotten a good nights sleep and still made the train had we known it was that late! At any rate, finally on the train; very tired, but still rarin' to go! We get to 12 miles west of Lordsburg, NM (for those of you who don't know where wonderful Lordsburg is, you haven't missed anything! It is in the middle of NOWHERE!) All of a sudden, the train comes to a grinding halt, with the announcement that the crew has ran out of running time. Apparently the crew can only operate the train for 12 hours at a time and they had officially ran out of time! Okay, so this is nice, we are really in the middle of nowhere...and no train crew! The new crew was coming out of El Paso, and they weren't there yet. We waited for almost 2 hours for the new crew to arrive, and finally we were on our way again. We arrived in San Antonio 8 hours late...I think this may be a new record for Amtrak! At any rate, we finally got our rental car and found our hotel and took a nice, long nap!
Danny arrived around 5:oo p.m. and we were sure happy to see him. He has grown up into a very nice, responsible young man and we are proud of him. We went to dinner and then he took us to a movie..we saw "Rent"...if you haven't seen it, go! It was really good.
The next day dawned a bit cloudy and cool, so we spent the morning shopping and then went downtown to the RiverCenter and took a boat ride on the river that goes through San Antonio. Very nice and we spent some time on the River Walk as well.
Sunday was rainy/misty and cool, but we went to the Alamo anyway. Very interesting place, filled with a lot of history. After that we decided to drive to Buda, Texas to the Cabelas store. Al wanted to nose around and Danny was amazed at how big it was! We stopped on the way back at the largest outlet mall I have ever seen! I just had to do some retail therapy there! If you are ever in or near San Marcos, TX, stop at this place...it has everything.
Monday, Danny had to work. He is in the Army and is getting ready to ship out to Germany for 2 years, but currently at Ft. Sam Houston. He is a medic and has just finished his training for optometry technician. We spent the day nosing around and then met up with Danny for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. We said our goodbyes to him that evening and got ready to brave Amtrak again in the morning. We were scheduled to leave at 5:40 a.m., but of course, we all know how that works. We were very surprised to arrive at the station and find the train already there! We got on and went to sleep even before it left. We had a fairly uneventful trip home, only arriving 4 hours late.
NOW, we are getting ready to leave again. We can't seem to stay home! We are leaving Sunday for Yuma, then on to California to see family and on the 23rd we fly to Hawaii for 16 days of paradise! We will be staying with friends in Honolulu for 3 days and then on the 26th we fly to Kona on the big island for two weeks. The first week we will have Jennifer, Mike and Bev: Ric, Janet, Ashley and Cammie; and friends the Waddicks join us mid week; the second week we have friends Rowland and Kathy with us. So we will be busy, but we will be warm and happy
and enjoying family and friends.
So until I post our next "blog" let us wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year....or Mele Kalikimaka and Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Dec. 15, 2005
Season's Greetings to all!!!
Well, here we go again! We went to see our Grandson in San Antonio...What a fun trip! We took Amtrak from Tucson to San Antonio. Now, that was an experience! First of all, the train was 5 hours late getting into Tucson; it was suppose to arrive at 2:20 ahoy; however we spent 5 long, hard hours on very hard benches in the train depot until it finally arrived at 7:20 a.m. We could have gotten a good nights sleep and still made the train had we known it was that late! At any rate, finally on the train; very tired, but still rarin' to go! We get to 12 miles west of Lordsburg, NM (for those of you who don't know where wonderful Lordsburg is, you haven't missed anything! It is in the middle of NOWHERE!) All of a sudden, the train comes to a grinding halt, with the announcement that the crew has ran out of running time. Apparently the crew can only operate the train for 12 hours at a time and they had officially ran out of time! Okay, so this is nice, we are really in the middle of nowhere...and no train crew! The new crew was coming out of El Paso, and they weren't there yet. We waited for almost 2 hours for the new crew to arrive, and finally we were on our way again. We arrived in San Antonio 8 hours late...I think this may be a new record for Amtrak! At any rate, we finally got our rental car and found our hotel and took a nice, long nap!
Danny arrived around 5:oo p.m. and we were sure happy to see him. He has grown up into a very nice, responsible young man and we are proud of him. We went to dinner and then he took us to a movie..we saw "Rent"...if you haven't seen it, go! It was really good.
The next day dawned a bit cloudy and cool, so we spent the morning shopping and then went downtown to the RiverCenter and took a boat ride on the river that goes through San Antonio. Very nice and we spent some time on the River Walk as well.
Sunday was rainy/misty and cool, but we went to the Alamo anyway. Very interesting place, filled with a lot of history. After that we decided to drive to Buda, Texas to the Cabelas store. Al wanted to nose around and Danny was amazed at how big it was! We stopped on the way back at the largest outlet mall I have ever seen! I just had to do some retail therapy there! If you are ever in or near San Marcos, TX, stop at this place...it has everything.
Monday, Danny had to work. He is in the Army and is getting ready to ship out to Germany for 2 years, but currently at Ft. Sam Houston. He is a medic and has just finished his training for optometry technician. We spent the day nosing around and then met up with Danny for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. We said our goodbyes to him that evening and got ready to brave Amtrak again in the morning. We were scheduled to leave at 5:40 a.m., but of course, we all know how that works. We were very surprised to arrive at the station and find the train already there! We got on and went to sleep even before it left. We had a fairly uneventful trip home, only arriving 4 hours late.
NOW, we are getting ready to leave again. We can't seem to stay home! We are leaving Sunday for Yuma, then on to California to see family and on the 23rd we fly to Hawaii for 16 days of paradise! We will be staying with friends in Honolulu for 3 days and then on the 26th we fly to Kona on the big island for two weeks. The first week we will have Jennifer, Mike and Bev: Ric, Janet, Ashley and Cammie; and friends the Waddicks join us mid week; the second week we have friends Rowland and Kathy with us. So we will be busy, but we will be warm and happy
and enjoying family and friends.
So until I post our next "blog" let us wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year....or Mele Kalikimaka and Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Wridin' the Wrails!
Dec. 1, 2005
11:40 A.M.
Somewhere in eastern Arizona (about 12 miles from Lordsburg, NM)
We are on our way to see Danny on Amtrak. We were scheduled to leave Tucson at 2:20 a.m. today….however, the train was 6 HOURS LATE arriving in Tucson. We had called at midnight and were told the train was running an hour late. We called again at 1:30 a.m. and got the same info, so we loaded up the car and took off for the train station in downtown Tucson. We got to the station at 2:45 and found a sign that read “Amtrak delayed until 4:45 a.m. due to Union Pacific freight traffic”. GREAT! We checked in our luggage and decided we would go have breakfast, or a cup of coffee, or something! After discovering NOTHING is open in downtown Tucson at this hour, we headed out to I-10 and found a Denny’s open. Not in the best part of town, but we didn’t have a choice. We had breakfast and finally at 4:00 a.m. we headed back the train station. We parked the car in the parking garage and walked the 2 blocks to the station. We sat down and waited. At 4:40 a.m. the station agent made an announcement that the train was delayed due to an emergency and would arrive at 5:55 a.m. GRRRR! Have you ever tried to sleep on a bench in a train station? They are harder than the ground….Jo tried and gave up! 5:55 came and went -- people were getting a little (?) irritated…finally the station agent made yet another announcement (by the way, he had the personality of a rock) that the train was delayed about 35 minutes out due to a broken rail on the line. GOOD GRIEF! Scheduled arrival of 7:30 a.m! WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN A DECENT NIGHTS SLELEP! The crowd was getting antsy…one young woman had been there since midnight with her two small children; after taking a bus from somewhere north of Tucson. FINALLY at 7:20 Amtrak arrives. We board and get to our “room”…we have a sleeper on the trip. Our room is about 4 feet wide, two seats facing each other..very cozy! I could see a lot of time being spent in the observation car by us! Since the room was not made up for sleeping, we went up to the dining car (the entire length of the train from where we are) and had breakfast again! We got about 3 miles from the station and the train had to stop on a siding to let 3 freights pass. I should tell you here, that freight trains have priority on the rails….and Union Pacific owns these rails. We also found out that the southern route for Amtrak is always slow…and at least 2 hours late! By now we are over 6 hours late. Finally we get rolling again. We go back to our “room” and try to figure out how we are going to sleep. The attendant comes by and told us that the room across from us was unoccupied, and gave the room to Jo to use until someone boards for it.
It is now noon and we are still stopped in the middle of NO WHERE! All I can see is sage brush, weeds and I-10. You will never guess why! Apparently the train crew can only operate the train in 12 hour shifts (government regulations) and this crew has ended its shift. We are sitting here waiting for a replacement crew.---I hope they aren’t coming by Amtrak…we will be here a long time!
11:40 A.M.
Somewhere in eastern Arizona (about 12 miles from Lordsburg, NM)
We are on our way to see Danny on Amtrak. We were scheduled to leave Tucson at 2:20 a.m. today….however, the train was 6 HOURS LATE arriving in Tucson. We had called at midnight and were told the train was running an hour late. We called again at 1:30 a.m. and got the same info, so we loaded up the car and took off for the train station in downtown Tucson. We got to the station at 2:45 and found a sign that read “Amtrak delayed until 4:45 a.m. due to Union Pacific freight traffic”. GREAT! We checked in our luggage and decided we would go have breakfast, or a cup of coffee, or something! After discovering NOTHING is open in downtown Tucson at this hour, we headed out to I-10 and found a Denny’s open. Not in the best part of town, but we didn’t have a choice. We had breakfast and finally at 4:00 a.m. we headed back the train station. We parked the car in the parking garage and walked the 2 blocks to the station. We sat down and waited. At 4:40 a.m. the station agent made an announcement that the train was delayed due to an emergency and would arrive at 5:55 a.m. GRRRR! Have you ever tried to sleep on a bench in a train station? They are harder than the ground….Jo tried and gave up! 5:55 came and went -- people were getting a little (?) irritated…finally the station agent made yet another announcement (by the way, he had the personality of a rock) that the train was delayed about 35 minutes out due to a broken rail on the line. GOOD GRIEF! Scheduled arrival of 7:30 a.m! WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN A DECENT NIGHTS SLELEP! The crowd was getting antsy…one young woman had been there since midnight with her two small children; after taking a bus from somewhere north of Tucson. FINALLY at 7:20 Amtrak arrives. We board and get to our “room”…we have a sleeper on the trip. Our room is about 4 feet wide, two seats facing each other..very cozy! I could see a lot of time being spent in the observation car by us! Since the room was not made up for sleeping, we went up to the dining car (the entire length of the train from where we are) and had breakfast again! We got about 3 miles from the station and the train had to stop on a siding to let 3 freights pass. I should tell you here, that freight trains have priority on the rails….and Union Pacific owns these rails. We also found out that the southern route for Amtrak is always slow…and at least 2 hours late! By now we are over 6 hours late. Finally we get rolling again. We go back to our “room” and try to figure out how we are going to sleep. The attendant comes by and told us that the room across from us was unoccupied, and gave the room to Jo to use until someone boards for it.
It is now noon and we are still stopped in the middle of NO WHERE! All I can see is sage brush, weeds and I-10. You will never guess why! Apparently the train crew can only operate the train in 12 hour shifts (government regulations) and this crew has ended its shift. We are sitting here waiting for a replacement crew.---I hope they aren’t coming by Amtrak…we will be here a long time!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Home again, Gone again!
Nov. 30 Tucson, Az
AHHHHHHHHHHHH---home again!
We arrived back in Tucson on the 20th, just as planned. We spent a few wet, cold days in Seattle before heading south. We had a chance to visit with Ric and family; Sherrie and Denice as well as Jennifer. Al had a few doctor appointments to finish up so we didn't leave Seattle until the 12th. We sloshed our way south on I-5, finally running out of the rain in Medford, Oregon. We spent a day in Medford visiting Jo's sister and brother-in-law and niece and family. Had a good, but too short visit there. BUT we did find this odd, bright object in the sky there...I think they called it SUN!
We continued on down I-5, stopping in Chowchilla briefly to put flowers on Jo's parents grave; then on to Mojave, CA where we spent the night in a motel. After 7 nights in the camper with the two big dogs, two cats and us, we decided a night in a motel was called for. Now, let me tell you, downsizing from a 35 foot 5th wheel to the camper is a trial all in its self! We have finally gotten a system going when we are all inside the camper -- dogs on the bed, cats where ever they please, AL sitting at one end of the table and Jo at the other, or cooking, or doing dishes, etc. Bedtime and dogs get OFF the bed (Beau had a hard time accepting this concept!); cats where ever they want and us in the bed. And that even worked some of the time. One cold night Jo woke up wondering why she was so cold....well....BOTH dogs were in bed with us, Al was rolled up in the blanket and the cats had the rest of the covers. Needless to say, this was quickly corrected....Jo found herself another blanket and went back to sleep! No sense waking up everyone, right????
We made a stop in Lake Havasu to see friends and stayed at Billie and Dan's house there. What a nice house they have! We had a good visit with the Skidmores and got to see Billie and Dan briefly. Finally on Sunday, Nov. 20, fighting the wind (not fun in a big camper!!) we arrived home. The dogs and cats EXPLODED from the camper and ran around the place checking their territory out. We unloaded just what we needed for the night and decided to call it good. Our friends, Jude and Roger Hubbell had dinner waiting for us that night...what a great treat.
We have settled in, some what. Some of the boxes are unpacked, and some may never get unpacked...if they don't then guess we really didn't need whatever was in them! We are taking our time getting unpacked...we have all winter!
We leave tomorrow for San Antonio to go see our grandson Danny. Danny is in the Army and will be shipping out to Germany in February. Since we will be gone to Hawaii end of Dec to mid Jan we decided this was the only time slot to go see him. We are taking Amtrak this time....and looking foward to the train trip. We both really enjoy the train and seeing the country! We will be home on Dec. 6. The dogs are at Holly and Bruce's; the cats are staying home and we are packing once more and ready to go. The Wroamin' Wraspirs are on the wroad---er, wrails again! So until next time, we hope this finds you happy, healthy and living life the way you want.
The Wroamin' Wraspir's,
Al, Jo, Beau, Schuster, Jose and Juanito
AHHHHHHHHHHHH---home again!
We arrived back in Tucson on the 20th, just as planned. We spent a few wet, cold days in Seattle before heading south. We had a chance to visit with Ric and family; Sherrie and Denice as well as Jennifer. Al had a few doctor appointments to finish up so we didn't leave Seattle until the 12th. We sloshed our way south on I-5, finally running out of the rain in Medford, Oregon. We spent a day in Medford visiting Jo's sister and brother-in-law and niece and family. Had a good, but too short visit there. BUT we did find this odd, bright object in the sky there...I think they called it SUN!
We continued on down I-5, stopping in Chowchilla briefly to put flowers on Jo's parents grave; then on to Mojave, CA where we spent the night in a motel. After 7 nights in the camper with the two big dogs, two cats and us, we decided a night in a motel was called for. Now, let me tell you, downsizing from a 35 foot 5th wheel to the camper is a trial all in its self! We have finally gotten a system going when we are all inside the camper -- dogs on the bed, cats where ever they please, AL sitting at one end of the table and Jo at the other, or cooking, or doing dishes, etc. Bedtime and dogs get OFF the bed (Beau had a hard time accepting this concept!); cats where ever they want and us in the bed. And that even worked some of the time. One cold night Jo woke up wondering why she was so cold....well....BOTH dogs were in bed with us, Al was rolled up in the blanket and the cats had the rest of the covers. Needless to say, this was quickly corrected....Jo found herself another blanket and went back to sleep! No sense waking up everyone, right????
We made a stop in Lake Havasu to see friends and stayed at Billie and Dan's house there. What a nice house they have! We had a good visit with the Skidmores and got to see Billie and Dan briefly. Finally on Sunday, Nov. 20, fighting the wind (not fun in a big camper!!) we arrived home. The dogs and cats EXPLODED from the camper and ran around the place checking their territory out. We unloaded just what we needed for the night and decided to call it good. Our friends, Jude and Roger Hubbell had dinner waiting for us that night...what a great treat.
We have settled in, some what. Some of the boxes are unpacked, and some may never get unpacked...if they don't then guess we really didn't need whatever was in them! We are taking our time getting unpacked...we have all winter!
We leave tomorrow for San Antonio to go see our grandson Danny. Danny is in the Army and will be shipping out to Germany in February. Since we will be gone to Hawaii end of Dec to mid Jan we decided this was the only time slot to go see him. We are taking Amtrak this time....and looking foward to the train trip. We both really enjoy the train and seeing the country! We will be home on Dec. 6. The dogs are at Holly and Bruce's; the cats are staying home and we are packing once more and ready to go. The Wroamin' Wraspirs are on the wroad---er, wrails again! So until next time, we hope this finds you happy, healthy and living life the way you want.
The Wroamin' Wraspir's,
Al, Jo, Beau, Schuster, Jose and Juanito
Monday, November 07, 2005
We be headin' south - finally! Nov 8, 2005
Odessa, WA Nov. 7, 2005
FINALLY -- it is way past time to head south! Tomorrow we begin or annual migration south..to Tucson ultimately. We are way late this year as AL wanted to hunt this year. Elk hunting was cut a little short due to the heavy snow in the mountains, however, he had a good time. We have just about everything packed and ready to go. Packing this year was a little more challenging than it has been in the past. We usually travel in our 35 foot 5th wheel, but it is for sale in Moses Lake and we decided to leave it there over the winter and travel south in our 12 foot cab over camper! Now remember, to make things more interesting, we also have two very large poodle's and 2 cats that travel with us...plus Al and I in the camper....we will see how this works, or not! We are also pulling a cargo trailer with us to get all of our needed "stuff" to Tucson! Somehow we got all of this in the 5th wheel, and now we need a cargo trailer to haul it?
Our first scheduled stop is Seattle, tomorrow. That is if we can get there from here! I-90 is closed on Snoqualmie Pass due to a rock slide, which means we will have to go over Hwy 2; a narrow, two lane road. That should lengthen the trip somewhat! We will spend a couple of nights in Seattle; Al has a full day of doctor appointments on the 9th and we want to see the kids one more time before we leave. We are also meeting some good friends for dinner one night at a great Persian Restaurant in Redmond.
Our next stop will be Medford, OR to see Jo's sister and brother-in-law and niece and family. We plan on spending a day or so there. Then it is on to Lake Havasu, AZ to visit with Billie and Dan and see our friends Carl and Ruby Skidmore. Speaking of Billie and Dan, we want to brag a little here....Billie just was promoted to Lieutenant on the LA County Sheriff's Department. We now call her "LT Daughter"! She has really worked and studied hard for this promotion and we are very proud of her accomplishment. Okay, so I got off track a little here....our next stop after seeing them will be an overnight in Yuma to visit friends, and then into Tucson. We should be home by the 20th, or sooner.
Since our last travel log, we have been doing some traveling here and there. Jo had her 40th high school reunion in California in September. She enjoyed seeing some old friends and was amazed how good everyone looked....but she couldn't figure out how they got so old! :-) Of course, she hasn't gotten any older --HAHAHA! Seriously, she really enjoyed seeing her old school mates but was sad to see how many are no longer with us. Also on this trip we took in a wonderful concert by the Eagles at Staples Center. We have always wanted to see the Eagles in Concert and it was well worth it. They performed for 3 hours! We just proved the old folks can rock out -- just not for very long!
On this same trip, we moved Jo's Aunt from her apartment in California to Colorado Springs, CO so she is near her daughter, granddaughter and great-grand babies. She is in a nice assisted living arrangement not far from where her family lives and we feel much better knowing she is close to family that can take care of her. Jo's brother Johnny and her cousins Linda and Patty helped accomplish this move...which was no small feat! In 3 days we basically packed and moved her belongings. We gave most of her furniture away, and UPS shipped the rest. Thank you again Jack (Patty's husband) for your help.
As I sit and write this journal, I am looking out the window and it is truly WINTER here. There are NO LEAVES on the trees and it is cold, (34) gray and looks like snow. All we want to do is get out of here before that frozen white stuff starts to fall. Hope we make it! We will miss our friends and family here, but we are really looking forward to seeing our friends and family in Arizona! So, here we go....or here we come, which ever way you want to look at it. We are off! The Wroamin' Wraspirs are at it again!
We hope this finds you all happy and healthy and living life the way you want! Please drop us a line and let us know how you are doing and how you like our new way of sending out our travel journals.
Take care.....
"On the wroad again, just can't wait to get on the wroad again........."
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS
AL, JO, BEAU, SCHUSTER, JOSE AND JUANITO
FINALLY -- it is way past time to head south! Tomorrow we begin or annual migration south..to Tucson ultimately. We are way late this year as AL wanted to hunt this year. Elk hunting was cut a little short due to the heavy snow in the mountains, however, he had a good time. We have just about everything packed and ready to go. Packing this year was a little more challenging than it has been in the past. We usually travel in our 35 foot 5th wheel, but it is for sale in Moses Lake and we decided to leave it there over the winter and travel south in our 12 foot cab over camper! Now remember, to make things more interesting, we also have two very large poodle's and 2 cats that travel with us...plus Al and I in the camper....we will see how this works, or not! We are also pulling a cargo trailer with us to get all of our needed "stuff" to Tucson! Somehow we got all of this in the 5th wheel, and now we need a cargo trailer to haul it?
Our first scheduled stop is Seattle, tomorrow. That is if we can get there from here! I-90 is closed on Snoqualmie Pass due to a rock slide, which means we will have to go over Hwy 2; a narrow, two lane road. That should lengthen the trip somewhat! We will spend a couple of nights in Seattle; Al has a full day of doctor appointments on the 9th and we want to see the kids one more time before we leave. We are also meeting some good friends for dinner one night at a great Persian Restaurant in Redmond.
Our next stop will be Medford, OR to see Jo's sister and brother-in-law and niece and family. We plan on spending a day or so there. Then it is on to Lake Havasu, AZ to visit with Billie and Dan and see our friends Carl and Ruby Skidmore. Speaking of Billie and Dan, we want to brag a little here....Billie just was promoted to Lieutenant on the LA County Sheriff's Department. We now call her "LT Daughter"! She has really worked and studied hard for this promotion and we are very proud of her accomplishment. Okay, so I got off track a little here....our next stop after seeing them will be an overnight in Yuma to visit friends, and then into Tucson. We should be home by the 20th, or sooner.
Since our last travel log, we have been doing some traveling here and there. Jo had her 40th high school reunion in California in September. She enjoyed seeing some old friends and was amazed how good everyone looked....but she couldn't figure out how they got so old! :-) Of course, she hasn't gotten any older --HAHAHA! Seriously, she really enjoyed seeing her old school mates but was sad to see how many are no longer with us. Also on this trip we took in a wonderful concert by the Eagles at Staples Center. We have always wanted to see the Eagles in Concert and it was well worth it. They performed for 3 hours! We just proved the old folks can rock out -- just not for very long!
On this same trip, we moved Jo's Aunt from her apartment in California to Colorado Springs, CO so she is near her daughter, granddaughter and great-grand babies. She is in a nice assisted living arrangement not far from where her family lives and we feel much better knowing she is close to family that can take care of her. Jo's brother Johnny and her cousins Linda and Patty helped accomplish this move...which was no small feat! In 3 days we basically packed and moved her belongings. We gave most of her furniture away, and UPS shipped the rest. Thank you again Jack (Patty's husband) for your help.
As I sit and write this journal, I am looking out the window and it is truly WINTER here. There are NO LEAVES on the trees and it is cold, (34) gray and looks like snow. All we want to do is get out of here before that frozen white stuff starts to fall. Hope we make it! We will miss our friends and family here, but we are really looking forward to seeing our friends and family in Arizona! So, here we go....or here we come, which ever way you want to look at it. We are off! The Wroamin' Wraspirs are at it again!
We hope this finds you all happy and healthy and living life the way you want! Please drop us a line and let us know how you are doing and how you like our new way of sending out our travel journals.
Take care.....
"On the wroad again, just can't wait to get on the wroad again........."
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS
AL, JO, BEAU, SCHUSTER, JOSE AND JUANITO
Our First Blog
This is our first blog! We are trying something new and exciting!
We are retired and do a bit of traveling and I think this is the spot where we will post our travel journals in the future. That way, people who want to read where we are and what we are doing can; and for those poor soles who aren't really interested in what we are doing or where in the world we are, they can pass!
We have been traveling for the past 6 years -- usually in a 35 foot 5th wheel trailer. Accompanying us are our two large poodles, Beau and Schuster and our two cats, Jose and Juanito. We have managed to travel all 50 states in our trailer (well, okay, so we didn't take the trailer to Hawaii, but we were living in it when we went to Hawaii and came back, so we are counting Hawaii as "traveled to".) We spend our summers in Eastern Washington State and our winters in Tucson, Arizona. In between, we spend time in Alaska fishing and other places in the U.S. visiting our many friends and family.
I hope you enjoy our blogs.... here goes!
We are retired and do a bit of traveling and I think this is the spot where we will post our travel journals in the future. That way, people who want to read where we are and what we are doing can; and for those poor soles who aren't really interested in what we are doing or where in the world we are, they can pass!
We have been traveling for the past 6 years -- usually in a 35 foot 5th wheel trailer. Accompanying us are our two large poodles, Beau and Schuster and our two cats, Jose and Juanito. We have managed to travel all 50 states in our trailer (well, okay, so we didn't take the trailer to Hawaii, but we were living in it when we went to Hawaii and came back, so we are counting Hawaii as "traveled to".) We spend our summers in Eastern Washington State and our winters in Tucson, Arizona. In between, we spend time in Alaska fishing and other places in the U.S. visiting our many friends and family.
I hope you enjoy our blogs.... here goes!
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