Maui 2017

Hubby and I go to Hawaii with our friends, Mark and Karen once every three years.

This year it was Maui.  We go to the beach. Everyday, it is a beach day.

We visit different beaches to change it up.

 We find good food.  We are always looking for the best Mai Tai, the best coconut dessert and the best food truck.  Oh, and the best music.  We found the best food trucks, music and beer at the Maui Brewing Company.  Kimos, in Lahaina is a tradition too.

 At the beach, every day, all day. Like a job!

The best Mai Tai was at Monkey Pod, a Peter Merriman restaurant. 

The coconut cream pie at the Monkey Pod was disappointing.  Sorry Chef Merriman, my coconut cream pie is heaps better.

I don't have a picture of the pina colanda cake at Tommy Bahama's restaurant but I can vouch for it.  It was full of favor, moist and creamy.

 Surprise! Another beach day.  We do go for walks and we spend a lot of time in the ocean bobbing and body surfing.

 While on the beach, we read and always go through a pile of books.

 Some days we sit by the pool and read after we come up from the beach.  This was our last afternoon before our red eye flight.

 If you see a theme of beach, delicious cocktails and food and  relaxing, you'd be correct.

 I usually take a lot of pictures of the flowers in Hawaii but I was *sick this trip and I didn't take as many pictures.  A flower garnishing a cocktail was an easy shot.

We had a wonderful vacation and we are counting down the days until we can go back.

Aloha!

*I had a disgusting cold that ended with all sorts of complications.

I slept most of yesterday and have antibiotics so this can only get better.

Random Monday

 I've got some random today.  

Pie Pals Update

The Pie Pals are eating some glum pie because Miss Becky moved to North  South Carolina. We plan to eat pie without Becky but it won't the same.

 We went to Holly's house and had a test before we ate pie.

 We all passed and received our Snowpocalypse  2017 Badge.

Everything is cute and fun at Holly's house. It made me want to collect badges like a Girl Scout.

Her pecan pie was delish!

We had one last pie before Miss Becky left us.  I made coconut cream pie and hosted at my house.

Remember Pie Fixes Everything so while we were sad about Becky leaving we enjoyed the pie and since it was a sorrowful occasion everyone had seconds. That and a champagne cocktail helps.  

All better.

3, 2, 1... MAUI

I've been gathering dollar paperbacks to take to the beach and have a fairly decent stack.

Last trip to Maui I ran out of reading material and had to go to the free pile and take whatever was left. I'm not Harlequin Romance reader but I did it. Ugh. This year I'm ready!

 I have a new swim suit and cover up.  The shoes were in my closet and just in case I want to wear heels to the pool I can.  Every eventuality.  I'll keep you posted on the shoes and the amount of luggage.  #thestruggleisreal

 Karen and I made dinner reservations for the week. Oh my! We are going to have some fun.

It'll pretty much be our Hawaii routine but this old lady is buying a chair.  I plan to set it at the surf's edge and soak it all up.

Pretty much a beach day every day.  We've done the educational, touristy things in Hawaii.

Back in the Classroom

I am substitute teaching!  It is going well and it's fun to be back in school.  I can work without having to ask off for vacations, Hubby's days off and summertime.  I have met some great students and teachers and always come home with fun stories to share with Hubby.

I love saying the Pledge of Allegiance with a classroom of kiddos.  It gives me good chills.

I am amazed how many times a first grader falls out of their chair.

I love aha moments.

I love second grader jokes.

I now know the thumb between two fingers means that someone needs a bathroom pass.

If one little person says they need to see the nurse, there will soon be an epidemic. Because when they hear that word they all think of something that hurts and needs attention.  It's a fine line, folks.

I am having a good time.

A teacher asked if I had any jobs for this week. I teach on Tuesday and then I said I had a cut and color on Wednesday.  She thought that's what I was calling a kindergarten assignment.  Nooo, I'm getting my hair done before leaving for Maui.  Haha I am going to laugh about that for a long time.

Aloha!

Reading Poolside

Keeping the House has many characters but it is possible to keep them straight and to get to know each one.  Laura passed this book on to me and I took it to Las Vegas, it was a good poolside read..  Each chapter begins with some advice taken from the Good Housekeeping magazine in the 1950's.

I always enjoys stories about houses and this one didn't disappoint.

The Woman in Cabin Ten is a suspense story.  I wouldn't read it on a cruise! It's hard to put down, much like Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train.  It reminded me of the Safari promo cruise I took with my sister, Kathi. I pictured the ship to be similar, including the staff areas.

 My Mrs. Brown is a story of a woman with a dream to own a Oscar de la Renta dress. It seems so unlikely that Mrs. Brown would want a designer dress or that she could ever afford one but the last chapter explains everything.  It's a beautiful story of determination and love.

I'll remember this book for a long time.

The Boy is Back is written using emails and texts.  This makes for an easy read while traveling.

It's light reading with a good story.  Meg Cabot wrote the Princess Diaries and so she ranks pretty high with me.  I love that movie.

I need a stack of books for Maui, so any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

Las Vegas Wedding and Family Fun

Last week Hubby and I went to Las Vegas for his nephew's wedding.  It wasn't a destination wedding because Hubby's sister and her family live in Las Vegas.  The ceremony was at a beautiful location and the reception was at a beautiful park.

Cherie brought her grand girls to the wedding.  We had a lot of fun with them.

Hubby and his Mom ready for the wedding.

 Bonnie and Dennis had everyone to their house the night before the wedding.  It was a great time to visit with everyone.

Daniel and Athena got married on the 7th anniversary of their first date.

A very cute and happy couple!

I found someone to take a picture of all of the Rylaarsdam women and forgot the newest family member, the bride! Ugh!

 That evening a lot of us went to Fremont Street.  The lights are fantastic but the crowds made this introvert a little tense.

 Hubby and I had fun with Destiny and Brooklyn in Vegas.  We teased Brooklyn because she arrived in Vegas wearing her snow boots.  She hadn't flown before and just didn't realize how quickly the climate can change. There was a lot of laughing and the girls were good sports hanging out with the Aunts.

 On our way back to our condo Hubby decided to drive back along the strip.  Marie and Alida (pretty sure I have spelled her name incorrectly, she is an exchange student visiting from Turkey) rode with us.  Hubby pointed out the pawn shop from the show, Pawn Stars. Oh my! Alida was so excited.  It turns out that she watches the show in Turkey with her Dad and never dreamt that she would be so close to the shop.  Hubby made a U-turn and we did a photo shoot. She was giddy!

 The next morning Hubby and I took the shuttle to see the conservatory at the Bellagio.  The Spring exhibit had opened the day before and we had not been inside of the Bellagio before so we had this planned.

 The flowers were gorgeous but I was obsessed with the tile floor.  If you've ever done any tiling you know this floor is art.

 The new exhibit is a Japanese Spring Garden and the conservatory has 120 gardeners keeping everything fresh.

 The lobby has a beautiful display of Dale Chihuly's glass.  I love his work and since I met him last summer I feel a special connection.

 We thought the fountains only were at night but they are during the day too.

 A highlight for Hubby was meeting his hero, Sponge Bob. Seriously excited!

We spent the afternoon by the pool with the girls and then returned our rental car and went for dinner.

Hubby wanted to go to a Brazilian Steakhouse. He had a dream, so I researched and made reservations at Texas de Brazil. It was delicious and fun. 

We flew home Monday morning.  We had a great trip and had some fun family time.

Congratulations Daniel and Athena!

Travel Tips Continued

Many of you shared travel tips on my facebook link and I appreciate that.  Great ideas and tips!

I have more to share today because I learned some things on this trip.  Some were the hard way.

 Rental car reservations, I usually make two or three and then upon arrival I go to the company with the shortest line. I didn't do that this time, which was unusual and a big mistake for this trip.

I had reservations with Dollar Rental, we took the shuttle to the rental car hub at the Las Vegas airport.  We got to the counter and the agent couldn't find my reservation.  It turns out that I had a car rental reservation in Las Vegas, just not at the airport. Oh yes, he could help me but it would be $80 a day more. We took a cab to Treasure Island and picked up the car.  We had to return it there too.

We decided to return the car the night before and take Lyft to the airport in the morning.

I will now and forever cross check car pick up and drop off. Amen.

I use Uber, but in Las Vegas the concierge told Marie that Lyft works better there.  Now I have both apps and will check which one works better for the area.  Lyft cars were everywhere and lined up like taxis in Vegas. Lyft is cheaper than the shuttles that take you from the airport to the hotels.

When traveling on Allegiant Airlines, we always arrive super early.  They have long lines and never enough help.  It was a good call to return the car the night before and go directly to the airport in the morning because in addition to the snaking long line inside of the airport, the line continued down the sidewalk outside. Miles of cranky people.

We had plenty of time but we witnessed a lot of panic and missed flights.

I carry a large tote bag as my purse with cross body purse inside the bag.  It's nice to have that extra room for my book, water bottle, snack, footie socks and shopping.

I found this bag at Gap this Spring and it's a great size, lined and it's pretty in real life.  The Gap code today in BONUS.  I am the master of Gap codes, promotions and rewards and I got mine for $13.  It is regularly $59.95 and comes in black and brown also.  It stands up, it has an inside strap to secure it and a pocket for my phone.  There are matching cross body bags too.

Traveler Beware!

I had an incident yesterday at the Bellingham airport.  I went to get the luggage and Hubby went to get the car. I was texting and saw the luggage carousel start up.  I finished my message and started to walk over to watch for our bag.  About three steps in I saw my bag go flying past me, being pushed along by a guy.  A man and woman were heading to the door with our bag.

I stopped them and told them that they had my bag. She said she was glad I noticed, he said nothing!

Honestly, I am not sure if it was a mistake or if they were stealing luggage.

I have a large, bright tag on our suitcase. 

She said, oh we must have the same luggage.

I asked, oh really, with a big tag just like mine?

NO RESPONSE!

Yeah, that's what I thought! 

Put a big, bright tag on your luggage and watch out because people are either stupid or stealing.

Las Vegas fun and the wedding in my next post!