Travel Tuesday ~ Maui ~ The Magic Isle

This photo is of me and a Canadian couple who were on the helicopter ride with my sweetie and I. We landed at the top of Haleakala and opened a bottle of champagne and toasted each other. Can't remember their names, this was taken in 2001, but I do remember how nice they were.
Since for some reason we didn't get any photos of my sweetie and I with the helicopter, I wanted to show it to you. There were six people in this as we toured the island, doesn't look that big huh? There was also a window on the bottom of the helicopter so you could look down and see the scenery. It was well worth the ride and so exciting. We went all over the island and seen pretty much everything.
This is a photo of my sweetie at Iao Valley. Iao Valley is a state park that is home to the 1200-foot Iao Needle. And it is gorgeous. I'm not just saying that, everywhere you went in Maui was just gorgeous. It is paradise.
This was our view from our room on Ka'anapali beach. I would sit on the balcony and watch the windsurfers play and in the distance you could see the island of Lanai. I really could have stayed there all day.
Just wanted to show you one more photo from our helicopter ride. We went with a company called Blue Hawaiian Tours and they did a great job.



Let's just imagine it's not cold and dreary outside and let's just pretend we are sitting on that balcony in Maui and watching the windsurfers play. We can do that on this cold January day, can't we? So let's talk about Maui, Maui is known as the "Magic Isle" and with good reason. It is magical and it will cast a spell on you. My sweetie and I only had a few days to spend there and we loved every minute we were there. So let's begin, the most popular resort areas of the island are on the western shore. We stayed on Ka'anapli beach, Ka'anapali is a four mile stretch of beach and has many hotels, condos and open air restaurants and it also is where the Whalers Village shopping is located. Ka'anapali also has a paved beach walk.
Two miles south of Ka'anapli is the historic whaling village of Lahaina where my sweetie and I went shopping. In Lahaina Town there are boutiques, galleries and places to eat all along Front street. If you go a little farther south you will hit Wailea. Wailea is where many of the luxury hotels are located and they are something to see themselves.
Now you may be asking what is there to do on Maui, well there are so many you'll have trouble choosing just one so give yourself plenty of time when you visit. Travel inland to the base of the Haleakala Crater and then up 10,000 feet to the summit. A popular tour is is the downhill bike ride and sunrise excursion. I did not do this but I have heard it is wonderful.
And don't forget the drive to Hana. It's a bit hair raising but oh so beautiful. Hana is a 57 mile coast hugging stretch which takes you over 59 bridges and through more than 600 curves. Most people continue the 9 miles beyond to waterfalls and pools at Oheo Gulch. And here's a bit of trivia you might not know, more than 3000 humpback whales visit Maui each winter. I also don't want to forget about Molokini, which is a tiny crescent shape island off Maui's southwest coast which people go to and snorkel.
Once again I can't give enough space to this wonderful destination but if you want to learn more about the Hawaiian Islands, here is the site where I go for all my information. They do a great job in telling you about all of the islands. I went to what this site calls the School of Hawaii a while back and got my "Akamai" degree from them which means "Hawaii Expert." It was the most fun I ever had at school. :-) Next week we are going to Kauai, which we didn't make it too but hopefully I will get enough info and photos from my Hawaii website so you can get a good picture of this island. Kauai is on my must do list of places to see in my lifetime. Have a wonderful Tuesday and remember you are on your balcony in Maui watching the windsurfers having fun, you are not looking out the window at snow and gray skies. LOL



P.S. Go to the bottom of my blog and check out the really cool photo album I added. Just a few photos for now but isn't it cool? The talented girls from the Bowerbirds Nest , Jenn & Jacqui gave me this idea from their blog, now if I can just figure out how they get that bird to fly all over on their blog, LOL. Go visit their blog, it's so much fun.

The Name Game

So what's in a name? Names are part of our identity, names have a history, meaning and tradition as well as creativity. Names are also a source of pride for the parents naming their child. When I was growing up in the 1960's, I went to grade school with a lot of girls named Debbie. I wanted to be a Debbie also but as I grew older and less insecure I realized Joan was not a bad name to have. If you look back in history, you'll see the different names that were popular for that particular time. Since the two new grandbabies are coming into the world within the next few months, the subject of names has come up quite a few times. I think Jimmy (my son) and Allison have decided to name their little boy after my sweetie, whose name is Michael but I have also heard them talk about naming him Cameron. Whatever name they choose, I'll love that little guy to pieces. And my daughter Melissa and Jamiel just found out they are having another girl so they are trying to figure out what to name her. I read that whatever name a parent chooses for their child, he or she will grow into it and become it. So I bought a baby name book for them to look at, this book has over 100,001 names in it and I think they'll be able to come up with something. Anyway this book has a few different categories that I've never seen when I was picking out names for our children and I thought I would share a few with you. Okay so here we go, I'll just share a few from each category. My all time favorite category is the Mob names one. For boys in that category there's Vito, Fredo, Luca and Carlo. For Mob girls there's Moxie or Apollonia. Or you could name your baby after Disney characters, like Aladdin, Nemo or Gaston for boys or Ariel, Lilo or Aurora for girls. Or you could name your child after a car like Lexus, Bently or Dolorian for boys or Porsche, Audi or Chevrolet for girls. Or how about those Greek gods and goddesses? For boys it could be Zeus, Apollo or Pluto and for girls it could be Aphrodite, Persephone or Venus. They even have names for kids from firearms, barflies, optometrists, surfers rednecks..........you name it and they have a category in this book. I think most parents put a lot of thought and effort in naming their child so I don't sit in judgement on any name. I personally like the names from the 1880's and 1890's, well not all but I do like many of them, like John, James & Joseph for boys and Emma, Elizabeth and Anna for girls. Okay, I'll stop now but I could go on and on with this, it's kind of fun. So tell me what's your favorite name and why do you like it? Have a great Monday! This is Debbie, I mean Joan signing off. :-)

Friday Fun!

I heard this on Regis & Kelly the other day and had to pass it on. It's under the heading of useless but fun information to know. There's an article in Woman's Health magazine that says the average woman consumes between four to nine pounds of lipstick in her life. That's anywhere between 481 to 1,083 tubes of lipstick in a lifetime. So there you have it, the reason why I can't seem to lose those last stubborn pounds. :-) Have a nice weekend and don't eat too much lipstick!

Introducing.........

My daughter had an ultrasound today, check out Maddie's (my granddaughter) new baby sister!!!
Don't you think she is gorgeous?
Everything looks great and right on schedule.
No names picked out just yet....

An Award and I've been tagged

Tammy from The Pink Magnolia passed this award on to me and I appreciate it so much. Thanks Tammy! Here is what this award is about:

"So here's to all the blogs that you've discovered that you can't possibly live without. They make you laugh, cry, think and feel connected everytime you read a post. They give you a thrill as you see them loading into your browser and you get an equally satisfying thrill when you see they have commented on your blog. "

I am doing the same as Tammy did and awarding this to all the blogs on my favorite list and anyone else who stops by and visits me. Because I really need to update my favorite list again.

Also my good blogging buddy shannon from Paint Mine Pink has tagged me to tell 10 weird things about me. Only ten shannon ? I'm sure there are lots more but this still was a little hard to think of, probably because in my eyes my weirdness is normal. LOL Okay so here goes:

1) I can crack my right big toe over and over again. It's weird because I can do it anytime, anywhere it just makes that cracking sound.

2) I brush my teeth about a hundred times a day. Okay maybe it's really 5 or 6 times a day but I must have my teeth feeling clean. That's weird isn't it? Or maybe it's just being OCD. Drives my sweetie crazy with the amount of toothpaste we go through.

3)I used to eat lots and lots of ice. It had to be crushed and it couldn't be from my refrig, it had to be the bag kind and then I would crush it some more in my blender and put some crystal lite lemonade powder on it and eat it, there would be no water in it. Who knew that eating weird stuff is a sign of anemia? After my anemia was fixed, I stopped eating the ice, and just like that my craving for it was gone. That was a really weird phase of my life. I should go back to eating it because it helped me lose some weight, but it's bad for your teeth.

4)When I sneeze it's usually in a series of threes. I don't just sneeze once, it almost always is three times in a row. That's really weird.

5) I must have certain foods in my house at all times and not just one of them, I have to have a back up. Like I must have two containers of my coffemate sugar free vanilla creamer in the refrig and more then one package of crystal lite lemonade and always pita bread. Can a person live on coffee creamer, crystal lite and pita bread? LOL

6)I wear my favorite sandals all year long(around the house). There could be snow outside and it can be 10 degrees but I'm still wearing my sandals and getting my toes polished. It makes me happy to see my toes nice and pretty.

7)I change the words to songs and make them silly. Like for instance there's a song by the Cranberries that I think is called Linger and she sings"I'm such a fool for you, do you have to let it linger" or something like that. Well, I sing do you have too many fingers instead of the linger part. Yea, that's definitely weird but hey it's fun to change the words.

8)Some people think this is weird. I go to movies by myself and enjoy it. Not always but sometimes it is so nice to sit in a dark theater and enjoy a movie with no distractions and just escape for an hour or two all by myself.

9)I talk to my cat and she seems to understand me and she listens really well. Now I know that's not weird or at least not to me.

10)I call the mailman the Squirrel. I have no idea why I do this, been doing it for years. Now that I think about it I call stores by odd names also. But my family knows exactly what I mean if I yell out the squirrel just came and then someone will go and get the mail. (I don't call the mailman a squirrel to his face, he's really nice).

Hey, I just realized I'm pretty weird and some of you may never come back to my site again. LOL So I am off today spreading all of my weirdness across Cincinnati.

Okay, so if any of you guys want to play along please do and let me know so we can compare weirdness. Also if you have never paid shannon a visit please go over or should I say go visit her down under because she's an Aussie. She has a beautiful blog and she make all kinds of pretty things that are in my favorite color pink. Have a great Wednesday!

Travel Tuesday ~ Oahu Hawaii ~ The Gathering Place

This is me on Waikiki in 2001. Can you see Diamond Head in the background?
This is a photo of my sweetie at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel. That place was amazing, it was made up of a series of buildings and lush tropical gardens, lava rock pools and exotic wildlife. If you look real close in the photo you can see the exotic birds in the photo (and no my sweetie is not one of the exotic birds LOL).
I just thought these little Hawaiian children were so cute. They performed for us and they did such a great job.
This was the view from the J.W. Mariott Ihlani Hotel at dusk. We went there for a luau and it was so beautiful. My sweetie and I went to Hawaii in the spring of 2001 for a travel agent conference and the company holding the conference treated us all like kings and queens. My only regret was we didn't get to see the "big island" of Hawaii and Kauai. Oh well, I guess that's an excuse to go back someday.

I couldn't do Oahu and not include Pearl Harbor. I took this photo off the internet because my camera died when we got to the monument. Yea, I was bummed but this is a must do when you go to Oahu. Most people are very quiet and respectful when they see this monument and to know that this is the final resting place for these men who gave their lives is very moving. DO NOT miss this if you ever go to Oahu.

How much fun is it to come back from the holidays and go on a trip to Hawaii? Okay so maybe we aren't really going to Hawaii today but we can dream. I loved Hawaii, just loved it. How many times have you heard me say this? LOL But honestly I have never seen anything like I have seen there, the mountains, the rainforests, the beaches. The scenery was beyond beautiful. So we are going to start this year off with Oahu which is Hawaii's chief island and is also the most populated island. "Oahu" means "the gathering place". Oahu has expanded it's beaches and they once again have sunset torch-lighting ceremonies and free hula performances at the ocean's edge. Here are a few favorite things to do in Oahu. Take a hike to Diamond Head and take in the panoramic views of Waikiki. Waikiki makes Oahu the most visited island. Oahu has more restaurants, shops and nightlife than all the other Hawaiian Islands combined, plus about 75% of Hawaii residents live here. Here are some of the best things to do on Oahu, go get a sunset cocktail at Duke's Canoe Club and then sit on the beach at the Outrigger Waikiki hotel and watch the view. Go visit Iolani Palace, which King David Kalakaua completed in 1882. Actually Hawaii has some very interesting history. Also DO NOT MISS the USS Arizona Memorial, which commemorates the men and women who died on the attack of Pearl Harbor. Don't forget about the Polynesian Cultural Center, which is on the North Shore. I never made it there but have heard it is wonderful. The Polynesian Cultural Center is a 42 acre lagoon park that is all about Polynesian culture. Also in the winter on the North shore, surfers ride the legendary blue crush (did anyone see that movie?) at Sunset Beach and the Banzi Pipeline. Once again there is not enough room in Travel Tuesday to give to this island but I hope this gives you some idea of what Oahu is all about. I really liked Oahu and Waikiki, I've heard some people compare it to Miami but I truly enjoyed my time there. Oh yea, almost forgot----for the Lost fan(who can that be?) you can go and see where they film on the island. That's worth the long plane ride there. On that note about the long plane ride, I just have to share this, being in the travel business, you get an idea that alot of people have no idea about geography and I admit sometimes I'm not up on mine either but I once had a lady who called and wanted to know about driving to Hawaii and when I told her it was a series of islands she wanted to know if they had a ferry so she could take her car--no lie, that's a true story and one I'll probably never forget. Next week we go to Maui, I loved loved it there.........LOL

Bouncing Around

I've decided that I am a bouncer like Winnie the Pooh's friend Tigger. I bounce around from subject to subject without a beat in the conversation. Now, I don't consider bouncing a character flaw, rather it does make the person who is listening to me or reading what I'm writing pay more attention. LOL But seriously, I've noticed I am doing this alot more lately and I think it has something to do with the change of life (which I like to blame everything on). But I also think this bounciness ( is bounciness a real word?) is hardwired in me. I just can't help bouncing! So I am sorry if I've bounced a little too much lately and I will try to work on it so I don't totally confuse anyone. :-) And now I am going to "bounce" to the subject of babies!

Look at these. Are they not the cutest baby shower invitations? They actually stand up. My daughters and I are giving a shower for Jimmy(my son) and Allison's baby boy who is due at the end of March. We found these precious invitations at Hallmark and had to use them.
Look how all of the information is on the side of the "crib".
And they lay flat to be put in the envelope. I just hope the friends and relatives who are being invited realize that the invites stand up to look like a baby's crib. The countdown to the the two new grandbabies begins. My daughter Melissa is due in May and they find out what they are having this week. I'll have to see if they want me to share if it's a boy or girl yet. Anyway, have a great Monday and I'll just be here in good ole' Cincy bouncing around a bit. :-)