Honolulu, HI

I admit, getting away this time of year has become a bit of a habit. I easily use Valentine's Day as an excuse and then blend that right into Bill's upcoming birthday; along with the usual dreadful winter weather these seem reason enough. It usually takes till early January for me to become a wee mad and seek out a warm place to visit to bring the sanity back into my being.

This winter I really hoped for something new; honing my search into remote Caribbean or maybe way down into Mexico someplace along the gulf. The options looked promising with bargains galore but then there is, the flight. Being self employed with adult children comes with the blessing of being able to leave any time you'd like. It also comes with the difficulty of taking no more than 7 days off at a time. Cool Caribbean\Gulf of Mexico, 2 days fly time each way.... )o: So Hawaii it was. Cheap short flights and bargain hotels made the choice that much easier. We've been to Maui a few times and decided to try something completely different. Having a friend who lived in Honolulu for years helped give an idea of what to anticipate and where to eat! (Something Bill & I enjoy probably a little too much).

Since I have such a struggle finding the time to blog, I am cramming this 5 day get away into one. So be prepared, it's long. You may want to take 5 days to read it!

Our first day we did not even take the camera out. I think we were both just so happy to be away from work the first thing on our mind was pool; which is where we spent the entire day. Reading, swimming, walking the beach, eating, people watching, sunning our souls... Simply glorious.

Day 2 we were ready for adventure and headed out. With my notes from our friend we headed out to:


After a country drive through the hills (hey I know they are mountains to them but living in the Cascade Mountain Range they seem more like hills to me) our first destination was the town of Haleiwa. Beachy, cool, total surfer town. I am convinced if Heidi, Joe & Josiah lived in Hawaii this is where they would live; it felt very them.

Of course we had to stop and wait in line for the famous Shave Ice. It was good but to cold to enjoy. We were having some tropical winter weather... Who knew... winter...

Signs of the 'feel' of this town.

We did have the best Mexican food we've ever tasted here. If you go, I say stop, it's super! I am trying to figure out how to open one in Bend, OR.

We then proceeded to drive around the Island; looking for some of the famous big surf in hopes of finding surfers on top of it. It was really quite windy and seemed maybe not the best conditions; awesome to watch though. We stopped at lots of beaches along our beautiful drive.

Did I mention this was a kind of food\road trip.....

She taught me how to cut them, I have always wondered.......

The next goal; a shrimp truck.

I was not satisfied with any truck; the aroma needed to be decent too.

So we settled for the 'famous' one, along with almost all of the other tourists. It proved good except Bill wanted the super spicy (the sign said NO REFUNDS...) too hot for my tastes but the shrimp was really good.

The drive was so lovely.

With lush tropical scenery the entire way.

We ended the day with a dinner at Roy's. The reputation is well deserved. It was a fantastic dinner.


Next day we decided to make our way up the 'mountain' we had been admiring from out hotel room.

It's a fun hike\walk and even halfway up you have views that birds enjoy.

The old bunkers along with the caves were a humble reminder of why the path was originally built.

It is not in our nature to be there and think of looking for enemy invasion, another time I suppose... For me it's simply absorbing the beauty of creation.

Taking a rest before we head to the top. It's only 760 feet up but at times seemed a steep climb.

If you have never been to Hawaii, you can see right here one of the many reasons it is so special; clear blue water.

Feeling on top of the world, well almost.....

Now we could view our hotel room from Diamond Head, yep it's that speck right there, past the pink one and up some. (o:

Yes this 'hike' was built by the military, a few years back....

Heading back into town we grabbed a quick shot of Waikiki Beach, a happening place.

We decided to end the day at the Tapas Bar at our hotel.

So we could absorb some more of this.



Waking up we made the wise choice to spend our day here.

We both loved it so much and barely noticed the day of rain because our hearts and minds were so filled with history and meaning instead.

Our destination the Arizona Memorial; the USS Missouri sits nearby as she did December 7, 1941.

The rusted equipment you see are actual parts of the Arizona, that is how shallow she is buried.

It is a place of reverence. I couldn't get myself to take pictures of the memorial it's self, it just did not feel right. There are 1177 men buried here.

After almost 70 years, her oil still leeks.

They call it her Black Tears.

On our way back to shore we decided we wanted to spend our entire day here. Simply to honor the military along with Bill's dad and my brother in law who both severed in the Navy. We thought it would be interesting to learn about the world they lived in at one time.

Pearl Harbor continues to be a working base. We got to spy a sub coming back into port.

Next the USS Bowfin. Wow, what a machine!

I find it pretty amazing what man has built.

Bill was for sure playing sailor by this time, trying to get a grasp on the life that Chuck once had.

I started getting nervous that he would get in trouble for playing with everything... I tend to be a rule follower.

Seriously, there is nothing to shoot at!
Thank God.

Now for our delve into the world that Bill's dad once lived in. The USS Missouri. She was HUGE, SO SO HUGE! Bill made me salute.... I am not even sure if that is okay if you are not military.... (A rule follower...) I obliged deciding since my dad served in the Army it would be safe.

Still playing....... I told him he needed to take the sweater off his neck to be more believable; he wouldn't listen. Children......
(o:

Seriously large guns. This is one dangerous battleship!

And right here on this exact spot, the end of World War II. In my opinion once sweet place to step my feet. I love history.

At the end of the day the rain had moved on and during a warm afternoon walk along the beach we found what we thought would be the perfect spot for dinner. It ended up being an exquisite hotel adjacent to ours.

The setting was better than perfect and the food fabulous. We even worked in a factor of fun with the fact that our waiter had just returned from a 2 week vacation in Bend! Go figure...... He seems found of...... snow..... whatever!

Upon our exit i just about lost Bill, for his other dream girl was parked out front. I really did have to tear him away and he made me take this picture! I admit it was gorgeous.



We ended the week as we began, the weather was finally clear and the air was warm, we spent our day lounging in the tropics. We decided to have drinks by the pool at the end of the day.

That way Bill could hop in on a whim and get in just one more swim!

It was not easy saying goodbye to this glorious view although home is alway the better place.



This my friends is why I steal this man away. He works so hard and is so focused 100% of the time; because of him I am blessed beyond anything I've ever imagined. He is my favorite person in this world and when he is away from the office he is able to smile like this and let go a tiny bit. For that and the warm air it's so worth it!

Rat Pack Dinner Club

I am proud to say that the 'Dinner Club' that I initiated this last summer has endured (better than my blogging) and we have had some wonderful evenings! In late summer we had a "Santa Fe" style dinner. For sure being one of my favorite types of food it was quite fantastic with the most impressive ingredient being the homemade southwest style table the host built for the party! It was beautiful. Then this Autumn we had an appropriately themed "Autumn" dinner. It included gourmet comfort foods, a cozy setting and ended with the host's special mexican coffee.

Getting through the holiday's we have started back up and we were all very excited; it was Janet's turn. If you knew our friend Janet you would understand this; every hostess's goal is to at least come close to Janet, she intimidates us all because this woman knows how to do a party!

She chose the theme "Rat Pack Cocktail Party". Our invitation included a brief description of what the Rat Pack was and informed us of the acceptable 'dress'. I admit; I spent over an hour and a half on my hair and makeup! My word, so much work! It was fun though, I will take any reason I can get to doll up.

We learned a lot about the era that our parents dwelt in. It was a time of classic fashion and lounges filled with couples out for a good time.

The decorations were quite clever!


The cocktails were very simple and very strong. basically straight up. Janet and Scott were kind enough to create a 'Marilyn' for us girls that was toned down a bit and actually enjoyable to swallow. The guys were brave and imbibed in the real deal.

Accountant by day; bartender by night.


The bartender pouring his concoction.


Bill is not usually a drinker but he appears quite refined here with his tasty martini.


The "Cocktail Hour" was quite sophisticated. It consisted of the original "Oceans 11" playing silently on the TV, Rat Pack music and hor devours from the age of class.


They were not foodies as we are today, the food was simple American. Although as Janet does they were delicious and pleasing to the eye; bacon wrapped dates, olives, cheeses and home made breadsticks.


For dinner to start, a classic that has become popular once again today; the wedge salad.


An out of this world beef bourguignon and velvety scalloped potatoes.


Our fabulous meal ended with a mouth watering creamy potted chocolate cake.


Conversation around the table was as lively and controversial as ever!


Yet we all were able to stay happy and sane.


Our beautiful and talented hostess alongside her husband; he had a fun game of Rat Pack Trivia near the end. So we not only ate and drank, we got a bit of an education too.


Of course we ended with yet another tasty treat; homemade peach brandy. Delish!


I confess I do not care for the TV show Mad Men, much too racy for my soul. Although.... oh that style! I admit if I could get away with and afford to dress like Betty Draper every single day, I would. This is a style I adore and I enjoyed every detail of this evening. It was quite glamorous! Relax, it's not lit.

back to posting

I have finally decided it is time to pick this blog back up and continue with it. If you are a reader, I do apologize for the absence. It seems since our grandson was born in early July (yes he is a doll) life got to a crazy pace and simply has not slowed down until this weekend. I am actually impressed that I got a post on here about our trip to Alaska.

Since July we have been either gone or busy with one thing or another every single weekend. August flew by with an annual trip to our great friend's cabin to celebrate a 50th (sadly Bill was stuck in airports and missed just about the whole weekend). We went to a Mount Hermon Family Camp and had a great time with the kids and Joe's parents. Wil & Kris moved across the country and are now in Portland where he is attending Culinary School. Michael has moved back to Central Oregon (for a time) and is becoming a wonderful Web Programmer & Designer at BrandNavigation. I went on a surprise trip for my sisters' Bday. We went back to Italy for one wonderful week of friendship and culture. Laura moved twice. We went to LA for a swanky red carpet event (that we were a bit out of place at, but it was fun!) The following day I began the collection of 5920 gift filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child for 10 days straight. Then it was Thanksgiving! All this while BrandNavigation was as busy as usual; Bill designed one of the best Branding Campaigns he has ever done and I frantically tried to stay somewhat organized with things at work along with now being the Area Coordinator for OCC.

Then it was topped off with an offer on our house in Sisters; one week before our contract was to be up! Then a frantic pace of trying to find a new house in Bend, since the one we had hoped for became suddenly unavailable. Upon not finding any other house (in our price range) we got extremely concerned that we had made a grave error accepting a very low offer (something I had gently but firmly push for) i yi yi. THEN: we were leaving for Italy in one week, wala the house we had wanted for so long magically came back onto the market (at a 40% price reduction) and the night before we left for Italy we found out our offer had been accepted! So after 3 years of thinking about it, trying, praying and waiting; we have moved to Bend, OR and yes, we love it!

If I can quickly tell the story of this house... Two years ago we looked at the house across the street (at least 3 or 4 times). We liked it but we always said when we walked out front (but that's the house we really like). We had never even seen the inside. We did know who the owner was and when we had heard that he was closing his businesses in Bend (he was a chef of 2 restaurants) last Christmas we wondered, "is his house for sale." It was, we looked decided we wanted it before even going up the stairs and made a full price offer, put our house on the market then THUD! Nothing, no response on the offers and no offers on our house. As they went through a bankruptcy mess we eventually realized (after 10 months) that maybe it was just not going to be and resolved to life it Sisters. (We felt very much it was time for a change but thought it just wasn't meant to be). It is somewhat emotionally hard to sell a house you built for your family but we had finally decided a house is a building and a home is when you are, regardless. We were ready to emotionally let go of that home a find a new one.

Then just by a series of pretty much miracles, with the worst timing in the world (it seemed) we somehow landed the house we had always admired at a bottom dollar price. We are so humbled and blessed. What your money gets you in Central Oregon these days is a bargain! Although, like today it comes with WEATHER!

So my return to the blog is a bit of sharing our new home. So far it is very unfurnished and will be for awhile. We did downsize quite a bit but with the style being so very different, we are starting in some areas from scratch! It wouldn't be an understatement to say, the house is modern in design. We love it but it's a challenge for me, my style is much more... Tuscan Villa! So we have asked our daughter in law (Kris) to help with the process and she is doing a fantastic job. I promise to share the results of all her efforts as soon as we have it! But for now:

This is our front courtyard which is quite cool. I have great summer plans for an outdoor front room. We get the most beautiful sunrises in the front of the house and I know we will be having coffee out here every weekend. As for today... We yeah, it's basically a blizzard.


The living room is empty except for Bill's chair and the built ins. We do have the Christmas tree here and it will be filled with sleeping bodies in a few weeks. With the downsize we have no guest rooms for now. Although we are confident our 2 other young adult children will again someday be out on their own. The color scheme of this room is all in that lovely pillow on the chair. (A Kris find) I think it will be my favorite room when it is done, I already sit in here every morning and enjoy my morning peace. Bill has dubbed this room the 'New York' room. It will have photographs that Michael took last year when the boys all went there for his birthday.


We brought the conference table from BrandNav because it was a perfect fit for the house and the dining area. Kris helped us with the choice of these chairs, which we love but are so worried about getting them dirty. Seriously it's nuts!


I have tried very hard to 'edit' my decorating style and make it fit here. This is my attempt at 'Christmas'. I know the place looks somewhat empty; it's a work in progress and I am trying to find a balance with it. After all I keep joking that we are Fred & Wilma because we have dark grey stone floors, grey walls and hardly anyplace to sit. We are slowly getting it warmed up and I won't being wearing bones in my hair forever!


The family room has this amazing built in area. We love the cool factor of it but realized it was so much bigger than we had realized. What we thought was a very nice big TV is somewhat dwarfed now. We are considering painting the inside back wall of the shelves a darker color to balance the size a bit. They were painted a bright orange before! POP! Maybe a wee too much for our tastes.


Our bedroom (well and the kids too) actually is furnished and we were delighted how good our set looks in it. The wall color was picked by Bill and I love it. We feel like we live in the Ewok Village, we love waking up in the trees everyday. The views here are so beautiful. One of our favorite things about this house is the setting. It is amazing even though it is in a neighborhood.




The 'over the top, unnecessary' room is our bathroom. It is beyond awesome and we love it but if we would've built this house... We would've used the square feet for an office space. It is simply a spa. Quite cool but.... over the top.





We have a couple back decks. The entire back of the house is windows (sliders) that opens up to these decks.


The view is so great, so peaceful and private.


This one has a built in wood burning fire pit (it is just filled with snow instead today). That hot tub in the distance is ours. We've yet to use it... not filled yet. Buying a bank owned home came with many little issues. We are knocking them out one by one. Bill successfully got a real door knob on our front door yesterday!




So as always I've written way too much. I just felt a need to get caught up and share life again. Thanks to Wil for telling me he checks this blog daily and that it is time for me to get back on it! I appreciate the encouragement son.

x
~ L