Recently in Travel Category

On Thursday we drove up to Chicago - it was Fall Break, so Delaney and Ella came along with us!  We walked around a bit that day, went up to the Sky Deck in the Willis Tower (former Sears Tower!) and that is always a thrill.  We also went to Millennium Park to see "The Bean" - wow - what an amazing structure.  The highlight and main reason for our trip was on Thursday evening.  We went to the Broadway Theatre at Watertower Place and saw "I Love Lucy"  - a loving tribute to that TV show!  It was staged as if we were watching the live filming of two episodes of the show.  Along with that, there were breaks for "live commercials" - so fun to sing along with the perfomers  - "Brylcream", :"Halo Shampoo", "Alka Seltzer" and more!  The girls laughed and clapped throughout the whole thing.  They are huge Lucy fans, and can talk knowledgeably about most any episode during the 9 year run of I Love Lucy on TV.  We also had a supper of genuine "Chicago Style" deep dish pizza - oh boy - was that ever delicious!! 

We drove home again on Friday and all of us loved our whirlwind trip to the Windy City!

An interesting week!  I have been watering my plants and flowers non-stop in anticipation of being gone next week, been to a concert on Monday night (by myself!), taken Ella to the dentist to have a sharp spot fixed on her spacer (after an interesting anti-dentist meltdown!), done airport dropoff and then pickup for Steve's trip to Albuquerque, packed for our trip to Minnesota etc etc etc and survived the extreme temperatures of Indianapolis all week.

I am really looking forward to our flight North tomorrow, to the Land of Sky Blue Waters!!

Tomorrow we are taking the girls on a little trip to Ohio to visit Uncle Matthew and Davie.  Our first stop will be Cedar Point Amusement Park where we will spend the day on Friday, along with Uncle Matthew.  On Saturday we will head on over to Cleveland for a visit with the guys there.  We haven't been there since a year ago March, so it will be fun to explore and enjoy their city again.  Delaney and Ella are great travelers, and would be on the go all the time if we were able to do that !!  Should be a fun few days!

Last evening at Poetry Plus, Steve and I presented a photo journal of our trip to Europe this past August.  Seeing pictures of our trip on the "big screen" made it all come to life again - sometimes I have to pinch myself that I really got to go on such a fabulous adventure.  Makes me want to do it all over again!!  Thank goodness for photo albums!

We had a blast with the granddaughters at Turkey Run State Park - we all enjoyed the hiking, bird watching, swimming, eating, jigsaw puzzles, checkers, card games, and just plain relaxing!  This was our fourth annual Spring Break trip here, and next year we hope to make it our "Gala 5th Anniversary Trip"!  The girls are learning to identify many birds, wildflowers, trees and rocks.  They are so appreciative of all of these opportunities and Steve and I are so thankful that they are part of our life!

Last night we were dinner guests of our friend Woody Chock and his wife Raelene at a beautiful Chinese restaurant called Jade Dynasty.  The food was delicious and the conversation was so interesting - we could have spent even longer sitting and talking as we didn't come close to running out of topics to discuss!  Woody is a watercolor artist whose paintings we have bought quite a few of over the years we have coming to Honolulu.  Steve designed a new website for Woody after our visit to Hawaii last year.  His wife Raelene is a school administrator.  Lovely people, both of them!

It is a gorgeous morning here - as we look out to the Pacific Ocean from our lanai we can see many surfers and boats of every shape and size.  In a little while we will join them when we go on a whale watching cruise.  From our lanai we are able to see whales breeching, but they are too far out to sea for a good look, so we are hoping for some nice close-up views today!!

Tomorrow is the last day to prepare for our trip to Honolulu - most things are packed and the list of things to take care of is nearly done.  The weather has calmed down and shouldn't prevent our travel on Wednesday.  I wonder how much snow will be left here by the time we return?  Certainly the big plow piles in the parking lots will remain, but it is likely that the streets and lawns will be bare.  We sure are looking forward to leaving "real winter" behind and trading it for the warm breezes and sunshine on Waikiki!!

Only 4 more days until we leave for Paradise - I can hear the waves, and feel the warmth of the sun if I close my eyes and meditate!! 

Yes! It is that time - I have gathered my Hawaiian music CD's and starting tomorrow I will be listening to the lovely music of the islands each day until we leave for Honolulu. 

Only 24 more days...

Looks like it will now be Halloween weekend when Matthew comes to visit - his red car made yesterday's drive not happen!  And a too tempting trade-in offer made he and Davie new car owners today...good for them!