6:30 AM - Apparently my body is already back on "mainland time", which I suppose is a good thing given that we fly home tomorrow.
I had not seen any wild cats since we arrived on this island, but just now I saw three of them sauntering along the golf cart path towards the first hole. I assume they are going to try to get in nine holes before the humans awake.
I am assuming they are wild cats, because this resort (like most) doesn't allow pets. Having said that, they certainly looked well fed and healthy, unlike that cat we met at the docks. One of them even looked chubby, although that could have just been a preponderance of fur.
You realize that tomorrow is December, right? Of course you do, you have probably been putting up with typical November weather for weeks. I am sitting on my patio, in shorts and a tank top. Tomorrow, I may very well be drowning.
WHY DO WE NOT LIVE HERE?!??!?!?!?
Sigh.
We will do most of our packing today I'm sure, but we don't have to hurry tomorrow, our flight doesn't leave until 2:30 PM so we can still have a nice, relaxing morning.
10:00 AM - They are holding some sort of aquafit class in our pool. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, but they've been doing it for about an hour and a half. OK, old people, that's enough. You must be fit by now.
Guy just teed off and immediately yelled "Oh Shit. FORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE!"
And no, it wasn't me. I am trying to watch where he is headed, it looks like he sliced his drive into another time zone. He looks to actually be leaving the course and going into the suites. Either he gave up, or he put his ball into someone's living room.
10:30 AM - Logged into the Alaska Airlines site to check on the flight and it asked me if I was interested in switching to an earlier flight. Interesting, since as far as I know there is only one direct flight per day from Kona to Seattle. Hmm. Turns out there is a red-eye tonight, leaving at 11:10 PM. After checking with the wife, we decide to switch and come home a bit early. It will be nice to be home tomorrow afternoon instead of getting home in the wee smalls on Sunday morning....and best of all, we still get our entire day here to relax, hit the pool, whatever we want!
11:00 AM - To the pool!!
11:45 AM - To the hot tub!!
12:00 PM - Um. Clouds? Who ordered those? Can't we wait just one more day? I guess this is Hawaii's way of making us feel at home.
1:00 PM - Back to the room to relax, have lunch, pack and just generally unwind.
3:00 PM - Pretty much packed up and ready to go, although we don't need to think about actually leaving until 8:30 or 9.
Went out to put the first couple of suitcases in the car, and fill up the gas tank. As I got back and turned left into our complex, I felt an intense feeling of sadness; that is the last time I'll be turning into this wonderful place for quite some time. This is a hard place to leave.
4:30 PM - The wife goes to lay down for a pre-dinner nap and I am just sitting here on the patio, enjoying the sites and the serenity. It is a little busier today, given that it's Friday, but this week we have been alone in the pool on several occasions. At it's busiest, we had to share the giant pool area with up to 7 other people.
5:15 PM - About to start on dinner, and then we will finish packing and relax until it's time for our flight. If anything interesting happens tonight, I'll do an "EpiBlog" tomorrow, but excluding that, this is it for Vacation Blog X.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time.....
The Dean.
Friday, 30 November 2018
Thursday, 29 November 2018
Vacation Blog X, Part 14...and when you are on a two week-ish vacation, "Part 14" is a foreboding number....
We have almost come to the end of this wonderful trip, and of Dean's "birthday fortnite".
Thursday, November 29th
7:33 AM - Since my cold is almost gone, and Tracey's seems to be gone, I moved into the main bedroom last night. Slept just OK, to be honest, but unsure for the reason for that. Seemed to wake up every couple hours after having a stupid dream. Back to sleep, then another stupid dream.
Good thing I am on vacation, where naps are almost mandatory.
My finger is about 25% less sore than yesterday. I don't know how long it will take for me to be able to go without a bandage completely, but at least this morning I am able to go with just a couple of small bandages and forego the huge gauze and medical tape that made it impossible to type. With all the cutting I have done since I've been cooking a lot (probably 7-8 years or so), this is the first time I've cut myself seriously. I guess I'm officially a chef now.
Oh and I forgot to post this a few days ago, but when we went to the farmers market when we got to this resort, we picked up a bunch of Hawaiian fruit, some that we've never had before.
The top plate is papaya and starfruit (non-Hawaiian apples in the bowl). The bottom one is pineapple and dragonfruit.
I confirmed that I still don't like papaya. The dragon fruit was weird and bland. Star fruit was pretty decent.
Not pictured, we also bought some tiny little bananas called Apple Bananas. They have tons of different kinds of bananas here, and these ones were just amazing. Similar in flavor to the ones we get on the mainland (called Cavendish), but with some additional flavors like strawberries, and WAY sweeter than Cavendish. Did you know there are over 1,000 different kinds of bananas? I didn't.
8:25 AM - The sense of calm that comes over me during my "mornings of Zen" is difficult to really articulate. Sitting here with my morning beverage, overlooking a gorgeous pool and stunning golf course, with not a single person using either one of them, is one of the highlights of my day.
8:26 AM - LOL. Golf carts just drove by and killed my Zen. The path from the Clubhouse to the teebox of the hole that is directly in front of me is between me and the pool.
This course looks beautiful, I actually considered renting some clubs and hacking around it, but then "Fingergate" came into play, quashing those considerations.
9:30 AM - Had a shower and breakfast, and "morning of Zen" has resumed. The group of golfers that passed by an hour or so ago were the only ones so far. This island does not seem to be hopping early in the morning. These people seem to be morning resters. Sounds good to me.
10:45 AM - TO THE POOL!!!!
I cannot impress upon you enough how stress-free this last week has been. Actually, maybe I can.
A couple of months ago, I started grinding my teeth at night (caused by stress); something I had never done before, but I was doing it to the point that I was actually loosening the same tooth every night, and waking up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. I had to go to SportChek and buy a hockey mouthguard to get me by for a few days until I could get to my dentist and get a custom-fit one. That mouthguard, which I wear every night, has solved the problem.
Since we got to this resort last Saturday, I have, unintentionally, been sleeping without the mouthguard. I just left it in my bag and forgot about it.
No sore teeth. No grinding. No stress.
Awesome.
That ends now, however, as I just got a call from my Mom's care nurse, Mom is not eating, and has fainted. I don't think she is intentionally killing herself by not eating, she simply forgets that she has not eaten. This is becoming a regular thing.
Hello, stress....I had not missed you. GRRRR.
Alzheimer's really, really, really sucks.
Anyway, back to the fun and frivolity of the trip. Tracey and I have decided that before our timeshare ends, in 2022, we have got to come back here for a couple of weeks. We just love this place. It is as close to Paradise as I think I ever want to get.
Since we already have 2019's trip booked (Florida), and want to go back to Florida one more time in late 2021/early 2022 for the Magic Kingdom's 50th Anniversary, that doesn't leave a bunch of time to come back here! Perhaps late 2022. We will make it work.
From 2023 on, we are actually going to have to pay full price for our resorts. That is going to be a kick in the nuts.
12:30 PM - Time to make some lunch, and, oh I dunno, I think there may be a glass or six of wine in my immediate future. I won't see Pool Bear for several more hours (unless she comes back for lunch, which is in no way guaranteed).
3:00 PM - After another dip in the pool, back to the suite for more relaxing and to marinate the chicken for dinner tonight. The Chardonnay that I opened a couple of hours ago was slightly underwhelming; maybe it has improved with some time. It came well recommended.
I can't believe it's almost time to go home. This trip has been a Godsend. Exactly what we needed. Everything has been incredible. The people here are just SO friendly and polite.
Even the BIRDS are polite here! Sitting on the patio in the morning enjoying my breakfast, a bunch of them (4-5) fly down and sit on the ledge a few feet away. They don't swarm, they just sit and look at me. Birds want food.....always....there is never much doubt about that. But there is just something different here. Normally I imagine that birds are thinking "Hey, buddy, food, food food food food food drop some food drop some food hey buddy drop some food or just get up and walk away and we will help ourselves food food food food food!!!!"
These birds?
"Aloha, good sir, my compatriots and I are just stopping by to ensure you are enjoying your time on our beautiful island! If you happened to 'accidentally' drop a morsel or two, we would be most appreciative, but if not, that's OK! Enjoy your day!"
6:45 PM - After a pretty decent dinner, the wife is back to the tub. "No tub gets unused", she says. We are both enjoying another beautiful bottle of wine as we slowly finish off the case we had sent here.
Oh, and the Chardonnay DID improve a ton with a bit of time.
8:15 PM - YAWN. Well another crazy night, time for bed. The Princess Bride just came on the TV, so I think I will fall asleep to the exploits of Westley and Buttercup and Prince Humperdinck.
Until tomorrow....our last full day here.........
Thursday, November 29th
7:33 AM - Since my cold is almost gone, and Tracey's seems to be gone, I moved into the main bedroom last night. Slept just OK, to be honest, but unsure for the reason for that. Seemed to wake up every couple hours after having a stupid dream. Back to sleep, then another stupid dream.
Good thing I am on vacation, where naps are almost mandatory.
My finger is about 25% less sore than yesterday. I don't know how long it will take for me to be able to go without a bandage completely, but at least this morning I am able to go with just a couple of small bandages and forego the huge gauze and medical tape that made it impossible to type. With all the cutting I have done since I've been cooking a lot (probably 7-8 years or so), this is the first time I've cut myself seriously. I guess I'm officially a chef now.
Oh and I forgot to post this a few days ago, but when we went to the farmers market when we got to this resort, we picked up a bunch of Hawaiian fruit, some that we've never had before.
The top plate is papaya and starfruit (non-Hawaiian apples in the bowl). The bottom one is pineapple and dragonfruit.
I confirmed that I still don't like papaya. The dragon fruit was weird and bland. Star fruit was pretty decent.
Not pictured, we also bought some tiny little bananas called Apple Bananas. They have tons of different kinds of bananas here, and these ones were just amazing. Similar in flavor to the ones we get on the mainland (called Cavendish), but with some additional flavors like strawberries, and WAY sweeter than Cavendish. Did you know there are over 1,000 different kinds of bananas? I didn't.
 |
| Stock photo of Apple Bananas |
8:25 AM - The sense of calm that comes over me during my "mornings of Zen" is difficult to really articulate. Sitting here with my morning beverage, overlooking a gorgeous pool and stunning golf course, with not a single person using either one of them, is one of the highlights of my day.
8:26 AM - LOL. Golf carts just drove by and killed my Zen. The path from the Clubhouse to the teebox of the hole that is directly in front of me is between me and the pool.
This course looks beautiful, I actually considered renting some clubs and hacking around it, but then "Fingergate" came into play, quashing those considerations.
9:30 AM - Had a shower and breakfast, and "morning of Zen" has resumed. The group of golfers that passed by an hour or so ago were the only ones so far. This island does not seem to be hopping early in the morning. These people seem to be morning resters. Sounds good to me.
10:45 AM - TO THE POOL!!!!
I cannot impress upon you enough how stress-free this last week has been. Actually, maybe I can.
A couple of months ago, I started grinding my teeth at night (caused by stress); something I had never done before, but I was doing it to the point that I was actually loosening the same tooth every night, and waking up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. I had to go to SportChek and buy a hockey mouthguard to get me by for a few days until I could get to my dentist and get a custom-fit one. That mouthguard, which I wear every night, has solved the problem.
Since we got to this resort last Saturday, I have, unintentionally, been sleeping without the mouthguard. I just left it in my bag and forgot about it.
No sore teeth. No grinding. No stress.
Awesome.
That ends now, however, as I just got a call from my Mom's care nurse, Mom is not eating, and has fainted. I don't think she is intentionally killing herself by not eating, she simply forgets that she has not eaten. This is becoming a regular thing.
Hello, stress....I had not missed you. GRRRR.
Alzheimer's really, really, really sucks.
Anyway, back to the fun and frivolity of the trip. Tracey and I have decided that before our timeshare ends, in 2022, we have got to come back here for a couple of weeks. We just love this place. It is as close to Paradise as I think I ever want to get.
Since we already have 2019's trip booked (Florida), and want to go back to Florida one more time in late 2021/early 2022 for the Magic Kingdom's 50th Anniversary, that doesn't leave a bunch of time to come back here! Perhaps late 2022. We will make it work.
From 2023 on, we are actually going to have to pay full price for our resorts. That is going to be a kick in the nuts.
12:30 PM - Time to make some lunch, and, oh I dunno, I think there may be a glass or six of wine in my immediate future. I won't see Pool Bear for several more hours (unless she comes back for lunch, which is in no way guaranteed).
3:00 PM - After another dip in the pool, back to the suite for more relaxing and to marinate the chicken for dinner tonight. The Chardonnay that I opened a couple of hours ago was slightly underwhelming; maybe it has improved with some time. It came well recommended.
I can't believe it's almost time to go home. This trip has been a Godsend. Exactly what we needed. Everything has been incredible. The people here are just SO friendly and polite.
Even the BIRDS are polite here! Sitting on the patio in the morning enjoying my breakfast, a bunch of them (4-5) fly down and sit on the ledge a few feet away. They don't swarm, they just sit and look at me. Birds want food.....always....there is never much doubt about that. But there is just something different here. Normally I imagine that birds are thinking "Hey, buddy, food, food food food food food drop some food drop some food hey buddy drop some food or just get up and walk away and we will help ourselves food food food food food!!!!"
These birds?
"Aloha, good sir, my compatriots and I are just stopping by to ensure you are enjoying your time on our beautiful island! If you happened to 'accidentally' drop a morsel or two, we would be most appreciative, but if not, that's OK! Enjoy your day!"
6:45 PM - After a pretty decent dinner, the wife is back to the tub. "No tub gets unused", she says. We are both enjoying another beautiful bottle of wine as we slowly finish off the case we had sent here.
Oh, and the Chardonnay DID improve a ton with a bit of time.
8:15 PM - YAWN. Well another crazy night, time for bed. The Princess Bride just came on the TV, so I think I will fall asleep to the exploits of Westley and Buttercup and Prince Humperdinck.
Until tomorrow....our last full day here.........
Vacation Blog X, Part 13, I think that we will do nothing again today!!!
7:37 AM - I wake up, refreshed and invigorated. Hang on a second....why isn't it light out?
*checks clock*
That 7 is a 3.
3:37 AM - SIGH. Let's see if this is one of those mornings that when I'm up, I'm up...or if I'm able to force myself back to sleep.
7:37 AM - I was really destined to get up at 7:37 wasn't I? *looks outside*. OK good, I see the sun.
I was actually more rested and refreshed at 3:37 but whatever.
Removing my bandage, it seems as if this thing has finally stopped bleeding. Hurts like Hell to touch it though, no surprise. I wonder how long I'll have to wear bandages to protect it? Weeks, I bet.
Logging back onto the work server to finish the administrative tasks that I need to do this week and then I can forget about work until Monday. Honestly it hardly feels like work, sitting on the patio overlooking palm trees and the pool, enjoying a tasty beverage. My "morning of Zen" routine is intact.
11:00 AM - The wife is up!! It's been a while, a long while, since she slept that late. Oh well, it's vacation, it's the time for whatever the heck she wants.
11:30 AM - We are headed back to those two outdoor malls. One of them has a weekly farmers market on Wednesday mornings and after that we are going to go to a movie in the "Luxury Cinemas". We will have lunch there too.
12:30 - Off to the malls where we find a few interesting things to purchase, and then to the movie. The theatre is nice but not nicer than the VIP at home. The movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet, is very good.
And even more Xmas decorations have popped up at this place. Xmas in the tropics. It's really cool, and really odd at the same time.
5:00 PM - Back at the resort in search of Pool Bear. She seems to be in hibernation, and apparently is going to stay there for a while. We have a bottle of wine and dinner and relax for a while in front of the TV. I suspect that today Pool Bear is going to make an appearance after the sun goes down.
8:00 PM - There is no logical reason why we are both so incredibly exhausted today. Tracey heads for the tub and I head for bed. I am asleep within minutes. Another wild and crazy evening in the Engemoen household :) I suspect that Pool Bear will reappear tomorrow, and probably for the entire day! With the vacation winding down, we have to redouble our efforts to get maximum relaxation!
*checks clock*
That 7 is a 3.
3:37 AM - SIGH. Let's see if this is one of those mornings that when I'm up, I'm up...or if I'm able to force myself back to sleep.
7:37 AM - I was really destined to get up at 7:37 wasn't I? *looks outside*. OK good, I see the sun.
I was actually more rested and refreshed at 3:37 but whatever.
Removing my bandage, it seems as if this thing has finally stopped bleeding. Hurts like Hell to touch it though, no surprise. I wonder how long I'll have to wear bandages to protect it? Weeks, I bet.
Logging back onto the work server to finish the administrative tasks that I need to do this week and then I can forget about work until Monday. Honestly it hardly feels like work, sitting on the patio overlooking palm trees and the pool, enjoying a tasty beverage. My "morning of Zen" routine is intact.
11:00 AM - The wife is up!! It's been a while, a long while, since she slept that late. Oh well, it's vacation, it's the time for whatever the heck she wants.
11:30 AM - We are headed back to those two outdoor malls. One of them has a weekly farmers market on Wednesday mornings and after that we are going to go to a movie in the "Luxury Cinemas". We will have lunch there too.
12:30 - Off to the malls where we find a few interesting things to purchase, and then to the movie. The theatre is nice but not nicer than the VIP at home. The movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet, is very good.
And even more Xmas decorations have popped up at this place. Xmas in the tropics. It's really cool, and really odd at the same time.
5:00 PM - Back at the resort in search of Pool Bear. She seems to be in hibernation, and apparently is going to stay there for a while. We have a bottle of wine and dinner and relax for a while in front of the TV. I suspect that today Pool Bear is going to make an appearance after the sun goes down.
8:00 PM - There is no logical reason why we are both so incredibly exhausted today. Tracey heads for the tub and I head for bed. I am asleep within minutes. Another wild and crazy evening in the Engemoen household :) I suspect that Pool Bear will reappear tomorrow, and probably for the entire day! With the vacation winding down, we have to redouble our efforts to get maximum relaxation!
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
Vacation Blog X, Part 12, Payroll Day, and then, pool pool pool pool pool
7:00 AM - Up at a reasonable hour after a pretty decent sleep. It's 9 AM back home so I am going to log onto my work computer and hope that I have all the timesheets I need to process this week's Payroll so I can get that done and get on with the business of eating and drinking and pooling.
9:00 AM - Wife is awake, just as I finish Part 1 of the Payroll....just need it audited and then I can finish it up. She is feeling about the same as I am this morning.....no better, no worse.
Looking at our fridge and cupboards and realizing that we bought wayyyyyyyyy too much food. I guess we could eat it all before we leave on Saturday, if we start eating 5 meals a day. Maybe 6.
11:00 AM - Woo-hoo! Finished 90% of the Payroll stuff I need to do; the important stuff, anyway, The last little bit I can do in the morning. At least everyone (including me) gets paid this week.
The wife is already at the pool, and has been for an hour. I will be heading there soon!
12:15 PM - Good grief that pool is awesome. I'm back in the room for a few minutes to make us some lunch, but I am definitely not done with that pool today.
Cooking up some lunch and decided to hack into my finger as well as the peppers. Ouch. HOLY SHIT OUCH.
Honestly it doesn't look that bad but I have never seen so much blood. It. Just. Won't. Stop. Bleeding!
Gotta get the wife back from the pool so I can go and get some more bandages and gauze. I put on 5 bandages....FIVE....and it bleeds through them in seconds.
2:00 PM - Finger is well wrapped up (trying to type now is quite a challenge) but at least I was able to finish lunch and open the wine. That could have been a catastrophe!
3:00 PM - I am fingig it harldt o type prorperl riwth a hug bandage on my injur tinger.
3:30 PM - Wife goes back to the pool and I decide it's time to take off the gauze and huge bandages and "downsize" a bit. I put on 4-5 waterproof bandages and that seems to be enough. It is STILL bleeding.
3:40 PM - Into the pool for a few minutes, holding that finger out of the water. All the other guests must think I am telling them that they are "Number 1"! Too bad it's not my middle finger.
3:45 PM - Hmm. Blood starts to seep out of the bandages. OK I guess my pool day is done.
I leave Pool Bear in her favorite place and go to the front desk to see if they have a First Aid kit. I really need medical tape to hold the gauze in place but the store did not sell it. They don't have one but Security does, so they call him to come and help me out. He asks me if I want to write up a report for the injury.
I give him the report:
"Idiot guest chops off fingernail with butcher knife".
End of report.
He laughs and accompanies me back to our suite to help me apply the gauze and the medical tape. That seems to stem the flow of blood finally. We will see. He leaves me a bunch more tape so that I can change the bandage at least once more later. I am really stunned to see that it is still bleeding, hours later. It is just not that bad of a cut.
3:53 PM - Well it's been eight minutes since I put the bandage on, and so far no blood has soaked through the gauze and medical tape. Progress, maybe?
6:00 PM - No blood. My finger is wrapped in gauze and a generous amount of medical tape, but it seems as if that has solved the problem. The Security guard actually asked me if I was on blood thinners, to explain why it was still bleeding hours later.
6:05 PM - The wife has made a lovely dinner of Filet Mignon (I had to type that 7 times with this damn bandage on) with potatoes and another terrific bottle of wine. What a trip we are having.
7:00 PM - OK I am uploading this blog and giving up on trying to say anything funny with this damn bandage on my finger. I expect to wake up tomorrow rested and with a perfectly healed finger. Dare to dream.
Until tomorrow.......
9:00 AM - Wife is awake, just as I finish Part 1 of the Payroll....just need it audited and then I can finish it up. She is feeling about the same as I am this morning.....no better, no worse.
Looking at our fridge and cupboards and realizing that we bought wayyyyyyyyy too much food. I guess we could eat it all before we leave on Saturday, if we start eating 5 meals a day. Maybe 6.
11:00 AM - Woo-hoo! Finished 90% of the Payroll stuff I need to do; the important stuff, anyway, The last little bit I can do in the morning. At least everyone (including me) gets paid this week.
The wife is already at the pool, and has been for an hour. I will be heading there soon!
12:15 PM - Good grief that pool is awesome. I'm back in the room for a few minutes to make us some lunch, but I am definitely not done with that pool today.
Cooking up some lunch and decided to hack into my finger as well as the peppers. Ouch. HOLY SHIT OUCH.
Honestly it doesn't look that bad but I have never seen so much blood. It. Just. Won't. Stop. Bleeding!
Gotta get the wife back from the pool so I can go and get some more bandages and gauze. I put on 5 bandages....FIVE....and it bleeds through them in seconds.
2:00 PM - Finger is well wrapped up (trying to type now is quite a challenge) but at least I was able to finish lunch and open the wine. That could have been a catastrophe!
3:00 PM - I am fingig it harldt o type prorperl riwth a hug bandage on my injur tinger.
3:30 PM - Wife goes back to the pool and I decide it's time to take off the gauze and huge bandages and "downsize" a bit. I put on 4-5 waterproof bandages and that seems to be enough. It is STILL bleeding.
3:40 PM - Into the pool for a few minutes, holding that finger out of the water. All the other guests must think I am telling them that they are "Number 1"! Too bad it's not my middle finger.
3:45 PM - Hmm. Blood starts to seep out of the bandages. OK I guess my pool day is done.
I leave Pool Bear in her favorite place and go to the front desk to see if they have a First Aid kit. I really need medical tape to hold the gauze in place but the store did not sell it. They don't have one but Security does, so they call him to come and help me out. He asks me if I want to write up a report for the injury.
I give him the report:
"Idiot guest chops off fingernail with butcher knife".
End of report.
He laughs and accompanies me back to our suite to help me apply the gauze and the medical tape. That seems to stem the flow of blood finally. We will see. He leaves me a bunch more tape so that I can change the bandage at least once more later. I am really stunned to see that it is still bleeding, hours later. It is just not that bad of a cut.
3:53 PM - Well it's been eight minutes since I put the bandage on, and so far no blood has soaked through the gauze and medical tape. Progress, maybe?
6:00 PM - No blood. My finger is wrapped in gauze and a generous amount of medical tape, but it seems as if that has solved the problem. The Security guard actually asked me if I was on blood thinners, to explain why it was still bleeding hours later.
6:05 PM - The wife has made a lovely dinner of Filet Mignon (I had to type that 7 times with this damn bandage on) with potatoes and another terrific bottle of wine. What a trip we are having.
7:00 PM - OK I am uploading this blog and giving up on trying to say anything funny with this damn bandage on my finger. I expect to wake up tomorrow rested and with a perfectly healed finger. Dare to dream.
Until tomorrow.......
Monday, 26 November 2018
Vacation Blog X, Part 11, SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY I DO NOT LIVE HERE!!!
Monday, November 26th
OK I actually know why I don't live here, I would have to be independently wealthy because I am Canadian and it would be next to impossible to get a job here.
BUT IF I WAS AMERICAN I WOULD PACK UP THE FAMILY UNIT AND MOVE HERE TOMORROW.
Actually, I would send the wife back to the mainland to pack up our stuff and bring the pets. I would never leave.
Paradise.
I wake up, not feeling better but no worse either. The cough is a bit worse. Tracey wakes up with a bit of a cough too. We are still determined to not let it kill our enjoyment of this spectacular resort.
So today we did a little shopping at a couple of beautiful little "Resort malls", and that sounds like they are small but not at all. These two shopping complexes, which are about 2 blocks from each other, are reminiscent of the outdoor malls in Vegas.
One of the has a beautiful little koi pond. I have never seen 'koi' like this.
There were 6-7 of these huge beautiful fish in there.
Each one of these malls has a Sunglass Hut. In case, I suppose, someone is stupid enough to come to Hawaii without sunglasses.
It is so beautiful and warm here that I honestly occasionally forget what time of year it is. This was a reminder.
The second shopping centre we went to also had a "Luxury Theatre". The advertisements suggest they don't have theatre chairs, they have leather loveseats. Wow.
After our shopping excursion I head up to the nearest pharmacy to refill our depleted stock of medicine while Tracey hits the pool.
On the way up there, I have to stop and take video of this.
Because, sure, why wouldn't there be a family of pygmy goats on the side of the road, enjoying a tasty snack??
When I get back, I join her at the pool for a while. It is a SPECTACULAR pool. I do not know what the perfect pool temperature it is, but THIS IS IT. Fabulous. The pool is almost empty, and it also features the biggest hot tub I have ever seen. We are going to be here quite a bit this week.
I return to the suite and log on to get a bit of work done. Since I am a 1-man department, I need to run our Payroll this week. My boss is quite competent and could do it if necessary, but he has enough to worry about without doing my job too. And is there a better place to work than from the patio of a 5-star resort, overlooking the pool?
4:00 PM - Finally done what I can do for work today and Pool Bear is still thoroughly enjoying her afternoon. As I look over there, I notice that the pool is now filled with gross, slimy, little people. You guessed it: children.
Parents, we have discussed this before. My favorite vacation spots are no place for your children. Hawaii is no place for children. Disneyland is no place for children. Disneyworld is no place for children.
Want a nice vacation? I hear that kids absolutely LOVE Little Rock, Arkansas. And Newark! C'mon, who doesn't love Newark?? Or the big ball of twine in Minneapolis. Why not take them to North Dakota, on an educational tour of all the locations in the classic film Fargo??
Yah, real good now, yah.
5:35 PM - I am trying to make some rice with the rice cooker provided, and without the instructions, it's not as easy as you might think. First batch came out undercooked.
6:00 PM - After putting the rice back into the cooker for a second go-round, and then microwaving it for 2 minutes, it turned out pretty damn good! Tracey had the rice with some chicken, I had it with shrimp and pineapple, and our little impromptu dinner turned out pretty good.
7:15 PM - I have been informed that if *I* do not have a bath tonight, then the "bathtub cannot go to waste" so I guess that the wife is headed back there.
Not much else exciting will happen tonight, I hope, so until tomorrow.....
OK I actually know why I don't live here, I would have to be independently wealthy because I am Canadian and it would be next to impossible to get a job here.
BUT IF I WAS AMERICAN I WOULD PACK UP THE FAMILY UNIT AND MOVE HERE TOMORROW.
Actually, I would send the wife back to the mainland to pack up our stuff and bring the pets. I would never leave.
Paradise.
I wake up, not feeling better but no worse either. The cough is a bit worse. Tracey wakes up with a bit of a cough too. We are still determined to not let it kill our enjoyment of this spectacular resort.
So today we did a little shopping at a couple of beautiful little "Resort malls", and that sounds like they are small but not at all. These two shopping complexes, which are about 2 blocks from each other, are reminiscent of the outdoor malls in Vegas.
One of the has a beautiful little koi pond. I have never seen 'koi' like this.
There were 6-7 of these huge beautiful fish in there.
Each one of these malls has a Sunglass Hut. In case, I suppose, someone is stupid enough to come to Hawaii without sunglasses.
It is so beautiful and warm here that I honestly occasionally forget what time of year it is. This was a reminder.
The second shopping centre we went to also had a "Luxury Theatre". The advertisements suggest they don't have theatre chairs, they have leather loveseats. Wow.
After our shopping excursion I head up to the nearest pharmacy to refill our depleted stock of medicine while Tracey hits the pool.
On the way up there, I have to stop and take video of this.
When I get back, I join her at the pool for a while. It is a SPECTACULAR pool. I do not know what the perfect pool temperature it is, but THIS IS IT. Fabulous. The pool is almost empty, and it also features the biggest hot tub I have ever seen. We are going to be here quite a bit this week.
I return to the suite and log on to get a bit of work done. Since I am a 1-man department, I need to run our Payroll this week. My boss is quite competent and could do it if necessary, but he has enough to worry about without doing my job too. And is there a better place to work than from the patio of a 5-star resort, overlooking the pool?
 |
| SHHHHH....this is something you almost never see. It's POOL BEAR, in her natural habitat!! |
4:00 PM - Finally done what I can do for work today and Pool Bear is still thoroughly enjoying her afternoon. As I look over there, I notice that the pool is now filled with gross, slimy, little people. You guessed it: children.
Parents, we have discussed this before. My favorite vacation spots are no place for your children. Hawaii is no place for children. Disneyland is no place for children. Disneyworld is no place for children.
Want a nice vacation? I hear that kids absolutely LOVE Little Rock, Arkansas. And Newark! C'mon, who doesn't love Newark?? Or the big ball of twine in Minneapolis. Why not take them to North Dakota, on an educational tour of all the locations in the classic film Fargo??
Yah, real good now, yah.
5:35 PM - I am trying to make some rice with the rice cooker provided, and without the instructions, it's not as easy as you might think. First batch came out undercooked.
6:00 PM - After putting the rice back into the cooker for a second go-round, and then microwaving it for 2 minutes, it turned out pretty damn good! Tracey had the rice with some chicken, I had it with shrimp and pineapple, and our little impromptu dinner turned out pretty good.
7:15 PM - I have been informed that if *I* do not have a bath tonight, then the "bathtub cannot go to waste" so I guess that the wife is headed back there.
Not much else exciting will happen tonight, I hope, so until tomorrow.....
Sunday, 25 November 2018
Vacation Blog X, Part 10, our first full day at this spectacular resort!
Sunday, November 25th
7:18 AM - Oh man that was a half-decent sleep but it could have been SOOOOO much better without the damn basketball squeaking. I am not feeling any better, but I'm not any worse either. This cold is irritating but isn't going to interfere with our fun. We are well prepared, as my amazing wife brought a shitload of cold and cough medicine "just in cases"....even though neither of us felt sick before the trip. Thank goodness.
I turn on the TV to check out what games we are going to be able to watch this morning and it is.... oh FFS.....Panthers vs. Seahawks OR Jets vs. Patriots. Jesus H Christ.
Well, we didn't finish the wrestling event before bed last night, so we will watch that this morning instead, and hopefully we get a half decent game to watch this afternoon.
9:20 AM - Tracey is up, and she is not feeling any better either. We are not going to let these colds ruin our trip; I guess we are lucky that our only real plans this week are to have no plans. At some point, we'd like to get on a boat out on the water, but if we don't, we will still have a great week. If the colds cause us to relax a bit more than we were going to, well, no biggie. Relaxation is what we are here for anyway!
The afternoon football game is Steelers/Broncos, so at least that is moderately interesting. We were sure hoping to get our Colts on TV but we have to follow that one play-by-play on NFL.com. Both teams we wanted to win DID win, so that's something at least.
3:00 PM - I head out to pick up a couple more things that we need for the week while Tub Bear makes another appearance. That bathtub is going to be so well used this week they may have to replace it by the time we leave.
4:45 PM - A relaxing evening awaits. I'm making dinner while the wife chills out on the awesome sofa. Decanting a beautiful bottle of wine to go with the dinner I am preparing, New York Steaks with a Merlot reduction. Also going to do something with some beautiful fresh shrimp I bought yesterday. They cost me about 1/3 of what they would cost me back home.
6:30 PM - Dinner was OK, but not what I was hoping for. Honestly I think the main effect this cold is having on us is affecting our appetites, as I really didn't eat much today but wasn't really feeling the dinner. I made the recipe by memory and I know I didn't get it 100% right but it should have been better than that. Note to self: Digitize and save all your favorite recipes so you'll have them when traveling. Dumbass.
7:30 PM - Wish I had something interesting to say, but we are basically sitting here doing nothing. Sure, we are finishing off a special bottle of wine, but not much else. My cold is turning into a cough, so I got that going for me. F***. Hope that subsides soon.
7:47 PM - Well YAWN that's a big day, time for bed. What, you don't usually go to bed before 8 PM? Hooligans.
Until tomorrow.....
7:18 AM - Oh man that was a half-decent sleep but it could have been SOOOOO much better without the damn basketball squeaking. I am not feeling any better, but I'm not any worse either. This cold is irritating but isn't going to interfere with our fun. We are well prepared, as my amazing wife brought a shitload of cold and cough medicine "just in cases"....even though neither of us felt sick before the trip. Thank goodness.
I turn on the TV to check out what games we are going to be able to watch this morning and it is.... oh FFS.....Panthers vs. Seahawks OR Jets vs. Patriots. Jesus H Christ.
Well, we didn't finish the wrestling event before bed last night, so we will watch that this morning instead, and hopefully we get a half decent game to watch this afternoon.
9:20 AM - Tracey is up, and she is not feeling any better either. We are not going to let these colds ruin our trip; I guess we are lucky that our only real plans this week are to have no plans. At some point, we'd like to get on a boat out on the water, but if we don't, we will still have a great week. If the colds cause us to relax a bit more than we were going to, well, no biggie. Relaxation is what we are here for anyway!
The afternoon football game is Steelers/Broncos, so at least that is moderately interesting. We were sure hoping to get our Colts on TV but we have to follow that one play-by-play on NFL.com. Both teams we wanted to win DID win, so that's something at least.
3:00 PM - I head out to pick up a couple more things that we need for the week while Tub Bear makes another appearance. That bathtub is going to be so well used this week they may have to replace it by the time we leave.
4:45 PM - A relaxing evening awaits. I'm making dinner while the wife chills out on the awesome sofa. Decanting a beautiful bottle of wine to go with the dinner I am preparing, New York Steaks with a Merlot reduction. Also going to do something with some beautiful fresh shrimp I bought yesterday. They cost me about 1/3 of what they would cost me back home.
6:30 PM - Dinner was OK, but not what I was hoping for. Honestly I think the main effect this cold is having on us is affecting our appetites, as I really didn't eat much today but wasn't really feeling the dinner. I made the recipe by memory and I know I didn't get it 100% right but it should have been better than that. Note to self: Digitize and save all your favorite recipes so you'll have them when traveling. Dumbass.
7:30 PM - Wish I had something interesting to say, but we are basically sitting here doing nothing. Sure, we are finishing off a special bottle of wine, but not much else. My cold is turning into a cough, so I got that going for me. F***. Hope that subsides soon.
7:47 PM - Well YAWN that's a big day, time for bed. What, you don't usually go to bed before 8 PM? Hooligans.
Until tomorrow.....
Vacation Blog X, Part 9, Transtioning from Paradise to.......Better Paradise???
Saturday, November 24
I won't go into great detail on yesterday morning, we got up, had breakfast, got off the ship and had really no issues getting to the airport and then onto the flight to Kona Airport.
I'll have more on Kona airport upon our return, because I want to spend a bit more time there, but is is quite remarkable. It appears as if about 90% of the airport is outdoors!! As we deplaned, we passed a bunch of people sitting in the sun, enjoying a tasty beverage, waiting for their plane. Never seen anything like it.
After catching the Hertz shuttle to pick up our rental car, a Camaro convertible, we experience the problem we knew we were going to have twice: No freaking room for our luggage in this car. I could have booked an SUV or something bigger but there was a ridiculous difference in price, and let's face it, who doesn't want a convertible when driving in Hawai'i?
So, we pile all of our small stuff into the "trunk", and the big suitcases into the back seat, and the smaller wine suitcase on Tracey's lap in the front seat! Not particularly safe; we will try to find a better configuration to go back to the airport next weekend.
1:00 PM - We arrive at our resort, which looks beautiful from the outside. We are 3 hours earlier than check-in time but they have no problem getting us checked in and set up in our room. They also arrange for this little beauty, which was delivered yesterday, to be brought to our room:
I freaking love wine.com. Great wine delivered to our resort, and I could specify the exact date for it to get here, and they guaranteed it would be here on that day (and it was).
We get to our suite and....wow. Just wow. I took a video because I thought it was easier to show you rather than tell you, but it's too big to upload to this blog. Let's just put it this way: If it's not the best resort we've ever stayed at, it's in the top 3. Honestly, if we have ever stayed anywhere better, I can't recall it. Huge 2 bedroom townhouse, great kitchen, and this:
That's the master bathroom. Tracey is going to spend so much time in that tub I may have to dub her "Tub Bear" by the end of the week.
And the shower in gorgeous; but I must say that the shower in the second bathroom is just about as good!
And we know how these places usually have a small dishwasher? Nope. Not only is it a full size unit, IT IS THE EXACT SAME DISHWASHER WE HAVE AT HOME!!
The kitchen has nothing but top-quality appliances. Here are my only two quibbles:
1. No BBQ
2. Laundry is a small-ish combo unit
If that's all we can complain about, it's going to be a great week! There are tons of community BBQ's in the common areas, we would have no problem using them, but since there is no way to tell that the last person didn't BBQ shrimp, we never take chances with those. And as for the laundry, who really cares? It works fine, we just have to do a few extra loads. No big whoop.
4:00 PM: Off to Kona, about 35 minutes away, to shop. First up, we hit a Farmers Market for fresh produce. It's a decent market, but nowhere near as amazing as the one from Hilo that we visited during the cruise. Then we go to Wal-Mart for our groceries and a few non-food items, and that was a horrible mistake. I'm not sure if this is common among US Wal-Marts of if this one is just a shitty one, but there is no fresh meat here. In fact, hardly any fresh food at all. So after we get our stuff here, we end up having to go to Safeway anyway to get everything else we needed.
We still need to find some decent wine glasses. Unfortunately one of the glasses we brought with us didn't make it here....my fault, I didn't bubble wrap it quite good enough. The one that I wrapped well was fine. I'll do better.
6:15 PM - We get back to the resort and decide to catch up on a wrestling event from last week that we couldn't watch on the ship. Amazingly we heard no spoilers at all, so we are going in fresh. I fire up the computer and rest it on the ledge of the bath, and we both climb in for a soak. Yes, it is plenty huge for both of us to eat, enjoy some wine, and some rasslin'.
When it's bedtime, we settle into different rooms. Since we are both sick, fighting back colds, we decide it's better to sleep apart at least until we are feeling better.
1:05 AM - Why am I having a dream about being at a basketball game? I don't like basketball, and don't go to games.
Wait a minute. That squeaking sound of shoes on a basketball court....that's an actual noise that I am hearing. I get out of bed to try to find the source of the noise, and it turns out it's the smoke detector in my room....the batteries have run out. Good grief, that's not great timing. I was SOUND asleep.
Anyway, I call the front desk and they send security out to fix it immediately. I was able to get back to sleep but I don't think I ever got back to where I was before the squeaking woke me up.
Tomorrow we have no plans (we actually have no plans for the entire week!!!!) except to relax and hopefully watch football. We have no idea what games are going to be on...one thing about traveling during NFL season, we sure miss our Sunday Ticket package!!
I won't go into great detail on yesterday morning, we got up, had breakfast, got off the ship and had really no issues getting to the airport and then onto the flight to Kona Airport.
I'll have more on Kona airport upon our return, because I want to spend a bit more time there, but is is quite remarkable. It appears as if about 90% of the airport is outdoors!! As we deplaned, we passed a bunch of people sitting in the sun, enjoying a tasty beverage, waiting for their plane. Never seen anything like it.
After catching the Hertz shuttle to pick up our rental car, a Camaro convertible, we experience the problem we knew we were going to have twice: No freaking room for our luggage in this car. I could have booked an SUV or something bigger but there was a ridiculous difference in price, and let's face it, who doesn't want a convertible when driving in Hawai'i?
So, we pile all of our small stuff into the "trunk", and the big suitcases into the back seat, and the smaller wine suitcase on Tracey's lap in the front seat! Not particularly safe; we will try to find a better configuration to go back to the airport next weekend.
1:00 PM - We arrive at our resort, which looks beautiful from the outside. We are 3 hours earlier than check-in time but they have no problem getting us checked in and set up in our room. They also arrange for this little beauty, which was delivered yesterday, to be brought to our room:
I freaking love wine.com. Great wine delivered to our resort, and I could specify the exact date for it to get here, and they guaranteed it would be here on that day (and it was).
We get to our suite and....wow. Just wow. I took a video because I thought it was easier to show you rather than tell you, but it's too big to upload to this blog. Let's just put it this way: If it's not the best resort we've ever stayed at, it's in the top 3. Honestly, if we have ever stayed anywhere better, I can't recall it. Huge 2 bedroom townhouse, great kitchen, and this:
That's the master bathroom. Tracey is going to spend so much time in that tub I may have to dub her "Tub Bear" by the end of the week.
And the shower in gorgeous; but I must say that the shower in the second bathroom is just about as good!
And we know how these places usually have a small dishwasher? Nope. Not only is it a full size unit, IT IS THE EXACT SAME DISHWASHER WE HAVE AT HOME!!
The kitchen has nothing but top-quality appliances. Here are my only two quibbles:
1. No BBQ
2. Laundry is a small-ish combo unit
If that's all we can complain about, it's going to be a great week! There are tons of community BBQ's in the common areas, we would have no problem using them, but since there is no way to tell that the last person didn't BBQ shrimp, we never take chances with those. And as for the laundry, who really cares? It works fine, we just have to do a few extra loads. No big whoop.
4:00 PM: Off to Kona, about 35 minutes away, to shop. First up, we hit a Farmers Market for fresh produce. It's a decent market, but nowhere near as amazing as the one from Hilo that we visited during the cruise. Then we go to Wal-Mart for our groceries and a few non-food items, and that was a horrible mistake. I'm not sure if this is common among US Wal-Marts of if this one is just a shitty one, but there is no fresh meat here. In fact, hardly any fresh food at all. So after we get our stuff here, we end up having to go to Safeway anyway to get everything else we needed.
We still need to find some decent wine glasses. Unfortunately one of the glasses we brought with us didn't make it here....my fault, I didn't bubble wrap it quite good enough. The one that I wrapped well was fine. I'll do better.
6:15 PM - We get back to the resort and decide to catch up on a wrestling event from last week that we couldn't watch on the ship. Amazingly we heard no spoilers at all, so we are going in fresh. I fire up the computer and rest it on the ledge of the bath, and we both climb in for a soak. Yes, it is plenty huge for both of us to eat, enjoy some wine, and some rasslin'.
When it's bedtime, we settle into different rooms. Since we are both sick, fighting back colds, we decide it's better to sleep apart at least until we are feeling better.
1:05 AM - Why am I having a dream about being at a basketball game? I don't like basketball, and don't go to games.
Wait a minute. That squeaking sound of shoes on a basketball court....that's an actual noise that I am hearing. I get out of bed to try to find the source of the noise, and it turns out it's the smoke detector in my room....the batteries have run out. Good grief, that's not great timing. I was SOUND asleep.
Anyway, I call the front desk and they send security out to fix it immediately. I was able to get back to sleep but I don't think I ever got back to where I was before the squeaking woke me up.
Tomorrow we have no plans (we actually have no plans for the entire week!!!!) except to relax and hopefully watch football. We have no idea what games are going to be on...one thing about traveling during NFL season, we sure miss our Sunday Ticket package!!
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