Aloha Pro Bowl!

In Hawaii  the word ‘aloha’ is used as a greeting, as goodbye and to describe the welcoming, warm spirit of these wonderful Pacific Islands.

It’s a word used a lot this last week when talking about Pro Bowl.

Pro Bowl, that pseudo-football-game that this year precedes the Super Bowl was first played in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium in 1980 and for 30 consecutive seasons with the only recent hiccup in continuity  being two years ago when it was played in Miami.

Pro Bowl – the game – kicks off a few hours from now, in Honolulu. Pro Bowl - the festival - began back on Monday when banners went up and the hoopla and players began arriving at their Pro Bowl headquarters hotel, J.W. Marriott’s Ihilani, just footsteps from our place at Ko Olina Marina and Resort, some 30 minutes away from Waikiki.

Aloha surrounds this particular game this year. The players were welcomed with great aloha; there’s been a warm aloha spirit surrounding the various street parties, beach parties, parades, fireworks and charity visits that make up the week preceding the game.

But local media report this could also be aloha, as in goodbye, to the game in Hawaii. The two year contract with the NFL expires this year and rumors are afoot that the game will be moved next year.

Speaking of feet, Hawaii’s Governor has place kicked his into his mouth this week with some of the less-than-aloha comments he’s made about the negotiations. He’s been rushing to get back into aloha formation since being tackled by tourism officials.

Hawaii pays $4 million to the NFL to host the game and state tourism folks report that is generates $28.15 million in spending, of which $3.07 million is taxes paid into the state’s coffers.

Players interviewed by local media all say they want he game to stay in Hawaii.  One Seattle Seahawk, Michael Robinson feels so strongly about it, that he flew here on Tuesday to practice, on Wednesday flew to Pennsylvania to speak at Joe Paterno’s funeral and returned to Hawaii Friday (on Mr. Nike, Phil Knight’s jet).

Okay, so I have to mention that five Seattle Seahawks appear on the game’s NFC roster this year – they’ve not been represented in the Pro Bowl for the last two years.

So which way will the trade winds blow for the Pro Bowl? Time will tell. For now, let’s play ball!

TP Thursday: Magical Mai Tai Moments

There’s no other drink that more signifies Hawaii than the Mai Tai. It’s a mixture of light rum, topped with a combination fruit juice and Triple Sec and finished with dark rum ~ always sporting a pineapple wedge.







Our time to sip a Mai Tai is as the intense tropical daytime sun slowly sets, giving way to the coolness of the evening's stars and moon.  It is a magical time of day.



We’ve been enjoying these Mai Tai moments while on the island of O’ahu.  The first photos were taken at the Outrigger Canoe Club and the third at Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club. 

It is once again Travel Photo Thursday so visit the many other wonderful places highlighted today on Budget Travelers Sandbox.

Honu! A lulu of an afternoon!!!

Beach Boy and Hula Babe discovered Honu, (Hawaiian for turtle) last year in the lagoon near us at Ko Olina on O’ahu’s western coast.  We hoped we’d find our seafaring friend again this year but we’d been unsuccessful until today. . .

We arrived for some sun and sea time at the lagoon shortly before Honu arrived for a bit of an afternoon nap.



The amazing thing is that while Honu napped, Honu’s twin decided to take a look at  the humans that were in the lagoon. (It is a violation of federal law to approach a honu as photographed above – I used telephoto setting and stayed more than 10 feet away --  but nothing prohibits them from exploring us).

So Honu II checked out Beach Boy:



And then decided to head toward Hula Babe who chose to keep a good distance between us (thus the blurred photo):



Tonight Beach Boy and Hula Babe are  both sunburned; we couldn’t pull ourselves away from the lagoon once we saw Honu and Friend, but we are delighted to have seen these magical creatures again.  Hopefully we’ll have another encounter before our time here comes to an end.

Lotus: The Hotel. The position

Our first few nights in O’ahu were spent at The Lotus at Diamond Head, a hotel that we’d found on Jetsetter at a great rate.

The hotel turned out to be as great as the rate, with added bonuses of free morning coffee, free wine happy hours, free bikes (we didn’t use them) and. . .free yoga classes in Kapi’olani Park.

The tag line of our blog is, “Travel tales and tips to inform and inspire” so I decided that since I’d never taken a yoga class I would do so; write about it and inspire others to stretch (literally and figuratively) while traveling.

After all, I exercise regularly, so yoga couldn’t be that difficult, right?



I started having misgivings when Courtney, a young, slim, happy woman introduced herself as our instructor.  She's pictured above in the Lotus pose. There were five of us: two very tall men, and two women about my size.

The setting was incredible, the grass still covered with dew as we spread our mats to face Diamond Head.  And the first few stretches were easy. . .



I remember Courtney, saying something about being one with our bodies and then one with the universe.  At one point we extended our fingers in a prayer like motion and were to give thanks to whatever or whoever we wanted to thank, again I think I was supposed to be thinking universal thoughts but 30 minutes into this class, I was giving thanks for still standing upright!

I lifted with the left and grabbed with the right while facing one way but turning the opposite direction.  Remember the old game, Twister? Not quite as easy as I had thought. . .in fact, downright difficult.

But then the sun peaked around Diamond Head, and three birds sat on a branch above us cackling as they watched the crazy humans below. 

And then we were doing the final stretch. . .class ended.  I had made it! 

For two days afterward I couldn’t bend over to pick anything off the floor and bringing my coffee cup from the table to mouth hurt muscles, I didn’t know existed.

Yes, I had been one with my body, Hawaii and the universe. I did stretch. I’d do it again (but at Marriott Ko Olina those same classes are $27 so forget that! I’ll wait until I get home. . .or back to The Lotus.)

Inspired? Let me know what you’ve done thanks to travel that you wouldn’t have otherwise done.


NOTE:  Joel and Jackie are unable to access their regular email and Microsoft MSN is not cooperating in solving the problem. If you need to reach us in the near future please write to: travelnwrite@msn.com

 I’ve also been unable to respond to comments on the blog (the Hawaiian techno gods are against me) so thanks for the TP Thursday comments.

Traci, I am not sure which ship Sue will be on, if she lets me know I’ll post it, otherwise you might write celebrity cruise lines and ask.

TP Thursday: Seaside Serendipity

Hula Babe and Beach Boy (our noms de blog while in Hawaii) set out Monday afternoon to visit Honu, the sea turtle we’d happened upon last year at a nearby lagoon.  We were disappointed in not finding our old friend, but totally stunned to find a new treasure: a Hawaiian Monk Seal sunning herself at the lagoon.



What’s so amazing about our find is that there are fewer than 1,100 such wonderful creatures still alive; they are an endangered species on course to vanish in 30 – 50 years.

 

She had arrived on the beach Monday morning and the volunteer keeping watch over her said she’d likely swim away that night.  A rope barrier kept curious on-lookers from disturbing her slumber.



Sadly, the headlines have been reporting that three Hawaiian Monk Seals were killed recently; two on Molokai and one on Kauai – rewards are being offered for information leading to the criminals responsible for the deaths. The good news is that people like the volunteer are working to keep the seals safe.



Hawaii continues to provide us a new travel treasure with each visit – this one was priceless.

It is TP Thursday so head to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photos and tales from around the world. Just click these photos to make them larger.

Diamond Head: Been there, done that!

  Hula Babe’s and Beach Boy’s Hawaiian adventures began by climbing Diamond Head. As we gazed out over the Pacific Ocean, the only thing we asked ourselves is, “Why did we wait so many years and visits to Hawaii to enjoy this trek?”

Thanks to Kim and Sue, who after reading last week’s post in which I pondered the possibility, encouraged us to ‘just do it!'Their encouragement moved it to the top of my Hawaiian ‘to do’ list.

And then there was our hotel...

Our first four days were spent in Diamond Head’s shadow, at the The Lotus at Diamond Head in a room that provided a postcard view of this decades-old symbol of Waikiki. It felt as if we could reach across Kapi’olani Park and caress its rough hewn sides.  We used binoculars to see the people way up at the very tiptop viewpoint (the point on the right in this photo).

So Friday the 13th we tackled Le-ahi, the other name for Diamond Head; a name given by the goddess Hi’aka because the summit resembles the lae (forehead)  of the ahi fish. . .or at least that is one of the stories told of its name.  Another is that it stands for the wreaths of fire lighted atop it to guide canoes to shore.

We walked from our hotel to the trail head in the midst of the crater of this 300,000 year-old volcano. Entry fees were a very reasonable $1 per person walk in.  Parking fees for those who chose to drive were also minimal.

The trail itself is less than a mile (1.3km) one way and the climb is 560feet (171m) from the crater floor.  The trail, built in 1908 as part of the U.S. Army’s Coastal Defense System, was originally used by those on foot and mules that hauled construction equipment up it. The surface was uneven in many places but secure handrails made it feel safe.  There were steep stairways and dark narrow tunnels – it might not be for everyone. 

 I admit there were a couple of times as I paused to drink water and suck air on the way up that I did wonder why I had been so hell bent on doing it. However we were joined by young and old; fit and fat - a testimony to its popularity. More than a million visit Diamond Head each year.

And then. . .the final flight of stairs and we were at the top. . .paradise literally surrounded us every direction we turned. The views were stunning.

I can hardly wait until next year! It might just have moved even higher on my “must not miss” list.

Celebrity’s Cruise Director: Our Cheerleader at Sea

Mix together talents as a cheerleader, entertainer, and mother. Add a large dash of caring and organizing then wrap it in a blanket of energy.

What do you have? 

Our Celebrity Constellation Cruise Director, Sue Denning.

I introduced you to Sue just after I met her on our transatlantic cruise.. Remember? She’d zipped past me en route to clean toilets in a public restroom on our ship. Along with the ship’s near-thousand other employees, she was working to eradicate the gastrointestinal virus that struck the sailing before ours. That toilet-cleaning made an impression on many of you and I promised a sequel; here it is:

It didn’t take long for life to get back to normal on board and then we started seeing Sue in her more traditional duties: interacting with passengers (like making the rounds on Sea Days with Hotel Director Jamie Petts) and  introducing a variety of on- board entertainment and enrichment activities; always perfectly coiffed and always smiling, I might add. (I couldn’t have done it – way too much energy and enthusiasm required).

This English wife, mother and entertainer has been working in  the cruise industry since 2004, both as a performer and Cruise Director. Yet, having a work schedule that requires four months on board, followed by two months off, hasn’t had a negative impact on her marriage (35 years!) or on her family (a son and daughter).

“I have a magnificent husband, two great kids and a wonderful home,” she says, flashing her trademark smile. “My husband performs on both land and sea. My daughter is performing in Vienna and my son in London’s West End.  You might call us a modern-day Von Trappe family.”

“I genuinely care about what I do,” she says of her 24/7 job, “I have a passion for it.” But the job’s not for everyone, she cautions. “It is essential to be a people person.  You must like what you do. It requires tolerance, not temper.”

Among cruise directors’ responsibilities are:
*directing passenger services, from activity programs and public announcements to "welcome onboard" and disembarking information.
*developing schedules for a staff of lecturers, speakers, special guest performers and on-staff entertainers for regular onboard programs.
* attending VIP functions, private parties, and ship-organized events, such as past passenger and welcome aboard receptions, like the one pictured above.

The real key to job success for a cruise director, she says, “Just to be yourself. Wake up the same way, every day.”

Do I need to tell you we are already hoping to have Sue aboard our Celebrity cruise next November?

Note:  I wrote this post about Sue last week and our travel schedule prevented me from getting it posted until Sunday, Jan. 15 - two days after the tragic accident in Italy involving a Costa Cruise Line's ship - not Celebrity.. We love cruising and know how seriously all cruise lines take the safety of their passengers. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families whose lives were impacted by this incident.

TP Thursday: Winter in Venice. . .er, . . .Vegas

It’s a city that has Paris’s Eiffel Tower and Rome’s Trevi Fountain, (or close replicas anyway), so it seemed normal for this adult Disneyland-of-a-city to also have “Winter in Venice” last week at, where else? The Venetian Resort and Casino.



The event which was winding down the first week of January drew crowds to the Christmas tree, especially for the nighttime light shows.



And of course, you can’t have Venice without gondoliers singing and steering their boats past the ice rink. (Make that fake ice, but hey, it worked and we are talking Vegas. . .)



It was a Carnivale type atmosphere with skaters twirling to Christmas tunes and street performers posing for photos.



Snowflakes on the building  helped remind us that this was a ‘winter fest’ – temperatures were in the high 60’s F -  an unseasonably warm week, the weatherman said. (Last year it was in the 30’s for daytime temperatures and it snowed during our early January visit).



Note:  It is TP Thursday so head on over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photos from around the world.

Aloha Honolulu!

Hula Babe and Beach Boy are heading back to Hawaii!  That would be us – and our nom de plume, okay, nom de blog -- during those winter weeks when we frolic under swaying palms and a tropical sun with a renewed, near rampant, enthusiasm for life.



We do feel younger and more carefree in Hawaii.  From the first sniff of the tuber rose and plumeria leis at the airport, we are enveloped in a magical spirit – the Spirit of Aloha, perhaps - that seems to feed both the body and the soul. And it never lessens, instead, it only gets stronger with each passing year.


It’s a shift in attitude that doesn’t require consumption of coconut juices or alcohol-laced mai tais (although quite yummy); papaya mask facials or yoga. . .the mind simply switches gears in Hawaii.

‘Life is Good’, as the tee-shirts proclaim.  If you’ve ever been there, you know what I am saying, and if not you should give it a try one day.


Our Waikiki stay will be in the shadow of Diamond Head’s 760-foot punchbowl crater pictured below, at the Aqua Lotus Hotel, (formerly the W Hotel) near Kapi’olani Park on O’ahu’s Gold Coast. 



And because we are so close, maybe we’ll finally climb the trail along the top of Diamond Head’s crater this trip. . .

The first ‘big trip’ I ever took was to Honolulu way back in 1979 when a good friend who was living in Guam and I met  in Honolulu.  I was swept up by Waikiki’s Spirit of Aloha on that trip  and unbeknownst to me at the time, Joel and his buddies were making similar discoveries about the same time. As a result, the place just keeps drawing us back.

So put on your Aloha shirt or grass hula skirt, grab a tropical drink and join us. . . Hula Babe’s and Beach Boy’s adventures are about to begin . . .Aloha!

So, what about you?  Have you visited a place and been caught up in its spirit?

Happy New Year! Happy Travels!

Media headlines have been noting the Mayan calendar's ‘end of the world’ prediction for December, 2012. To our way of thinking it’s as a good a reason as any to travel more this year!
After all, we have a lot of places yet to see on this big old world before it - or we - cease to exist. 

Our bucket list – the one where we note new places to see, things to do, and favorite places that call out for a  return  visit – just seems to get longer each year.

We’ve already put Asia, Australia and Bali on the fall destination list. We’ve scheduled time in Scottsdale. And this month “Hula Babe and Beach Boy” head back to Hawaii for  more tropical adventures.  In between those planned excursions, we’ll keep our bags at the ready for any other adventures and misadventures that await us. 

What adventures are ahead for you? What’s on your 2012 bucket list?

As one travel year ends and another beckons we thank you for joining us at TravelnWrite and hope you’ll continue traveling with us.

 

 

Along with our wishes for a Happy New Year and Happy Travels, I am adding this poem, which I found on the blog* of a fellow traveler:

 

On an ancient wall in China

Where a brooding Buddha blinks

Deeply graven is the message,

It is later than you think.

The clock of time is wound but once and no

man has the power,

to tell just when the hand will stop

at late or early hour.

Now is all the time you own,

the past a golden link

Go cruising now my brother,

It is later than you think.

--Anonymous

Note:  *Raymond’s Man on the Lam blog. Photos: Paris at daybreak and us on Celebrity’s transatlantic cruise.

TP Thursday: Give me land, lots of land. . .

Remember America's singing television cowboy, Roy Rogers and his horse, Trigger? They brought the Old West to life back in the mid-20th Century. And way back in 1944, he introduced Cole Porter’s song,  “Don’t Fence Me In” in a movie called, Hollywood Canteena.  The song is one of those cowboy songs that even now, decades later, I can't help but hum when we head out on road trips through America’s Southwest . . .

“Oh,give me land,

lots of land. under starry skies above,

don’t fence me in. . .

Let me ride thru

the wide open country that I love,

don’t fence me in. . .

Let me be by myself

in the evening breeze,

Listen to the murmur

of the cottonwood trees. . .

Let me wander over yonder

Till I see the mountains rise. . .

. . . Don’t fence me in. . .”

Note:  It is TP Thursday so saddle up and mosey on over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photos from around the world.   Photos taken in Scottsdale and Tucson, Arizona, and points in between.  If you want to hear Roy singing the full song, click the link above which will take you to a You Tube clip.

‘EXPLOSIVES DETECTED’ . . . sadly, on me!

And as soon as those two words in bold black letters on a bright orange background showed up on the screen, the TSA agent at SeaTac said, “Afraid you are going to have to come with me, ma’am.”

And thus began our 2012 travels . . .

We were on our way to Las Vegas yesterday, our annual trip to watch college football games on big screen televisions in Sports Books found in nearly every casino in town when it all began. I wrote about our similar trip last year and had planned not to even mention this trip That was until Lady Luck – or Lady Un-luck – struck before I’d even left Seattle.

“Why is it always you?” I heard Joel ask from behind me.

I’ve thought about that since yesterday and here’s my answer:  it is because I am generally a happy traveler (I smiled at the guy) and short (5-feet tall) and blonde (although chemically-induced blonde, I could have the traits of a real blonde) and I am over 50; all of which I think adds up to: I am an easy mark.

Back to my tale .  . .

We were in the line snaking its way to the TSA bag, body and document screening when I smiled at the agent, he smiled back and said, “Ma’am I need you to step over here – I am doing a random swab of hands.”  He swiped, put the cotton pads in the machine and I joked (yes, up until yesterday, I still chatted with these folks) about detecting the type of hand lotion I used.

EXPLOSIVES DETECTED flashed on the screen and that was the end of that conversation. . .

On the bright side, he led us right to the front of the line (hopefully people thought we were celebrities or something) and helped put all of our stuff through the screening. After we both cleared the body x-ray (now standard screening at SeaTac) Joel went off to wait for me while I was led to more screening. 

Everything I had, plastic baggie, coat, shoes, purse and contents were individually wiped down and tested. They all passed with flying colors. . .No explosives!

Then two female TSA agents arrived and took me into a room and closed the door for my ‘pat down’.  Now I can’t say I was real happy at that point, BUT I do need to say the exam was explained to me in advance: and done in an extremely professional manner.

 (“I will be using a backhand pat down everywhere but the inner thigh and there I will need to used the front of my hands to pat down,” she said.) 

They checked my hair (“I am trying not to mess it up,” she explained) and then did the pat down. 

The second woman took the gloves she had been wearing and tested them for residue.

Again, I passed with flying colors. . .I was free to go.  And on the bright side, we didn’t have to wait long at all to board our flight.

As I left I told them I was a white-knuckle flier and I really did appreciate the security efforts. (They told me most people react much differently.)

The afterward of this tale is that we are in Las Vegas, the sun is out, we are barefoot in our sandals, the two teams we wanted to win games did so yesterday we were upgraded to a room with sweeping views over the valley and mountains and all is again well in our travel world. 

However, we might just allow ourselves a little extra time at the airport prior to our return flight -  just in case Lady Luck strikes again!