Kauai... oh how I love thee!

If you travel to Hawaii - please visit Kauai!  It is known as the "Garden Island."  Truly beautiful places!

For those of you who maybe familiar with Maui and Key West Florida - Kauai is a perfect blend of the two places!

The first thing you will "see" as you exit the airport property are the wild chickens!  They are everywhere... there is actually a ban on importing chickens to this island.  The bad part is the wild can not be used for meat - apparently they have been wild for so long... their meat has become very gamey.

We stayed in Kapaa - nice relaxed atmosphere (like Maui) with a great local fare (like Key West).  Our resort was the Waipouli Beach Resort (Outrigger).  The view looking out of the lobby was very relaxing...

The BEST resort pool!  There was a "main pool", lazy river with three waterfalls, two waterslides, two hot tubs (one adult only) and a "sand" beachy shallow area!  The pool area exits to the beach... a very relaxing, calm and empty beach!

Only 20% of Kauai is accessible by car - helicopter tours are very popular on this island and boat tours especially on the Na Pali coast.

We elected to do a 6 hour deep sea fishing adventure.  Deep Sea Fishing was on my bucket list - I LOVED it!  We caught 5 large yellow and blue fin tuna - the largest was 35 pounds! 

Now my word of caution... if you have never been sea sick and are used to boats - open ocean fishing is different - motion sickness is a real possiblity!  My partner on this adventure was sick 5 out of the 6 hours of the trip - and the swells were only 3-4 feet - they are normally 7-10 feet!  I recommend our charter company - Ohana Fishing Charters - Lance was very nice!

Like most islands - the different sides of the island have different qualities!  Take the time to head north to Princeville on Kauai - the St Regis is a MUST see!  Make reservations for the Makana Terrace to watch the sunset.  The atmosphere was almost not real!  I felt like I was on a movie set!  It was absolutely spectacular!!!!!!

We LOVED Kauai and we WILL be going back!!!!

The Big Island of Hawaii... the recap...

Well I have to say - I am officially going to be posting my first FLOPs!!!!  Be prepared...

Now onto my recap of the The Big Island of Hawaii...

First we flew from Honolulu to Kona Hawaii on go!Airlines...  why did I choose go!Airlines?  Good question because I was asking myself the same question!  Do yourself a favor - book with Hawaiian Airlines - pay a few more bucks but at least there are more flights to choose from AND they are on time.  Our flight to Kona was delayed FOUR hours - with no explanation!  SO go!Airlines - is my first official FLOP!


After arriving in Kona at midnight, we checked in a Keauhou Beach Resort (Outrigger).  Front desk was pleasant - even at midnight, the view was cool - the hotel extends over the ocean with plenty of fish and turtles to watch BUT the room was very dated and the bath/shower combo had mold.  An upside to the resort - they have a free breakfast buffet from 6:30-9:30am.  If I had to rate the resort - 2.5 out of 5 stars.  It is a partial FLOP.

OK now the FUN HIGHLIGHTS...  We had two days to explore the island!

Day One - Volcano National Park! 

On the way to the Park from Kona - you will pass some black sand beaches!  They are cool!  Definitely stop in for some pictures!

The Volcano National Park - Once in a lifetime experience - I have to admit that if you expecting to see flowing lava - you need to take a helicopter tour.  You can take an additional drive down "Crater Road" (3 hours round trip) to "see" more but I would recommend a helicopter tour.  But a cool activity that you can do if you plan ahead... you can hike through one of the big craters that was from a 1950's eruption!  Very cool looking. 

Day Two on the Big Island... we booked an ATV tour through "Ride the Rim".  This adventure takes place on the North Side of the Island at the Waipoi Valley.

The ATV tour is about 4 hours long but very fun - if you like four wheelers - mud and waterfalls!  I recommend taking the afternoon trip and ask for Les to be your guide - great guy!  Drive thru the forest/jungle - mud puddles!  Way fun and then cool off by swimming in this waterfall!

Outside of losing one of our iPhones after the tour while changing out of our dirty clothes!  This was a ton of fun! 

The Big Island is must-see at least once... watch for my blog on Kauai - that is the island I will return to over and over! 

Aloha! We are back and full of stories of favs and flops from our trip to the great state of Hawaii

OK - let's start with a re-cap of the trip and then I will post about each individual island!  The comedy of errors are quite funny!  Don't get me worng - beautiful trip and wonderful vacation!  We will always go back - we LOVE Hawaii!

But here are a few bits....

• After 3 flights arrived in Honolulu to catch our commuter flight to Kona... well... it was delayed!  BY FOUR HOURS!  go!Airlines maybe cheap but during all of our island hopping - they were only on-time ONCE!
• Arriving in Kona after 11pm Hawaii time - that was a total of 24 hours of travelling - needless to say - we were not in the best of moods.
• After many adventures on the Big Island - we returned to the resort after an ATV adventure - to figure out - we lost an iPhone!  AND no one "can" find it!
• In Kauai after a 6 hour fishing trip  - we return to the harbor to find our rental car had a dead battery! 

There is taste of the trip - all the details to follow!

Kansas City Missouri... oh how I love thee

At the beginning of August, I had the pleasure of travelling to Kansas City Missouri for work with a great friend of mine.

You can't go wrong in Kansas City  - the sights, the sounds and the food!  After a stop at the World Market to pick up a case of various wines - we headed out for lunch.

Lunch stop - The Beer Kitchen.  http://beerkitchenkc.com/
The food was pretty good and pretty unusual!  I would suggest a stop in - especially for the beer selection!

Dinner Spot - one of my favorites in Kansas City - Lidia's! www.lidias-kc.com

My favorite off the menu:

LIDIA'S TRIO DEL GIORNO

• Insalata "Cesare" alla Lidia

Pasta Tasting

• Every day we offer a sampling of seasonal, daily-made fresh and filled pastas, imported Italian dry pastas, as well as risotto and polenta dishes. Your plate will be refilled as often as you like by servers carrying pans of freshly cooked pasta through the dining room. Your server has sampled today's selection and will describe them for you.
• A Selection from Our Dessert Menu

Prix Fixe $29.50

The trip was too short but the food was great!

Half Moon Bay California

I had the pleasure and privilege to travel to Half Moon Bay California for business - July 21-24, 2011.  For those of you unfamiliar with the area - Half Moon Bay is located about 20 miles south of San Francisco.  It is a sleepy little coastal town known for its plant nurseries and pumpkin patches.  If travelling to the area - check the weather - it will not be what you think.  While the rest of the country was under a Heat Advisory - I enjoyed temperatures ranging from 55-62 degrees.  As Mark Twain said - "The Coldest Winter I ever spent was a summer in Northern California..."

My Take:  Would I personally vacation to Half Moon Bay - probably not.  And I do not mean that as a negative comment.  My vacations usually consist of a little more activity and adventure.  Half Moon Bay is a great location to do absolutely NOTHING!  If you are looking to escape - this is your place.  Enjoy the ocean, enjoy the weather, enjoy the quiet and enjoy a good book. 

My Stay:  I stayed at the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay.  Wonderful resort - right on the water.  They had a great spa and workout facility.  The staff was extremely pleasant.  The Fire Pits were great fun!  I would highly recommend this resort!

The resort in surrounded by the Half Moon Bay Golf Links - two courses - the Old Course and the Ocean Course.  The courses will be a challenge but it is truly a gift to play if you enjoy the game.  I have not been on a course quite like this!

My Eats:  I had a chance to sample two local restaurants - Sam's Chowder House and Mezza Luna.  Let's start with Sam's... The Clam Chowder is the best I have ever had!  I went back for seconds!  The atmosphere and scenic view - was wonderful!  I would definitely go back!  http://www.samschowderhouse.com/

Mezza Luna was ranked #2 on Tripadvisor.  The service was less than stellar (not rude or bad - just extremely slow) - but the food was fantastic!  Unusual interpretations of traditional favorites!  http://www.mezzalunabythesea.com/

I was also told to try Pasta Moon but it was booked out the entire length of my stay - must be good!

Overall - Would I go back...?  I would stay a day or so but I would not plan a lengthy vacation here.  If you are travelling the coast of California - definitely stop in!