Wednesday at Kona Village

I was downloading pictures and saw that my last blog from Hawaii did not get posted, so here it is…

 

Did I mention how we have no keys here at Kona Village?  No keys at all.  That's right we don't lock our doors here.  They told us you could get a key if you really wanted one, but what the heck.  It has been a pleasure to live without keys.  Oh and did I mention no TV.  I have to admit that I was a little nervous about this.  Brad and I are TV watching idiots. Don't miss it.  Don't miss it at all!

 

Last night we walked over to a different restaurant at the Four Seasons.  Once again we were right on the beach.  Oh I could get used to this!!

 

Today we got up, had our breakfast and then headed over to the Marriott at Waikoloa for Brad's second and last day of class.  These have not been hard to take 8:00 to ll:00.  Today a lot of wives were there even though the ADA nerd said that wives weren't allowed.  I can see why Brad has liked this class.  I thought what I learned about photography was great and makes me want to learn more!! 

 

About halfway through the class we left the classroom and went outside to practice taking pictures.  The hour flew by.  Then it was back to class for a little more instruction and then the course was over!!  Brad was smart and at the end asked to use Dr. Snow's light meter to get some readings for his camera for the office.

We left the Marriott and headed over to the Hilton Waikoloa.  I had remembered that they had a sandal shop there and I thought Brad might be able to find the sandals that he has been looking for.  He found them and then decided he wanted a different pair altogether.  Whatever.  At least he found what we wanted.  

 

We left the Hilton and went over to the Kings Court Shopping Center and had a nice lunch.  But it was hot and humid!!  We were dripping by the time we left to go back to Kona Village.  On our way to the Village we saw a couple of goats that we just had to take pictures of.  

 

As soon as we got back to our hale we got our suits on and headed for the beach.  Then around 4:15 we headed back to get ready for  the cocktail party.  Yay! Free drinks and pupus.  We took advantage of the opportunity, played some Hawaiian checkers and then the hour was over.

 

Before heading back to our hale we walked over to the tennis courts and fitness room. Nothing like checking out tennis courts and fitness equipment after 2 mai tais.  Hahaha.

 

On our way back we also checked out the luau.  We decided to not go to this one, but we are planning on going to the one on Friday. 

 

The pupus filled us up so we are back at the hale getting ready for a great day of golf!

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Until later.

Another Beautiful Morning

 

Brad was up really early this morning getting ready to go to his dental photography course. Today it is all about taking dental photos.  Tomorrow is about taking recreational photos.  I think I am going to try and tag along for that one.  The course is up the road a ways at the Marriott at Waikaloa.  So I am on my own this morning.

 

My plans are to take a walk over to the Four Seasons to make reservations for an full day of golf on Thursday.  Then I will head over for breakfast.  I think I’ll take the laptop over and upload these blogs.  Then I may take another walk or I may just go lay by the ocean.  What to do, what to do. 

 

Until Later…

Hapuna Golf

We got up this morning and got dressed to play golf before heading over for breakfast.  Since we can’t park any where near our Hale we had to carry our clubs to the car first.  Then is was over to Hale Muana for breakfast. 

 

We got another great seat for breakfast and this time we were seated at the table next to Ricky Lee Jones.  She wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone.  We weren’t going to say anything to her, god forbid.  I just think that is a crummy way to live.  I can’t imagine there are many people here who would recognize her and even fewer who might say anything to her.  And I only know that one song.  Oh well.

 

After breakfast we headed out to Hapuna golf course up by Moana Kea.  We got there a little after 8:00 even though our tee time was for 10:30.  We figured they just might get us out early if we were there early.  We were right.  We had just enough time to his a small bucket of balls and practice a little putting before they told us that we were up.  We even got to play as a twosome.  Yay

 

The golf course is built on the side of a mountain and the first 5 or 6 holes are all uphill.  Oh my god.  And it was hot and humid without a breeze to be found.  I played terribly, but had fun doing it.  Once we got to the top the holes coming down were much nicer to play.  The course was in great shape and we had fun playing there.  Once we were done we went in pro shop and bought a new golf shirt for Brad and a windbreaker type jacket for me.  Oh it was hard trying on that windbreaker when I was so hot and sweaty but I knew that was what I wanted as a souvenir from Hapuna.

 

After our game at Hapuna we decided to go check out the Moana Kea  hotel.  We had fond memories of the hotel from the times we stayed at the Moana Kea Villas when the girls were really young.  The hotel looks pretty much the same except for the pool area which is much better than it was.  We decided to have lunch at the beachside restaurant.  It was delicious.  After lunch we drove around the villas and tried to remember which ones we had rented.  They don’t look like they have aged.

 

Then it was back to our hale.  By the time we got back we couldn’t wait to put on our swimsuits.  OMG.  I was so hot and sweaty.  Today has been a day without a breeze.  As soon and we got our suits on we headed out to the beach and into the ocean.  Then we relaxed for a while and read.  But the bugs were out and we decided to go and sit on our porch.

 

We were reading when all of a sudden Brad said, “sunset” and we jumped up and ran to the beach just in time to see the last half of the sun go down.  It was beautiful, but no green flash. 

 

We have been sitting around our hale after that and are now getting ready to walk over to the Four Seasons for a bite to eat.

 

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Until Later…

Sunday

Today when we got up we decided it was time to take a walk to the Four Seasons and see what was in that direction.  So we put on our walking clothes and headed out.  The Four Seasons is right next to Kona Village and it is beautiful.  Walking around the grounds there I felt that I had found my substitue for Kapalua!  We walked all around the grounds and checked out the very empty and very expensive golf course.  We learned that you either had to be a guest of the Four Seasons, Kona Village or own a home in the resort to be able to play.  And you can not bring a guest.  And for the privilege you pay $250 per person.  Only this month they are having a special because they have just aerated the greens.  Now it is only $200.  Yikes.

 

We decided to think about it and go back and check out golf Hawaii.

 

While we were in the concierge room at Kona Village checking out golf times online Ricky Lee Jones came in to make an appointment for a massage and to arrange an excursion to Mauna Kea.  Ricky Lee Jones of Chuck Es in Love.  And Cindy Crawford is here. Ok we haven’t seen her, but we heard she is here…

 

Once we figured out where we wanted to golf and when (tomorrow, Hapuna) it was time to go to the pool.  We had a very relaxing time under a cabana.  When we were just about ready to go I knew that I first had to get in the ocean.  To Brad's delight I decided it was time to swim out to the raft.  And so we did.  I was very nervous for some reason but I was glad I got out to the raft and didn't just think about it.  Next time, however, I am going to use some fins.

 

After our swim we decided it was time to go down to Kailua Kona.

 

We headed down the coast to find a place to watch the sunset and have some fish. 

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After driving around a bit we decided The Kona Inn would be the best choice.  We were able to get a seat closest the the ocean which turned out to be a perfect spot to watch the sun set.  And a great place for dinner.

Saturday in Hawaii

Saturday was our first full day here on the Big Island and we were determined to start it out right.  Once we were able to get up.  It was funny, we woke up early then went back to sleep, then woke up, then went back to sleep, then woke up...  it was as though we didn't know what time zone to follow.  Finally we decided to get up and quickly made some Kona coffee before heading out to breakfast. 

Our stay includes breakfast every morning and I figured it would be a simple continental type breakfast.  Wong!!  I had eggs benedict, for crying out loud.  Brad had steak and eggs and an order of pancakes.  And this was all after an interesting plate of fruit.  And all outside near the water.  What a beautiful way to start the day!!  When we left we were full and knew we wouldn’t need anything until dinner, which we were going to have here at the resort.

 

After breakfast we took a walk to explore a part of the resort.  Although there are only 150 hales here there are 80 acres to explore.  After exploring we decided it was time to put on our swimsuits and go to the beach. 

 

We spent the day at the beach under a palm tree.  It was wonderful.  When we were ready to leave we headed out thinking we were going to walk down and check out the 4 Seasons when we noticed that the shipwreck bar was open.  Well, Nancy and Mike had told us we had to check that out so we stopped and sat at the bar.  Now Ben had sent me a text telling us to have a mai tai for him so we figured we needed to honor that request.  So honor it we did.  In fact, we stayed there until it was time to get ready for our dinner reservation…  Yeah, Chad is a good bartender.

 

At the appointed hour we went to the Hale Moana for dinner.  As we left our hale it started to rain, but Brad just ran back to the room and got an umbrella.  We got a table close to the beach and we kept our fingers crossed that it wouldn’t rain anymore.  It must have worked because we stayed dry.

 

Dinner was very nice and we are glad we tried it out but we will be heading off property tomorrow for dinner.

 

And then it was back to the room to relax and go to sleep.  A perfect first full day of vacation.  :)

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Kona Morning

Our flight over the ocean on the way to Kona was very smooth – until the last 10 minutes or so.  Then it got quite bumpy.  I guess the winds were fighting with the pilot.  There were a couple of times that the plane seemed to drop and people on the plane would go “whoa”.  Although my hands were wet with sweat and I was gripping Brad’s hand I knew this was just fairly normal for flying into Hawaii. This was the first time that I can remember ever having a female captain.  The next day I was thinking how odd it was that she hadn’t made any announcements and then I realized that she had and I had assumed it was the flight attendant.  Gloria Steinham would be so disappointed in me.

 

Getting out baggage took a very long time.  Two flights had arrived at about the same time and that just seemed to be too much to handle for the luggage crew.  They have to unload little bits at a time, drive it over to the luggage area, unload it, go back and get more.  After having only picked up of golf clubs we decided it would be good for Brad to take the clubs and hop on the shuttle to get our car.  Not long after he left our two bags showed up and I carted them out to the street, put on my ipod, got out a magazine and waited for Brad.

 

Brad showed up in a nice little Chevy Malibu that we loaded up and off we went.

 

As Nancy had predicted we missed the turn-off for the resort but it didn’t take long for us to realize our mistake and soon we were back on track.  The resort is only about 9 miles from the airport so we didn’t have a long way to go.  We arrived at the reception area and they were ready to check us in with a glass of rum punch.  Just the ticket!!  As we were checking in Tad took our luggage to our hale.  When we were ready Tad drove us in a golf cart to our home for the next 8 days. 

 

I have heard these described as grass shacks. Sure they have grass roofs but they certainly aren’t shacks.  Ours is very roomy with one wall being almost all sliding glass door looking out through the palm trees to the ocean.  A very perfect place.

 

As it was just about time for the sun to go down we hurried out to the deserted beach and watched as beautiful sunset.  Then we went back to our room, unpacked, and got ready to go and forage for some food. 

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We decided to head off property and go to Ceviche Dave’s.  Only problem was we didn’t know exactly where it was and we weren’t able to find it.  We did, however, find a nice little sushi place where sushi dishes went past your table on a conveyer belt.  We had a lot of fun and a lot of sushi for a great price.  Then it was back home to get to sleep.

 

We slept like babies. 

 

Until later…

Vacation Day One

After staying up late last night and then getting up at 6:00 this morning we were ready to leave before the time than we had planned.  Okay, maybe it was only 10 minutes earlier but at least we weren’t late.  We were able to drop the excited Zoey off and stop at Target before we left the AV with time to spare.  Traffic wasn’t bad and when it started backing up we were able to get in the HOV lane and sail passed everyone.  That was great. 

 

Brad had arranged for parking at the Airport Marriott and we were able to unload our luggage and hit the restroom before boarding the shuttle that took us to our gate.  As we were loading our luggage on the shuttle the stupid handle on the brand new hard shell golf bag broke.  We couldn’t believe it.  Oh well, we will deal with that when we get home. 

 

Once at the airport we waited in a long, but fast, line to check in our baggage.  We already had our boarding passes so it was just a quick hand over of the luggage that Brad had already prepaid.  That was easy.  Then it was out to the security line. 

 

Holy cow!!  I’ve never been in a line that long at the airport.  Good thing we had a lot of time before boarding.  Finally we got to the scanning equipment and Brad put his shoes on top of his luggage.  Oh no!!  Stop everything and call for a security check. 

 

Once they figured out they were just shoes and it was just a laptop they released them to Brad and let us proceed.  We found a nice spot to sit that had a plug for the laptop so we were able to charge it up and I was able to start this blog of our trip.  Now we are just waiting to hear our boarding call and then it is on to Kona.  Yay!!!

 

Until later…

T minus 14 hours until take-off!!

We leave the house tomorrow at 9:00 to head for LAX where we will board a Delta plane to Kona, Hawaii!!!  We are so excited.  I have heard so many wonderful things about Kona Village and I am anxious to experience it for myself.

 

We packed last weekend and now I just have to get my toiletries together and figure out what I am going to take in my carryon.  But I am tired and I think I’ll just get up early and figure that out.

 

Aloha!!

Postponed!!

 

Ah, it’s Friday and we were just thinking about when we were going to head down to Indio today to go to the Fantasy Casino where we were going to see Crosby, Stills, and Nash.  Then Scott called and said that a friend of his read in the paper that David Crosby was sick and the concert postponed.  Oh no!!  So I got online and sure enough the concert is postponed :(

 

I guess the good thing is we learned about it before we left for Indio.  We were able to cancel our hotel reservation and the concert is to be rescheduled.  Hopefully for a time we can attend. 

 

We are disappointed because we were looking forward to this concert.  Now we hope Crosby gets well. 

 

So I guess it will be golf and sushi instead.  That doesn’t sound too shabby. 

 

Until later…

That’s a lot of fat to lose…

I just finished watching The Biggest Loser, week 2 where the 15 remaining contestants were challenged to lose 150 pounds to keep everyone on The Ranch for the next week.  Even though they earned credits so that by the time of the weigh in they “only” had to lose 115 pounds, they lost over 153 pounds.  Wow!!  Good for them!

 

Until later…

Yum!

I woke up this morning to Brad watching cooking shows.  We always enjoy these shows and I quickly learned that The Neely’s had cooked something that really peaked Brad’s interest. They grilled sweet and sour shrimp.  I wasn’t thrilled about the idea and then I read the ingredients in the marinade.  Really, any recipe that starts with red pepper flakes has my attention.

 

But before we went to the store to gather the ingredients that we needed Lindsay and I went out to get pedicures and our eyebrows (and lips for me) waxed.  This time I got a really nice pink called Strawberry Fields.  I like it!

 

Brad was starving when I got home so we went to this new place in town, Brooklyn Deli where we had great sandwiches.  We went there last Friday and I accidentally had rye bread.  Now, I hate rye bread.  I hate the smell and the taste.  But I didn’t want to take it back because it was my fault that I hadn’t checked the menu.  I thought I would just eat the meat, but I took a little taste of the bread,  Surprisingly it tasted good.  And the crust was crunchy and delicious.  But I don’t like rye bread so today I ordered my delicious roast beef on sourdough.  It was very bland and I wished I had the rye.  Go figure…

 

Then it was off to Costco and Albertsons.

 

We picked up these great big shrimp at Costco and were please when we got them home and found out that they were already deveined.  After a quick trip to Kohls where we met up with Lindsay and Ben so we could use their 30% off coupon, we started getting things ready for our meal. 

 

On the menu:  Sweet and Sour grilled shrimp, pasta and tomato and asparagus salad, and mixed berry shortcake.  And I decided to throw in a batch of lemon cupcakes from the Flat Belly Diet cookbook. 

 

We were very busy in the kitchen, but we had fun putting it all together.  Then it was finally time to try our dishes.  OMG  the shrimps were so good.  That was the best shrimp dish I have ever had.  All you heard were a lot of moans and groans.  Oh my they were so good.  MMMMMMM.  The pasta salad was excellent.  The blanched asparagus, the tomatoes and feta cheese were a nice combination with the rotini.  And then it was time for desert.  Once again OMG.  I had made some Bisquick  shortcakes to go with the berries and whipped cream.  This was so good.  It blew a regular strawberry shortcake out of the water.  This one had strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries that had been mixed with a little honey and liquer.  So good.  But now I am too full!!

 

I haven’t had a chance to taste the cupcakes but I know the batter was deliciosa and the icing with light and citrusey. 

 

That makes 7 days in a row of mouth watering delicious dinners. Wow!

 

Until later…