Puppy Dog!

We're getting a dog!!




Here's the mother, Piper:


And the father, Solo:




We get to go see her in a few weeks and then take her home in March!

HAWAII - Day Eleven!

6:00am - time to pack ... sniffle. Check out the signs by the pool at our condo place:



8:00am - head out to find breakfast and embark on 24 hours of travel. ugh.
9:00am - breakfast at Marco's again -- Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee is soooooo good
12:00pm - flight to Honolulu
1:00pm - lunch at Stinger Ray's
2:00pm - kill five hours (yes FIVE HOURS) by hanging out in the outdoor Japanese garden at the airport
7:00pm - flight to Houston
change time zones
12:00pm - arrive home to Boston. It is SEVEN DEGREES OUT. SEVEN!
1:00pm - lunch with Matt and Lindsay
3:00pm - NAPTIME

vacation is officially over. It's time to do some laundry, go grocery shopping and [sigh] get back to work .... All in all, this has been a FABULOUS vacation. We are going to take more vacations -- two weeks is the way to go. So relaxing and peaceful. Plenty of time to unwind, recover from jet lag and plenty of time to ADVENTURE!

Did I mention that it is freezing here in Boston? Time to move to Maui.

HAWAII - Day Ten!

8:00am - wander out to find breakfast and a snorkel adventure
9:30am - breakfast at Marco's in Kahului
1:00pm - snorkle afternoon to Molokini Crater from Maalaea on Four Winds
2:00pm - snorkle!
3:00pm - jump off the boat! Dive! Again! Again! Again!
4:00pm - whale and turtle watching on the way home (visting with the Alaska family)


6:15pm - final sunset of the vacation ... (sigh)
8:00pm - dinner at Leilani's at Whaler's Villiage

HAWAII - Day Nine!

7:00am - up and out! Road to Hana Day!
10:00am - Stop off at Twin Falls. "private property" but still pretty much open to the public. We met 2 ladies who told us to keep hiking up past the paved path to find more and more and more falls. Skinny dipping, hiking and jumping off waterfalls!










1:00pm - Red/black sand beach, photo opps, Waimea Falls, WINDY roads with cliffs on the side, Mach trucks and paving crews, one lane madness, Hana, etc.



2:30pm - Oheo Gultch -- the fabled 7 pools o Haleakala in Kipahulu -- toursity falls with lots of ... well, tourists. Next time, get there early so you can hike all the way up to the big falls and higher pools.


4:30pm - Head back down Hana Highway
7:00pm - dinner at Ichiban -- yummy sushi with real crab!

HAWAII - Day Eight!

8:45am - wander through Lahaina Town
9:30am - see AZ couple from yesterday -- small world!
10:00am - head out on Trilogy VI catamaran for an all day snorkel sail trip to Lanai. TONS of whales and good food. Too much sun and pretty good snorkeling on a beautiful beach. Things to remember: whales, Malibu Barbie wedding, whales, Four Seasons on one side of the beach and tents on the other, we talk to old people a lot (Lenox, MA, Lowell, MA, Alberta, Canada), broken back crew member, false killer whales, splashed a LOT on the way home, and did I mention how many whales we saw?





6:15pm - sunset on the boat
9:00pm - quiet night at home

HAWAII - Day Seven!

2:00am - no, I'm not kidding and that wasn't a typo. 2:00am is when the alarm went off ...
4:00am - check in at Haleakala Bike Company. Crazy uphill bus ride around tons of curves with crazy Tim with the funny stories and creepy fingernails. Made friends with AZ photographers and Milford, MA people
6:55am - Sunrise at 10,000 feet




7:15am - bike down the vocano from 6,500 feet - SO COLD and really fast!



10:00am - NAPTIME
2:00pm - Flemming's beach again
6:15pm - another gorgeous sunset ...
7:00pm - China Booooooat!

HAWAII - Day Six!

7:30am - breakfast at "home"
9:00am - pit stop for Advil and sunglasses: Bita has a hurt neck and Jason forgot his sunglasses!
11:30am - HELICOPTER RIDE IN THE FRONT SEAT with Kurt at Blue Hawaiian. Tons of photos of West Maui and Molokai





3:30pm - catch a bit of the Patriots game
4:30pm - WARM water and body surfing at Flemming's Beach in Kahalua


6:15pm - sunset at "home"


7:30pm - fabulous dinner at Hula grille in Whaler's Villiage in Kaanapoli (recommendation from "Mango RITA")
9:00pm - bedtime! We have a BIG DAY tomorrow!

HAWAII - Day Five!

8:00am - what better way to end a fabulous vacation than with a couples massage in an ocean-side hut (courtesy of Kim Humby!) ... wait ... it's not the end! It's less than half over! Let's go to Maui!!!
10:30am - breakfast at Shark's Cove Grille
12:00pm - 3rd time's a charm with filling the temperamental gas tank
1:30pm - flight to Maui
______ - the line at Hertz took so long I think it became tomorrow ...


5:30pm - drive over through Lahaina and Kaanapoli to Kahana Reef ... but there is no front desk ... just Captain Ron, the one-legged man lady manning the mail room ...
6:30pm - settled in apartmen 314 and booked a week of adventures!!


7:00pm - dinner at Pizza Paradiso and a trip to Star Market

HAWAII - Day Four!

9:00am - breakfast in the rain
11:00am - Macadamia Nut Farm tour with Chief Sielu Avea . HYSTERICAL. Tour of "farm" and sets of LOST, "you are for scuba?" and other movies ...




1:00pm - Shrimp snack from the Shrimp Shack! Spicy meat-a-balls!
2:00pm - drive in the Mustang across the North Shore


4:30pm - back to Turtle Bay -- signs and scoreboards for the PGA tournament startimg to pop up -- hey, was that Tiger in the lobby?? nope.
6:00pm - wine and snacks on the balcony
8:00pm - yummy dinner with Kate Lass lookalike wairess at Haleiwa Joe's

HAWAII - Day Three!

4:30am - Bita awake. Oh Jet lag ...
8:15am - scenic drive down Kahekili Highway 83 down the East Shore. Beautiful day with only a little bit of rain -- quick! pull over and put up the top!
9:45am - breakfast at mini Keneke's in Waimanalo for the "local's breakfast" of Portugese sauage, eggs and white rice
10:30am - Snorkeling t Hanauma Bay. Things to remember: spot on shoe size guess man, lots of fishes, strong current, big hill!

12:00pm - hike up Diamond Head with Dave and Melissa from Albany.





2:00pm - fresh pineapple!
2:30pm - driving tour of Waikiki along Rt 72, then scenic drive on H-3 THROUGH the mountains!


4:00pm - Bita carsick
6:15pm - sunset by the pool and in the hot tub
8:00pm - mediocre cheeseburgers and 90s R&B in paradise

HAWAII - Day Two!

8:00am - breakfast buffet
9:30am - walk on the beach past the horse stables


11:00am - swimming ... err ... stumbling with a turtle!


1:30pm - Everybody in the POOOOOL!
3:00pm - hotel-side snorkel fun -- only one flipper for the Jason!


4:00pm - drive down to Sunset Beach and Waimea Beach -- big waves and teenaged boogy boarders


6:15pm - champagne and sunset


6:18pm - Bita drunk. hee hee.
7:45pm - DE-LICIOUS dinner at Lei-Lei's on the golf course -- crab dip!

HAWAII - Day One!

6:30am - Cab to the airport please!
8:30am - Quick flight to Newark
1:20pm - LONG ass flight to HONOLULU!!!!
8:00pm - Blue Mustang -- no top!


10:00pm - After a long drive and a car fire sighting, we make it to Turtle Bay on the North Shore and CRASH.