Honolulu Day 11

Our final day, which, before it is over, will become two days rolled into one. We both slept in because we had no plans for the day so there was no point in getting up early. I was up buy 8:30 and went out on the balcony to write the post for the previous day. An hour later Erin was up as well and we began preperations to leave the Hilton. We had both decided we wanted donuts so I found a dunkin donuts near the hotel. We checked out and left our bags with the valets for the afternoon. Dunkin Donuts was a couple of blocks away so we starte walking. It soon became clear that the Dunkin Donuts was no longer there so I tried to look up where it was in relation to us. Turns out, AT&T Internet was down, we were blind in Honolulu. Right next to us was a Burger King so we decided to eat there. Internet was still out but I knew the free shuttle to Hilo Hattie stopped in front of our hotel so we started back for the Hilton. Sure enough it showed up and we were on our way to the Honolulu Hilo Hattie. We didn't need to go again, but the fact that the schuttle was free and would then take us to Ala Mona was hard to resist. We shopped a little at Hilo Hattie's, Erin found a zip up hoody, I had been looking for one the whole trip, never did find one. 45 minutes later another shuttle arrived to take people back to their hotels, but it does stop at the Ala Mona mall, the second largest mall in the U.S. With a good amount of the afternoon left to kill we began to walk around the mall. It is all outside which was neat, you walk from store to store outside and enjoy the weather. It had a strange layout and took us a while to get a handle on it, but once we did we walked every floor. We couldn't fit one more thing in our lugauge so we were not out to buy anything but we knew we wanted some neck pillows for the flight so we kept our eyes out for them. After a while it was time to eat so we went to the fourth floor where the restaurants are located and had lunch at Islands. They have burgers and salads, it was very good for our last meal in Hawaii. When we were done it was time to head back to the hotel so we went back to the ground floor. I had stopped at the Apple store to confirm the loss of AT&T's interent and used their wi-fi to get the bus scheduale so we could take the bus back to the Hilton. We were looking for route 8 and it arrived right when we did. We paid the $2.50 and boarded the bus. As we began to move into traffic Erin realized she had left her new hoody at Islands so we had to stop the bus, get off and walk all the way back to the fourth floor. Thankfully they had it. Turns out you can make one route change per ticket, so we just re-borded route 8 and went back to the hotel. The Hilton let's you use a courtesy room for an hour if you need to shower or freshen up. It was a very nice touch and extremly convieniant. We got ready for the flight and headed to the back of the hotel for our Roberts shuttle to the airport. We had called the required 24 hours ahead to arrange for a pick-up and Roberts was going to pick us up at 6:00 where they dropped us off behind the hotel. When 6:30 rolled around we called and they told us they had been there and we were not where we were supposed to be. It would be another hour before they could come back. We talked to the front desk and they said they have had this problem before and called us a taxi. $45 later we arived at the airport. Thankfully we knew Roberts was going to pay us back but it was still a huge inconveiniance. It took quite a while to get through security but we were in the terminal by 7:30. Erin bought some Cold Stone and I went to Burger King, our official last meal in Hawaii. The flight was packed and we borded early. We had found some neck pillows at the airport and waited for take off so we could sleep. We were headed to San Fransisco so the flight would be shorter than the initial one to Hawaii so we knew we had to get our sleep now. Sleep was slow to come for me so I took a dramamine to help. It worked but when we landed in San Fransisco I was so tired I wanted to just sleep in the terminal. Our layover was very small, 45 minutes I believe, so it wasn't long before we were in the air on the way to Denver. I slept some more but Erin was kept up by the man sitting next to her, some chatty guy from Michigan. Thankfully our layover in Denver was under a half an hour. We rushed to our terminal and I ran to Starbucks to get some chai, we hadn't eaten in so long and I was dragging from the dramamine. Our terminal was an entrance to a lower level of the airport that was just a long hallway with doors out to the tarmac. An airport employee showed us out and pointed us to our plane. We had to walk across the tarmac and board the plane. Thankfully Erin asked the pilot if this was the plane to Des Moines because turns out, the airport worker was wrong and we had to run to the next plane. Some people must not have noticed because the stewardess was saying they were missing some passengers. A short flight that felt like a lifetime later we landed in Des Moines, finally back in Iowa. It was now 3:30 PM in Iowa, we had lost almost an entire day. Fortunatly our bags were better directed than us and were in the right place. My parents were there to pick us up and we stopped at Applebees to eat before the drive home. Our trip was over, we are glad to be home but of course would rather be back in Maui. Counting down the days untill we get to go back!!! Aloha!!!


-- Post From My iPhone

Maui/Honolulu Day 10

The day has finally come, we knew it had to eventually, it was time to leave Maui. I got up around 7:00 as usual to enjoy my last blog post from my balcony spot. The picture above was my view every morning while I wrote, Maui was an awesome spectacle of God's creation.





We took our time packing, our flight wasn't until 1:30 so we had enough time to linger. We had PB&J for breakfast in order to use as much of the leftover food as we could, we didn't leave much behind which was good. After a couple hours we went out onto the balcony to say our final goodbyes to Maui and as we were sitting down we noticed a large group of people on the beach. I looked around and noticed a large pod of dolphins playing right off our beach! Several people were swimming with them, they were very close to the shore. Glad I had packed the binoculars I got them out and we watched them for about a half an hour. Swimming, jumping, playing, there were so many of them. It was the perfect send off from Maui. We checked out and drove to the Kahului airport to find the Hertz station to return our car. After Hertz it was time to check in for our tickets. We hadn't bought a lot of things in Maui but enough that we had to do some masterful packing in order to be under fifty pounds per check in. We made it, but it was close. With some time to kill we looked around at the shops before heading to the terminal, it's amazing how expensive things are in airports. Our flight started boarding late but we were off in no time and a quick 38 minutes later we were back in Honolulu, quite a change from Maui. It took about an hour for the Roberts to get through all the stops before our hotel. The Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio, a beautiful hotel. We relaxed for a while as we were in no hurry and unpacked what we would need for the night. Erin was very hungry so we decided to eat early. We broke a rule we had for the trip, no repeat restaurants. We went back to Duke's because Erin loved the salad bar so much. Salad, in Hawaii, and that's what she ordered, the salad bar. That's okay, I got some more fresh fish. It was nice to get there early as we got a seat on the deck overlooking the ocean which we didn't have last time. The food was again, excellent. We left and walked down the strip looking for something sweet, and Erin settled on a candy bar from one of the millions of ABC stores. With no car and no way to go anywhere without paying we went back to the hotel for the night. No idea what we are going to do tomorrow, but we'll think of something!

-- Post From My iPhone

Maui Day 7

Our last full day in Maui begin with me up early and Erin sleeping in. Writing this, knowing it's the last significant amount of time I will be spending on the balcony, it's a little sad. I've spent a lot of time out here, an hour or so every morning after getting up, and an hour or so every evening before going to bed. It really has been one of my favorite places on Maui. After posting I got to watch the Reds on my iPhone. They were the featured game and as a result I got to watch it instead of just listening to it. Since we have the five hour time difference the game started at 7:10 AM here in Maui. It was great for me while I was here, always having the games in the afternoon when we were on the beach. But if I lived here when football season rolls around and the games started at 7:00 AM, that would be terrible. We had breakfast and headed down to the beach. Knowing it would be the last time we got to be there we stayed for a little over two hours before showering and going out to lunch. Erin had been craving Chinese food so we went over to the newly opened Panda Express. We both had the orange chicken which was really good. Because we had showered and Erin had gotten all her makeup on and done her hair, it didn't really make sence to go back out on the beach, so for the first time we went down to the pool and laid out there for a couple more hours. It was very relaxing and I'm glad we did it. We never would have had any other reason to go to the pool before that so it was nice to say we did it. After some cosmetic touch ups it was time to head to Mama's Fish house, the restaurant we had heard more about than any other. Mama's is about an hour from our hotel, we had passed it before, it is just before the start of the Road to Hana we had driven on Friday. It has a wonderful location, sitting right on the beach. Several palm trees line the white sandy beach that Mama's sits on. The picture up top is the view of Mama's from it's beach. Mama's is easily considered the best place to have fresh fish on Maui. The menus are printed daily depending on what is caught the day before, and every entree includes the name of the fisherman who caught it and where he was in Maui. The hallway to the bathrooms are lined with photos of celebrities eating at Mama's, several with a note to the staff. I had the macadamea nut enchrusted mahi-mahi stuffed with crab. It was easily tied with the ribeye as the best thing I've ever eaten. Erin had a tropical blend of meat and fish that sounded good on the menu but she wished she would have gotten the Oku. We took pictures of the grounds including the picture below of the view from the restaurant and headed back to Lahaina.





We had to stop on front street to go to Ululani's one more time, and Erin wanted to try the Hawaiian ice cream shop. We enjoyed our treats as we walked down Front St. one last time, it was a great final night in Maui.

-- Post From My iPhone

Maui Day 6 Ulalena/Ruth's Chris

Another morning, another hour on the balcony. I'm going to miss sitting out here every morning, it sure beats getting ready for work. Erin wanted to spend a couple of hours on the beach this morning so we had breakfast and headed down around 8:45 or so. Ka'anapali is great in the morning. Our area is never busy enough that it would be a bother but if you get there in the morning you can have your own area for quite a while. We stayed till about 10:45 and went back to our room to get showered and ready for lunch. We were headed back to Front St for the afternoon. We first got our parking validated at Hilo Hattie's then over to meet Matt and Lindsay Tully for lunch at Kimo's, a little restaurant right on the wharf. We actually stayed back a bit because the surf would splash the first row of seats, that and the crabs walking around over there were fun to watch. Great food, Erin had the turkey club and I had the mahi-mahi fish and chips. It was a great time, I'm glad we both had some free time to get together. Matt and Lindsay had a coupon for a free hula pie with two meals so the four of us had a go at it. Not as good as Leilani's but still good, the four of us finished it off. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, didn't want to take up to much of the honeymooners time, they were spending the rest of the day in Lahaina and there is a lot to see. Before heading back to the hotel we wanted to find the Maui Myth and Magic center where our showing of 'Ulalena' would be tonight. That way we would not have to waste time looking for it before the show. It was right around the corner from Kimo's so we headed back to the hotel. We decided to get as much packing done as possible so we wouldn't have to worry about doing it on our last day and morning. It was nice but the feeling that the trip is ending is overwhelming. With all of that out of the way we headed to the theater to see 'Ulalena' a show about the history of Hawaiian culture, myths, and legends. It was good, not quite what Erin thought it would be but still good. The dancing and acrobatics were neat and they included the audiance a couple of times which was fun. After the show we walked over to Ruth's Chris steakhouse, this was a big deal to me as I have wanted to go for several years. It was everything I dreamed it would be. Since it was all prepayed for and you had a select menu I asked what the upcharge would be for the ribeye. $12.50, so I of course did it. It was the best meat I have ever had. Even though I was so full I felt like I was going to throw up, I finished every perfect bite. Erin had the pettite fillet, which she enjoyed. We both had the house salad and mashed potatoes, and for dessert Erin got the mango serbert, and I got bread pudding which we shared. All in all a great night but we were so full we could hardly walk. Last full day in Maui tomorrow, bittersweet.

- Post From My iPhone

Maui Day 5 The Road to Hana

Like every day, I was up a little after 7:00. I spent an hour writing and at 8:00 woke Erin up. We knew there was construction on the Road to Hana and we had to get past mile marker 19 before 11:30. We packed all our food so we wouldn't have to buy lunch on the drive and headed out around 9:30. It's about a 45 minute drive from Lahaina to Kuhului where the road to Hana starts. I had found a neat web site that said to stop at the Shell gas station and pick up the Road to Hana CD companion. It came with a DVD and a map of the road, we were very glad we bought it. It would tell you when to turn it on and off based on where you were and what you had decided to see, we learned a lot from it. We found the station, which is fine as you need a full tank of gas anyways, and bought the CD. For everyone at home gas is $3.45 here in Hawaii. Traffic is so bad around here it took us another 45 minutes to get the CD, wait in line for gas, and get to the start of the road to Hana. We are now so far behind we tried to make time at the start. Honestly, it is impossible to fully describe the driving conditions on the Road to Hana. The 30 mile drive has over 600 hairpin turns, the majority of which cannot fit two cars side by side. It also boasts over 54 rickety bridges that you have to alternate they are so small, plus I doubt some of them could support two cars. You are on your own out there as tow trucks won't even venture through until after the torusists are no longer on the road. It's three hours of white knuckled on your toes driving. So basicly it was impossible to make up time and we knew we were not going to make it. The construction goes untill 11:30 so we slowed way down. The road to Hana has lots of little stops, paved pull offs just big enough for a car or two that you can jump out and take pictures. The first picture on this post is a shot of the first bay. If you look to the lower right, you can see a bit of the road, this was near the start of the journey so the roads were a little wider. Which was nice or I'm sure many people would turn around and go back. There are numerous things to see, waterfalls, pools, black and red beaches, several overlooks like my picture, and many areas that are quite literally a tropical jungle. If you have seen the movie Jurassic Park, it looks just like that. In fact since the movie was filmed in Hawaii, it makes sence. It was filled with unparalled beauty, like nothing we had ever seen. Well needless to say, even after stalling an hour and taking an hour to eat lunch, we were at the construction area by 2:30, an hour to wait. We were lucky enough to be next to a neat overlook of one of the little towns with hardly a population of 200. It was hard to believe people lived up here. We waited and hour and got going again by 3:45. I had decided you would have to be absolutly crazy to drive back in the dark so we knew we were turning around at 5:30. We made it to Hana around 5:15 and even though we didn't want to, we had to turn back. Some of the neatest things to see are past Hana but it takes another two hours to see them which would make the return time a four hour drive. The drive back was not as bad because unless your mind doesn't work at all, or you have one of the little hotels in Hana, you are not heading up the road to Hana at this time. We got back to Lahaina around 7:45 and stopped off at the Outback Steakhouse on the drive in. We know we have one at home but with Granite City in Cedar Rapids, we'll never go. It was good, we both ate cheap and had the bloomin' onion burger which was excellent. The newlyweds Matt and Lindsay Tully called and we are meeting up with them tomorrow. Thy are coming to spend the day in Lahaina and as we have become little experts on the town we are going to have lunch and show them around. Ululana and the long awaited Ruth's Chris tomorrow!

-- Post From My iPhone

Maui Day 4

Thursday was our first full day with nothing planned. It was wonderful to know we didn't have to be anywhere specific. We slept in longer and I spent my morning writing outside as usual, while Erin slept in a little longer. After breakfast we decided to go to the beach first. It had been hitting 90 degrees and was hot! So we thought we would beat the heat and the crowds and go in the morning. There were few people on the beach so we had no trouble finding a spot and putting down our towels. I spent the time swimming while Erin laid out, it was a relaxing couple of hours. After a shower and change we went back down to front street. We hadn't realized that the day before we were so close to two things we had wanted to do. The banyan tree, and Ululani's, a Hawaiian shaved ice place which is very popular among the locals. It was amazing, and I eat a lot of shaved ice. When he found out we had it in Iowa and that I went frequently he was very interested in what I thoguht about his product. Happy to tell him it was the best I'd ever had. The banyan tree was very neat, we took lots of pictures but I mostly took video so nothing to show here. There was a guy sitting there who told us and another couple a lot about the tree, it's history and about other trees. He then asked for a tip, first time we got hustled in Hawaii, but it was okay, we learned a lot about the tree. We went back to the hotel and decided it was time to do laundry in paradise. That took some time but it needed to be done. When we were finished it was a little after 5:00 and I had made reservations for the restaurant I had been looking forward to the most. Besides Ruth's Chris of course. The restaurant was 'The Plantation House'. It sits atop a golf course overlooking Kapalua, and is well known for it's fish and amazing views of the sunset. From all the research I had done I was told to make a reservation for 6:00 when they open, and be there early to get a table with the perfect view because there are only three of them. All the rest have to look out past the window seats. We got there 15 minutes early and were lucky to get the best seat in the entire restaurant. Our waiter informed us that we had one the most requested seats in Maui. It was beautiful. The first picture is a third of our view, it took three pictures to get it all in. Our waiter was the best we have ever had, he told us he would be taking pictures of us with the sunset behind a couple of times and that he would take his time coming around so our meal would revolve around the sunset. We ordered a crab cake appitizer, and they were amazing. For dinner Erin had Diana's pasta which is the favorite dish of chef Alex's wife, who is a vegitarian. I had the macadamia encrusted Oku, both were some of the best food we'd ever had. The sunset was beathtaking and as promised we had our picture taken a couple of times. For dessert Erin had a thick choclate dish that our waiter James called, fudge on a spoon, which it pretty much was. I had the key lime pie, a pie made by one of the staff that is so good, he won't even let the chef make it. There are some great pictures of The Plantation house online if you would like to check out their web site. While our upcoming Saturday at Ruth's Chris might have better food, it will not be possible to top the experiance at The Plantation House.

-- Post From My iPhone

Maui Day 3 Luau

Last night we found out that the Haleakala Mountain is two and a half hours away. So if we wanted to see the sunrise, we would have to leave the hotel at 2:30 AM. So we decided to see a sunset there after the road to Hana. Now we have all morning and afternoon to come up with something, so naturally Erin slept in and I sat out on the balcony for a while. We then decided to go to Front street to shop at Hilo Hattie's, the one stop shop in Hawaii. We got there at 10:00 when they opened, there was not as much stuff as we had originally thought there would be but it was a good time. If nothing else we got a free shell lai for visiting. We saw some other stores around and started to shop a bit and pretty soon we were on Front St. Front St is a long street that runs along the beach, it's full of small shops and nice stores and restaurants.


I can't get the pictures to go anywhere else but at least I figured out how to put more pictures on the iPhone app blog! This is a view of the ocean standing on Front St. We stayed till noon and headed back to the hotel. In order to save money we stopped at McDonalds for lunch. After being in Hawaii for five days a ten dollar meal is a deal! We changed and got ready to go to the beach. Erin is starting to get burned and I can feel it a little so I stayed in the water the whole time, while Erin layed out for a little while. She did come in and swim a bit. We would have stayed out longer but Erin didn't want to get really burnt so we headed back to the hotel. Erin decided to take a nap and I went down to Whaler's Village to pick up a necklace I liked but had wanted to look around a bit. We hadn't found anything close so I just decided to get it. By the time I came back Erin was getting up and it was time to get ready for the luau! Check in time was 5:30 and we were there by 5:20. The luau was at our hotel so we didn't have far to go. They told us the luau starts an hour later than normal as it is the time of year when Maui has the most sun. You get seated by your reservation card but you still want to wait in line to get the best of that section. So we stood there for an hour before being ushered in to have a sunset picture taken and being given your lai. Another shell lai, we now have two. It looks like we are going to have to buy a real lai if we want one. We got seated next to a honeymoon couple who were very nice and outgoing. They were from Indiana and Cincinnati so we had some things to talk about. The picture is of the start of the luau, the MC is teaching people how to hula. The rest of the luau was done with spotlights after the sun set so this is the only picture I have. The food was awesome, steak, chicken, mahi-mahi, boar, there was a lot to pick from. The luau was great, it went till about 9:00 and then we walked back to the hotel for some more relaxing on the balcony. A full day of nothing planned for tomorrow!


-- Post From My iPhone

Maui Day 2 Snorkeling

""Because of issues explained in the Maui Day 1 blog I have posted two today. Go down a little bit and read Maui Day 1 first."" This is the day Erin had been looking forward to the most. Snorkeling and Snuba diving. We had to check in at the boat at 7:30 and it was a half an hour drive to the dock so we got started early. We got on board a good sized double decker boat named the 'Pride of Maui' and they were serving breakfast. Fresh pineapple, muffins, strawberrys. The pineapple was amazing, I had a ton of it! It was then I realized I had forgotten the Dramamine I had bought for the boat. Dad gets so sea sick I figured I was apt to as well and wanted to be prepared. I have never been on a boat in the ocean, but we got started and the ride was fine. I stood on the bow over looking the water and felt nothing. I love boats and was exicted that I knew I could handle them. Sorry dad, looks like it's just you. Since our underwater camera went through the x-ray machine in Des Moines we bought one here. They are a digital camera that they burn to a CD for you before you leave. Our first stop was Molokini Crater, where there are fish everywhere. The water is so clear you can see everything. We snorkeled for 30 minutes when it was our time to snuba. Snuba is a form of diving where you have a regulator to breathe and weights that hold you down so you can go much lower than snorkeling. You are attached to an O2 tank that floats in a raft above you. It was a lot of fun. Erin had to get over her inital fear of drowning like she thought she would but she recovered quickly and like she thought, it was her favorite part so far. They then served lunch, burgers and hot dogs, while we headed to our second stop, Turtle Bay. We jumped right in and swam a good distance from the boat, sticking with a small group of people brave enough to venture out. There were lots of fish and coral but at first no turtles. It was then I spotted the reef shark. A decent size, maybe four feet. We all got some good pictures. After him we kept going when one of the guys yelled 'I've got a turtle over here!' sure enough he did. It was awesome I got a great picture of him. It was a while before we saw another one. One came so close I could have touched him, but you are not allowed to so I had to back off. On the way back they served beer and Mai Tai's. Beer on a boat, my kind of party! We are in the trade winds on the way back it was very bumpy and the upper deck got soaked with splashes, it was fun. Now it was almost 1:30 and we new we were near the local Wal-Mart so we headed there for more food we wouldn't need to keep cool. On the way back was lookout point, a great place to take pictures. The photo above is one from lookout point. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and got ready for the evening. We knew we wanted to head back to Whaler's Village and try the other restaurant there, Leilana's. Famous for the best Hula Pie in Maui. Erin had the house salad and I tried the fish and chips. It was wonderful. Not as good as Tiki's but the fact that you were closer to the beach was great. We spent some more time shopping and headed home. I sat outside for a couple of hours and enjoyed the scenery and one of the many cigars I had brought.


-- Post FromMy iPhone

Maui Day 1

We had to get up early to get ready and to make sure we had everything from the hotel. The 'Reliable' shuttle picked us up at 8:45 and off we went to the Hawaiian airlines section of the Honolulu airport. Check in was a breeze and we were in the terminal in no time, leaving us with more sitting around time than we had planned. But that's okay, they had a Starbucks! We got a little to eat and headed to the gate to await our flight. The flight was short and sweet and we where in Maui by 11:50. After departing the plane we headed to the Hertz rental area where we ran into the new Mr. and Mrs. Tully! They were waiting for a car to come pick them up as neither of them are 25 and had to rent a special car. We got our car, a red 2010 Mustang convertable, and headed off for the 30 minute drive to Lahaina. We arrived with no problems and tried to check into our hotel. It is beautiful, we will have to show pictures when we get home. The room was not ready yet, which was okay because we were early. For our 'inconvieniance' they gave us a higher room, which we were not about to complain about. While we waited we headed down to the local Safeway to buy groceries. After spending $100 we went back to the hotel and our room was ready. The picture is the view from our balcony just sitting in the chair, it's amazing. We stashed our overpriced groceries and headed down to the beach. Erin was excited as it was the first time she got to be in the ocean, since the Gulf of Mexico doesn't count. We swam and laid out for three hours or so then went back to the hotel. It was then we discovered that our fridge is a mini bar not a fridge it keeps things cool, not cold. The manager got us a cooler but the milk, OJ, cottage cheese, meat, coles slaw, and potato sald were spoiled. That was the first big disapointment. We decided to eat at a restaurant called the Hula Grill. We got seated outside which is practicly on the beach. You kick off your sandals and push your toes into the sand while you eat, plus they had live Hawaiian music. I had a burger and Erin had pulled pork. The restaurant is in a place called 'Whaler's Village'. It was a little shopping center all outdooors with the restaurants in the back. I'm sure if you Googled it you could see lots of pictures. It's a really neat place. It was very late and we had to get up early for the boat the next day so we headed back to the hotel! The hotel does not have free Internet. It is $10 a day. I was prepared to do it every other day but I found this iPhone App the let's me post blog entries from my phone! The only downside is it only let's you set one picture per entry. Sorry!

- Post From My iPhone

Honolulu Day 2 'Pearl Harbor'

For many years it has been a dream of mine to see Pearl Harbor, today, that dream came true. We started early and got some breakfast from the ABC store outside the hotel, bananas and such. We took a shuttle to Pearl Harbor and were told by the driver he would be back at 2:45 and 3:45. It was almost 10:30 so we opted for 3:45. We went to the ticket booth, a little ways from where we were dropped off and got tickets to see the USS Arizona Memorial, and the USS Missouri. Our tickets for the Arizona were for 2:00 so we headed to the Missouri and walked the whole ship. It took a little over an hour and a half to see everything. We had to pay for the Missouri but it was worth it. After that you ride the Pearl Harbor shuttle back to the Arizona Memorial where we had lunch and looked through the gift shops at both the Bowfin (a WWII sub known as the Pearl Harbor Avenger), and at the USS Arizona. After that and taking pictures around the area we watched a 25 minute movie on the history of the US and Japanese aggression leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack. We were then taken by the Navy by boat to the USS Arizona Memorial. It was very somber and moving, we took lots of pictures. It was now about time to meet up with the shuttle so we headed out and went back to the hotel. We got back around 5:15 after he had picked up and dropped off some other passengers. We relaxed, changed and headed for Duke’s, a restaurant right on the beach a little less than a half mile from the hotel. It was a good walk but we needed it to burn off the great food we had there. I had ribs and Erin got the sirloin, they were fantastic. After the walk back we were picking up breakfast for the next day when Erin realized she had left her debit card back at Duke’s. So off we went back to the restaurant. Luckily it was there and we got it back and went back to the hotel happy. There was live music at the Tiki so we sat on the balcony and listened while enjoying the scenery. The first picture is of the flag flying over the USS Arizona Memorial. The second is of the USS Missouri, the third picture is the base of the second gun battery on the USS Arizona, still sticking up above the bright blue waters of pearl harbor. 1,100 of her crew still entombed within.

Honolulu Day 1

We arrived around 3:00 HST and had to take the shuttle to our hotel. The Roberts Hawaii shuttle takes an inventory of the passengers and stops accordingly. When we arrived at the Aston Waikiki Beach resort they were out of the rooms with the single beds, so they upgraded us to a room with two beds, but they put us in one with an ocean view! It was a tough decision but we took it. We settled in and relaxed a little before heading down to the Tiki Bar and Grill attached to the hotel. It is one level above the street and has plenty of outdoor seating so you can sit by the beach and watch the sunset. We both had the fish and chips. Which turned out to be fresh fish they had fried and served with fries and a lime tartar sauce. It was fantastic, and only $13! Plenty of food. After the sunset we walked across the street to the beach and walked in the water for a while before going back and looking through the shops on our way back to the hotel. Erin found the girly calender for her co-worker. Which she was never really going to look for, but there it was. Stopped by the cookie corner and got a brownie and ate it on the balcony. At this point we have been up for almost 22 hours, it's been a long day. The two pictures, the top one is the sunset from the Tiki Bar and Grill. While the second is our view from our balcony. We do not have any way of transfering the pictures from the camera to the computer, so for now it is just pictures taken with iPhone!

Puff Puff Passed!

Wow has it really been two months since I posted anything? Amazing. I guess I've written several things but most of them were just to get things off my chest and I felt a lot better after writing them. None of them however, needed to be posted. To much anger and vitriol I suppose. But as I sit here amongst several pop up ads that I don't even think a spy ware remover from heaven could stop, I just can't let this one go. Since everyone that I know who reads this blog lives in Iowa you are all aware of the smoking ban passed earlier this month. I have spoken to several of you about it, all of varying opinions, but now I'm going to put it all on paper. This is the single biggest step toward socialism this country is taking. Banning smoking across the board. All under the guise of protecting peoples health, mostly that of children.
First and foremost I guess I should officially say that I think it was a terrible idea. Bet you never saw that coming. I would also like to say that it's a great idea in theory to have non-smoking restaurants. I hate smoky places, so I don't go there. That's why I like Jameson's so much. But you can't FORCE people to make THEIR buisnesses non smoking. I was blown away by the number of my friends on Facebook that had a status update involving the smoking ban. All of which said something to the affect of: SO & SO never thought they'd see the day. Or SOME RANDOM FRIEND is so excited to finally be able to breathe! Boo hoo, wait let me get out my tiny violin and play 'My Heart Bleeds For You'. Are you people nuts! Will you ALL sell your dental plan for a keg of beer! (random Simpson's joke) These are your rights for crying out loud!
Let me break it down,
Argument for banning smoking: (best read while imaging tiny violin in the background)
Smoking is bad for you so it will help smokers quit and better the health of customers and staff to not be around second hand smoke. Including no smoking in bars, clubs, & casinos. Not even outside.
Now I know there are other arguments but you all know this is the real and primary reason so we'll focus on that. But feel free to add everything you hate about smoking in there too as all arguments apply. While it is very 'knight in shining armer' of you Gov. Culver, to want to save us all from respiratory failure, capitalism (which, weather you like it or not is the base of this country) is taking a massive blow to the dome. The simple fact is, if you don't like being around second hand smoke, don't go to an establishment that allows smoking. If your favorite place allows smoking you're going to go there anyways. If you have respiratory problems, you'll get it to go. If you hate it that much and refuse to go there, that owner loses your business, but gains the smokers, and vice-versa for the smoker. If you don't like the smoking policy, don't go! That's the beauty of America, you don't have to give the smoker lover your business! But you can't take away the right of a business owner to decided if his establishment is smoking or not! That's socialism! If a business owner decides to have a smoking establishment and it fails as a result, that's what happens. *cough* capitalism *cough* Try again and make it non smoking. And the worst part is you can't even have an outside area designated for smokers, none at all! Thanks Iowa for ticking off one of our largest tax paying groups!
I could go on and on about this but it would get redundant and that's not my goal. But please let me know your thoughts! (You don't always have to send me a message on Facebook, but I clearly check that more.) P.S. No, I'm not a smoker.

Don't Blame Me I Voted For..............Romney?

You know those stupid bumper stickers angry liberals have on their Prius, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kerry." Or the REALLY bitter ones that just CAN'T get over it, "Don't blame me I voted for Gore." Well thanks to them I'm starting to think about maybe being a little interested in contemplating the idea of possibly making a bumper sticker that says, "Don't blame me, I voted for Romney." The reason? Because if conservatives around the United States taking part in the primary's on Super Tuesday don't vote for Mitt Romney, we are going to have John McCain (Who from here on may be referred to as Juan McCain as he is loved by all who are illegally here) as the Republican candidate.
Now I didn't vote for Romney in the Iowa Caucus, mostly because our polling place was so ridiculously busy that we couldn't get in to vote. But also because my vote would have gone to Rudy Giuliani or maybe a last second mind change to Fred Thompson. I always wanted Rudy to run and the second his website was up I got a t-shirt. But his social issues always bothered me and Fred Thompson was perfect as far as I was concerned. And now Rudy has endorsed McCain so he won't have my support if he runs again. So Mitt was in third place for me. But now with Thompson, then Rudy out of the race it's all about Mitt, and he is our last chance to knock off Juan McCain!
The reason I am so fired up about this is that in NO WAY is John McCain a conservative, and not only are a small amount of conservatives voting for him, but he is now trying to dupe the rest of us into thinking he actually IS conservative through radio and TV ads! So in no particular order here are just some of the reasons John McCain is NOT conservative:
1. The 'Climate Stewardship Act' drafted along with democrat Joe Lieberman, first of all would have capped our current carbon dioxide levels to the amount they were back in 2000 (this bill was drafted in 2003) which even the Senate knew was impossible. But second, and most importantly to us conservatives, it shows admittance to man-made global warming! Now Juan is saying he is conservative! Wasn't aware that was a conservative belief. Way to pander to the left Juan.
2. The 'Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act' drafted with democrat Russ Feingold is basically a revoking of our first amendment rights to free speech! It limits the amount of money candidates can receive from certain groups, which is fair. Also it eliminates candidates receiving money from companies or third party persons over seas. Which honestly is totally correct and should have been a law before I was born. But it also eliminates the right for individuals or groups to make a campaign ad for or against a candidate 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election. That includes radio and print ads as well. Anyone who thinks this is not stomping all over my first amendment right to print this Juan McCain hate post in the Opinion section of the newspaper in California tomorrow please stand up....................hello? Bueller?
3. The 'Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act' drafted with democrat Ted Kennedy, if passed was basically a total amnesty bill in which any illegal alien in the US as of January 1st 2007 would be given a green card after eight years. They would however have to pay a $2000 fine as well as back taxes. Five years after that the immigrant could begin the process of becoming a US citizen. The one nice thing about the bill is that it would have bolstered border protection. Now I watch a lot of movies in which people are really high or drunk so I to may be really high so maybe I'm wrong and amnesty is a conservative belief.
I could go on and on, his refusal to drill in ANWAR, which ties in with his being endorsed by Governor Charlie Crist, who is strongly against drilling off the cost of Florida, while China is doing it. Hey wait that's our oil! His being approached by Super Lib John 'Lurch' Kerry for Vice President, (wow good thing he turned that down or everyone would know). His organizing of the 'Gang of 14' that ruined the appointing of conservative Supreme Court judges. Not to mention his consistent voting record against the Bush tax cuts (which I'll cover later). By the way the new Juan McCain TV and radio ads say he will renew the Bush tax cuts. But he IS for the war in Iraq and did start the push for the Surge, so there's a point. John McCain, the man-made global warming, pro amnesty, free speech hindering, dependence on foreign oil, Conservative!

iPhone!!!!!

After six months of waiting I am the proud owner of an iphone! I meant to post this earlier but I've just been to lazy. I know I could have said I was working a lot or that I have been spending time with friends but that wouldn't be true so there it is, laziness. Also, it's not my first post since I got it, I wrote the last one on my couch with the iphone just to goof around with it. The picture of the iceberg that may have sank the Titanic then found its way onto my roof was taken with it, the camera works great! I just love it, you can do so much with it! But I'd have to say the downside is the constant fear that I'm going to drop it. I'm not known for dropping phones but with my luck I'll drop this one, I think I'd puke. With Apple's big convention earlier this week, they released another wave of updates for it, customizable home screen, pinpoint Google map locations, all sorts of things! Yes it really does live up to all the hype!
On a side note, is it just me or are the fingernails of the guy holding the iphone in the picture weird? I mean his thumbnail is clipped, but the rest of them look like they could use a trimming. Sick I know I'm far to weird.

All I Wanted Was A PB&J!

I don't know about the rest of you but when I come home from work all I wanna do is relax for a little bit. Maybe I have something I need to do later but it's nice to sit back and do nothing for a little while. Plus I don't have kids yet so I can't see any reason that when I come home I can't fix myself something to eat. So when I come home
last Saturday I start picking up a little before I make something to eat. I am a gourmet cook you know, my specialties include PB&J and........ well that's pretty much it. So there I am, walking into the kitchen when I see it, a large hole in the celling with water all over the floor. You...have....got...to...be....kidding me! Nope water leaking from the roof. So out onto the roof I go armed with a shovel. After about 15 minutes I have most of the snow off my roof, to discover about 3 inches of ice covering the entire south side of the roof. I guess it makes sense, it barely sloops on that side of the house. So I start chipping away with a hammer and it starts to come apart from the edges so I'm making progress when I realize that the problem is were the roof slops down to the flatter part of the house. It at least 7 inches thick and took me FOREVER to dislodge it but I pushed it off the roof! That's a picture of it there, I should have moved my phone up more to show the garbage can as a contrast but its as big as me!
Well my in laws came over and David and I got the rest of the ice off. My backyard looks like a battleground, and I'm happy to report no more water leakage!!!!

Happy day we've selected to be your birthday Jesus!

I heard a rumor that today is Christmas. They maybe should do more advertising because I completely forgot! Well, if there is in fact, any truth to this I am reminded of a little saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season!" What a great slogan! It's right up there with one of my favorite slogans of all time. You may have never heard it because I don't think they advertise on TV, especially not every commercial break during a Vikings game. "Every kiss begins with Kay", is genius, it works on so many levels! Or maybe just two, but it's still genius. Anyways I digress. Like WWJD, the majority of us Christians have said and heard "Jesus is the reason for the season" so much that it's lost the pop it had when we first heard it. But it in fact is the best slogan for Christmas. It breaks it down perfectly. If it wasn't for the birth of Jesus, we simply would not be celebrating Christmas!
On a side note I have received several text messages from people wanting me to list all of the presents I received this Christmas. A detailed list will soon be posted.
J/K, Merry Christmas everyone! (For those of you offended by my constant usage of the word 'Christmas', (or for those of you who need a good laugh) here is a video to ease your anger!

Seriously, a Blog? Common!

In an effort to help change the world through the power of personal ideas and opinions I have decided to start a blog, hooray!!!! Okay seriously it's because Fantasy Football is over and I need a valid excuse not to cancel my internet! Also I plan to use this blog to give my vastly right wing, conspiracy suckered, war-mongering, politically incorrect, capitalist brain a place to vent and trick bloggers into thinking like me! I know most of my friends believe that if there were thousands more of me, the world would be as close to heaven as humanly possible. (That might not be entirely true but hey I have the right to embellish a little.)