Author: Karen

After a full night’s sleep and a sumptuous buffet breakfast in the Swamp Fox restaurant, we attended a lecture by Harlan Greene, eminent historian, archivist  and award-winning author of many fiction and non-fiction accounts on Charlestown. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled about sitting for a two hour lecture, but I found that he was a fascinating and insightful speaker. He manage to consolidate the history of this city from the 1600s to the present day in his sly, tongue-in-cheek humorous style, which kept us laughing and entertained..  I wish history had been this much fun in school.

We left the hotel for a walking tour of the area, concluding with a visit to the city market, and time for us to have lunch on our own.

After our visit to the market, we inquired about a suitable place for a drink and were directed to Number 5, for a most unusual experience.  We weren’t hungry but our thirst determined that we should have a beer. What a place! This church- turned restaurant and bar was a treat for the eyes, and the stomach.  We hope to return for lunch on our free day, but we just had enough time to chug our beers and get on our bus tour!

An unusual  treat: the book The Art of War was painstakingly recreated on the ceiling of the edifice.  Can you imagine?  It took six months to complete!

We met at the Custom House, by the cruise ship terminal – a Carnival ship was in port at the moment – then got on our bus for more touring and sites to see.

Charleston really does have it all: gorgeous mansions and architecture , the first theater in North America, the only French Protestant  Church, Ft Sumter,  and a beautiful day in which to enjoy these scenes. We also went by Stephen Colbert’s childhood home, situated in one of the most prestigious areas of the city, near Battery Park.

We had an hour to get ready for dinner and we walked down to Eli’s Table for local specialties.  I had the catch of the day, which was mahi-mahi with red rice risotto and Beatrice had shrimp and grits. We were told that each restaurant has its own version of grits and it can vary considerably from place to place – everyone seemed to enjoy the food. Our guide Meredith and our single gentleman Rod from Canada, sat across from us.

The dessert was to-die-for cheesecake infused with caramel and brown sugar, the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Tomorrow we leave the city to explore two plantations: Middleton Place and Magnolia Plantation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we are again, at one of my favorite places: San Francisco International  Airport.  Do yourself a favor  next time you’re there:  leave early, check out the museum quality displays, and take yourselves out to dinner.  We enjoyed a display from our past that involved the history of radio, complete with lovely radio designs. Oh, the memories! Am I showing my age? Oh, well..

Twenty-four hours ago, at 10:00 PM,  my sister and I were boarding a plane at SFO, bound for Charleston. . Yep, a red eye. There was no sleep last night. We flew to Washington Dulles then had a two-hour layover before getting on a smaller plane for the hour and a half trek to Charleston.  We landed at 10:00 AM local time.   Did we sleep on the plane?  No..

We were in Charleston!  My last trip here was in 2013, on one water-soaked day in May.  A friend and I were on a repositioning cruise which began in Ft Lauderdale and ended in Montreal.  Our one day in Charleston was spent on a trolley because the weather was stormy.  The wind and rain were so fierce and  debilitating that we weren’t able to see much of the city. It was disappointing.

I loved what I saw. I vowed to return.

From the time we got off the plane, we were delighted to find sunny, warm weather and were charmed by the hospitality of the Southern folk we met. The taxi-shuttle driver got us to our destination swiftly and efficiently, adding a layer of knowledge about the city and its history.  We’re staying at the Francis Marion Hotel in the historical  district.  This landmark hotel is housed in an architecturally restored building and is  gorgeous, with beautiful public rooms that give an authentic feel of time gone by, while adding all the modern conveniences necessary for the running of a first-class establishment.  We checked in early but surprisingly enough the staff was  able  to get us  into our room, thanks to the kindness of the desk clerk who could tell that we were in desperate need of some sleep.

We unpacked but decided not to collapse in our beds; instead, we took a stroll to examine some of the street life of the city.   We were also hungry, in  need of some good Southern food! We found both.

One of the ladies at the desk recommended the Low Country Bistro, where we chose a selection of small plates, including green fried tomatoes, hushpuppies and crab cakes, finishing it all off with Grandma’s bourbon pecan pie.  Our adult beverage of choice? Mojitos!

Welcome to Charleston!

We are here to take a Road Scholar tour #20644, Charleston to St Augustine, a Southern Coastal Journey, and we met our traveling companions over dinner at the hotel. You can look up the tour online to get an idea of where we’re going and what we’ll be doing or just read along and discover the area with us.  We’ll be traveling for twelve days.    The 21 people on the tour seem hardy and well-traveled, with a few eccentrics thrown in for good measure – not the two sisters, of course.

We’ll start off with the morning breakfast-buffet, followed by an in-depth study of the history of Charleston.   Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco”  – Mark Twain. 

It’s August and over most of the US and Europe  it is sweltering, with over 100 degree temperatures.. except here. If you want to cool off, come to the Bay Area.

I went into the City to meet my long time friend Jane and her godchild Christy for a celebration: Jane’s 90th birthday.

Jane is a medical miracle. I don’t know she does it. I met her in 1972 when I first started working in the  Antioch Unified School District  and we’ve been fast friends ever since. The years go by but she remains unchanged, always youthful. She is very active, with her  traveling, socializing, and reading and is forever curious about the world around her.  She and her godchild Christy  met in the City for a few days of celebration, and I was lucky enough to be invited along for the fun.

We met at the ferry building in the fog and got our tickets for Sausalito, then boarded the ferry.

On the ferry, people congregated alone or in groups, inside and out. Notice also that the fog was still clinging on to the Bay Bridge, even though it was almost noon and most people are wearing their jackets. No one was hanging out on the deck getting sun, because there was no sun to be seen.

However…

As we got ready to land in Sausalito, across the bay in Marin county,  the fog was leaving us and the sun came out, as did the people on the ferry to capture the scene. You see, we have microclimates in California.

Sausalito is a tourist attraction to be sure but it is also a delightful village with beautiful views and many artisan shops.  It also has a fascinating history and “real people” do live here. It’s not cheap, though. They’re lucky to have ever changing views of the City by the Bay, as San Francisco is called. I haven’t been here for a while, but it is always a treat to stroll the streets and have some lunch.

Jane wanted a restaurant with a view and we chose a good one.

We all had the same thing: a snack portion of ribs with slaw. Delicious. Our view was outstanding. We watched as Alcatraz island and the skyscrapers of San Francisco peeked out from the cool grey mist.

We did a bit more walking but it was soon time to get back on the ferry  Jane and Christy had to have a nap, then make their dinner plans.

Isn’t vacation great?

A vacation  can last several days or a few hours. It’s just a bit of time away from the usual humdrum everyday life. It can be visiting friends for a day  in an interesting  setting, and often times you can find it close by.  Don’t despair if you’re not on a European cruise or an African safari. Find pleasure in your own backyard.

Just don’t pack tank tops and shorts if you’re visiting San Francisco in the summer!

 

 

 

All large cities have their neighborhoods or sections. San Francisco is divided into neighborhoods, like North Beach, the Mission, the Sunset… Honolulu  has Waikiki, Kalaha, Kaimuki.

Los Angeles has areas we know from TV and movies: Malibu!  Hollywood! Beverly Hills! Santa Monica!  However, there’s also the lesser known Silver Lake, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Los Feliz, Atwater village..

Neighborhoods make life more manageable and easier to navigate. You shop at the markets, get your laundry done, go to the parks, eat in the neighborhood spots and life seems smaller instead of bigger. Even living in a big city can have a village feel. To see Marilyn’s ‘hood, check out these online photos which I downloaded to hold your interest

 

Marilyn has lived most of her adult life  in Los Feliz, and I learned to love it.. Los Feliz is the home of Griffith Park and the Observatory, which you  may have seen in “La La Land,” or other movies set here , with the  quintessential  view of the city.  Mickie Mouse was born in Los Feliz  because Walt Disney lived here.  The Gene Autry museum is here –   now that is something to see!  Didn’t every little boy want to be a cowboy?  There’s even a Shakespeare bridge.  The architecture of the homes is rich and varied, with a Frank Lloyd Wright creation squeezed in among the bungalows.  It’s possible to take Sunset Boulevard all the way to the ocean – no freeways needed.  The  ‘hood is  conveniently located right off highway 5, the freeway  that eventually will take you to San Francisco and Sacramento.

I like tradition, so every time I’d visit, we’d have my last meal of the trip – brunch –  at my favorite café, Figaro bistro.  It’s got it all: wonderful  ambiance  and reasonably priced tasty  French food and to-die-for baked goods, a rarity in an urban area. It’s very busy at nights with screenwriters rubbing elbows with actors, but the mornings are a quiet time there.   It’s also got that great French-y feel without the cost of the airfare – it almost feels like I’m in Paris – and that’s a good thing, too.  It’s all good.

Los Feliz has unique yet practical shops, like a great, fully stocked bookshop, an independent cinema or two, many restaurants of all types,  and clever and unique street art which evokes its history as part of “the industry” -film and music, that is.

There are so many things to do close by in this exciting town, composed of many diverse parts, and since I’ve been visiting on and off two to three times a year for more years than I care to remember, I’ll include my favorite things to do when I’m  there:

ENTERTAINMENT: 

-KARAOKE IN JAPANTOWN, downtown, at the Miyako hotel. It is a hoot to do this, although it takes a little time for the Japanese businessmen to get warmed up with their saki, but it can get quite lively.  There is something about being in a foreign environment that also loosens the tongues for Westerners as well, with or without adult beverages.

-MARTY AND ELAYNE are two performers who have been performing songs from the Great American songbook  in the same venue – the Dresden Room –  for over 35 years and are an institution in the Los Feliz area. “The sequined jumpsuit-clad married couple are the longest-running act in town,” according to the L.A. Times, and, “as Julia Roberts, who delivered a spontaneous rendition of ‘Makin’ Whoopee,’ Kiefer Sutherland bought a round for the entire bar.”

For non-touristy food choices,  I can recommend two places:

if you like French-dipped sandwiches and other comfort food, go to Philippe’s sandwich shop on North Alameda in Chinatown.  It’s been in business since 1908 and purports to be the home of the “original” French dip sandwich. Reasonable prices.

Another reasonably priced place that has been an institution since the 1920s is Taix French restaurant  on Sunset Boulevard, which serves classic French cuisine in  the Echo Park-Silver Lake area.

As Marilyn drives me to the airport, I’m reminded of  one final L.A. story from her brother George.  He was getting off a plane as he flew from the Bay Area  to Burbank airport in the late 70s and he saw Bob Hope, of all people, getting off in front of him.  Bob had had quite a bit to drink, either on the plane or beforehand, and was staggering around a bit. His son met him and the first thing that Bob said to him was “I’ll drive, son,”as he quickly grabbed the car keys out of the reach of his son and weaved his way into the driver’s seat of the car.  George never forgot the incident and when ever he saw Bob Hope on TV he’d say, “I’ll drive son!”

As I am leaving the airport, now emblazoned with his name, I never forget that story.

Here’s to safe travels for us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Going on vacation takes many forms.  If you’re traveling independently, taking a tour or staying on a ship for a cruise, you have your own room, cabin  or suite,  but  when you’re visiting friends, you stay with the host family and become a part of your friend’s life and may join in on his or her everyday activities. That’s what I did.

Marilyn has found the ideal exercise; she goes three times a week to  Water Aerobics! Those of us who live in warm climates usually have access to a pool and  in California, one of the requirements for a high school diploma was to pass a swimming test. Other friends and family of a “certain age” – on Medicare- find that this exercise gives a good workout but is also kind on the joints.  Since it was going to be a warm day, I was happy to join her.

The class was filled with seniors of many sizes and shapes, all working on becoming fit. As we danced to the hits of the 60s, I noticed a great enthusiasm among the participants.

After our exercise, we went back to Marilyn’s  to have a lunch composed of leftovers with a few additions, including California’s state fruit, the avocado, then continued on our afternoon activities.

California was born as a car culture, and getting us out of our cars is not easy.  I love public transit and find it fun to explore the various train and metro systems at home and on trips,  so we decided to take the metro.  Our destination was MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, to see a photography exhibit.

We started our journey at the South Pasadena station.

Step one: buy a ticket.  Buying tickets at a new automated machine is always a challenge, as  we pushed the wrong buttons, didn’t have the right change..did it over and over until we got it right.  Good thing we weren’t pressed for time. The price is reasonable: a senior traveling during non-peak hours can use the system for 35 cents – surely cheaper than buying gas (at almost $4 a gallon currently) and paying for parking.  We started our journey above ground, then the light rail turned into a subway as we transferred. The photo below is courtesy of the internet, since I didn’t want to take my phone out at a busy station. It was enough to follow the lines and get on the right train. Our destination: downtown Los Angeles .

The area we were visiting is called Bunker Hill, an urban renewal project that began in the 1980s and continues to this day. Gorgeous Art Deco buildings from the 20s and 30s mix and mingle with modern glass monsters, soaring to the sky.  It’s a frightening mix of design, and almost freaky to realize that we’re looking up to see the top of an ultra modern high-rise in the middle of an earthquake zone. Each building, old or new, has a unique theme and design, yet they all coexist together.

Imagine being a pedestrian on a street corner!

We meandered in the second building in this photo  series to get a better view of a lovely older structure.  This is the Edison building, built in 1931, as an Art Deco masterpiece of its time by Alison and Alison.  The fourteen story building was one of the first all-electrically heated and cooled  buildings  in the United States.  It is on the corner of Fifth and Grand. Originally the home of a utility company, there are seven types of marble as well as limestone in the lobby; the mural by Hugo Ballin is entitled “Power.” It has been modernized and even has free wi- fi, with comfortable lounge chairs. It’s the perfect place to take a break before we walk up the steep hill.  The first two images above and the four below were taken from online sources.

Our destination was MOCA, next door to the Omni Hotel and a few blocks away from  Disney Hall, at First and Grand, the vibrant concert hall funded by the family of Walt Disney.  No, it doesn’t have Mickie Mouse ears, but it does have a unique design, created by one of the geniuses of contemporary architecture, Frank Gehry, a resident of this fair city. The stainless steel structure with curving lines is one of the city’s 21st century landmarks. Compare that structure with the Los Angeles Public Library a few blocks away on Sixth and Grand, like a beautiful aging dowager among a sea of young shining skyscrapers and you can understand why Los Angeles architecture is so fascinating . Next trip I’ll take a historic tour of downtown. I did a tour of Disney Hall – highly recommended- a year or so ago,  but there’s still so much more to see in the neighborhood .

We got to MOCA an hour before its extended hours closing, in time to see three photographers from their collection.  I wanted to see the work of Brassaï, a 20th century Hungarian-Frenchman who spent the evening hours exploring Paris after dark.  Like Toulouse Lautrec, he was fascinated with colorful café clientele and their unusual habits.   He roamed through bars and brothels, capturing the essence  of their experiences.

The last photo here, of the blonde, is by Diane Arbus, another photographer who also seeks out unusual people for her street photography.  This lady almost seemed  “normal,” as compared to other images in the collection but something drew me to her.

We decided that we were hungry after all our viewing, so we left the land of superstructures and headed by cab to Chinatown for a small dinner of egg flower soup and mu shu chicken, then took the Chinatown metro back from there. It had gotten cool and windy in the later hours so the soup and hot tea were especially soothing.

I have one day left.  My short flight home leaves at 2:00 but I still have another neighborhood to visit, and a trip to my favorite brunch place. We try to cram a lot of activities into each visit, which isn’t hard to do in such a diverse and fascinating city.

The day was bright and sunny as I began my afternoon adventure.

Yep, there were dinosaurs in California all those prehistoric years ago, and they got stuck in the mud!  The area around Los Angeles was loaded with the remains of dangerous  critters, like  the saber-toothed tiger and the Dire Wolf, and they were preserved in the La Brea Tar pits on Wilshire boulevard, in downtown L.A., where past and present come alive in one setting, and where I began my walk.

Marilyn dropped me off near Wilshire boulevard while she took her sick kitty to the vet, and I walked through the area of the tar pits, admiring the displays and models of the prehistoric beasts. Lamborghinis and BMWs now zoom down the  street where the beasts once roamed. What a heady thought!

My destination, however, wasn’t the tar pits, where these beasts got – literally – stuck in the tar and beautifully preserved, but to the museum that is part of the complex, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, known as LACMA. I was there to visit one of my favorite artists, David Hockney.

Meandering through ponds, fountains, and outdoor art, I found the admission booth and bought my ticket. It’s cheaper if you’re a local, but that’s okay. This is one of my favorite places to visit and there’s always something new to see, or old masters to enjoy again. It is the largest art museum in the western United States, and holds more than 150,000 works spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present.

David Hockney is quite the guy. He was born in 1937 and studied art in his native England until 1964, but the lure of the warmth of Southern California brought him here a year later. He was inspired to make a series of paintings of swimming pools in acrylic, then a new medium, using vibrant colors. He’s known for his use of strong colors which bring life to his work. He’s famous also for his theater sets and I’ve enjoyed his opera sets at performances of Puccini’s Turandot and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the San Francisco Opera. These photos are courtesy of the internet.

The saturated bold colors of Turandot were, at my first viewing, almost a shock to the eyes, but as the opera progressed, the dynamic sets fit in with the drama of music and story. As you can see, his style for the sets of The Rake’s Progress evoked a totally different feel:  soft colors with childlike, almost cartoonish drawings, which, again, paired with the dissonant tones of the music and the satirical mood of the storyline.

Hockney experiments in a variety of media, from painting, photo collages, printmaking, and water colors;  he even made a drawing program for the iPad. He always returns to portraits, however, and the exhibit I was about to see is called 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life, which started at the Royal Academy in London, then traveled to Venice and Bilbao, and is now at LACMA.  He calls the paintings “24 hour exposures” because each sitting took six to seven hours on three consecutive days. All this exhausting work was done at age 80 – pretty amazing. His subjects were friends, family, employees, associates and children and grandchildren of these various associations.

The young man on the right had the only criticism of the artist’s work: he said Hockney forgot to add the eraser on the end of the pencil. Can you see it?  There was a list of people and their relation to the artist on large laminated cards that observers carried around. There was another card  written by one of the subjects who posed, telling of her experience. Sounds like tiring work, even though she was “ just sitting” – for hours and hours. Hmm..maybe it’s not so easy.

The rooms were painted a bold tomato red and the portraits were carefully placed with plenty of room, so the observer could spend time examining the images – the expressions, clothing, and attitudes of each subject,  all alike yet all different. The date and time of the creation was recorded, as well as the name of the person, and the work is considered as “one”. I was fascinated not only by the individual  portraits, but by the work as a whole, as were the others who were in the room with me. I was lucky to have been there when it wasn’t crowded.  The show continues until the end of July.

• My last stop at LACMA was to visit a very popular display called “Urban Light,” which has become  a beloved landmark for the people of L.A. In 2000,  sculptor Chris Burden’s then ten year old son Max gave him the idea for this installation when he was delighted to find old neighborhood light posts at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. Chris found the first street lamps there and eventually assembled 202 of them. The total number of bulbs is 309 because some lamp posts have two bulbs. The lamps are set by an astronomical timer that automatically adjusts to local sunrise and sunset. The lamps are from various L.A. neighborhoods that were used during the 20s and 30s and he sandblasted, power-coated , repainted and repaired them. They were placed at the entrance to the museum and the installation  has become an important tourist attraction.  The display now has LED lights, thanks to a birthday gift  from the Leonardo Di Caprio foundation. Social media has propelled its popularity and people are always there, taking selfies of themselves and friends. It’s a gathering place and a delight to be there as both a participant and observer. I waited for Marilyn and watched the people and pets come and go.

The day wasn’t over, even though the museum had closed. Marilyn dropped off a sleepy, recovering cat home,  picked me up and we headed down to Westwood, near UCLA, where we visited the Hammer Museum, founded by industrialist Armand Hammer to house his personal collection. The biennial called Made in LA is currently on, showcasing the work of 32 local artists, who range in age from 29 to 97. These artists exemplify the diverse and creative spirit of the city.  It was new, fresh, and fun!

As the skies darkened, we got a quick bite to eat before heading home to rest up for another day of adventures in L.A.

Note: photos of Made in L.A. and nighttime views of “Urban Light” below are courtesy of the Internet. My phone ran out of steam…as did I.  There’s always tomorrow.

 

It has been a while since I’ve posted because my part-time work with students took over my life from February until June and I haven’t been lucky enough to take time off for even a lunch out with friends during the week. I’ve been free during weekends, however, so all of my socializing took place then.

There was one exception: I did a quick overnight to Las Vegas on Memorial Day weekend to meet up with cousin Marshall , whom I haven’t seen since he was 12 and I was 13. He grew up in Chicago and went to college in Colorado, then lived overseas for many years, so our paths just didn’t cross. He now lives in AZ with his wife Galina, so we met at the timeshare of my sister and brother-in-law for a brief visit.

The three cousins relaxed on the couch at the Grandview timeshare, then we hit the casino across the street for the Wes Winters show and did a little gambling. My cousin’s wife enjoyed both the show and the slot machines but none of us hit any jackpots.  It was a short but fun trip for me, and then it was back to work.

My sister and brother-in-law stayed with me for a week the beginning of June  and they visited with Bay Area friends, as I was finishing  up my last week of work.  We still had time to visit friends, eat out and sneak off for a sisters’ brunch in a cute new local eatery while my brother- in -law was taking a nap.

Yesterday I was at SFO, on a plane bound for Burbank to visit my friend Marilyn! Finally I’m on the road again.

I normally fly United out of terminal 3, but this time I flew Southwest, so I had the opportunity to walk through all the terminals, to find the security line for Southwest passengers at terminal 1. I love this airport! It’s the nicest, cleanest, and most fascinating place to visit. There are about fifteen different museums scattered throughout the space as well as wonderful exhibits of photography. I greatly enjoyed the thirty minute stroll to get to security. I celebrated my freedom from the world of ( part time) work by having a strawberry margarita before takeoff.

When I arrived, Marilyn and I  also  celebrated my return to Los Angeles by having coffee in beautiful downtown Burbank, as Johnny Carson used to call it

The cafés and restaurants are cute and the street life intrigued me  I’ll have to practice getting more people on the streets shots without being too intrusive.

Later in the evening we enjoyed a sumptuous repast with Marilyn and her daughter Sarah at Mi Piace, an Italian restaurant in Pasadena  on Colorado Boulevard, the venue  for the yearly Rose Bowl parade. We munched on bits of delicious garlic bread before we got our entrees –   I had meat lasagna – then  indulged ourselves on one of their specialties, tiramisu. The Chianti Classico was superb!

I was greeted by the household’s two cats before settling in for the evening, then shortly thereafter, nodding off into slumberland.

More to come..

I hope you are enjoying your summer, where ever you are!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of our morning walk around the deck, Craig and I had a very light breakfast then went off the ship to explore the area of Kauai near our ship.  We took a shuttle to the Anchor Shoppimg center nearby, and behind the center we found a bridge which took us to the beautiful Marriott Kauai Hotel.

This site has changed and morphed over the years. Originally the Kauai Surf Hotel, it was purchased by hotelier Chris Hemmeter, who’d built the gorgeous Hyatt Hemmeter Center in Waikiki in the 70s. I remember being stunned by its opulence and beauty on my first trip to Honolulu.  He did the same thing on Kauai in the 80s with the Westin Kauai. The over-the-top “fantasy island” feel delighted some and shocked others: in the eclectic mélange of  architectural styles there were more Greek columns than could hold up the Acropolis,  one wag stated, and the hotel was populated with wild animals wandering around a two acre reflecting pool.  there were also meandering  canals with gondolas, and a fantastic pool with fountains.  Critics said it looked more like Versailles than Hawaii.  He installed a 2.5 million dollar collection of Asian and Pacific Island art to complement the decor.  All these changes did not go unnoticed; many  Hawaiians felt they’d already lived in a fantasy island and didn’t need to recreate one.

The changing economic conditions and the hurricane changed all that; the property was badly damaged and was broken up and purchased by Marriott.

The hotel today is still beautiful but scaled down a bit from the theme park feel of the original. Craig and I arrived in time for the 9:00 feeding time for the koi carp, and I got to visit with a parrot. The huge pond also held a variety of bird life, who swam up to get some food.

We walked over to the spectacular pool area to admire the view.  I remembered being here a few years ago on my Hawaii circle tour, where a friend was busy making phone calls.  It’s a very restful place to sink into a comfortable chair,  to get a coffee or drink from the bar, admire the view – and take pictures, of course.

We looked at the little shopping center for bargains and I found two at the Crazy Shirt store.  We hurried back to the ship, since we had to sail at 1:30.  Sadly, our time on Kauai was finished. It was time to watch the sail away, read a book and relax in the sun!

i ended up on the upper deck, checking out all the passengers, who decided to have a last swim or sun.  There was a barbecue with hot dogs, hamburgers and a band was playing – a very festive atmosphere.

My sister and brother-in-law were invited to a cocktail party for returning guests, but, as it turned out, Ed decided he’d stay in his lounging robe on his own private balcony.  Since we decided that Beatrice could not possibly go unaccompanied, Craig and I took his place.  The champagne flowed -from the bottle into our stomachs!

We had one night and one more specialty restaurant to explore, so we signed up for the East Meets West option, where we watched our cook prepare our dinner on the grill -sort of like Benihana.  After we’d made our reservation, I realized that we would miss the scenic cruising of the Na Pali Coast.  We had nice views of the chef and his creative cuisine, however.  I will include two coastal pictures from an online source, so you won’t feel left out.

After dinner, we went to the evening show –  Beatrice and Ed went twice because they thought it was so good. It was a history and review of Las Vegas shows over the years.   At the end of the show, the entire crew came on stage to say goodbye and thank us for our week on their ship.   It was a very touching end to the journey.  I had to pack because I spent late afternoon napping, but the other three headed to the piano bar, and I was told, closed down the place.  Those Lockwood’s know how to party!

We were up and out the next morning, with the fake missile drill being part of the excitement, which I recounted earlier.  At the airport I had an adult libation before boarding the plane, and it wasn’t a Hawaiian drink. I couldn’t find anything Hawaiian to drink, so I settled on a strawberry margarita.  It was tasty.

I’ve been home for ten days now.  I managed to catch a cold when I was gone -maybe on the flight back -so I’ve been sniffling and sneezing.  It wasn’t a horrible cold but it hung on, and I felt very tired.   Perhaps I didn’t get enough sleep on my trip.  It seemed as if every day in Hawaii was packed with lots to do, so maybe  I had to come home to rest from my vacation!  I’ve tried to get back into my regular schedule, and I took a long walk yesterday with  clear skies in my beautiful neighborhood.  No matter how far I roam, there’s no place like home!

So, where’s the next trip, you may ask.  I’m in research mode, with two trips in mind: the first is an Australian/New Zealand cruise from either Aukland  or Sydney, and I’m checking out cruise lines:   big ship or small ship? The itinerary we’ve chosen would include Hobart, in Tasmania, so that -and our pocketbook-limits options to either Princess or Holland America lines.  I’ve never sailed on Princess. Any ideas?  This trip would probably take place in 2019.

Another trip is a possible short jaunt to see the homes and gardens of Charleston and Savannah.  I once saw Charleston for one day in the rain, in May 2013, but that wasn’t enough.  That should be easier to plan.

A trip that’s been in the back of my head for a while is a cruise to Cuba.  That’s been a possibility for a few years, but with special health issues with  American diplomats, this may be on hold.  A friend wants to go on a photography trip to Iceland.  So many countries so little time..

Please let me know your thoughts about this trip or any others I’m thinking of taking. I’d also love to hear about your travels.   Thank you for writing. It’s so good to hear from you. I learn so much from my friends.

Goodbye Hawaii, hello next adventure!

Stay safe and warm,

Karen

 

 

 

 

 

 

The island of Kauai is known as “the Garden Isle,” because of its extreme  rainfall – the wettest place in the world, some say. It’s also called “the island of discovery.”  It is the northernmost island in the chain, and is draped in emerald valleys, sharp mountain spires, and jagged cliffs aged by time and the elements. Centuries of growth have formed tropical rain forests, forking rivers and cascading waterfalls,  and dramatic canyons like Waimea Canyon, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific . It is very rural place – only 3% of the island has been developed – and some parts of the island are only accessible by sea or air. Could I live here?  No.  It’s still a wonderful place to visit, to see nature in all its glory.

Unfortunately, Kauai has been hit by hurricanes which have done much damage to the island, most notably Hurricane Iniki in 1992, with over $2.3 billion in property damage.

My sister and I had an early-morning excursion called “Director’s Cut,” which drove us around parts of the island where movies have been filmed. The small van was outfitted with a large screen, where we could watch scenes from the movie at the place we were visiting.   We began in the town of Nawiliwili, where “Jurassic Park” was filmed. Auntie Alicia, our tour guide and driver,  mentioned that the cast and crew of the film was on the island when the hurricane hit.  They stayed in  the hotel, but Steven Spielberg went out and did some filming!

I’ll mention a few highlights with movies I’ve enjoyed over the years.  If you google “ movies filmed on Kauai, you’ll find a very long list.

We began our tour looking at the original vessel that Hawaiians used to navigate the island, ironically parked next to our admittedly more modern ship. Auntie Alicia told us that this was one of the locations for “Jurassic Park,” and tried scaring us with a not-so-giant dinosaur toy.

“Miss Sadie Thompson,” filmed in 1953, used the old dock at its location, as did “ Pagan Love Song,” in 1950, where “ native girls” Esther Williams and a very young Rita Moreno swam to the ship and urged ship’s passengers  to throw them coins. The dock is in ruins but very photogenic when surrounded by the most well-known wildlife on the island: roosters.  The roosters are vicious and have been known to seriously wound other animals, as you can see if you look at the eye of the ginger cat. So much for peaceful coexistence.  Why roosters?  It’s been said when Hurricane Iniki ripped across the island,  releasing domestic hens as well as roosters bred for cockfighting. They’re also now a tourist attraction , and the tourists feed them.  The tabby cat seems to have the wrath of the roosters unscathed – one tough pussycat! These cats and birds aren’t afraid of tourists and get their food from them, as well as from caring locals.

One of my favorite movies filmed on Kauai was “ South Pacific,” and we watched the scene where the sailors sang “ There is Nothing like a Dame,” then walked out and explored the pier.  The setting is not-to-be-believed gorgeous.

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Click on the link above to watch the surfer.

Of course, who can forget Elvis and 1961’s “Blue Hawaii,” which was filmed at Cocoa Palms resort, which no longer exists, thanks to Iniki.  The state park nearby with ruins of original Hawaiian huts does exist though.

We stopped for the included lunch at the small town of Hanalei, which was one of the locales for “The Descendants,” the George Clooney movie filmed in 2010.

Other lovely scenes and wildlife are included here:

The evening was spent at another of the “ free” specialty restaurants, the Italian restaurant called La Cucina, which was the best meal of the trip! We started off with a drink called a Bellini, proseco with peach juice, then I chose a perfectly cooked, melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon, topped with cheese and a bit of polenta.  Craig had cioppini linguini.  The  wine I decided on was one of the least expensive but delicious, a wonderful Malbec from Argentina, and we finished  off the meal with a fantastic  tiramisu, which, we were told, was made by the chef and could only be found at this particular restaurant. YUM!  Since we didn’t finish the wine, we took it with us, and drank it during the show and piano bar.  Perfect!

We had one more day on Kauai.  Then it’s journey’s end.

We moved from one side of the island to the other in the night.  Now we’re on the Kona Coast, where many fine hotels are found, and the quaint charming town of Kailua-Kona is located.

We boarded the tender and landed close to town, where we walked around and looked in shops. We had lunch at a place that used to belong to Don Drysdale, sports legend.  Craig left us to go to a Starbucks, laptop in his briefcase.  He had some work to do.  We agreed to meet later for an adult beverage before getting back on the tender.

I was delighted to learn that fresh ono was on the menu and I couldn’t resist: however, my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I had a very light dinner that evening.  We learned that the local market was open, so we spent some time -and money -there. It was a gorgeous day.

We spied the Kona Inn on the way to the market, which had been closed but was now open again, possibly under new management, and decided that we should have our adult beverage there.  As we looked at the landscaping, I noticed a shy ginger cat under the fence.  She was not interested in becoming friends but she allowed a few pictures before she ran under the building’s foundations.

After our shopping, we settled in for a delicious tropical libation, as we stared out at the ocean and our ship. Ah..vacation!

As we walked back to the tender, I noticed the changing of the colors of sky and sea..

And we watched the sun set from the balcony as the ship sailed away, gazing at the sky, sea and foam – mesmerizing!

After dinner -soup for me -we enjoyed the show of the evening.  The group was called Four by Four and they did music from the Beatles and the Beach Boys to the Four Seasons -very entertaining.

Tomorrow we’ll have two days on Kauai, the Garden Isle, the last stop on our voyage.  It’s my favorite island, and I hope you’ll see why when you see the photos.