Page 2 of Rob61 Travel Blog Posts


Europe » Switzerland » North-East » Zürich » Zürich September 6th 2010

"Flitterwochen" is the German word for "honeymoon." I just love that word! On Labor Day, Rob and I will be leaving for a 10-day honeymoon trip, mostly in Germany. No, Hawaii was not our honeymoon -- we just went there to get married and there was little time for sightseeing or exploring! Internet access in Germany could be a problem -- we just don't know if it will be available in the smaller "mom and pop" hotels or how much it will cost (if it's an "arm and a leg," we will look for a Starbucks or Internet cafe in Heilbronn and Munich). That means we may not be able to post daily. I bought a small Acer netbook for the trip, which is lightweight and easy to pack, so we'll be able to check out ... read more

Europe » Switzerland » North-East » Zürich » Zürich September 5th 2010

Family and friends, I just tried to "publish" our first blog entry for this trip, but it had already posted without notifying you. So this is the notification! We are still packing this evening, and hopefully, will not have to stay up too late and will not forget anything important. So we're counting down once again! Take care. Vanda... read more

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki May 5th 2010

Home again, home again . . . this will be our last entry for this trip. However, we plan to do another travel blog, when we go to Germany for our honeymoon in September. Let us know if you want to be on the subscribers' list. We just want to let you know we arrived back home safely. Our last entry was our wedding day on Saturday. We had a wonderful, personable photographer for the ceremony - "Bob the Cameraman" - who shot two hours worth of pictures. We have no wedding photos to upload at this time. He said it would take him about two weeks to sort through all of the shots and send us the best ones to select from. I can't wait! Back to the wedding day After the ceremony and photographs, ... read more
Rob's wedding outfit
Photos of Coamo presented as gift to Sandy and Lucille
Lucille with their gift from us

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Honolulu May 2nd 2010

The deed is done! At approximately 5:45 pm, Hawaiian Standard Time, under a blue sky and a purple flowering bougainvillea arbor, Sandy Santiago pronounced Vanda and me "man and wife." ... read more
Vanda & Rob after wedding at dinner at Benihana's
Dinner with Sandy & Lucille at Benihana's

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki May 1st 2010

Something old, something new Something borrowed, something blue And a silver sixpence in her shoe. I'm getting married today ... Here's a photo of my five things for good luck. Tradition has it if I carry all of these items on my wedding day, our marriage will be happy. My "something old," the pearl purse, links me with my mother and my grandmother. Mom's name was "Pearl" and the purse belonged to her in the 1960s. I have decorated it with 4 pearls from an old, broken strand of pearls that had belonged to my Grandmother Ennis, along with some "bling" to match my wedding jewelry. My "something new" is everything else I'm wearing and represents optimism and hope for the future. My "something borrowed" is the garter from my dear sister, Ann (who made it ... read more

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki May 1st 2010

I (Vanda) like being a tourist, but I like being a shopper even better! We arrived back at the hotel from Pearl Harbor around 2:00 p.m. and headed straight to the Hilton Hawaiian Village just next door. We went there intending to find a restaurant at which to make reservations for dinner for Saturday evening after the wedding. We were absolutely amazed to find a wealth of shops and restaurants, and realized that we could spend the rest of the day there and not even venture out to the streets of Waikiki. Shoppers from Japan abounded. So many jewelry stores (and so little money)! I did buy a pair of inexpensive orchid, clip-on earrings along with a necklace made from freshwater pearls and some amethysts. These I will wear on Sunday evening with a new purple, ... read more
Dessert at the Bali Apr 30
Vanda at Bali Steak & Seafood, Hilton Hawaiian Village 4-30
Vanda at Hale Koa Apr 30

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Honolulu May 1st 2010

Once again your intrepid travelors ventured into paradise. Today, however, we took a step back in time, to the days when Hawaii, just a Territory, was a lazy island chain where the United States manned the outposts of freedom against Japanese aggression. Reach back into the mists of history and imagine Pearl Harbor, Battleship Row, the military raising the flag at 0800 hours sharp, bands playing the Star Spangled Banner, a Sunday morning dawning bright and clear - all is well. Then, suddenly, the sounds of alien aircraft overhead, bombs exploding on the pride of the Navy and machine gun fire breaking the morning silence. Ships explode, sailors man deck guns to shoot down planes displaying the Rising Sun or "meatball" symbol, men dying. Then a mighty explosion, fireball and billowing clouds of black smoke as ... read more
Vanda on the Memorial
A pier where the USS Tennessee was moored and sunk
Arizona Memorial

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki April 30th 2010

The jet lag was too much to continue blogging last night. Could not finish the day's adventure. Our chariot driver, Sandy Santiago took us to the marriage license bureau where, it turned out, we were next in line. This kept us from having second thoughts as there was no time to reflect. Sherry, the licensing rep, was very thorough and efficient. She copied our already completed application without making a mistake. 15 minutes later and $60.00 poorer we exited the building half way home. The other half comes Saturday evening. Sandy and Lucille then took us to The Kahala Hotel and Resort for lunch. What a marvelous place - more orchids adorning the place than in a florists' shop. This hotel has a story as it has had many celebraties stay there over the years. While ... read more

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki April 29th 2010

Hawaii dawned cloudy and rainy, on this our first morning in paradise. Having slept off the jet lag, your author was raring to go. First stop - the coffee kiosk in the lobby to get Vanda a "grande" cup of Starbucks joe. As I've learned - she needs that first cup in the morning to get going and today it aided in quelling the encroaching jet lag headache. Once Vanda was fortiifed, it was off to the Koko Cafe here in the hotel for a take-out breakfast. After all, nothing gets the future new bride going quite like Rob's room service. The fresh pineapple was magnifico. Genealogy was the excuse I used to ask Vanda out on our first date. (The anniversary of which is April 28.) The fact that she had that unique West Viriginia ... read more
The Kahala Lobby Orchids
The Kahala Lunch
Vanda in lobby of Hale Koa

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki April 28th 2010

THE ELOPEMENT IS ON!!!! Both of us got got up very early Wednesday morning and were off to Dulles airport for a 12:30 flight to Honolulu with a stopover in Los Angeles. We arrived in Hawaii at 7:30 pm local time. It is now 10:45 pm local time which means Vanda and I have been up for over 21 consecutive hours. Both flights were long, 5 plus hours to LA and just under 6 hours to Hawaii, but we arrived excited and ready to go. We rented a car and arrived at the Hale Koa hotel about an hour after arrival. By this time Vanda was her usual famished self, so we had dinner at 9:30 -- 3:30 am Thursday in DC. The restaurant in the hotel was an open air one with a huge banyan ... read more
Vanda's boarding pass
Vanda calling her dad at LAX
Rob calling his family from LAX




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