these are pics from hawaii. my very patient friend rachel was kind enough to take me in for 2 weeks and put up with me, my bags, and my ailments! it was fun to hang out with her the last couple of days on the big island though. we saw lava and black sand and marathoners and lots of fish! it was a most brilliant way to end this trip. more thoughts to come after japan ;) [View Full Entry]

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West Coast USA and Oahu, Hawaii March 2005.... starting in Las Vegas Travelling thousands of miles to the Pacific - Carolyn, David, Dianna, Lucy & Rebecca enjoying our first experience of Western USA and the Pacific islands of Hawaii. For the full summary of our adventures, please visit our [url=http://www.travelpod.com/cgi-bin/guest_login.pl?tweb_tripID=usa-hawaii-2005&tweb_UID=getawaygang&tweb_PID=tpod]TravelPod pages. All our newer adventures are here on TravelBlog, because we think it's a better facility. See also the "Gallery" which h [View Full Entry]

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Journeys. Like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to then, few of them willed or determined by the will—whatever we may think. Lawrence Durrell Today is our last day in Hawaii; we fly out this evening. So we decided to take the bus and make a circle around the island. Once outside of Honolulu, the countryside is beautiful. The north shore is outstanding and it boasts the best surfing. We stopped at Turtle Bay Resort for lunch. Wow! It is an upscale resort with many amenities. The ride took almost 4 hours, [View Full Entry]

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Uncle Billy’s Thursday, March 31, 2005. This is our last day on the Big Island of Hawaii and things are happening here in Hilo. It is the festival of Merrie Monarch. This is the international hula competition. Folks from every island in the Pacific including Japan come to compete to do the best hula. Each hotel hosts a hula demo open to the public. It was fascinating. The Merrie Monarch Festival includes a huge arts and craft market. So that combined with a trip to Mauna Loa macada [View Full Entry]

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"See as much of the world as you can just for the fun of it." -- Pam Flowers WED SITES Volcano NP My Island BB Mauna Kea Wednesday, March 30, 2005. Breakfast at the B&B was great: papaya with Maui pineapple sprinkled with macadamia nuts, bread pudding with rhubarb, blueberry bagels with volcano plum and guava, hard boiled egg, guava juice, and tea or coffee! Since it had rained hard all night we made a decision t [View Full Entry]

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Quote Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. Benjamin Disraeli Web sites Maui Mountain Cruisers Haleakala National Park Monday, March 28, 2005. Bob and I left Honolulu and flew to Maui, the “valley isle”. My initial impression of Maui is, less traffic, no high-rise hotels, and more rustic. As we arrived the clouds were hanging over the mountains, the trade winds blowing and a light rain was falling. The purpose of our traveling to [View Full Entry]

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We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." -- Jawaharal Nehru Web sites Hilton Hawaii Village Text Saturday, March 26. I keep waking up at 2:30 my body clock thinks it is 7:30. So we got up early and planned our day to Diamond Head. First things first, we need to move to the Hilton Village today, to meet my friends. So we checked out and got the bus to the Hilton, wher [View Full Entry]

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We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." -- Jawaharal Nehru Web sites Run your mouse over the name and click O’ahu Hanauma Bay, Oahu, HI - National Winner of best Beach OR Hanauma Bay, Oahu, HI - National Winner of best Beach March 24. Haw [View Full Entry]

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#10 MOO MOO IS MORE THAN A SOUND A COW MAKES (The Hawaiian dresses.) #9 THERE MAY NOT BE A BIG FOOT LEGEND BUT THERE'S A LITTLE FOOT LEGEND (Hawaii has a famous tale of the Menehune, a group of hairy miniature people who once lived here) #8 MCDONALDS SERVES SPAM,EGGS AND RICE AS A BREAKFAST PLATTER (In Hawaii everyone loves spam and they even host a spam cook-off) #7 TARO CHIPS ARE JUST AS DELICIOUS AS POTATO CHIPS (But the taro root when mashed into poi is yucky!) #6 HAWAIIAN TIME MEANS WHENEVER YOU GET THERE (Works great when your [View Full Entry]

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A little about the places we have stayed these last few weeks. We were very fortunate to experience the REAL Kauai by staying outside of the tourist area in a cottage near Kapaa. The cottage was close to the beach and surrounded by swaying palm trees. It was a great time to relax and try to be more of a local. Of course we did the usual daytrips to all the beautiful scenic spots but we also shopped for groceries and even went to see a movie in nearby Lihue. After flying from Kauai to the Big Island we first stayed [View Full Entry]

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