Today we had a free snorkeling trip to Molokini crater, as part of our rental of the condo. Molokini is a partially sunken volcanic crater off the coast of Maui that has really good visibility for snorkeling and diving. Interesting tidbit found on Wikipedia -- During World War II, the United States Navy used Molokini for target practice because its shape is somewhat similar to a battleship. Now it's designated as a Hawaii State Marine Life and Bird Conservation District. We were originally supposed to go on this trip the previous day, but they somehow canceled it without telling us. After we finally got ahold of them, they booked us with a different tour company for today. When we arrived, they were having trouble with their boat, so they shuttled us over to another boat. It ... read more

The Road to Hana is a world-famous scenic drive that has over 600 curves and 46 one-lane bridges. Part of it travels along the beautiful coastline, then it delves into a rainforest before reaching the sleepy little town of Hana. Most people start the drive from the main part of the island in the morning, drive to Hana and maybe a little beyond, and then head back the same way they came, all in one day. It can be done... but as we discovered, they are missing the true beauty of east Maui by not spending a couple days there to enjoy it. Since we drove to Hana at night, we were actually experiencing the Road "from" Hana as we bade a sad good-bye to one of the most beautiful towns on the planet and headed ... read more

We woke to the sound of waves crashing onto the rocks across the street. We groggily opened our eyes, pulled the curtain back, and were able to see what our paradise looked like in the daylight for the first time. Absolutely amazing... The cottage sits on a property across the street from the ocean, and a one-minute walk to Hamoa Beach -- a small, uncrowded crescent of sand formed inside a volcanic crater. Barefoot and in our pajamas, we wandered down a pathway scattered with fallen plumeria flowers and plunged our feet into the warm sand. As the morning sun reflected off the red rock cliffs, I watched Kevin sip his tea and take in the sights of Hawaii for the first time. Tiny sand crabs scuttled here and there, somehow just barely avoiding the white-wash ... read more

Today was our last real day for sightseeing... tomorrow we would head toward Munich and spend the evening packing and getting everything ready to go. But today, we had one last stop to make... Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart. On our way from the car, we passed through the gardens at Mirabell Palace with their colorful, winding flower beds. The garden was used in the filming of the movie "The Sound of Music", and is where the family sang the song "Do-Re-Me". After a short walk through the city, we took the funicular up to the fortress that overlooks the city, Hohensalzburg. It was built by Archbishop Gebhard in 1077, and is the largest of its kind in Europe to have survived completely intact. The view of the cityscape is spectacular from up there. On our ... read more

This morning our hostess had to serve us breakfast early because the family was attending a wedding that day, and they needed time to get ready. She explained the tradition of a Bavarian wedding... her husband and all of the other male family members would arrive at the happy couple's house at 4 am and start the festivities of the day by shooting off giant guns. The bride-to-be would then get up, serve her groom breakfast, and then everyone would don their traditional Bavarian clothing for the wedding. The festivities would last until about midnight, making for a very long day. Angie asked her if we could get the family to pose for a picture before they left, so around 9 am, they all assembled for us outside. They were so adorable... our hostess with her ... read more